Vintage girl names: 150+ old fashioned names with meanings
159 names · Updated · By The Nomezo Editors · Save to Pinterest
Vintage girl names, sometimes called old lady names, are names that were popular generations ago and feel fresh again today, like Hazel, Eleanor and Clementine.
Below are real vintage names grouped by era and style: Victorian names, 1900s to 1920s favorites, mid-century names, flower and gemstone names, cute old-fashioned nicknames, royal and literary names, and Puritan virtue names. Each one has its meaning and language of origin.
Can't decide? Shuffle 6 random picks
Millie
Pet form of Mildred or Millicent; English. At its highest rank ever in 2025
Beulah
Married; Hebrew. A biblical name for the promised land
Philippa
Lover of horses; Greek. Pippa for short
Tillie
Strength in battle; Germanic. Pet form of Matilda
Eleanor
Meaning uncertain; Old French. Eleanor of Aquitaine's name, more popular now than ever
Carol
Short form of Caroline; English. #4 in 1941
Find a vintage girl name on this page
Narrow 159 names by the decade they were most popular, by how common they were for US girls in 2025, by section or length, or search the meanings.
Victorian girl names
Formal, elegant names that filled 1800s birth registers.
Old fashioned girl names from the 1900s to 1920s
The names of great-grandmothers. Some, like Evelyn, Eleanor and Josephine, are back in the top 100; others, like Ethel and Gertrude, are still rare.
- Marjorie Peak 1920s 246 in 2025: A pearl; Greek. A medieval variant of Margery
- Inez Peak 1900s 156 in 2025: Pure, chaste; Greek. Spanish form of Agnes. Say eye-NEZ or ee-NES
- Agnes Peak 1890s 246 in 2025: Pure, chaste; Greek. Aggie for short; rising, but still outside the top 1,000
- Beulah Peak 1900s 20 in 2025: Married; Hebrew. A biblical name for the promised land
- Pauline Peak 1910s 56 in 2025: Small, humble; Latin. French feminine of Paul
- Ione Peak 1910s 15 in 2025: Violet flower; Greek. A Greek sea nymph. Say eye-OH-nee
- Eleanor Peak 1910s US #12: Meaning uncertain; Old French. Eleanor of Aquitaine's name, more popular now than ever
- Helen Peak 1910s US #462: Meaning unknown, perhaps torch; Greek. Helen of Troy's name, #2 in 1900
- Winifred Peak 1910s US #923: From Welsh Gwenfrewi; Welsh. A saint's name; Winnie for short
- Adeline Peak 2020s US #59: Noble; Germanic. The 1903 song Sweet Adeline made it a barbershop classic
1930s to 1950s girl names
Mid-century names that are just old enough to sound retro.
- Betty Peak 1930s 212 in 2025: God is my oath; Hebrew. Shared with actress White
- Beverly Peak 1930s 246 in 2025: Beaver stream; Old English. Peaked in the 1930s
- Darlene Peak 1950s 108 in 2025: Darling; English. A sweet early-1900s coinage
- Connie Peak 1950s 53 in 2025: Steadfast, constant; Latin. Short form of Constance
- Jeanette Peak 1930s 75 in 2025: God is gracious; Hebrew. A French diminutive of Jeanne
- Annette Peak 1960s 149 in 2025: Favor, grace; Hebrew. French diminutive of Anne
- Nancy Peak 1940s US #967: Favor, grace; Hebrew. A pet form of Ann since the 1700s
- Geraldine Peak 1930s 73 in 2025: Power of the spear; Germanic. Coined by a Tudor poet
- Audrey Peak 1930s US #86: Noble strength; Old English. Shared with actress Hepburn; more popular now than in the 1950s
- Donna Peak 1950s 98 in 2025: Lady; Italian. Peaked in 1959
- Carol Peak 1940s 82 in 2025: Short form of Caroline; English. #4 in 1941
- Sharon Peak 1940s 179 in 2025: A flat plain; Hebrew. The biblical rose of Sharon; #8 in 1943
Vintage flower, plant and gemstone names
Nature names were all the rage around 1900, and they are blooming again.
Cute old fashioned nickname names
Pet forms that grew into names of their own.
- Tillie Peak 1880s 177 in 2025: Strength in battle; Germanic. Pet form of Matilda
- Libby Peak 2010s 202 in 2025: God is my oath; Hebrew. Pet form of Elizabeth
- Millie Peak 2020s US #73: Pet form of Mildred or Millicent; English. At its highest rank ever in 2025
Royal and literary vintage names
Names worn by queens, princesses and the heroines of classic books.
- Eugenie Peak 1880s 8 in 2025: Well born; Greek. A French empress and a British princess
- Cecily Peak 2010s 137 in 2025: Blind; Latin. The medieval English form of Cecilia
- Estella Peak 1880s US #509: A star; Latin. The icy heroine of Great Expectations
- Clarissa Peak 1990s 212 in 2025: Clear, bright; Latin. Shared with Mrs. Dalloway's heroine
- Heidi Peak 1970s US #340: Noble kind; Germanic. The Swiss girl of the 1880 novel; a US favorite of the 1970s
- Nora Peak 1880s US #20: Short form of Honora or Eleanor; English. The heroine of Ibsen's A Doll's House
Puritan virtue names
The Puritans named daughters for virtues in the 1600s, and the Victorians revived them.
- Honora Peak 1880s 15 in 2025: Honor; Latin. Brought to England and Ireland by the Normans
- Charity Peak 1970s 97 in 2025: Generous love; Latin. Warm, generous and rare today
- Mercy Peak 2020s US #867: Compassion, forgiveness; Latin. A gentle Puritan favorite
- Patience Peak 2000s 172 in 2025: Calm endurance; Latin. A Puritan name with a Gilbert and Sullivan opera
- Temperance Peak 2010s 94 in 2025: Moderation, self-control; Latin. Temp or Tempe for short
- Verity Peak 2020s 145 in 2025: Truth; Latin. A Puritan name that is still rare in the US
How to pick the right name
Use the hundred-year rule
Names tend to come back about a century after their peak, once they no longer sound like a parent's generation. Names from the 1900s to 1920s, like Hazel and Mabel, feel the freshest right now.
Pick a nickname you love
Many vintage names come with built-in nicknames: Matilda to Tilly, Dorothy to Dottie, Henrietta to Etta. Choose the full name for the birth certificate and the nickname for everyday life.
Check how popular it is now
Some vintage names are very popular again. Violet, Hazel and Ivy are in the US top 100, so if you want something rarer, look at Beryl, Ione or Clementine.
Save this list for later
Pin it to a naming board, or tap the heart next to any name to keep it in your favorites on this device.
Vintage girl names: which came back, and which are still waiting
By The Nomezo Editors · Updated October 25, 2026 · How we research names
Vintage names come back unevenly. Hazel was the No. 18 US girls' name in 1897, fell to No. 1,333 in 1983 and was No. 21 in 2025. Ethel, No. 6 in 1896, went to just 34 girls in 2025. The tag beside each name above shows the decade it was most popular and where it stands now.
Only one girls' name has never needed a comeback: Elizabeth has been in the US top 100 every year since 1880. For the rest, the tables below show which old favorites are back and which still sound like great-grandma.
- Step 1Pick an eraVictorian, 1920s or mid-century: filter by the decade a name peaked.
- Step 2Check where it is nowHazel is top 25 again; Gertrude went to 17 girls in 2025.
- Step 3Mind the age it signalsLinda and Susan sound like grandmothers, not great-grandmothers.
- Step 4Find the nicknameMatilda gives Tillie, Dorothy gives Dottie.
Back already
These names faded for decades and are popular again. Three of them, Evelyn, Eleanor and Violet, rank higher now than they ever did a century ago.
| Name | Old peak | Low point | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evelyn | #10 in 1915 | #289 in 1977 | #8 |
| Eleanor | #25 in 1920 | #693 in 1986 | #12 |
| Violet | #74 in 1919 | #1,291 in 1990 | #13 |
| Hazel | #18 in 1897 | #1,333 in 1983 | #21 |
| Josephine | #21 in 1916 | #498 in 1987 | #53 |
| Mabel | #15 in 1891 | #2,911 in 1997 | #201 |
| Florence | #6 in 1890 | #3,135 in 2009 | #391 |
Source: US Social Security Administration, ranks for girls, 1880 to 2025.
Still waiting
These were top names a century ago and are still rare. Edna and Doris were at their lowest ranks ever in 2025, so the 100-year rule has not reached them yet.
| Name | Old peak | Girls in 2025 | 2025 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethel | #6 in 1896 | 34 | #4,211 |
| Mildred | #6 in 1912 | 98 | #1,973 |
| Doris | #6 in 1929 | 58 | #2,909 |
| Edna | #11 in 1899 | 72 | #2,463 |
| Gertrude | #22 in 1906 | 17 | #6,632 |
| Agnes | #37 in 1899 | 246 | #1,016 |
Source: US Social Security Administration. Ranks past 1,000 count every name given to at least 5 girls; each spelling is counted separately (SSA).
The 1920s top 10, then and now
| Name | Girls born in the 1920s | 2025 rank |
|---|---|---|
| Mary | 701,755 | #125 |
| Dorothy | 368,875 | #421 |
| Helen | 290,404 | #462 |
| Betty | 283,096 | #1,113 |
| Margaret | 245,011 | #112 |
| Ruth | 218,520 | #173 |
| Virginia | 169,554 | #526 |
| Doris | 151,193 | #2,909 |
| Mildred | 147,155 | #1,973 |
| Frances | 140,391 | #318 |
Source: US Social Security Administration. None of the decade's top 10 is in the 2025 top 100. Smaller names did better: 17 of 2025's top 100 were also in the 1925 top 100, among them Charlotte, Evelyn, Eleanor, Violet, Hazel, Josephine, Lillian, Clara, Ruby, Alice and Vivian.
Names that date a woman
Writing an older character, or wondering how a name will sound to grandparents? A woman who turns 80 in 2026 was born in 1946, when Mary, Linda and Barbara led. Mary was the No. 1 girls' name every year from 1880 to 1961 except 1947 to 1952, when Linda took over.
| Born in the | Top five names |
|---|---|
| 1930s | Mary, Betty, Barbara, Shirley, Patricia |
| 1940s | Mary, Linda, Barbara, Patricia, Carol |
| 1950s | Mary, Linda, Patricia, Susan, Deborah |
| 1960s | Lisa, Mary, Susan, Karen, Kimberly |
| 1970s | Jennifer, Amy, Melissa, Michelle, Kimberly |
Source: US Social Security Administration, births per decade. See any name's history by decade in How rare is my name?.
The 100-year rule, and its limits
- Where it comes from. Pamela Redmond and Linda Rosenkrantz named the 100-year rule in their 1988 book Beyond Jennifer & Jason: a name needs about a century to lose its dusty sound (Mental Floss). It is an observation, not the result of a study.
- It works for some names, not all. Hazel and Josephine came back on time. The 1920s' biggest names, Mary, Dorothy and Helen, have not returned to the top 100, and Ethel and Doris are rarer than ever.
- Flower and gem names are Victorian. Daisy was first used as a given name in the 19th century, when many other plant and flower names were coined (Behind the Name). Pearl and the other gemstone names date from the same century (Behind the Name).
- Virtue names are older. Grace was one of the virtue names the Puritans created in the 17th century (Behind the Name). It is the most popular of them today, #38 in 2025.
- Fame moves a name fast. Shirley was already rising when the child star Shirley Temple gave it a further boost; by 1935 it was the No. 2 US girls' name (Behind the Name).
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What are some vintage girl names?
Popular vintage girl names include Hazel, Mabel, Clementine, Violet, Florence, Matilda and Josephine. Rarer choices include Beryl, Ione, Myrtle and Agatha.
What old fashioned girl names are coming back?
Hazel, Violet, Eleanor, Evelyn, Josephine, Mabel and Ada have all made big comebacks. Hazel fell to #1,333 in 1983 and was #21 in 2025, and Eleanor and Evelyn are more popular now than they were a century ago. Others, like Ethel, Gertrude and Doris, are still rare.
What is the difference between vintage and classic girl names?
Classic names, like Elizabeth and Margaret, never really went out of style: Elizabeth is the only girls' name in the US top 100 every year since 1880. Vintage names were popular long ago, faded, and now feel fresh again, like Mabel or Hazel.
What are some cute old fashioned nicknames for girls?
Dottie, Lottie, Tillie, Hattie, Sadie, Josie, Elsie and Effie are cute nicknames that work as full names. Each comes from a longer classic, like Dorothy or Harriet.
What are Victorian girl names?
Common Victorian girl names include Adelaide, Florence, Louisa, Henrietta, Eliza, Clementine and Victoria. Flower names like Violet, Lily and Myrtle also became popular in the late 1800s.
What were the most popular girl names in the 1920s?
By births, the top 10 for the decade were Mary, Dorothy, Helen, Betty, Margaret, Ruth, Virginia, Doris, Mildred and Frances. None is in the 2025 US top 100; Margaret comes closest at #112.
What were common names for women born in the 1940s?
Mary, Linda, Barbara, Patricia and Carol were the top five for US girls born in the 1940s, followed by Sandra, Nancy, Sharon, Judith and Susan.
What is the 100-year rule for names?
The idea that a name needs about a century to sound fresh again, named by Pamela Redmond and Linda Rosenkrantz in 1988. It is a rule of thumb: Hazel and Eleanor came back, but Ethel and Doris have not.
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