Names that Peaked in 1881
Across 12 pages
of 12
Alabama
Place-name; Choctaw
"vegetation gatherers"
Alabama is a hot southern place-name, picking up from Georgia and Savannah. This is not a geographical name come lately, though--there have been girls named Alabama dating back well over a century.…
Ala
Igbo, Polish, diminutive of Alicja
"nobility"
Ala is the Igbo earth goddess whose symbol is the crescent moon. In a very different vein, Ala can be a diminutive for Alicja or Alexandra or really any other name with an A at both ends and an L in…
Alla
Galician diminutive of Olalla, or Russian, Ukrainian Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish
"sweetly speaking"
A short form of Alexandra and Alice used everywhere from Russia to Spain. A fresh alternative to Allie.
Alpha
Greek, first letter of the alphabet
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…
Alta
Latin
"elevated, high"
Familiar in the 19th- and early 20th-centuries, Alta is little heard today, but it does have that four letter, A-a formula of Alma, Alba, Anna, Ayla, and Anya. Derived from the Latin altus , it has…
Vinnie
English, diminutive of Lavinia
A winning, gold locket nickname name of the turn of the last century, though also a common nickname for Vincent.
Elvina
English
"elf friend"
Sounds elven in every sense of the word.
Nettie
English, diminutive of names ending in -ette or -etta, or variation of Neta, Hebrew
"plant"
You may never have known a Nettie personally, but there well might be one hidden in your family history, considering that she was a Top 100 name until 1901 and stayed on the Social Security list…
Nona
Latin
"ninth"
Nona is a name sometimes given to the ninth child -- but unlikely to serve that purpose today. Musical cred: the name of a song by Motley Crue. In Roman mythology, Nona was also a goddess of…
Honora
Latin
"woman of honor"
Honora and Honoria are two ways of softening the severity of Honor, while retaining its righteous meaning. They were predominant until the Reformation, when the Puritans adopted the abstract virtue…
Arra
Arra is a concise feminine name with multiple potential origins, including Irish roots as a variation of Ara meaning "noble" or as a shortened form of Arabic Amara meaning "eternal." Some also…
Hester
Medieval variation of Esther, Persian
"star"
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…
Ora
Latin
"prayer"
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.
Biddie
English and Scottish diminutive of Bridget, Irish
"strength, exalted one"
Vintage short form of Bridget, very rarely still heard in Irish Catholic communities.
Byrdie
Variation of Birdie, English
"little bird"
Just the kind of vintage nickname (think Hattie, Josie, Mamie, Millie) that's coming back into style in a big way. Actress Busy Phillips named her little girl Birdie.
Calla
Greek
"beautiful"
Calla is a botanical name that is much more distinctive than popular Lily or similar Callie. Rarely heard today, it did appear in the popularity lists in the last decades of the nineteenth century.…
Cammie
Cammie is a feminine name that typically functions as a diminutive form of names like Camilla, Cameron, or Campbell. With Scottish and Latin origins, its ultimate meaning relates to 'one who assists…
Carrie
Diminutive of Carol, English, or Caroline, French"free man"
"free man"
Carrie lives on mainly on the screen, as the new/old antiheroine of Stephen King's classic Carrie , as turn-of-the-21st-century diva Carrie Bradshaw of Sex & The City , and as Claire Danes'…
Katheryn
English variation of Katherine, Greek
"pure"
Variation of Katherine.
Katharyn
Katharyn represents an elegant, distinctive spelling variation of the classic name Katherine. With Greek origins, the name means 'pure' or 'clear,' derived from the Greek 'katharos.' This particular…