I was interested to see the popularity graph of the name [name]Nina[/name] recently- It’s almost a flat line except for a small dip and then a spike in the late seventies- and it intrigued me. I’m looking to find more names with similar popularity graphs- steadily in use, but hovering outside of common. When I thought about it, I realized that [name]Nina[/name] feels like a common name, but I’ve actually only ever met two. Does anyone know any other names like this? Very consistently almost-popular?
I think all of these would make fairly perfect sisters to [name]Nina[/name] :
[name]Harriet[/name] - not true of the US, according to Nameberry’s graph, but here ([name]Britain[/name]) I certainly know Harriets of all ages, but isn’t shockingly popular for the country as a whole. [name]Hattie[/name]/[name]Harri[/name] and [name]Nina[/name] would be perfect!
[name]Veronica[/name] - a convex-ly shaped graph, but pretty steady nonetheless. Perhaps a little long to be a sister to [name]Nina[/name], though.
[name]Maeve[/name] - her line is a very slow rise much farther down the popularity chart than [name]Nina[/name], but it’s steady nonetheless.
[name]Claire[/name] - extremely steady apart from a major dip around the early 70s. The only problem is she’s significantly more popular than [name]Nina[/name] at the moment … they have the same feel, though.
[name]Rachel[/name] - definitely familiar, and with a very steady graph. The only problem is that she got significantly more popular for a little while, recently.
[name]Molly[/name] - overall a steady, gradual rise over the last century or so.
[name]Sara[/name] - a very similar graph line to [name]Nina[/name].
[name]Lara[/name] - for me, this really has the same feel, but the graph line has been plunging for a while.
[name]Rose[/name]/[name]Rosie[/name] - [name]Rose[/name] has declined quite a bit over the last century, but the graph is still very steady. [name]Rosie[/name], in contrast, disappeared completetly off the US graph in the 80s, but here in [name]Britain[/name] has enjoyed a revival and has been pretty popular for the last couple of decades.
[name]Rosanna[/name] - the US graph spikes up and down very frequently, but here in [name]Britain[/name] it has head frequent semi-popular (like [name]Nina[/name]) use over the last century. To quote the Penguin Dictionary of First Names “It was first adopted in the 18th century and has remained popular ever since.”
[name]Victoria[/name] - an incredibly steady popularity graph, although it has gradually becoming more popular over recent years.
[name]Susannah[/name] - this one was steadily near the bottom of the SSA’s top 1000 until it seemed to fall out of favour in the late 70s. Despite the fact it hasn’t charted since then, it still feels really familiar, just like [name]Nina[/name]. And there are a host of nicknames, including [name]Susie[/name], [name]Anna[/name] and [name]Sukie[/name].
[name]Rebecca[/name] - a very steady graph in the US (in the UK it peaked dramatically in the 70s), although it’s generally been a bit more popular than [name]Nina[/name].
[name]Flora[/name] - its US graph declined dramatically and it disappeared in the 70s, but its UK graph shows it to be in remarkably steady, just outside of popular, use.
[name]Lucy[/name] - dipped around the late 70s and early 80s, but other than that a fairly steady graph.
[name]Maria[/name] - steadily popular.
[name]Polly[/name] - its popularity decreased and it finally dropped out of the top 100 in the late 70s in the US, but it’s popularity before that, and for the whole of the last century here in the UK, was/has been fairly steady.
[name]Georgia[/name] - not a very steady graph due to a major dip around the late 80s, but still similar.
[name]Charlotte[/name] - overall a very steady graph in both the US and the UK.
[name]Sally[/name] - this actually started dipping massively around the 70s and hasn’t come back, but to me it feels so similar to [name]Nina[/name].
Good luck, and I hope you found something you liked amongst those! [name]Auburn[/name]
Very interesting challenge. I’m using the [name]Baby[/name] Name [name]Wizard[/name] book for this one, since it lists graphs. Here are a few:
[name]Julia[/name] - this, in my head, is the perfect name with [name]Nina[/name]. Always semi-popular, classic, feminine and pretty.
[name]Camille[/name] - has been steadily rising and falling for years. It’s not just as popular as [name]Nina[/name].
[name]Audrey[/name] - popular now, but very timeless with a steady graph.
[name]Cecilia[/name] - interestingly enough this name has been steadily hovering in the 200-300 zone for a very long time.
[name]Diana[/name] - has been very steady for a while. I love this with [name]Nina[/name].
[name]Elena[/name] - now on the rise, but still not too popular. It’s graph shows consistent popularity.
[name]Jacqueline[/name] - has been consistent since the 1920s.
[name]Johanna[/name] - not as consistent as others, but it’s very nice with [name]Nina[/name].
[name]Lucia[/name] - not super popular, but very steady. I like it a lot with [name]Nina[/name].
[name]Lydia[/name] - again, another name that hovers around being popular but is still not overdone.
[name]Miriam[/name] - very consistent and timeless.
[name]Rosa[/name]- never super popular but well known to all. It’s actually on the decline now, which means it probably wont be popular any time soon. Perfect with [name]Nina[/name].
Wow, that’s AMAZING. You guys did fantastic and I really like most of what you came up with. I hate to ask, but do you know of any boy’s names like them?