vintage girl names begging to be rediscovered

Indiana

American place-name

"land of the Indians"

Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and…

Ingrid

Norse

"fair; Ing is beautiful"

The luminous Ingrid Bergman's appeal was strong enough to lend universal charisma to this classic Scandinavian name, which has been somewhat neglected in the US. Even today, a child named Ingrid…

Iolanda

Italian; Portuguese, Romanian, from Greek

"violet flower"

An alternate spelling of Yolanda, used in some of the Romance languages.

Iona

Scottish place-name

This name of a small island off the coast of Scotland is trending upwards along with other I names.

Ione

Greek

"violet flower"

This unusual Greek flower and color name has gained considerable recent attention via actress Ione Skye, who is the daughter of sixties folksinger Donovan. Ione was one of the fifty sea nymphs —…

Irie

Jamaican

"positive and powerful"

A name used in the Caribbean, taken from the Rastafarian term that translates best to "positive and powerful." Rastas often greet each other by saying, "Are you feeling Irie today?"

Isadora

Greek

"gift of Isis"

For a long time, Isadora has been overlooked in favor of Isabella, owing perhaps to its association with the tragic modern dancer, Isadora Duncan, or because parents would rather their daughter be a…

Isaura

Greek place-name

The name of an ancient country located in South Asia Minor, perfect for someone looking for a rare and feminine name with history.

Izetta

American

Usually seen in the Appalachian Mountain region.

Izola

Izola is a feminine given name with multiple possible origins. It may be derived from the Italian city of Isola, meaning 'island' in Italian. Alternatively, it could be a variant of Isabel/Isabella…

Izora

Variation of Isaura