User-created list
A List of Trendy Old Fashioned Names
Across 43 pages
of 43
The names
Ernest
English from German
"serious, resolute"
Ernest is one of those sober, so-far-out-they're-beginning-to-be-reconsidered Great Uncle names. Ernest recently received a big style boost when Britain's Princess Eugenie chose it for her second…
Odile
French variation of German Otthild
"prospers in battle"
Odette's evil Swan Lake twin -- gives the name a sinuous, sensuous appeal. It was a popular choice in France in the 20th century and made the Top 40 back in 1952, however, it has since fallen out of…
Toby
Diminutive of Tobias, Greek, Hebrew
"God is Good"
Sweet and spirited, kindly and handsome, posh and approachable, Toby is a versatile nickname, popular in the UK as a stand-alone choice, but familiar in the Netherlands and New Zealand too. In the…
Maurice
English and French from Latin
"dark-skinned"
One of those old-mannish names that sounds a lot fresher for a girl.
Torin
Irish, Spanish, French
"little chief, little hill, mound; holding fast; bull"
Though it has a Scandinavian ring (a la Thorfinn), Torin is in fact a multicultural choice, an occasional feature in the UK Top 1000, and given to around 150 boys in the US each year. Connected to…
Glenn
Scottish
"a narrow valley"
While actress Glenn Close didn't inspire many parents to give their daughters her name in particular, she did help launch a general trend toward boy names for girls .
Gretta
Gretta is a feminine name representing a variant spelling of Greta, which itself originated as a short form of Margaret or Margareta. With Germanic and Greek roots, the name ultimately derives from…
Chevy
French, diminutive of Chevalier
"horseman, knight"
Eternally tied to the surname Chase, via the old English battle and ballad, the DC suburb, and the goofy SNL pratfaller (who was born Cornelius). It entered the US Top 1000 in 2014.
Effie
English diminutive of Euphemia, Greek
"pleasant speech"
Effie is the old-fashioned short form for Euphemia. It shares a vintage charm with Hattie and Letty although is much rarer than either. Effie is a character in The Hunger Games and Sisterhood of the…
Leola
Latin
"lion"
Leola is a feminine name of Latin and German origins. It can be a variant of Leola, meaning 'lioness,' derived from 'leo' (lion), or an elaboration of Leah or Lee. It was most popular in the United…
Merritt
English surname
"boundary gate"
Merritt is an old-style surname name that could be seen as a positive virtue name. It was used in the late 19th and early 20th century for boys, reaching the Top 400 in 1899, and is notable today for…
Ogden
English
"from the oak valley"
Rarely used surname, associated with humorous poet Ogden Nash.
Vince
Short form of Vincent, Latin
"conquering"
Vince is not a short form that often stands alone on the birth certificate, the way Jack or even Joe does, but it has certain credibility as the name always used for football great Vince Lombardi.…
Arnie
Short form of Arnold, English from German
"ruler, strong as an eagle"
Arnie is a nerdy-tipping-into-cute nickname that may rise again, if not for this generation of babies then for their babies. Look for it in the nurseries of 2050.
Ireland
Place name
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the…
Suzy
Diminutive of Susan and Suzanne, English, French
"lily"
An energetic, charmingly retro nickname, Suzy and all her sisters are off their fashion peak but will rise again around the middle of this century. The Z forms, Suzy and Suzie, are usually short for…
James
Hebrew
"supplanter"
James for a girl? Believe it or not, this is one of the boy names for girls" gaining a lot of attention these days, since Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds shocked the world by choosing it for their…
Jana
International feminine variation of Jan
A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.
Roderick
German
"famous ruler"
The aristocratic--if not haughty--Roderick was nevertheless consistently in the Top 1000, reaching as high as Number 221 in 1967, when it was not uncommon to run into a Rod or a Roddy. It's at a low…
Vonnie
Vonnie is primarily a feminine name that originated as a diminutive form of names containing the element "von" or as a nickname for names like Yvonne, Veronica, or Siobhan. With Irish and American…
