Adelbert

Alba is quietly making a behind-the-scenes comeback, perhaps thanks to actress turned baby-product mogul Jessica Alba. Last on the Top 1000 a century ago, the name was given to nearly 200 baby girls in the US last year. Alba might be tomorrow's successor to Ava and Ella. In Spain, Alba ranks among the Top 20 <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' names</a>. Alba is the name of a character in The Time Traveler's Wife.
 
Alba is a popular patriotic girl name in Scotland, as the Scottish Gaelic term for the country is Alba.

Alba

With a meaning like "elf power," Alfreda could find some appeal among fantasy enthusiasts. "Freda" makes for a pleasant nickname.

Alfreda

Aline may have originated as a short form of Adeline in the Middle Ages, but it may also be a variation of the Irish Aileen or Scottish Eileen. Aline dropped off the Top 1000 in the 1950s. Fewer than 40 baby girls were named Aline in the US last year.

Aline

There is some disagreement whether there are one or two figures named Alpheus in the Bible. There's an Alpheus who's the father of James and an Alpheus who's the father of Levi, and if James and Levi are brothers, then that's the same Alpheus. Or not.

Alpheus

Althea is a poetic, almost ethereal name found in Greek myth and pastoral poetry, associated in modern times with the great tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win at Wimbledon. 
 
Althea appears in Greek mythology as the mother of the hero Meleager and was revived by the seventeenth-century poet Richard Lovelace as a poetic pseudonym for his beloved.
 
These days, parents would also appreciate the short form Thea.
 
Althea is the most common girl name in the Philippines.

Althea

The sort of formal surname name more popular in another era; Dalton's a more modern relation. 

Alton

While the male Alva or Alvah relates directly to the minor Biblical character, the female version is more likely an Anglicized form of the Irish name Ailbhe. Best known as Thomas Edison's middle name, Alva has true unisex roots. 

Alva

Alvena

Alwilda

The name of nine minor male biblical characters, this could easily make a gender switch as a singular substitution for the popular Mariah. 

Amariah

Amasa is a rare Biblical name borne by two figures. One is the son of Abigail and nephew of King David, who named him commander of the rebels. This Amasa met a tragic end when he was murdered by Joab. 

The other Biblical Amasa was one of the Children of Ephraim.

Amasa

Ammon is connected to two religions in the US and is used exclusively between the two of them. Prior to the 1960s, Ammon was considered a solely Amish name. In the Amish community, Ammon is bestowed in honor of Jacob Amman, whom the Amish sect is named after.
 
These days. Ammon is also a Mormon name. There are two figures called Ammon in The Book of Mormom, and Utah now has the largest number of babies named Ammon each year.

Ammon

Angelita

Apphia

Arette

Arvilla

Augusta is a dignified name reminiscent of wealthy great-aunts, but with the fashion for both August and Gus for boys, Augusta could get some fresh energy. 
 Augusta was the title of honor given to the wives and daughters of Roman emperors, which then morphed into a given name, brought to England by the German princess who became the mother of George III.
 Augusta is also a saint's name and a place name. Her literary Great-Aunt image was formed via the characters Lady Augusta Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, an elderly relative in the Harry Potter books, and Aunts Augusta in both Graham Greene's Travels with My Aunt and P.G Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster novels. 
 Augusta has a choice of two friendlier nicknames--Aggie and Gussie.

Augusta

Aurilla

Adelmon

Amaziah

Angerline

Annamariea

Ardra

Arthelene

Avalina

Belvah

What the Old Testament Rachel originally named Benjamin, before his father changed it; rarely heard today. 

Benoni

Has a bit of a hayseed image, and that oy sound is tough to work with. 

Boyd

Burleigh

Bowdoin

Camelia

Carline

Celestia is a heavenly name that sounds more ethereal than Celeste, Celestia might make a distinctive, feminine choice if your taste runs toward names like Angelina and Seraphina.
 Celestia was more popular than you might think in the late nineteenth century -- it made the popularity list six times in the 1880s. Celestia was the middle name of Caroline (Carrie) Ingalls in "Little House on the Prairie."

Celestia

Chesley

A poetic name first used in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" in 1596, it had a literary vogue in the 18th century, especially favored by Robert Burns.  "inda" names--Melinda, Belinda, Linda" are not particularly in right now.

Clarinda

Rare and distinctive name with intimations of antiquity, also a Shakespearean character. 

Cleon

Cleora is a now-extinct name (there were no babies named Cleora recorded in the U.S. in 2012) that achieved some standing in the early 20th century thanks to the craze for all things Egypt-related.  A range of Cleopatra diminutives, including Cleo, Cleora, Cleona, and Cleola, made the Top 1000 then as the ancient tombs were opened in Egypt.

Cleora

Corie

Cathanne

Cereeta

Clysta

Coridon

Corisanda

Corliss

Costilla

Culliver

One of the few ella names that's not on every other new mother's lips -- a definite plus. 

Della

Derald

Cinderella stepsister type Victorian-valentine name. 

Dorinda

Dalma

Deasie

Druzetta

Edson

Eleazar is a distinguished Biblical name--in which it appears several times-- ripe for the picking following the stardom of Eli, Elijah, and other similar names. 
 Eleazar is also a Twilight name, first appearing in the Stephenie Meyers book Breaking Dawn.
 It's related most closely to Eliezer, which also appears in the Bible many times. The name also belonged to three great Talmudic scholars.

Eleazar

Rarely used in the last two centuries, but might be worth dusting off and holding up to the light. 

Elihu

Ellar Coltrane, the star of Richard Linklater's acclaimed 2014 movie "Boyhood," is an outlier, namewise. Most others with his first name are girls, and there aren't even many of them -- the last time the Social Security Administration registered the name at all was in 1956, when six girls were named Ellar. Still, with Gaelic names being trendy, and the "El-" sound on the rise, it has some potential.

Ellar

Ellery is a rhythmic three-syllable boy's name that is familiar and yet rarely used--and just waiting to be discovered. It's long been identified with Ellery Queen--which was both the pen name of two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, and the detective they created.
 Laura Dern and Ben Harper chose it for their son.

Ellery

Historically a diminutive of Wilhelmina, Elma's parent name and soundalike sisters are slowly stirring back to life as the trend for vintage baby names continues. With Alma on the rise in the US, Thelma chic in France, and Selma hot in Scandinavia, Elma could be in with a shot at a revival – especially given the popularity of Emma and Ella. But Muppet Elmo and Looney Tune Elmer Fudd may cast a long shadow.

Elma

Elzie was given to 16 baby girls in the US last year, almost certainly as a spelling variation of the increasingly popular sweet nickname Elsie, a diminutive of Elizabeth.

Elzie

This Celtic goddess and Arthurian name may sound terminally old-ladyish to many ears--but so did names like Ella and Etta not so long ago. So Enid is yet another forgotten four-letter E-possibility: she's has been M.I.A since 1954. 
 You might not know it to look at her, but Enid is Welsh, from the word meaning 'life' or 'soul.' Back in the Age of Chivalry, to call a woman 'a second Enid' was the greatest of compliments, as she was a legendary romantic figure, revived in Tennyson's Idyll of the Kings. In more modern times, Enid is the title of a Bare Naked Ladies song and a quirky character in the quirky film Ghost World.

Enid

Once, believe it or not, seemed more stylish than Irma. 

Erma

Ethelinda

Ethlyn

Eade

Edanora

Edlon

Edrie

Eldie

Eletta

Elfleda

Elnatha

Elof

Elorah

Elpheretta

Emmer

Esmena

Esper

Euseania

Evelet

Ezelda

Of all the botanicals, Fern has been one of the slowest to move back from the front parlor into the nursery, despite the appealing girl character in the children's classic Charlotte's Web. Fern was most popular from the turn of the last century through the 1940s, reaching a high of #152 in 1916. We can certainly see her rejoining the long list of popular greenery names.
 
Reality TV stars Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald recently named a daughter Fern, which could easily give it a boost.

Fern

A name from the ancient world that may get a mixed reception today. On the one hand, festive! On the other hand, fester. In the Bible, Porcius Festus was a Roman official who rubbed up against St Paul. In modern times, this name has had more love in African countries than anywhere else.

Festus

Fia may be most notable at this moment as the Anglicized version of the Irish Fiadh, one of the fastest-rising names in the Republic of Ireland. The meaning of Fia or Fiadh is sometimes given as "deer" but that's in the sense of a wild deer, as the name relates to the ancient word for wild. 

In Portuguese, Fia means weaver, and Fia may also be a short form of the Italian or Spanish Sofia or Fiammetta or any other fia-related name.

Whatever its origin and meaning, Fia is a light and pleasant alternative to the mega-popular Mia.

Florence is back, and the adorable short form Florie (or Flory) is too.  Or you could just name her Flora and be done with it.

Florie

Francelia

Francenah

Freedella

Gabriellen

Gillie

Gallie

Geneta

Gibby

Glynnie

One you might like for its cozy meaning, but there is that Pied Piper rat connection. 

Hamlin

Part Hilda, part Mildred, but unfortunately not the good parts of either.

Hildred

Hollis is a rugged, gentle and quietly used name, given to over 200 boys and 150 girls each year in the US. In 2023, it became one of the newest entries to the US Top 1000, where it fits in with the surnames-as-first-names trend, and other familiar choices like Ellis, Silas, and Holden. 
 
Derived from the English surname meaning "near the holly bushes", it has a number of notable connections. Hollis Thompson is a professional basketball player; Hollis Watkins is a Civil Rights activist in Mississippi; Pete Hollis was a community folk hero; and "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" is a popular Bob Dylan song.
 Combining woodsy sounds and outdoorsy vibes with a surname-y and smart style, Hollis feels sleek and preppy, but adventurous and spirited too.

Hollis

Holten

Homerine

Hosea

lynsiejo's list "Old New England Names from Maine" of 234 great name ideas: Adelbert - Zulie!

Old New England Names from Maine

Names found on gravestones throughout Maine and northern New England. Creative combinations of names, unique spellings, and some names you've likely never heard before!