Unusual Antique Baby Names

Shades of Thurston Howell, the effete millionaire castaway on Gilligan's Island.

This spirited Spanish variation of Rosa was familiar in the mid-20th century, but is used more quietly now. Given to around 35 babies in the US each year, it could work as a fresh alternative to Roberta or Rosie.

Name that enjoyed some popularity early in the 20th century but now is locked in another, ahem, era.

It's easy to love a name that rhymes with "cuddly" and is also attached to the surname Do-Right -- once you ignore the "dud" connection.

Despite the presidential pedigree, it's still hard to shake the image of the cartoon cat (named after his creator Jim Davis's grandfather). However, there are other Garfields, such as Barbadian cricket player Sir Garfield Sobers, who carries it with gravitas.

If default nickname Eli is too common for your tastes, you may consider resuscitating the antique nickname Lige for your little Elijah.

Rocking out on the porch with buddies Hubert, Norbert, and Osbert.

Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names.

Elnora is best known as the name of the heroine of the early 20th century novel A Girl of the Limberlost. While Elnora might plausibly have many derivations, the most logical is that isn't a contracted form of Eleanora, the Latinate variation of Eleanor.

The Early Americans invented names too, sometimes variations of classical or biblical favorites. This one appears in Colonial rosters; the Aur beginning is Latin and means "gold."

General as a name sounds more like a military rank than another word for "widespread". You may find your little General ruling the household.

Orpha, with its Biblical roots and its animal meaning, was once a fairly popular name, but fell from sight around the time of the Second World War, along with so many other Old School Names. And its similarity to the word orphan probably didn't help.

Letha is taken from Lethe, the mythological River of Oblivion. Letha now sounds as if it's missing a first syllable.

An attractive, surprisingly uncommon variation of Josiah. To give you an idea of how comparatively rare Josias is, there were about 200 baby boys named Josias in the US last year, versus nearly 6000 named Josiah.

Lovie is one of a vast number of ie-ending nickname names popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s, which means they should be back in style now.

An English family name used a few generations ago as an Anglicization of Moses, but hardly heard since th 1950s.

Clemma is a one-hit wonder, appearing on the US popularity list only once, back in the 19th century. This is one case where the diminutive is not cuter than the proper name.

The first letter of the Greek alphabet ande the brightest star in every constellation, this would make an interesting choice for a first daughter, though it does give off some spectral sci-fi reverberations--and references to the term "alpha male.".

Furman is a surname-y spin on the Basque saint's name Fermin, the patron saint of Pamplona, where Hemingway famously ran with the bulls.

Ida is one of those terminally old-fashioned names that suddenly sounds fresh again, especially given how fashionable it is in Europe. Ida, usually pronounced ee-da, is a Top 100 name in Scandinavia and German-speaking countries, and is rising more gently in the US.