Old-Fashioned, Vintage, Retro, Classic, Eclectic, Unusual and Uncommon Names for Girls

Claribel

English combination of Clara + -bel, Latin

"bright + beautiful"

Claribel improves on its mother name Clarabelle by distancing itself from the clown and the cow.

Josephe

French feminine variation of Joseph, Hebrew

"Jehovah increases"

Josephe is much less well-known in the English-speaking world than Josephine or Joanna. English speakers might have trouble with its similarity to the male Joseph.

Gaetana

Italian place-name

Gaeta is a southern Italian region; this makes a sunny first name.

Jaclyn

Variation of Jacqueline, French

"supplanter"

Jaclyn is a feminine name derived from the English name Jacqueline, which is a feminine form of Jacques, the French form of Jacob. The name Jacob comes from Hebrew origin, meaning "supplanter."…

Jacquelyn

Jacquelyn is a feminine name of French origin, a variant spelling of Jacqueline, which is the feminine form of Jacques (the French equivalent of James). Ultimately, these names derive from the Hebrew…

Claude

Latin

"lame; enclosure"

Yes, we tend to think of Claude as a male name and Claudia and Claudette as the female, but this ancient clan name is used in France for girls as well as boys, and could make a distinctively chic boy…

Mafalda

Italian and Portuguese variation of Matilda

Mafalda is nearly unknown in the English-speaking world, despite an appearance in Harry Potter. Indeed, it does have a witchy feel. Matilda itself is preferable, or her French form Mathilde, Spanish…

Armande

French, feminine variation of Armand

Feminine form of Armand, has an elegant charm.

Julienne

French from Latin

"youthful or sky father"

Fine in France, but here it means vegetables sliced into thin strips.

Sybilla

Greek

"seer, oracle"

Sybilla and its near-identical twin Sibylla are dainty and demure names with a powerful namesake that also happen to be extremely rare -- no baby girls were given either name in the US last year.