Names due for a comeback

  1. Thelma
    • Origin:

      English, Literary, meaning unknown
    • Description:

      Though modern parents seeking to honor an ancestor named Thelma might opt for the airier Thea instead, Thelma is starting to make its way back onto adventurous vintage name lovers' radars. It is currently experiencing a modest revival in France, where it now ranks around the #300 mark.
  2. Regina
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "queen"
    • Description:

      A classic name with regal elegance--Queen Victoria, like other queens, had Regina appended to her name. She was a Top 100 name in the 1960s.
  3. Shirley
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "bright meadow"
    • Description:

      Shirley Temple almost single-handedly lifted the gloom of the Great Depression, and in tribute (and perhaps wishing for a similarly curly-headed, dimpled darling of their own), thousands of parents of that generation gave their little girls her name. In 1935, Shirley was the second most popular girls' name in the country with more than 42,000 babies named Shirley.
  4. Phryne
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "toad"
    • Description:

      A name with a less conventional animal meaning, rescued by the reputation of the Greek courtesan Phryne (more beautiful than Aphrodite, one of the wealthiest women in classical Athens) and the charming character Phryne Fisher from Australian author Kerry Greenwood's detective series Phryne Fisher's Mysteries, set in the 1930s.
  5. Phyllis
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "green bough"
    • Description:

      Phyllis has been used by classical poets for the idealized pastoral maiden. A Greek mythological name of a woman who was turned into an almond tree, Phyllis was in the Top 100 from 1916 to 1958, reaching #24 in 1929, and has the (remote) possibility of joining other revived s-ending names like Iris. In the 'St Clare' book series by Enid Blyton Phyllis is nicknamed Fizz. Just a thought. Phyllida is a variation that sounds at once more old-fashioned and more stylish.
  6. Dorcas
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "doe, gazelle"
    • Description:

      Classic name used by the Romans, the Puritans, and the Bard, but pretty much taboo today due to the objectionable connotations of both its front and back ends.
  7. Dot
    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Dorothy
    • Description:

      Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name.
  8. Hetty
    • Origin:

      English diminutive of Henrietta, English, or Mehetabel, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "estate ruler; God makes happy"
    • Description:

      A classic short form of Henrietta, also seen as a nickname for Mehetabel.

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