Girl Names Lists · Historic and Vintage Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 15 pages
of 15
Latin
"heavenly"
Celia, splendidly sleek and feminine, is a name that was scattered throughout Shakespeare and other Elizabethan literature, but still manages to feel totally modern. Derived from the Latin Caelius,…
Latin gem name
"pearl"
Pearl, like Ruby, has begun to be polished up for a new generation of fashionable children after a century of jewelry box storage. The birthstone for the month of June, Pearl could also make a…
Spelling variation of Louella
"battle famous fairy maiden"
Luella is a sleeker spelling variant of the girls' name Louella and is now more popular than the original. Sweet, but lively, it was a popular name in the the early 19th century, but fell out of…
Diminutive of Ruth, Hebrew
"compassionate friend"
With vintage names on the rise and recent data suggesting that the US is following the UK trend of nicknames-as-given-names, Ruthie joined Goldie, Daisy, and Nellie on the US Top 1000 list in 2023. A…
Hebrew
"He will be praised or woman from Judea"
The biblical Judith, the fourth most popular name in 1940, may be getting ready for a comeback in its full, elegant, if somewhat solemn form. Many of those earlier Judiths were called Judy—some after…
Gaelic
"white shoulder"
Nola, a name with a sleek, enigmatic quality, was used for the much-pursued heroine of Spike Lee's 1986 breakout film, She's Gotta Have It , and again by Woody Allen in Match Point . It's a short…
Diminutive of Griselda
"gray fighting maid"
Classified as an early beauty, Zelda has long and often been used as such for characters in books and films. Since 1986, Zelda has been a prime Nintendo name, as in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight…
Latinate form of Eleanor, meaning unknown
Eleanor is back, Nora is back, and, as predicted, Eleanora is back too. Having left the charts in the 1930s, this elaboration of Eleanor has returned and blends the elements of its two more popular…
English word name
"compassion"
The quality of mercy makes this lovely Puritan virtue name a quiet favorite today. Although it was most popular in the late nineteenth century, Mercy is on its way to a comeback -- it rose 143 spots…
"God is gracious"
Johanna is the version of this name used in Holland, Germany, and Scandinavia. The extra h makes Johanna a slightly more dignified version of Joanna. A notable namesake is the author of Heidi ,…
Diminutive of Matilda
"battle-mighty"
A favorite in England and Wales where nicknames as given names are very much the norm, Tilly has the potential to catch on in the US, given its similarity to the popular Lily and Ellie and the rising…
Welsh
"white shadow, white wave"
Guinevere was the name of the beautiful but ill-fated queen of Camelot, for so many years eclipsed by its modern Cornish form Jennifer. Today, Guinevere could be a cool possibility for adventurous…
German, diminutive of Margarethe
Greta is an Old World name long tied to the iconic Garbo, but now synonymous with environmental activism. In the early 2000s, Greta was showing signs of a comeback, along with other Old Hollywood…
Old French form of archaic German Amal
"work"
Emmeline is an Emma relative and Emily cousin that is destined for greater use in the wake of the megapopularity of those two names. A recommended Nameberry fave, Emmeline hopped onto the US Top 1000…
"blessed peacemaking"
One of the few remaining unrestored vintage gems, with a choice of two winning nicknames--the girlish Winnie and the tomboyish Freddie. Winifred, the name of a legendary Welsh saint, was a Top 200…
English and Scottish, short form of any name ending with -etta: Henrietta, Loretta etc.
Thanks to the surprise hit revival of Etta James' song At Last and because of recent interest in vintage style nicknames, Etta has established herself as a possible successor to Emma and Ella. While…
"warlike"
Marcella is a name of Latin origin, which has been neglected for decades now. Depicted as the world's most beautiful woman in Don Quixote (where it's spelled Marcela), it has plenty of flair and…
English diminutive of Ann or Agnes, Hebrew or Greek
"grace or pure"
To some, Nancy is a sweet, sparkly, vintage choice with plenty of energy and style. For it strays too much into '"old-lady" territory to be cool again yet. It's out of fashion in France, New Zealand,…
Latin; Celtic
"heart; daughter of the sea"
Cordelia is exactly the kind of old-fashioned, grown-up name for girls that many parents are seeking for their daughters today. The name of King Lear's one sympathetic daughter, Cordelia has both…
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.…
