153 old-fashioned baby names for boys and girls

The surge in old-fashioned baby names may well be because we’re all looking for an interesting, unusual or unique moniker for our baby, too.

Here, we reveal the best old-fashioned baby names to consider for your child…

82 old-fashioned baby name ideas for girls…

Agnes – ‘pure’ and ‘joy’ in Greek

Alice – 'noble' and 'truth', of French and German origin

Alma – thought to be derived from Latin, means kind

Anna – an English name with Latin origins, meaning Grace. Annie – an English name with Latin origins, also meaning Grace. Possibly a shortened version of Annabel, Angela, among others

Augusta – a Latin baby name meaning ‘majestic’ or even ‘grand’

Barbara – the name Barbara has numerous meanings in different languages. We quite like the Greek meaning: 'strange'!

Bertha – a Germanic name, meaning ‘bright one’. Fun fact: it’s been around since at least 500AD

Beryl – an English name, taken from the eponymous gemstone, which can take on a variety of colours

Betsy – a shorter version of ‘Elizabeth’, which is a Hebrew name meaning ‘my God is an oath’

Blanche – an old French name, which is also the French word for ‘white’

Caroline – the origin of Caroline’s a bit tricky to pin down. Many think it’s the feminine form of the Latin name Carolus

Carrie – an abbreviation of Caroline, that works just as well on its own

Cecil – an English name with Roman origins. Apparently, it’s derived from a Roman word that meant ‘blind’

Christiana – a name of Greek origin, meaning ‘follower of Christ’

Clara – meaning ‘bright’ or ‘clear’ Constance – has English, French and Latin roots, which means ‘steadfast’

Cora – popular in the 1880s and declining ever since, this is a great name coming back into fashion. Means ‘maiden’, of Greek origin

Darcy – popular in the 1960s, Darcy is an Irish or French name which can mean ‘dark one’

Delia – a name of Greek origin, related to the island of Delos. Possibly a short version of Cordelia

Diana – a Latin name meaning ‘divine’. Of course, made popular by the late Diana, Princess of Wales

Dora – a name of Greek origin, meaning ‘gift’

Dorothy – a top name in the early 1900s, meaning ‘gift of God’

Edith – an English name, meaning ‘prosperous of war’ Edna – a name of Hebrew origin meaning ‘delight’ or ‘rejuvenation’

Elizabeth – a Hebrew name meaning ‘my God is an oath’

Elsie – a Scottish origin name. Usually a shortened version of Elspeth, the Scottish version of Elizabeth

Emma – a name of German origin, meaning ‘universal’

Estelle – a French name meaning ‘star'

Esther – there are a few theories about this name. Some think it has Persian origin, and means ‘star’. Often Esther is thought of as a biblical name, too.

Ethel – an English name that generally means ‘noble’.

Flora – means ‘flower’, of course!

Florence – means ‘flourishing’, of Latin origin. Or could represent a very famous Italian city, too.

Frances – a Latin name, meaning ‘free one’

Geraldine – a Germanic name in origin, which means ‘rule with a spear’. Basically: you don’t mess with Geraldine!

Gertrude – another Germanic name, meaning ‘strong spear’. Can be shortened in a few ways, like Trudie or Trudy

Grace – means what you think it does. Think: eloquence, elegance, beauty…

Gwendolyn – a Welsh name, can be styled as Gwendoline and shortened to Gwen. Thought to have a few meanings: ‘white bow’ or ‘white ring’, or ‘fair’ as in fair-haired

Hattie – a shortened name for Harriet we don’t hear much of these days. Harriet is the English version of French name Henriette, from the 1800s. Means ‘ruler’

Henrietta – French, again a variation from the name Henriette, which is just as lovely

Hilda – a name for a true warrior. An Old Norse name, meaning ‘battle’

Ida – a name that means ‘action’ or ‘work’, despite it having a few different origins

Iris – an English name, describing a flower

Iva – a Slavic origin name meaning ‘gracious’ or ‘good’. Could be a shortened version of Ivanka or Ivana Janet – a name we hear little of these days, but suggested by one of our MFM mums. Lovely! Means ‘god’s gracious gift’, apparently!

Kitty – a lovely alternate to Kate, Katherine, Katrina. Typically, this nickname’s assumed to come from Ireland.

Laura – a Latin origin name, meaning ‘by Laurel’. The name ‘implies victory by invoking the laurel wreath worn by Olympic athletes and Roman emperors’, according to Nameberry

Leona – means ‘lion’, and comes from Latin origins

Lillian – Latin origin, and means ‘lily’. Was very popular in the 1880s, and had a resurgence of popularity in the early 2010s, according to Baby Name Wizard

Mabel – a sweet English name often associated with the older generation, that actually means ‘lovable’. Can be a shortened version of the name Amabel

Maggie – an English name with Hebrew origins. It means ‘pearl’, and is a shortening of Margaret

Margaret – also means ‘pearl’ and is Hebrew in origin. Other nicknames include Meg, Peggy, Mae and Margo

Marianne – a French name, combining the meanings of Marie (wished-for child, rebellion, bitter) and Anne (grace)

Marion – similar to Marianne, it is a French name, with numerous possible meanings. ‘Rebellion’ and ‘wished-for child’ being 2 of them. Some people also reckon it means ‘lady of the sea’, which is pretty cool

Mary – a name of Hebrew origin, meaning ‘bitter’. The original name behind Marion, Marianne and other variations

Matilda – means ‘strength in battle’, and comes from a Germanic background

Maude – similar to Matilda, it is also Germanic in origin and means ‘powerful battle’

Mildred – very popular in the US in the 1910s, Mildred’s the definition of an old-fashioned name. It’s an Anglo-Saxon name (so, Old English) and means ‘gentle strength’

Minnie – means ‘intellectual’ or ‘of the mind’, as it’s a short version of the name Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, invention and the arts

Myrtle – named from a flowering, evergreen plant. Also popular in the 1920s, and probably best recognised from The Great Gatsby

Nancy – thought to be a variant of Anne, so it also means ‘grace’

Nellie – means ‘bright shining one’, as it’s a short form of Nell, Helen or Eleanor. Of English origin

Nettie – very popular in the early 1900s, and one there’s still time to bring back into style! Usually a nickname for someone called Annette

Nora – comes from the Latin word ‘honora’, meaning ‘honor’. Lovely, and very elegant

Pamela – suggested by one of our MFMers. There’s a very famous Pamela out there, but we don’t know too many personally… a unique choice!

Patience – means the same as a name, as it does in day-to-day life. A wonderful quality to inspire

Pauline - the female version of Paul, thought to be French in origin, meaning ‘small’

Pearl – named after the gemstone

Peggy – apparently, Peggy can also mean ‘pearl’, it’s of Greek origin, too

Penelope – a greek name meaning ‘weaver’

Rose – it’s obvious where the name Rose comes from, the famous flower!

Ruth – a Hebrew origin name, which comes from the word for ‘friend’

Sally – the name Sally actually comes from an old nickname for Sarah, according to Baby Name Wizard. Its popularity peaked in the 1930s

Trudie – means ‘universal strength’, of Germanic origin

Vera – surprisingly, a Russian origin name, which means ‘faith’

Wilhelmina – German or Dutch name, often given to Princesses and Queens. Means ‘desire’ and ‘protection’

70 old-fashioned baby name ideas for boys…

Albert – means ‘noble’ or ‘bright’. No wonder it’s a popular name for royals

Albie – a shortened version of Albert, which we’ve definitely noticed coming back into fashion. Alexander – a name of Greek origin, meaning ‘defender of men’

Alfred – the name Alfred is taken from Old English, where it meant ‘magical counsel’ or ‘elf’

Allen – a Celtic name, meaning ‘noble’ or ‘stone’ or ‘harmony’ Archie – means ‘genuine’, ‘bold’ and ‘brave’. Comes from Germanic origins

Arnold – means ‘power’ and ‘strength’, and is actually taken from old Germanic terms for ‘eagle’ and ‘power’. According to Baby Name Wizard, its popularity peaked in the 1910s

Arthur – an English name, made most famous by King Arthur in the 6th century. It was very popular in the Middle Ages, unsurprisingly – so you can’t get more old-fashioned than that

August – we love this name. It’s very different, and comes from a Latin background. It can mean lots of things, though we’ve seen it represents holding someone ‘in high regard’

Benjamin – the English version of a Hebrew name, which means ‘son’

Bernard – a modernised version of an Old German name, which means ‘bold as a bear’

Charles – in both Germanic and English origins, Charles simply means ‘a man’. Very popular in the 1880s, but made more modern by Charles, Prince of Wales

Chester – a Latin origin name, meaning ‘fortress’

Clarence – means ‘bright’ and ‘clear’, just like the female names Clare, Claire and Clara

Cyrille – a name often used by the French. Can be spelled ‘Cyril’

Edward – means ‘wealth’ or ‘fortune’ and ‘guardian’, and comes from Old English. Another popular regal name choice

Edwin – like Edward, Edwin means ‘wealth’ and ‘fortune’, but also means ‘friend’, rather than ‘guardian’

Elijah – a godly name, of Hebrew origin, reported to mean both ‘Jehovah is God’ and ‘God the Lord’

Emmett – means ‘universal’, can be Hebrew, English or German in origin

Ernest – the English version of a German name, which means ‘seriousness’ (think: the word ‘earnest’)

Felix – a name of Latin origin, meaning ‘blessed’ or ‘lucky’

Francis – of French origin, and means ‘a Frenchman’

Frank – apparently, Frank means pretty much the same as Francis! They are, to be fair, pretty similar names!

Frederick – another Germanic name, meaning ‘king of peace’ or ‘ruler of peace’

Gabriel – ‘god is my strength’, a Hebrew name

George – ‘earthworker’ or ‘farmer’. A very regal choice, brought back into fashion by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their son Prince George of Cambridge

Grover – an unusual pick among these old-fashioned monikers. Not much is known about its origin, other than it's English

Harry – we’ve read that Harry means ‘ruler of the household. A possible nickname for Henry, too Harvey – means ‘strong’ and ‘worthy’, and comes from Old English and Old French

Henry – same meaning as Harry, mentioned above. Did you know that Henry is actually Prince Harry’s birth name?

Herbert – of German origin, meaning ‘bright army’

Hugh – we’ve seen lots of different meanings for Hugh, which vary from ‘intellect’ and ‘mind’ to ‘heart’ and ‘spirit’

Humphrey – we love this baby name meaning. Humphrey means ‘a peaceful warrior’

James – became popular in the 1600s after Britain inherited the Scottish King James VI. Apparently, it means ‘one who follows’

Jasper – little is known about the name Jasper, though people think it’s of Persian origin, and means ‘bringer of treasure’

John – a Hebrew origin name, meaning ‘God is gracious’ Joseph – another Hebrew name, this time meaning ‘Jehovah increases’

Laurence – can also be written as ‘Lawrence’. Means ‘from Laurentium’, which was a Roman city known for having laurel trees, according to Nameberry

Laurie – we’re not quite sure what Laurie means, but we reckon it’s a lovely boys or girls name

Leonard – means ‘brave lion’, and comes from German origins

Levi – another Hebrew name, meaning ‘joined’ or ‘attached’

Lewis – ‘renowned warrior’, of English origin

Louis – this is the French version of Lewis, basically, so it has the same meaning. Can be pronounced ending ‘-ee’ or ‘-is’, totally up to you

Luther – means ‘army people’ and has German origins

Marvin – surprisingly this is a Welsh name, anglicised, which means ‘sea hill’

Melvin – ‘council protector’, and Scottish and English in origin

Miles – no one’s really sure where this name came from, as there are several possibilities. We do know it could take on the meanings ‘peaceful’, ‘calm’ or ‘merciful’, though

Noah – can mean ‘rest’ and ‘wandering’. A biblical name, of Hebrew origin

Oliver – a Latin name, in origin, which means ‘olive tree’. Lovely!

Oscar – we know Oscar is either English/Irish or a bit of both, and can have a bunch of meanings, like ‘champion warrior’ or ‘God-spear’. Bit weirder? ‘Deer lover’ is also apparently one of the poss meanings. Hmmm

Paul – means ‘small’, of Latin origin

Phillip – in Greek, this name means ‘lover of horses’. So says Nameberry, anyway

Ray – this charming, old-fashioned name is short and sweet and means ‘wise protector’

Reginald – an English name, meaning ‘counsel power’. This is a cute name that can be shortened to ‘Reggie’

Richard – a Germanic name meaning ‘dominant ruler’

Robert – originally German in origin, before becoming a popular English name. It means ‘bright fame’

Roger – another Germanic name, and this one means ‘famous warrior’

Rowland – apparently this name also means ‘famous’, but refers to a place rather than a warrior.

Royston – an English name, meaning ‘settlement of Royce’ (a town). Can be shorted to Roy

Russell – a French name, meaning ‘fox-coloured’ or ‘redhead’

Samuel – a Hebrew origin name, meaning ‘told by God’

Stanley – means ‘near the stony clearing’, of English origin

Theodore – a Greek name meaning ‘gift of God’

Thomas – interestingly this name is of Aramaic origin (from the same family as the Hebrew language), and means ‘twin’

Valentine – a Latin name meaning ‘strength’ or ‘health’, but probably most likely associated with the meaning of love, thanks to St Valentine’s Day

Victor - a Latin name meaning ‘conqueror’

Walter – a German name meaning ‘army ruler’

Wilbur – ‘resolute’ or ‘brilliant’, again of Germanic origin

Wilfred – means ‘desires peace’, of English origin. Probably best know as the name of Wilfred Owen, British WW1 soldier and war poet

Willard – means ‘resolutely brave’, of English and Germanic origin

William - means ‘resolute protection’, of English and Germanic origin

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Have you got a brilliant vintage moniker we’ve missed? Tell us in the comments below

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