Old Lady Names: Ready for the Next Wave?

Clearly this is my style for girl’s names, as I’m an Elisabeth (who goes by Elsa), and my daughters are Helena (known as Nell), Esther and Josephine. At least with Esther, it appears I’m ahead of the trend, as you say it may rise with the third wave!

My favorite old lady names (and two of my favorite names altogether) are actually Jean and Mary. I think that they’re both really pretty and would be relatively unique in that not many other little children would have them.

Of course, I am only 17, so I won’t be naming any children any time soon, but I think they work with the surge of names that are regaining popularity from when our grandparents were born. They were both really popular back then, but are now virtually unheard of.

I actually really love practically all of the names on this list. There may be a few that I’m not so keen on, but overall I adore them.

PS. My great-grandma’s name is Hilda, as is my grandmother, but she goes by Vicky.

These are definitely my style of name, although my favorite, Vivian, is not on the list. Other names that have been on our list at one point or another are Eleanor, Beatrice/Beatrix, Amelia, Natalie/Natalia, Evelyn, Cordelia, Violet/Viola, Matilda, and Dorothy (or even better, Dorothea.)

I’ve always liked Enid and Rosalind, too, but my husband always gives me the ‘What are you smoking?’ look and vetoes them.

I still don’t like the old lady names.
Actually I liked a lot on the list but most of them I must admit I’ve never heard anyone with and associate them with younger people (and feel I would have even as a small child) so I can’t class them as old lady names.

I’ve never encountered (even on TV) any older people called Cordelia, Matilda, Flora or Daisy for example.

The only names that seemed like old fashioned names to me (i.e ones I’ve heard older women with or associate with a long time ago) are on the last group of names and I just can’t imagine a little baby Agnes or a 4 year old Myrtle starting school or an Elsa graduating in 18 years, unless she was doing it with the aid of a walking frame.

I’ve never considered Anastasia to be an old lady name, more of a foreign import. As for the rest, I really like Old Lady Names like Violet, Matilda, Sophia etc, but can’t use them since they’ve gotten so popular.

Marian, Muriel, and Winifred are favorites of mine from the ‘third wave’ list… I love lots of names from the other lists, too (and one in particular, since it’s my daughter’s name).

There was a sixth-grader named Elsa on an honor roll that I typed up yesterday for my newspaper. Most of the rest are still seen only in nursing homes or in obituaries, but I’ve always liked Dorothy.

this is my favourite list/blog ever!!!

I think to be really ahead of the curve you need to dip into the names of the boomer generation: Barbara, Linda, Nancy, et al. They sounds dated to our ears as they were our parents names, but will no doubt be fresh in a decade or so.

These old lady names are some of my favorites. I love Anna, Nell, Ruby, Pauline, Maisie, Cordelia, Anastasia, Matilda, and Frances so much! These are all names that would be on my list if I had a baby. I love most of the other names, too, either for middle names for an imaginary daughter, or I would admire them on someone else’s daughter. Can’t wait to read the blog on old man names!
Are these old lady names – Eloise, Vera, and Vivian? I love them, too.

I also love the name Vivian and almost named my youngest daughter Vivan Jewel. I live in the midwest in a small town and when people would ask me what I was going to name the baby, and I would tell them, they would look at me with unabashed horror. It made me so uncomfortable that I became afraid to use the name. It’s one thing for people to look at me that way, but totally another thing for people to have a bad reaction to my daughter, which I was afraid they would.

I wonder if any of your other readers ‘chickened out’ on a name because of the conservative place that they live. Most people where I live use what I call ‘soap opera names’ especially with their boys.

Diana brings up a point I’ve been wondering about for a long time – does *where* you live have an impact on the legitimacy of the name? Nameberry and other name sites list lots of names as “hip” or “up-and-coming”, and for a lot of America – namely the East Coast and Midwest – they are. But in the South, those names tend to not be as quickly embraced. In East Texas where I am from, for example, people are still naming their babies things like Ashley, Brittney, and so on. Names that are coming back into use, such as most of the ones on this list, aren’t nearly as prevalent and even looked down on. Something to think about when considering what your child’s future will be in school with their name. Pay attention to *where* you think they will be living! It doesn’t mean you have to use a name you hate, but it might help your kid out in the 6th grade if their name isn’t too “out there” for the small town they might be living in.

I’m fascinated by the third wave list. I always wondered why some “old lady” names were used, but not other. What makes Anna and Emma sound young to our ears, but Dorothy and Helen sound old?

It’s amazing how ahead of the curve Joss Whedon with his Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were! He had names like Cordelia, Winifred, Willow, Xander, Anya, Drusilla. This was in 1997. Pretty good naming prowess!

I love me some old lady names….so much so I even squealed when I saw today’s blog.

My favorites are: Clara, Cora (so much spunk!), Frances, Hazel (family name), Josephine (Jo March, anyone?), Matilda (I actually have a guinea pig named this, lol), Olive, Adelaide, Antonia (this seems like more of an import than an old lady name, though), Flora, Imogen (I live in the South, so getting people to pronounce it correctly will be a problem. Bummer.), Louisa, Ruby (the spunky “Miss Ruby” comes to mind), Agnes (I actually really, really love this name), Dorothy, Edwina (see Antonia), Elsa, and Helen (loooooove Helena). *phew*

However….
Natalie still feels very 1980s to me.
Ida makes me think of ‘Aunt Ida’ from Full House. Ick.
And Ursula makes me think of a fat octopus.

Um, I don’t mean to be the party pooper here, and I really liked the blog, but haven’t you guys already blogged about this topic quite a few times?

Kat, I totally agree that place matters.
I’m form the UK so many of these names don’t even sound old ladyish to me. They’re names that have been around a long time but have never been used commonly enough in England to be associated with a certain time period.

I also don’t think names like Emma or Anna can really be used because they’re such common, familiar names that they appear a few times each generation.

Well with 3 girls already named Annalise, Eleanor, and Adelaide and the soon-to-arrive fourth’s moniker vascillating between Josephine or Phillipa, I would say we’re rocking the old lady name vibe in our house!

I’m surprised Natalie is on there, I’ve always considered it quite modern. Back before I got into the whole baby name scene, I was bent on naming my daughters Natasha “Tasha” and Natalie “Talie”.

I totally agree with Susan — baby boomer names will be HOT in 10 years. People so frequently claim the grandma names as classics that will never go out of style — but they do go out of style — that’s why they’re known as grandma names.

Let’s start a not-too-out-there East Texas baby name thread for Kat. I will put it on Talk About Names.

I love this list! Some of my favorites: Cora, Cordelia, Josephine, Ivy, Matilda, Dorothy, and Louisa.

Great blog!

I know a little girl named COra. She is a redhead and is adorable.

My Grandmother’s name was Eldora. I always thought it was clunky and wierd. But looks like it would fit right in on these lists. It could even have some cute nicknames like Elle, Ella or Dora. Don’t think I am going to use it becasue I don’t like girl names that start with E, but I will recommend it to my sister if she ever gets pregnant.

This is definitely one of the most popular trends for girls: I can’t remember how many baby Josephine’s I know of in California! I also know recent babies named Molly, Imogen, Eva, Lucille & Lark (last two could be added to the “wilder” list). My future daughter will very likely be Elsa. I have soft spots for Hazel, Rosalind, Maisie and Louisa.

This is definitely a strong trend, getting bigger. It’s going to keep tracking over more and more of the SSA charts.

Actually my main discomfort in the Nameberry community is the fact that I’m not much of a follower of this one. I like a few of the classic types in the first list but dislike most everything else. There are times and places where it feels like you’re not allowed to be on the forums (or at least not welcomed) here if you hate the names Beatrice, Clementine or Matilda. (all of which are a big part of this trend I believe)

I kind of feel that too, Lark. For a while there the first names that EVERYONE would suggest were Beatrix and Margaret, and I thought, huh? I just really didn’t like those names, so I felt weird.

Lark and Anna, I’m sorry you felt weird, and I’m glad you’re still here! Name snobbery? Probably. But the more opinions the better and I do hope you feel you can find a place in the nameberry community.

Susan, I would love to see an article on name snobbery. I detect that tone on the blog sometimes and have to admit that sometimes I am a name snob myself. I think any of us that do it should quit it.

Here in the midwest, I used to work in a children’s hospital. The most popular name I saw was Kay—names Kaylin, Caitlin and Kayla and Kali. I saw these names over and over and over and over……with all the various spellings. For boys it was definitely Jaden. I used to think secretly to myself…..Jeez, can’t people be any more original than that? I wonder why someone would want their kids name to be the same as everyone else. But truthfully, it isn’t really any of my business.

And a big factor is that when you live in a place where the babies names are so unimaginative it doesn’t take a real odd name to stand out and be original. And something too odd gets you raised eyebrows and disapproving stares and your child is ultimately the one who will bear the brunt of that. A Gertrude or an Esther or a Cornelius would probably be made fun of right to their faces and has the potential to make a childhood very miserable.

And so many of us decide that it is in our child’s best interest that their name isn’t too far out there and decide in favor of something less original. And even something less original can end up being something highly original in certain parts of the country.

Sometimes I get the feeling that some people don’t understand that. A name is the first gift you give to your child. You have to think of what it will be like for them to carry the name first before anything else. Some of us in certain pars of the country and in certain neighborhoods…..we know what we are doing. We know what our kids will go through with a name like Otto.

Anna and Lark,
I’m right there with you. The reason I kind of stopped frequenting the forums was because all I ever got for suggestions was old lady names. They are beautiful names but definitely not my style at all. I just wasn’t getting any original suggestions.

So, anyway, I hope you stick around so I can have someone to talk with with some fresh ideas!

I don’t feel Ruby is at all unusual, it’s very high on top name lists lately and I know many many people my age (I’m 17) called Rub.

My name is Madeline Margaret, I feel that sounds a bit old lady-ish, more the Margaret than the Madeline by itself. I adore the name Cordelia at the moment, not that I have anything to name but it’s lovely!

Can I get a shout out for the name “Versie”. That was my grandmother’s name and I’ve never met another person with that name. It always struck me as an odd name, even as a kid.

I definitely see this trend. My nephew is in 2nd grade and there are girls in his class named Evelyn, Vera, and Hazel.

I’m in London, England and had my daughter last November. My husband and I named her Dorothy. It is my grandmothers name she is 95 and a wonderfully kind. We get so many complements about her name, it seems to be an extremely nostalgic name and brings a smile for lots of people. And the great thing is we haven’t, so far met anyone under 70 with the same name.

What about Virginia? This was my grandmother’s name and it is definitely an oldie, I feel ready for a comeback. I’m using it for my daughter, due in 4 weeks.

Our youngest daughter is named Virginia. Our two other daughters are named Ruby and Leah, and we are expecting a fourth this month! We are thinking of either Daisy or Sylvia.

hi, spring is cooming! good post there, tnx for nameberry.com

I love most of the old lady names. I can see it as being a trend, or more of a resistance against the annoying bubbly made-up names that are all too common (Nevaeh, McKenna, Harlow, etc) I have nothing against those names really, but they will seem dated in 15 years (Look at Natalie, Crystal, Nicole, Jennifer). Those are the names of the baby boomer kids and no one is using them now. It all goes in cycles. I think it’s GREAT that some are comin’ back around! I LOVE: Clementine, Adelaide, Matilda, Peneople (my daughter), Viola, Violet, Isadora, Eloise, Beatrice, Ivy, Faye, Louise, Greta, Tabitha and Gretchen. So much spunk and individuality – but not hard to say or pronounce and easy to spell. Keep it simple and keep it classic! LOVE IT!

I have a 5 month old Elsa Helen, and with all the little ones named Ella, Emma, Olivia, Sophia etc, I never worry that she will be teased about her name.

Besides, as a dual citizen of Australia and Canada I think it is important to have an internationally recognised name, as she will be travelling quite a bit I imagine.

Wow…are they embracing some of the older names now?? I know a girl named Esther…

I love the revival of Esme! What a beautiful name. I adore Eleanor, Nora, Cora, Cordelia and Evangeline, as well as the flower names (Viola/Violet, Ivy, etc).

I still feel Florence, Frances, Ida, Mabel, Agatha, Enid, Muriel and Myrtle are too old-lady for my tastes.

Love Annie, Beatrice, Clara, Eleanor, Eve, Josephine, Matilda, Adelaide, Antonia (Probably how I would get to Annie if I was going to use Annie), Flora, Ida, Ivy, May, Daisy, Ruby, Dorothy

I named my daughter Hazel Grace after her great grandmother. It fits her to a “T”. Other options we considered were Matilda and Lydia. ‘Granny Chic’ is in.

I can’ be the only one who adores Mildred, can I?