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Old fashioned names take us back in time to generations where our great-aunts and grandmothers danced the night away and were courted by our great-uncles and grandfathers. While some people think these names are old and worn, others have formed the opinion that these names are classic and have withstood the test of time. As a result, these ‘old lady names’ are making a comeback and are once again popular names for newborn girls.
While this is a new trend, it’s not the first time ‘old women names’ have been popular. In fact, Nameberry reports there has been three subsequent revivals of this style. In the 1980’s, there was the first resurgence of old lady names as parents started to name their daughters Anna, Annie, Emma, Hannah, Jessie, Lily, Molly, Nell, Nora, Sadie, and Sophie.The second wave of old-fashioned girl names brought back names such as Beatrice, Clara, Cora, Eleanor, Ella, Eve, Frances, Hazel, Josephine, Madeleine, Matilda, Natalie and Olive. While the third wave has popularised names such as Ada, Adelaide, Adeline, Amelia, Eva, Evelyn, Florence, Imogen, Ivy, Pearl and Violet.
Now, the fourth wave is upon us and with it comes this list of the most searched for retro names for your newborn daughter.
We consulted the experts at Baby Name Wizard and Baby Centre to find 20 of the most popular old-fashioned names for girls.
20. Agatha
Pronunciation: AG-ə-thə
Origin: English, Greek, and Latin
Meaning: Good
Famous Namesakes: Agatha Christie.
Most Popular In: Italy
Agatha comes from the Latin version of the Greek word Agathos, which means ‘good’. The name hails from a Sicilian Saint who was persecuted for her faith in the third century and as a result, its popularity in Italy is considerable.
19. Agnes
Pronunciation: AG-nәs
Origin: Greek, Latin.
Meaning: Chaste
Famous Namesakes: St Agnes, Agnes Moorehead
Most Popular In: Spain and France.
Agnes means chaste or pure and was the name of a fourth-century virgin martyr, St Agnes. It is because of St Agnes that the name originally gained popularity throughout the middle ages, as parents hoped to protect and build their daughters’ faith. After the popularity experienced in the Middle Ages, the early 1900s was another boom period for this name. Unfortunately, by the 1970s parents had lost almost all interest in the name resulting in it dropping off the Top 1000 popular girl’s name lists. Now, the name is trending once more, but it’s popularity seems to be based in non-English speaking countries.
18. Ada
Pronunciation: AH-dah or A-da
Origin: English, German
Meaning: Noble, first daughter
Famous Namesakes: Ada de Warenne, St Adelaide.
Most Popular In: United States
Ada came about as a result of the shortening of names such as Addaline, Adele and Adelaide. Ada dates back to the middle ages, with the first significant historical figure to hold the name being St Adelaide of Italy. In more recent times, it was the name of a German born Queen Consort of England.
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17. Amelia
Pronunciation: ə-MEEL-ee-ə
Origin: English, German, and Latin
Meaning: To work, Industrious, Laborious
Famous Namesakes: Amelia Earhart
Most Popular In: England, Australia, Scotland, and Poland.
16. Beatrice
Pronunciation: BEE-ə-tris
Origin: English, French, Italian
Meaning: Traveller, voyager, blessed creature, happy.
Famous Namesakes: Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York
Most Popular In: Italy
Beatrice, or Beatrix, are names that are scattered throughout royal history as the name of many medieval queens, queen consorts and duchesses.
15. Dorothy
Pronunciation: DAWR-ə-thee; DAWR-thee
Origin: English, Greek
Meaning: Gift of God
Famous Namesakes: Dorothy Lamour.
Most Popular: United Kingdom
A perfect name for any little girl that can easily be shortened to Dot (or Dotty), or elongated to the more romantic Dorothea. Dorothea is a name of Greek origin, from which the name Dorothy was derived, and literally means ‘gift god’.
14. Elsa
Pronunciation: EL – sa
Origin: English, German
Meaning: God is my Oath, God’s promise
Famous Namesakes: Elsa Benitez
Most Popular In: Sweden, France and Spain
Originally a pet form of the name Elizabeth, Elsa became a name on its own sometime in the 19th century and has been popular ever since. Currently, the name is popular thank to the Disney movie ‘Frozen’.
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13. Esther
Pronunciation: ES-tәr
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: Myrtle, star, secret, Ishtar.
Famous Namesakes: Esther Cañadas
Most Popular In: Spain, Poland and Russia
12. Edith
Pronunciation: EE-dith
Origin: English
Meaning: Prosperous war
Famous Namesakes: Edith Roosevelt
Most Popular In: Sweden
Edith is a name with a very long history, dating back as far as the Norman Conquest. It’s no surprise that it remained in the top 50 girl names in the USA for 50 consecutive years.
11. Elsie
Pronunciation: EL-see
Origin: Scottish
Meaning: Oath of God, God is my oath
Famous Namesakes: Elsie Ferguson, Elsie Baker
Most Popular In: Scotland
Elsie was developed by the people of the British Isles, and is an interpretation of the the French name Elisabeth and the Latin name Isabel; or alternatively from Elspeth, the Scottish version of the name Elizabeth.
10. Florence
Pronunciation: FLOOR-ənts or flo-RAWNS
Origin: English, French, Latin
Meaning: Flourishing, blooming, blossoming
Famous Namesakes: Florence Nightingale
Most Popular In: United Kingdom, Australia
RELATED: THIS IS THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR NAME FOR GIRLS
9. Helen
Pronunciation: HEL-ən
Origin: English, Greek
Meaning: Ray of light, Fire torch
Famous Namesakes: Helen of Troy
Most Popular In: United Kingdom
This name dates back to Ancient Greece it’s remained relatively popular over time.
8. Harriet
Pronunciation: HARE-ee-ət
Origin: English
Meaning: Powerful ruler of the home
Famous Namesakes: Harriet Quimby, Harriet Nelson
Most Popular In: England
Harriet developed from the French ‘Henrietta’, came about as the female counterpart to the masculine Henri.
7. Iris
Pronunciation: EYE-riss
Origin: Greek
Meaning: Rainbow
Famous Namesakes: Iris Chand, Iris Adrian
Most Popular In: Holland, Sweden, Slovenia, Croatia, and Spain.
‘Iris’ is linked to mythology and is depicted as a messenger who travels between the mortals and the gods on a rainbow.
6. Ivy
Pronunciation: EYE-vee
Origin: English
Meaning: Climber, Symbol of Friendship
Famous Namesakes: Ivy Compton-Burnett
Most Popular In: Australia
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5. Lillian
Pronunciation: LIL-ee-en
Origin: English
Meaning: God is my oath
Famous Namesakes: Lillian Hellman
Most Popular In: United States, Canada
A name that dates back to the 16th century, ‘Lillian’ is actually completely unrelated to the name Lily, which didn’t emerge until the 19th century.
4. Mabel
Pronunciation: MAY-bәl
Origin: English
Meaning: loveable
Famous Namesakes: Maybel Williams, the namesake for Maybelline
Most Popular In: England
Mabel developed from the name Amabel, which is an old French name that has long since been replaced by the name Annabel. Mabel disappeared from naming lists in the early 90s and – given it’s lack of use – sounds like a brand new name for younger generations.
3. Margaret
Pronunciation: MAHR-grit
Origin: English, French, Hebrew, Latin
Meaning: Pearl
Famous Namesakes: Margaret Thatcher
Most Popular In: England
While this ‘old lady name’ has been around since the middle ages, its use has been somewhat constant, particularly in its pet form ‘Maggie’.
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2. Martha
Pronunciation: MAHR-thə
Origin: English
Meaning: Lady, Mistress
Famous Namesakes: Martha Washington, Martha Stewart
Most Popular In: England
1. Mary
Pronunciation: MER-ee or MAIR-ee
Origin: English
Meaning: Beloved, Drop of the sea, Star of the Sea
Famous Namesakes: Mary Tyler Moore, Mary Queen of Scots
Most Popular In: England
‘Mary’ developed from the Latin name ‘Maria’ and the French name ‘Marie’, are both variations of the Hebrew name, Miriam. Mary is by far the most prominently used name in the English-speaking world.
Why the Constant resurgence of these old names?
According to nameberry, names have a one hundred-year life-cycle. The organisation predicts that the below 15 names are the next to experience a resurgence in popularity.
- Myrtle
- Nellie
- Nora
- Olive
- Pearl
- Penelope
- Rose
- Winifred
- Blanche
- Ethel
- Gladys
- Mildred
- Marjorie
- Betty
- Matilda
RELATED: BABIES WITH THESE NAMES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BECOME MILLIONAIRES
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