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Baby Girl Names From Old Ballads
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Ellen
English variation of Helen
"torch; shining light"
An medieval English form of Helen, the sensitive but clear-eyed Ellen has swung in and out of style for centuries, often alternating with the parent name. Ellen was the more common in medieval…
Elspat
Eppie
Eppie is a feminine name traditionally used as a diminutive of Euphemia, a Greek name meaning 'well-spoken' or 'words of good omen.' It gained literary recognition through George Eliot's novel 'Silas…
Gandeleyn
Janet
Diminutive of Jane
"God is gracious"
Janet started as a pet form of Jane but has long been used independently. Jane is a feminine form of John, which derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan. Janet can also be considered a variation of…
Katharine
Spelling variation of Katherine, Greek
"pure"
This is the spelling that old-time film star Katharine Hepburn used, and it's still favored by fans wanting to reference her classic strength and beauty. But in general, it's losing ground to…
Lenore
German variation of Leonora, Italian derivative of Eleonora, meaning unknown
A "modernization" of Leonora that has suddenly come back on the radar along with the many other Leo names--both male and female. With literary cred via a famous eponymous poem by Edgar Allan Poe (and…
Lizie
Maude
English and French diminutive of Matilda, German
"battle-mighty"
Maude, also spelled Maud, is a lacy, mauve-tinted name that was wildly popular a hundred years ago, but has been rarely heard in the past fifty. Some stylish parents are starting to choose it again,…
Peggy
Diminutive of Margaret, Greek
"pearl"
Just when we had written off Peggy as the eternal perky, pug-nosed prom-queen she projected from the 1920s into the fifties, along came Mad Men , with intriguing mid-century characters with names…
Susan
English diminutive of Susannah, Hebrew
"lily"
Although Susan had her heyday from the thirties to the sixties, and is now common among moms and new grandmas, and though most modern parents would prefer Susanna/Susannah, we have spotted some…