I saw that TikTok, which was being discussed over in the memes section, of Dara Weinstein going off on this topic, and I decided to look into it. Some of you may know by now that I love to research these kinds of things. 
The main one she complained about was Samantha. Her reasoning for why it’s not historically accurate is that it wasn’t in the Top 200 at the time. And that’s an understandable assumption to some degree. Yes, Samantha would have been rare, but it was not an implausible choice just because it wasn’t popular. (I feel like I remember this same girl making a TikTok claiming that it used to be “common” to give girl names to boys just because Mary made the Top 1000 for boys back when it took 5 births to get there — or something like that. Just saying.)
If Samantha is 10 years old in 1904, that would mean she was born and, thus, named in 1894. The name Samantha was #779 that year, given to just 16 baby girls. (That is, as far as we know, according to the Social Security site. It is possible that there were a few more born whose parents did not file for SS.) So, no, it was not popular, but it was in use.
The other thing to note is that Samantha comes from an upper-class family. It was not uncommon for upper-class families in the Victorian Era to use rarer, more pretentious-sounding names.
I once found a record of a family in Missouri in the mid-1800s with daughters named Nova, Italy, and Sicily. Were those names popular? Not at all. But clearly that doesn’t mean they couldn’t conceivably be used!
If Samantha had been called something like Savannah or Salem, or even Sicily…yeah, I might be questioning it. But Samantha? I think it’s perfectly reasonable. That’s just my take. 
And I’ll add that her best friend is named Nellie, which is just the sweetest and perfect for the time period. (#30 in 1894, given to more than 1k girls, and that’s not counting those given the alternative spelling Nelly. Or those wearing it as a nickname for a more formal name.)
If you want the stats for the others, here they are:
Felicity (b. 1764)There are no stats from the 18th century in the US, but one thing we do know is that virtue names were fairly well-liked, particularly among Puritan colonists.
Felicity is not a from New England, but from Virginia, which was not a Puritan area. However, there’s nothing to say that virtue names were limited to Puritan families.
Other names like Mercy, Grace, Patience, Prudence, Temperance can be found in records from other colonies in New England, not just Puritan Massachusetts and Quaker Pennsylvania, though, yes, those are the places where virtue names were most common. But that still pinpoints New England as the place for virtue names, which makes sense, given the very religious history of that area.
However, in Virginia, where Felicity is from, I found a couple of 18th-century women there recorded with the names Charity and Sorrow, making that kind of name rare, but not inconceivable. There may have been more, but those were the ones I stumbled across in my searching, leading me to imagine that elsewhere in the Chesapeake colonies (i.e., outside of New England), and potentially even further south, it was still possible to find virtue/religious word names.
But I think my point still stands that Felicity is not an inconceivable choice for a colonial American girl, even if she is not meant to be from the area where that style of name was popular. 
Also, on a side note, her best friend is named Elizabeth — it really doesn’t get more appropriate than that!
Caroline (b. 1802)I don’t think this one is under any scrutiny. We know without popularity stats that Caroline was a very common late-Georgian/Regency-era name.
Josefina (b. 1814)I have always loved the names of Josefina and her sisters (Ana, Francisca, & Clara). And she has a friend named Ofélia! And her aunt is named Dolores! (Seriously, the names in the Josefina books are fabulous!)
But let’s just talk about Josefina. There were still no records this early in the US, not to mention a part of the US that was still part of Mexico at the time.
However, Josephine was in use at the time, so it would be reasonable to suppose that its Spanish variant could have been used then, too, among Spanish-speakers.
I say it’s appropriate. And it’s beautiful. 
Another one that’s difficult, not only because of the lack of stats going this far back, but also because Kirsten was actually born in Sweden.
Still, Kirsten is a variant of Christina/Christine, which may not have been at its most popular in the English-speaking world at this time, but neither was it odd or unheard of. Christina and its variants have a long history of use, which indicates that, barring any direct evidence to the contrary, Kirsten would be a perfectly plausible choice for a Swedish girl in the mid-19th century. But, again, research is very limited.
Addy (b. 1854)Addy was born on a plantation in antebellum Georgia. Based on the research I have done, I have concluded that enslaved women and girls of the time might have any kind of name – they did not seem to be limited. I found records of nickname-names (e.g., Peggy, Sukey, Doll), of your average timeless, classic names (e.g., Harriet, Eliza, Sarah), and of antique gems (e.g., Araminta, Dido, Chloe). Addy definitely fits in with the nickname-names.
In her book series, it is explained that Addy is named for her grandmother or great-grandmother (I cannot recall which exactly), and her full name is Aduke, which, according to Nameberry, is a Yoruba name, meaning ‘beloved’.* Addy is a natural nickname for it and seems perfectly in line with other Addy-names that were in use at the time, such as Adelaide.
I do know that some chose new names when they gained freedom. This was not the case with Addy, who did not change her name upon reaching Philadelphia. However, it is clear that her mother gave her her name, so it makes sense that she would keep it. (i.e., It was not a name that was given to her by a slave owner or trader.)
*The one thing I cannot find is research that supports the use of traditional African names among enslaved people in the 19th century. Generally, their names tend to be European in some form or other, as listed above. I cannot say if it was a common practice or not or even if it was done at all. So, while Addy is perfectly plausible as a name, I cannot vouch for Aduke. I do know that the use of traditional African names became big in the 1950s and '60s, but prior to that it seems less and less common the further back you go.
Rebecca (b. 1904)Rebecca ranked #146 in 1904, with 371 births. Rebekah was unranked, but it is possible that as many as 13 girls were given that spelling, since it took 14 births to rank.
Rebecca is actually Jewish, particularly a Russian Jew, but I forget whether it said in the books if she was born in Russia or New York. Either way, Rebecca/Rebekah seems historically to be a fairly common name among Jews and Christians alike.
Interestingly, Rivka, the original form of the anglicized Rebecca, was not Rebecca’s given name, which would have made sense for an immigrant family. I know from my own family that immigrants were often given – or often took for themselves – more “English” names. The Rebecca books do address that, as I recall her aunt Fanya taking the name “Fanny” when she arrives in New York, and her cousin Moshe calls himself “Max” when he becomes an actor.
The weirdest part, to me, is that Rebecca’s best friend was named Rivka, but her English name is “Rose”. Why Rose when Rebecca is the legitimate English version of that name? I’m just a bit puzzled by that, not least because Rebecca and her best friend technically have the same name, yet that is never acknowledged.
Kit’s given name is Margaret Mildred Kittredge, but her mother is Margaret; she has always gone by “Kit”.
Margaret and Mildred were both in the Top 10 in 1924. Margaret was #5 (26,000+ baby girls); Mildred was #8 (15,000+).
It makes perfect sense that an average, middle-class girl would be given a strong classic name like Margaret, after her mother, and a middle name like Mildred, an honor for her Aunt Millie. But it is a little buttoned-up for this particular girl: Kit definitely suits her better! 
This was the other one that Dara had an issue with. Molly ranked at #368 in 1934, and Mollie was not far behind at #378. 292 Mollys were born that year, and combined with the Mollies there were 586 baby girls with the name. Not to mention Molly had a long history of use prior to the 20th century, meaning it would not have been an odd choice. It could have honored a grandmother or great-grandmother. It could have been seen as a nice alternative to the ever-popular Mary — especially in a time when nicknames were quite popular as given names (e.g., Betty, Peggy, Annie, Sally).
Julie (b. 1964)Julie ranked #17 in 1964, making it a perfect choice for this girl. It’s actually a surprisingly classic choice, considering her bohemian mother. But it feels just right — friendly, fun, not too formal, but not too cutesy or girly either.
And there you have it!
My Final ThoughtsIn researching all of this, I came to the conclusion that there is a good balance among the American Girl Doll names. There are some that would have been rare in their time and some that would have been worn by seemingly every other girl. I think that’s realistic. We don’t expect every child today to have a name from the Top 10 or the Top 200 or even the Top 1000 — many of them do, but it’s not the rule. Therefore, I think the same goes for people in the past, whether real or fictional. If there is prior history of the name being in use and it is plausible given other names of the time period, then I think it works. Such is the case with all of these.
Now, if you made it this far, you probably grew up with these beloved characters like I did. (That is, of course, why I had to defend their good names.) And if you have any thoughts on these stats, feel free to share! If you disagree with any of these choices, I’d be genuinely interested to hear what you think may have been better names for any or all of these characters!
In fact, even if you like the names they have, feel free to share what would you rename one or all of them if you could? (I know we all love to name things! Wouldn’t it be lovely to get to name American Girl dolls?) 
I don’t pretend to know anything about Native American culture or names, nor did I know where to begin researching it, so I cannot speak to Kaya’s name. However, her story seems to be very well researched and her name is explained in the books, so…I assume it’s appropriate.
Also, I did not bother with any of the newer ones (Courtney, Maryellen, etc.) because they are after my generation.
ncG1vNJzZmien6fCrnrNmqSempWnv7p6wqikaKxfnby4eceiqq2nop6worjLsmSam5Oqv6LAxGaYq51dqbWmecCmnKuhk5a7brPIq6NmnJ%2BhuW66wKacrGdkZX16fJQ%3D