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 — STURDY GHOSTS

Gertrude
A female given name · United States

REPORTED EVERY YEAR SINCE 1880 — NEVER BELOW THE FEDERAL LINE

Gertrude (F): reported births per year01,5003,0004,5006,0007,500188019001920194019601980200020202025FEDERAL REPORTING LINE (5)PEAK 6,300 — 1917
Reported births per year, 1880–2025. The y-axis starts at zero. Years below the reporting line appear as gaps, not zeros.

From thousands a year to a double-digit trickle without ever once dropping below five. Reported in every single file from 1880 through 2025 — 146 consecutive years — peaking at 6,300 in 1917. In 2025: 17 births — a 371-fold fade managed without a single year below the line.

REGISTER EXTRACT
First reported1880
Last reported2025 — 17 births
Peak1917 — 6,300 births
Total recorded, 1880–2025177,100
Years above the line146 of a possible 146
Longest absenceNone — never below the line since debut

Nearby in the register

Tessie

Sturdy Ghosts · 1880–2025 · peak 1917

Minnie

Sturdy Ghosts · 1880–2025 · peak 1916

Bertha

Sturdy Ghosts · 1880–2025 · peak 1918

Wilhelmina

Sturdy Ghosts · 1880–2025 · peak 1916

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