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

Pearl
A male given name · United States

BELOW THE FEDERAL REPORTING LINE SINCE 1984 — 42 YEARS

Pearl (M): reported births per year0306090120150188019001920194019601980200020202025FEDERAL REPORTING LINE (5)PEAK 101 — 1918
Reported births per year, 1880–2025. The y-axis starts at zero. Years below the reporting line appear as gaps, not zeros.

Not a misfiling: birth-certificate Pearl, issued to boys. Pearl was reported above the federal line from 1880 to 1983, peaking at 101 births in 1918 — 3,922 recorded in all. It has not appeared in the register since: 42 years below the line, and counting.

REGISTER EXTRACT
First reported1880
Last reported1983
Peak1918 — 101 births
Total recorded, 1880–20253,922
Years above the line95 of a possible 146
Longest absence42 years (1984–2025, ongoing)

Nearby in the register

Zilpha

The Vanished · 1880–1943 · peak 1918

Floy

The Vanished · 1880–1971 · peak 1918

Hedwig

The Vanished · 1880–1968 · peak 1918

Permelia

The Vanished · 1880–1963 · peak 1918

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