Vintage Baby Names
Vintage baby names are among the most fashionable today, for girls as well as boys. Along with vintage names such as Olivia and Charlotte, Noah and Oliver leading the popularity list, the US Top 100 includes such vintage names for girls as Alice, Eleanor, and Sadie, and vintage boy names Henry, Julian, and Wyatt.
Unique retro names gaining visibility include such new old choices as Aurelia and Posey for girls, Linus and Archie for boys. Other antique baby names we expect to hear more of include Willa and Winston, Isidore and Imogen.
Choosing a vintage name can give you the best of all worlds, drawing on classic inspiration with modern style. Vintage baby names are found on the popularity lists of a hundred years ago and then often faded from sight, only to be revived for the new generation of babies. The best antique names are inspired by literary, biblical, and royal sources.
Here, our master list of the vintage baby names most stylish today. You might also want to check out our curated lists of Vintage Baby Girl Names and Vintage Baby Boy Names.
- Atticus
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"from Attica"Description:
Atticus derives from the Greek Attikos, meaning "from Attica," the Ancient Greek region that contained Athens. Atticus is a literary name in more ways than one. Before it became synonymous with Atticus Finch, the name Atticus was associated with Titus Pomponius Atticus, a Roman literary figure.
- Aurelia
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"the golden one"Description:
Aurelia is the female form of the Latin name Aurelius, an ancient Roman surname. Aurelius is derived from the Latin word aureus, meaning "golden," which was also the name of a gold coin used in Ancient Rome. Aurelius was a cognomen, a third name in Roman culture that often referenced a personal characteristic or trait, likely used for someone with golden hair.
- Theodore
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"gift of God"Description:
As unlikely as it may seem, Theodore is a hot new hit name, vaulting into the Top 10 in 2021 for the first time ever. Friendly nickname Theo may be responsible for some of that, though there are plenty of baby boys given Theo as their full name too. Add their numbers together, and the two names jump to Number 6.
- Felix
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"happy, fortunate"Description:
Felix was originally a Roman surname but was adopted as a nickname by the ancient Roman Sulla, who believed that he was especially blessed with luck by the gods. It is the name of four popes and sixty-seven saints; in the Bible, Felix is a Roman procurator of Judea.
- Eloise
Origin:
French and English variation of HeloiseMeaning:
"healthy; wide"Description:
To some, Eloise will forever be the imperious little girl making mischief at the Plaza Hotel, while the original version Heloise recalls the beautiful and learned wife of the French philosopher Peter Abelard, admired for her fidelity and piety.
- Silas
Origin:
Aramaic, Latin, GreekMeaning:
"of the forest; or prayed for"Description:
Silas is a Biblical name of debated – or possibly multiple – origins. It may be a simplified form of the Latin Silvanus, meaning "of the forest", or alternatively may be a Greek form of the Aramaic Seila or Hebrew Saul, meaning "asked for, prayed for".
- Oliver
Origin:
GermanicMeaning:
"olive tree"Description:
Oliver derives from Olivier, the Norman French variation of the Ancient Germanic name Alfihar ("elf army") or the Old Norse Áleifr ("ancestor's relic"), from which comes Olaf. Olivier emerged as the dominant spelling for its associations with the Latin word oliva, meaning "olive tree." Oliver was used as a given name in medieval England after the spread of the French epic poem ‘La Chanson de Roland,’ which features a character named Olivier.
- Ophelia
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"help"Description:
Ophelia is a beautiful name that has long been hampered by the stigma of Hamlet's tragic heroine—for whom he seems to have invented the name—but more and more parents are beginning to put that association aside. There is also a gutsy Ophelia in Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin, which seems to have had some influence on baby namers at the time.
- Milo
Origin:
Latin and Old GermanMeaning:
"soldier or merciful"Description:
Milo is most commonly considered to be Germanic name derived from the Latin word miles, meaning "soldier." However, there is evidence to suggest it also may have independently spawned from the Slavic root milu, meaning "merciful." Milo predates brother name Miles, a variation that evolved when the name immigrated to the British Isles in the Middle Ages. Mylo is an alternate spelling.
- Alice
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"noble"Description:
Alice was derived from the Old French name Aalis, a diminutive of Adelais that itself came from the Germanic name Adalhaidis. Adalhaidis, from which the name Adelaide is also derived, is composed of the Proto-Germanic elements aþala, meaning "noble," and haidu, "kind, appearance, type." Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland popularized the name in modern times.
- Hugo
Origin:
Latinized form of HughMeaning:
"mind, intellect"Description:
Hugo, the Latin form of Hugh, has more heft and energy than the original -- and of course we love names that end (or begin, for that matter) with an o. This one is especially appealing because it's backed up by lots of solid history and European style.
- Aurora
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"dawn"Description:
Aurora is the name of the Roman goddess of sunrise whose tears turned into the morning dew. She was said to renew herself by traveling from East to West across the sky, announcing the arrival of the sun each dawn. Aurora is also associated with the scientific term for the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis.
- Eleanor
Origin:
English variation of French Provencal Alienor, meaning unknownDescription:
While some think Eleanor is a variation of Helen via Ellen, it actually derives from the Provencal name Aliénor, of highly-debated meaning. It may come from the Germanic name Adenorde, meaning "ancient north" or "noble north". Another theory is that it derives from the Latin phrase alia Aenor, meaning "other Aenor," used to distinguish some original Eleanor, who was named after her mother Aenor. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine brought it from France to England in the twelfth century. Other spellings include Elinor and Eleanore.
- Oscar
Origin:
English or IrishMeaning:
"God spear, or deer-lover or champion warrior"Description:
Oscar has Irish and Norse roots—Norse Oscar comes from the Old English Osgar, a variation of the Old Norse name Ásgeirr. The Irish form was derived from the Gaelic elements os, meaning “deer,” and car, “loving.” In Irish legend, Oscar was one of the mightiest warriors of his generation, the son of Ossian and the grandson of Finn Mac Cumhaill (MacCool).
- Finn
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"fair or white"Description:
Finn is a name with enormous energy and charm, that of the greatest hero of Irish mythology, Finn MacCool (aka Fionn mac Cuumhaill), an intrepid warrior with mystical supernatural powers, noted as well for his wisdom and generosity.
- Violet
Origin:
English from LatinMeaning:
"purple"Description:
Violet is soft and sweet but far from shrinking. The Victorian Violet, one of the prettiest of the color and flower names, was chosen by high-profile parents Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, definitely a factor in its rapid climb to popularity. Violet cracked into the Top 50 for the first time ever in 2015.
- Charlotte
Origin:
French, feminine diminutive of CharlesMeaning:
"free man"Description:
Charlotte is the feminine form of the male given name Charles. It derived from Charlot, a French diminutive of Charles meaning "little Charles," and the name of Charlemagne’s son in French literature and legend. The name was popularized by England's Queen Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III.
- Atlas
Origin:
Greek mythologyMeaning:
"bearer of the heavens"Description:
Previously thought too powerful for a baby boy – who would have to be strong enough to carry the world on his shoulders – Atlas has joined the pantheon of Greek and Roman god and goddess names now in the realm of possibility, along with Mars, Zeus and Apollo. It was one of the fast-rising names on the list in recent years in the USA, jumping from oblivion in 2012 into the Top 500 in 2015, and climbing several hundred places higher since then. Anne Heche was one of the first to make this audacious choice, but several celebrity parents have followed suit.
- Jude
Origin:
Latin diminutive of JudahMeaning:
"praised"Description:
Jude is an example of a name whose image was turned on its head primarily by one appealing celebrity. So take a bow, Jude Law: You--in collaboration with the Lennon-McCartney song "Hey Jude"--have erased Jude's old connections to the traitorous Judas Iscariot and Thomas Hardy's tragic Jude the Obscure, and inspired a legion of new babies named Jude.
- Iris
Origin:
Flower name; also GreekMeaning:
"rainbow"Description:
Iris is directly derived from the Greek word iris, meaning “rainbow.” In Greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, a messenger for Zeus and Hera who rode the rainbow as a multicolored bridge from heaven to earth. In ancient times, the Iris was considered a symbol of power and majesty, the three petal segments representing faith, wisdom and valor. This colorful image led to the naming of the flower and to the colored part of the eye.