vintage girl names begging to be rediscovered

Gisella

Italian form of Giselle, French, German

"pledge, hostage"

A bright, musical name, Gisella is the Italian form of the French Giselle. With its zippy "Zella" sound and potential nickname Gigi too, it could make an underused and appealing choice. Associated…

Gladiola

Flower name, from Latin

"little sword"

A floral name with a sharp, cool meaning, Gladiola derives rom the Latin gladiolus , translating to "little sword", and given in reference to the spiked shape of gladioli flowers. This form appears…

Glendora

English

"gift of the glen"

A quirky, clunky compound name, blending the nature-related "Glen" with the Greek "dora", giving you a name with the rather poetic meaning of "gift of the glen".

Glennis

Glennis is a feminine name with Celtic and Scottish origins, deriving from the Welsh 'glân' meaning 'clean' or 'pure,' or possibly from Scottish place names containing 'glen' (valley). The name…

Glenora

Glenora is a feminine name with Scottish and Irish Gaelic roots. It combines 'glen,' meaning 'valley,' with 'ora,' possibly derived from Latin for 'gold' or representing a feminine ending. The name…

Gloriana

Latin

"glory"

Originally the name of the titular faerie queene of Spenser's epic poem "The Faerie Queene," published in 1590. Gloriana was, along with Belphoebe, an allegory for Queen Elizabeth. In the 400-odd…

Glory

Word name

Glory sounds fresh and uplifting and a lot more modern than Gloria (which is definitely feeling the stirrings of a revival, though some might still view it as a terminal Old Lady name). Glory, as in…

Golden

Word name

"gold colored"

Like Silver, Golden is a shimmering, metallic color name, similar enough to the likes of Arden, Eden, and Gwendolyn that it might not over dazzle. It could work as an unexpected route to the vintage…

Grady

Irish

"noble"

A name that's on the rise for boys but rarely used -- though possible -- for girls.

Gwenda

Welsh

"fair and good"

The Good Witch's first cousin.

Gwenneth

Gwenneth is a feminine name of Welsh origin, an elaborated form of Gwen, which means 'white,' 'fair,' or 'blessed' in Welsh. It shares roots with names like Guinevere and Jennifer, all stemming from…

Gwynn

Welsh

"fair, blessed"

The most modern choice in this group, and the most distinctive; the Gwyn form is a common male name in Wales.