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 — THE VANISHED

Erastus
A male given name · United States

BELOW THE FEDERAL REPORTING LINE SINCE 1958 — 68 YEARS

Erastus (M): reported births per year0510152025188019001920194019601980200020202025FEDERAL REPORTING LINE (5)PEAK 23 — 1916
Reported births per year, 1880–2025. The y-axis starts at zero. Years below the reporting line appear as gaps, not zeros.

Pure Victorian schoolroom brass. Erastus was reported above the federal line from 1880 to 1957, peaking at 23 births in 1916 — 407 recorded in all. It has not appeared in the register since: 68 years below the line, and counting.

REGISTER EXTRACT
First reported1880
Last reported1957
Peak1916 — 23 births
Total recorded, 1880–2025407
Years above the line41 of a possible 146
Longest absence68 years (1958–2025, ongoing)

Nearby in the register

Sudie

The Vanished · 1880–1984 · peak 1916

Ludie

The Vanished · 1880–1964 · peak 1916

Fay

The Vanished · 1880–1976 · peak 1916

Myrtie

The Vanished · 1880–1969 · peak 1917

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