Unusual Antique Baby Names

Ocie is antiquated ie-ending nickname that was popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s and has seen a slight uptake in interest in recent years.

Though rarely used now that many parents would rather appropriate men's names than sweeten them with feminine endings, Thomasina does have some vintage appeal.

Related to the powerful South African warrior people, sometimes chosen by African-Americans to celebrate their heritage.

Zebedee is an adorable and unusual New Testament name--which may sound like but is not a contradiction in terms. Unlike some of the longer biblical Z-names, Zebedee has a more lighthearted usability, with its gleeful ee-ending. And Zeb makes a fabulous nickname.

An unexpected route to nicknames Bram or Wells, this English surname derives from a historical hamlet in England, whose exact location has been lost to time. It comes from the Old English word for "bramble bush", giving it a connection to the natural world.

Short and slight, with great potential now that names like Ava, Ida and Orla are popular. Ora Beach is a tourist destination on Seram Island, Indonesia.

Corisande is a very unusual, haunting choice, with the aura of medieval romance--it is found in early Spanish romantic tales, arriving in the English-speaking world in the nineteenth century.

A less-used cross between Clifford and Clinton.

A name some people first encountered in the old children's book series The Five Little Peppers, in which Sophronia, the youngest of the Peppers is nicknamed Phronsie.`It was also used by Dickens in two of his novels: The Old Curiosity Shop and Our Mutual Friend.

In the Bible, Beulah is a place, not a person, applied to the land of Israel by the prophet Isaiah. The land of Beulah has sometimes been considered a reference to heaven. Beulah began to be used as a given name in England at the time of the Reformation and was used by the seventeenth century Puritans.

Only if you're an aviation buff or seriously addicted to popcorn.

Hedda is a card-carrying member of the league of older, slightly bohemian urban names like Nedda, Andra, and Petra; also linked to Ibsen heroine Hedda Gabler, as well as being the basis of cruel joke names like Hedda Hare.

Gentle meaning and bona fide Hebrew history, but feels old-mannish, like Herman and Menashe.

Leota is an antique name rarely used any more -- it was given to just 8 baby girls in the US in 2021. Some sources says Leota is a Native American name meaning blue flower.

The disgraced heroine of The Scarlet Letter's name, after long neglect, just might have a chance at revival, following in the wake of sister-name Esther. We've characterized her elsewhere as an eccentric aristocrat, much more accepted in the U.K. than she has been here.

Using the 'ie' ending makes Johnny slightly more feminine, which must have been what Melissa Etheridge was thinking when she named one of her twins Johnnie Rose.

Verna may mean "springtime," but May or Spring is fresher.

Presidential surname adopted as a first by numbers of midcentury African-American parents.

Mose is the German variation of Moses, a widely familiar name thanks to the character in the Old Testament. Mose is also used a nickname for Moses.

Eustace was originally popularized by St. Eustace, who was born a Norman nobleman and is said to have been converted to Christianity by seeing a crucifix between the antlers of the deer he was hunting. It was introduced to England by the Normans, and can be found in medieval legend. In literature the name appears in the person of Eustace Clarence Scrubb in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.
The image of Eustace today is as sedate and stuffy as the monocled Eustace Tilly character on The New Yorker magazine covers. Its diminutive Stacy became a unisex hit.