COMPILED FROM THE FEDERAL REGISTERS, 1880 TO THE PRESENT
THE ENDANGERED NAMES LIST
American first names, tracked to the federal reporting line.

FROM THE REGISTER — LONG MISSING

Colonel
A male given name · United States

BELOW THE FEDERAL REPORTING LINE SINCE 1988 — 38 YEARS

Colonel (M): reported births per year0816243240188019001920194019601980200020202025FEDERAL REPORTING LINE (5)PEAK 37 — 1920
Reported births per year, 1880–2025. The y-axis starts at zero. Years below the reporting line appear as gaps, not zeros.

A commission, awarded at birth. Reported from 1880 to 1987, with a peak of 37 in 1920 and 1,250 births recorded in all. Nothing since 1987 — 38 years below the line, though a name last seen this recently has had less time to come back than the older vanished stock.

REGISTER EXTRACT
First reported1880
Last reported1987
Peak1920 — 37 births
Total recorded, 1880–20251,250
Years above the line89 of a possible 146
Longest absence38 years (1988–2025, ongoing)

Nearby in the register

Nannie

Long Missing · 1880–1991 · peak 1920

Pinkie

Long Missing · 1880–1992 · peak 1920

Mittie

Long Missing · 1880–1989 · peak 1920

Patsy

Long Missing · 1886–1992 · peak 1921

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national names file (1880–2025). Names below 5 occurrences in a year are not reported.

Somewhere, a grandmother is unsurprised.

A collection of THE MUSEUM OF HOPEFUL MACHINES