Imogene

A literary creation widely traced to a printer's misspelling of Innogen in early editions of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, derived from the Celtic word for maiden. American parents adopted it steadily through the late nineteenth century, favoring the extra vowel at the end over the British Imogen. It reached peak registration during the Coolidge administration and settled quietly into the record thereafter.

The name suggests a high-collared blouse, a porch swing with chipped paint, and someone who knows the correct way to can peaches. It carries the distinct cadence of rural electrification and radio plays. Today, roughly half of all living bearers belong to the Silent Generation, though nursery rosters are beginning to post modest returns. It sounds like someone who would never discard a useful piece of twine.