Old-Fashioned Names
Across 21 pages
of 21
Mamie
Diminutive of Mary or Margaret, Hebrew, Egyptian, Greek
"drop of the sea or bitter or pearl"
Mamie is back. Having finally shorn her Mamie Eisenhower bangs, this insouciant and adorable nickname name is perfect if you want a zestier way to honor a beloved aunt Mary. Meryl Streep's actress…
Margie
Diminutive of Margery
Prime pert-teenager name in midcentury TV shows, replaced by Maggie.
Marion
English and French diminutive of Marie
"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"
An underused classic that has proved surprisingly unisex over the last few decades, being given to roughly the same number of baby girls and boys in the US from the 1970s to the 2000s. For a girl,…
Marion
French derivative of Mary
"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"
Fun fact: Marion was the birth name of movie star John Wayne. Although commonly thought of as a female name today, it was actually more popular for boys until the late 19th century, and was given to…
Marjorie
Scottish variation of Margery, diminutive of Margaret
"pearl"
Scottish Marjorie and her English twin Margery were early twentieth century favorites that date back to medieval times, when it was popular among the royals. They were at their height in the 1920s,…
Mattie
Diminutive of Martha or Matilda
"lady; battle-mighty"
Mattie, which might be a short form of Martha, Matilda, or even Madeline, ranked among the Top 100 names for girls in the 1880s and in fact, has held a place among the Top 1000 for most of U.S.…
Maude
English and French diminutive of Matilda, German
"battle-mighty"
Maude, also spelled Maud, is a lacy, mauve-tinted name that was wildly popular a hundred years ago, but has been rarely heard in the past fifty. Some stylish parents are starting to choose it again,…
Maurice
English and French from Latin
"dark-skinned"
In the USA, Maurice was in the Top 200 for most of the 20th century; since 1990, however, it has been on a slow and steady decline. This name has the potential for some old-school cute nicknames such…
Merle
French
"blackbird"
Originally a nickname for someone who loved to sing or whistle, Merle is sleek but gentle, with a hint of great grandpa about it..
Mildred
English
"gentle strength"
Is it clunky cute, strong and vintage, or dreadful and mildewy? Like Gertrude and Bertha, Mildred is one that divides the crowds, but with popular nickname Mildred and renewed interest in Winifred,…
Millicent
German
"strong in work"
Combining the mild and the innocent, this sweet and feminine name is worthy of a comeback, in the mode of Madeline and Cecilia. Its original, also attractive form is Melisende, which came from…
Milton
English
"settlement with a mill"
Once an upper-class British surname conjuring up the epic poetry of John Milton, it then descended to the antics of "Uncle Miltie" Berle, and now has left the stage completely.
Minnie
Diminutive of Wilhelmina, German
"resolute protection"
Minnie was wildly popular at the turn of the last century — it was the fifth or sixth most popular name throughout the 1880s — but is completely obscure in the US today. Blame Mickey's girlfriend.…
Monroe
Scottish
"mouth of the Roe river"
Monroe is a presidential surname which feels fresher than Jackson, Lincoln and Taylor. Marilyn Monroe is a famous female namesake, but her smart Scottish surname feels equally usable for either sex.…
Monty
Diminutive of Montague or Montgomery, variation of Monte, English, Spanish
"mountain"
Monty, a name with a World War II feel, is rarely used on its own in the US. But we're hearing rumblings of a comeback and think that Monty, whatever it's short for, is an adorable vintage nickname…
Morris
English variation of Maurice
"dark-skinned"
Morris is as quiet and comfortable as a Morris chair, and has the same vintage feel. Once a Top 100 name in the early 1900s, Morris fell completely off the roster in 1995, probably due to lingering…
Mortimer
English
"dead sea"
Other kids might see a teasible connection to mortician or mortuary. Mortimer is an English family name used a few generations ago as an Anglicization of Moses; it was Walt Disney's original choice…
Morton
English
"town near the moor"
An English family name used a few generations ago as an Anglicization of Moses, but hardly heard since th 1950s.
Muriel
Irish
"of the bright sea, sea-bright"
Once a poetic Celtic name, that of the angel who governs the month of June, Muriel has for a time, become the mom or grandma of TV sitcoms. A Top 200 name from 1912 to 1933, Muriel might just be due…
Murray
Scottish
"settlement by the sea"
Murray, you may be surprised to discover, is a Scottish surname name --that of an ancient noble clan--with a sea-swept meaning, and just could be in the next wave of reevaluated grandpa names.…