Hello, fellow writers and name-lovers!
I am currently attempting to write a children’s book (a picture book, not a chapter book) about a chick and a duckling, and I’ve been trying to come up with the right names. The problem is, even though a child would probably love to see his or her name as the hero of the story (the chick), they would probably NOT love to see their name as the duckling, who is a bit mean at the beginning of the story.
My dilemma is that I don’t want to use a crazy, unrecognizable name (like [name_m]Darold[/name_m], [name_m]Seraphim[/name_m], [name_m]Hob[/name_m]…), or something that’s too “grown-up” or hard to pronounce ([name_f]Hyacinth[/name_f], [name_f]Chiquita[/name_f], [name_m]Augustus[/name_m], [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m]). But I also don’t want to have every [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_u]Mason[/name_u], and [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] feeling sad about the fact that his or her “namesake” is making fun of the poor little chick.
I need some names that are absolutely familiar to our ears, but that haven’t been used much in [name_u]America[/name_u], at least in the last ten years. For example, the name “[name_f]Holly[/name_f]” was in the top 100 in the '70s and '80s, and it’s at #21 in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], #34 in [name_f]Scotland[/name_f], and #39 in [name_f]England[/name_f]. However, in [name_u]America[/name_u] it is ranked at #490, having declined steadily since the '90s.
I don’t necessarily need that much research with your replies. A response such as, “I haven’t met any little Susies in a while!” will do. 
Thanks in advance for your help!
Hmm, perhaps [name_f]Dawn[/name_f]? I’m pretty sure dawn is dead nowadays. Something like [name_f]Louise[/name_f], [name_m]Albert[/name_m], or maybe [name_f]Via[/name_f] could work as well.
Thank you for your suggestions! I hadn’t thought of [name_f]Louise[/name_f], and [name_m]Albert[/name_m] has a certain cute-yet-unheard-of quality as well! 
For another uncommon-in-the-States (but familiar) name, how about [name_f]Nancy[/name_f]? (It’s on the upswing in the UK though.)
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] was the first name that came to mind. It’s absolutely familiar - I mean, we’ve all heard of the Virgin [name_f]Mary[/name_f], and there have been tons of [name_f]Marys[/name_f] throughout history. But at the same time, [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is at its lowest ranking ever. It was #124 on the 2015 SSA list. That might still be too popular for your liking, though.
Off the top of my head, I thought of [name_f]Tammy[/name_f], [name_u]Gary[/name_u], [name_m]Larry[/name_m], [name_f]Judy[/name_f], [name_f]Wendy[/name_f], [name_u]Tracy[/name_u], and [name_f]Denise[/name_f].
[name_m]Duke[/name_m] - Ranked #603 on the 2015 list.
[name_u]Lyle[/name_u] - Wasn’t ranked on the 2015 list.
[name_u]Ollie[/name_u] - Wasn’t ranked on the 2015 list.
[name_m]Quentin[/name_m] - Ranked #483 on the 2015 list.
[name_u]Royce[/name_u] - Ranked #530 on the 2015 list.
[name_u]Shane[/name_u] - Ranked #295 on the 2015 list.
[name_m]Walter[/name_m] - Ranked #308 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Bonnie[/name_f] - Ranked #871 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Camilla[/name_f] - Ranked #374 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Estelle[/name_f] - Ranked #823 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Gwen[/name_f] - Ranked #746 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Joy[/name_f] - Ranked #436 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] - Ranked #208 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Wendy[/name_f] - Ranked #936 on the 2015 list.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this was helpful to you! Good luck on your book!
[name_m]How[/name_m] about something like [name_f]Nell[/name_f] or [name_m]Ernie[/name_m]? Old fashioned enough not to have become popular again.