By Linda Rosenkrantz

　　When you hear the phrase ‘Top 10 girls’ name,’ you might tend to think of classics like Mary and Elizabeth, or later long-running favorites Jennifer and Jessica, or the current Sophia.  But it certainly wouldn’t be Bertha—which in fact was in that golden group for twelve years– or Mildred, up there for close to a quarter of a century.

　　I became curious about what became of these once mega-popular appellations, whose top positions lasted from 37 years to being one-time-wonders (bearing in mind that they well might have been top-ranked for years before the SSA started keeping figures in 1880), particularly those that were once in the Top 10 but now reside outside the Top 500, thus eliminating evergreens like, yes, Mary and Elizabeth that have retained their popularity. You might find a few surprises here–unless you’ve known a lot of Tammys and Tracys in your life.

　　The following are those former Top 10 girls’ names that are no longer even in the higher half of the Social Security list, arranged in descending order by the number of their Top 10 years and pinpointing exactly when they reached their highest positions.

　　In the Top 10 for:

　　37 years  Patricia—  was as high as Number 3 for 13 years between 1937 and 1952; is now 680

　　35 years  Dorothy—Number 2 for 8 years between 1920 and 1927; now 808

　　31 years Barbara— Number 2 from 1937 to 1944; now 838

　　25 years  Linda— The top girls’ name from 1947 to 1952; now 643

　　23 years  Mildred— Reached 6th place for 8 years between 1912 and 1929

　　Betty—       Number 2 for 7 years from 1928 to 1934; now 907

　　Susan— Number 2 from 1957 to 1960; now 844

　　21 years   Nancy— Highest ranking was Number 6 in 1950; now 689

　　20 years  Florence—Number 6 for 5 years between 1890 and 1899; now 955

　　Marie —     The French version of Mary reached 8th place twice, in 1899 and 1902; is now Number 573

　　16 years   Ethel— Peaked at Number 6 in 1896, now 889

　　Sandra— Was Number 5 in 1947, now766

　　15 years   Frances—Was Number 8 in 1918, now 693

　　Heather— Heather is one of the later entries to the Top 10, reaching Number 3 in 1975, now 837

　　Lisa— The top name from 1962 to 1969, now has fallen to 773

　　14 years   Shirley— Influenced by the popularity of little Shirley Temple, she was Number 2 in 1935 and 1936; now 907

　　Carol— Number 4 in 1941, now 972

　　13 years    Virginia—Number 6 in 1921, now551

　　Deborah—Number 2 in 1955, now 814

　　12 years    Minnie—   Number 5 for 5 years between 1880 and 1886, off the Top 1000 since 1971

　　Bertha —  Number 7 for 3 years in the 1880s; off the list since1985

　　11 years     Donna — Number 5 in 1959 and 1960, fell off in 2010

　　10 years     Doris — Number 6 in 1929, off since 1992

　　9 years     Joan— Number 5 from 1931 to 1933, off since1993

　　8 years Ida—          Number 7 for 5 years between 1880 and 1886, off since 1986

　　Judith—   Number 4 in 1940, now 996

　　Debra—    Number 2 in 1956, off since 1998

　　7 years       Sharon— Number 8 in 1943, now at 882

　　Tammy— Number 8 for 5 years between 1966 and 1971, off since 1998

　　4 years      Kathleen Number 9 in 1949, now at 664

　　2 years        Bessie—   Number 9 in 1889, off since 1975

　　1 year      Carolyn—Number 10 in 1942, now at 791

　　Pamela— Number 10 in 1953, off since 2011

　　Lori— Number 8 in 1963, off since 2001

　　Tracy— Number 10 in 1970, off since 2004

　　Of course there are a significant number of early Top 10ers that are alive and well, such as Emma (Number 3 in 1880 Number 2 in 2013), Clara, Alice, Helen, Ruth, Lillian, and Evelyn, as well as dozens of more recent ones, including Karen, Cynthia and Crystal that still rank in the Top 500.

　　Which, if any, of the former Top-10-Then girls do you think could ever scale those heights again? Would it be affected by the length or date of their earlier popularity?