Living an old-fashioned life has a major appeal. As such, I have selected 150 uncommon old-fashioned baby girl names with meanings included.
List of Uncommon Old-Fashioned Girl Names And Their Meanings:
Zosia
Zosia has Polish origins and means ”wisdom.” It is the Polish version of Sofia which has Greek roots and it is very popular in Eastern Orthodox countries. Recently, Sophia entered the top-most popular feminine names in Canada.
Queenie
Queenie is a form of the term meaning “queen.”
Vera
”Faith.” Viera is the variant in Slovakian while Véra is in French.
Winifred
”Blessed reconciliation” or ”friend of peace.” It is the English version of the Welsh Gwenfrewi.
Euphemia
It combines Greek eu, good, and pheme, speech.
Fenella
”White shoulder.”
Norma
”Rule,” and a druid priestess in Bellini’s opera.
Zadie
Zadie has Hebrew and Arabic origins and means abundant or princess.
Pippa
”Lover of horses,” and is a short form of Philippa. It has its origins in the Greek words philos (loving) and hippo (horse). Other short forms of Philippa that I like are Pip and Pippy.
Minerva
”Of the mind,” and a Roman goddess whose sacred bird is the owl.
Aurelia
From Latin aureus, golden.
Arabella
”Prayerful” or ”beautiful altar.”
Yara
”Courage” or ”strength” in Persian and ”small butterfly” in Arabic. It is also spelled Iara that is a figure from Brazilian mythology. Brazilian artist Yara Tupynambá organized the Atelier Vivo in 1974.
Patsy
It is from the Latin Patricius, ”noble.” Patsy is the diminutive of Patricia. Martha Jefferson Randolph was called “Patsy” in her youth.
Coralie
”Coral.”
Petra
Rock/stone.
Gladys
”Princess”.
Blanche
Blanche (“white”) of Castile ruled France as regent for her young son.
Lydia
”Woman from Lydia,” an ancient kingdom of Asia Minor.
Jessamine
”Jasmine.”
Ethel
It comes from æthel, noble.
Vivienne
Vivien Leigh received two Best Actress Oscars, one for Gone with the Wind in 1939 and the other for A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951. It has roots in the Latin vivus, ”alive.”
Camilla
From Latin camilla, a young ritual attendant.
Mildred
”Gentle strength.”
Vesta
Hearth.
Winslow
“Friend’s hill.”
Theodora
It comes from the Greek theos (”god”) and doron (gift). Teodora is a variation of Theodora and is very popular in Serbia. She was the wife of Emperor Justinian I.
Wanda
Wanda has German and Polish origins and is meaning ”kindred.” At one point it was the second-most popular girl’s name in Poland.
Priscilla
”Ancient.”
Phyllis
”Foliage,” and a Greek princess who became an almond tree.
Susannah
Lily.
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina is the feminine form of the German Wilhelm. Nicknames include Willa and Mina and it is also spelled as Wilhemina or Wilhelmena.
Clementine
”Merciful/mild.”
Pansy
From French pensée, thought.
Signs You Are Old-fashioned
You understand that the most important things in life aren’t things.
You prefer to do things with your own two hands.
You prefer face-to-face contact as opposed to texting.
You know that newer doesn’t always mean better.
Ophelia
It is from the Greek opheleia, ”advantage” or ”benefit.” Ophelia is a character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Hepzibah
”My delight is in her.” Hepzibah was a spinster in The House of the Seven Gables.
Georgiana
”Farmer.”
Magdalena
”Woman of Magdala” or ”tower.”
Tilly
Tilly is a diminutive of Matilda, the English form of Germanic Mahthildis. It means ”strength in battle” or ”mighty in battle.” Empress Matilda was the Holy Roman Empress and the eldest child of Henry I, king of England.
Netta
”Sapling” or ”plant.”
Rosalie
Rosalie comes from the Latin rosa and has a meaning that I love, ”rose.”
Delphine
Dolphin, or ”woman from Delphi.”
Alberta
Alberta (“noble and bright”) is a Canadian province after Queen Victoria’s daughter.
Eudora
Good gift.
Tallulah
It has origins in a Choctaw word for leaping water.
Felicity
”Happiness” or ”good luck.”
Elfrida
It is made of Old English ælf, elf, and þryð, strength.
Leonie
Lion.
Astrid
Astrid (“divinely beautiful”) Lindgren created Pippi Longstocking.
Florence
Florence Nightingale was the first woman elected to the Royal Statistical Society in 1858. It is from the Latin florens, flowering.
Verity
From Latin veritas, truth.
Lorelei
”Murmuring rock,” as well as a Rhine cliff where a siren lured boatmen in legend.
Thomasina
Thomasina is the feminine form of Thomas which is from the Aramaic word t’oma (twin). In the Bible Thomas the Apostle is one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was born in the early 1st century CE in Galilee.
Gemma
”Jewel.”
Zenobia
Zenobia (“life of Zeus”) ruled Palmyra and fought Rome.
Sybil
”Prophetess.”
Tabitha
Tabitha has Aramaic origins and is symbolizing ”female gazelle.” She is a faithful disciple of Jesus. ”In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek is Dorcas);” Acts 9:36-42
Agatha
”Good.”
Bridget
”Exalted one,” and Saint Brigid is a patron of Ireland.
Mirielle
Mirielle comes from the Latin “mirabilis”, ”remarkable” or ”amazing.”
Penelope
It has its origins in the Greek word ”penelops”, ”duck.” French illustrator Pénélope Bagieu is known for her blog BDs.
Serafina
“Burning ones.” It is a variant of the Hebrew Seraphina. Seraphims are heavenly beings who surround God as He sits upon His exalted throne.
Joan
”God is gracious,” and a peasant girl who led French troops at Orléans.
Isadora
Gift of Isis.
Bathsheba
”Daughter of the oath” or ”seventh daughter.”
Evangeline
”Good news,” and a Longfellow poem about Acadian lovers parted by exile.
Rowena
Rowena (“fame and joy”) marries the knight in Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe.
Ernestine
”Serious,” ”earnest,” ”resolute” and ”determined.”
Juliet
”Youthful.”
Opal
It has origins in Sanskrit upala, precious stone.
Naomi
Pleasantness.
Emmeline
”Universal”. Emmeline Pankhurst led Britain’s suffragettes.
Una
From Latin unus, one.
Myfanwy
Pronounced as muh-VAN-wee. ”My fine one.” Joseph Parry wrote a Welsh love song with this moniker.
Octavia
Eighth.
Margot
Margot is from the Greek word margarites (pearl) and is the diminutive form of Marguerite.
Beryl
Beryl (“green gem”) Markham was the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic westward.
Marigold
”Mary’s gold.”
Eunice
”Good victory.”
Calliope
Beautiful voice.
Millicent
It has roots in the Germanic word amalasuintha, ”strong in work.” Millicent Sowerby issued the postcard series “Postcards for the Little Ones.”
Zillah
Shade, or shadow.
Perpetua
”Everlasting.” Perpetua was a martyr whose prison diary survives.
Dinah
”Judged,” and Alice’s cat in Wonderland.
Hattie
Hattie is a diminutive form of Harriet that is the English version of the French Henriette, ”power.”
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Sallie
”Noblewoman.”
Marguerite
”Pearls,” and is from the Greek margarítēs. Margaret of Bourbon was the first wife of Philip II, Duke of Savoy.
Lucille
Lucille has its origins in the Latin Lucilla, bearer of light.
Stacy
Stacy is a short form of Anastasia (”resurrection”).
Etta
”Ruler of the home.”
Yvette
Yvette is the French feminine form of Yves (yew wood) and is pronounced ih-VET.
Sabine
“Woman of the Sabine people.”
Eleanor
In 1948 Eleanor Roosevelt was the Chairman of the UN committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It has origins in the old Provencal Alienor, “the other Aenor.”
Libby
”Pledged to God” or ”God is my oath.”
Agnes
Agnes is from the Greek hagnos, ”pure.”
Adelaide
Adelaide (”noble in nature”) comes from the Germanic Adalheidis that is composde of adal (noble) and heid (kind or sort).
Jacinta
”Hyacinth,” and has Greek roots.
Genevieve
Saint Genevieve is patron of Paris and saved that city from the Huns. It means “woman of the family.”
Beatrice
Beatrice is from the Latin beatus (”happy” or ”blessed”). Beatrice was Dante’s true love and she leads him into Paradise in the Divine Comedy. Bea and Trixie are short forms that I like.
Josephine
Josephine Baker spied for the French Resistance in World War 2. It is the feminine variation of Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef (”God will add”).
Cordelia
Cordelia is either from Latin cor (heart) or the Welsh Creiddylad. It is pronounced as kor-DEEL-yuh.
Clara
Latin for bright and clear. In 1881 Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.
Dorothea
”Gift of God.”
Edith
It is from the Old English ead (”wealth”) and gȳð (”battle”). Edith Wharton’s 12th book, The Age of Innocence, won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize.
Estelle
Estelle Getty won the 1988 Emmy for performing as Sophia in The Golden Girls. It comes from the Latin stella (”star”) via Old French.
Frances
”Free one,” and is the female form of Francis.
Hazel
Its meaning comes from the hazel tree.
Louisa
“Famous warrior”. In 1868, Louisa May Alcott published her work, Little Women.
Mavis
Song thrush.
Gertrude
Gertrude (“spear strength”) Ederle was the first woman to swim the English Channel.
Augusta
”Venerable,” and Augusta, Georgia, is named after the mother of King George III.
Dulcie
Sweet.
Ivy
”Climbing vine”.
Mabel
It comes from the Latin amabilis, lovable. Mabel Normand directed Charlie Chaplin in his early Keystone shorts.
Imogen
”Maiden,” and probably a printer’s slip for Innogen in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.
Zelda
”Grey battle” or ”happiness”.
Edna
Hebrew for ”pleasure,” Irish for ”kernel.”
Maude
Maude Adams is the first American to play Peter Pan on stage. It is a form of Matilda that has Germanic roots and is symbolizing ”might” and ”battle.”
Nell
It is a short form of Eleanor and Helen.
Fern
A leafy plant, and a girl who saves Wilbur the pig in Charlotte’s Web.
Lavinia
”Purity.”
Bertha
From Germanic beraht, bright.
Olive
”Olive tree.” Livvy is a popular nickname.
Merle
”Blackbird.”
Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn (“white ring”) Brooks was the first Black writer to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Temperance
”Moderation/restraint.”
Prudence
Prudence is from the Latin prudentia, foresight or caution.
Ruth
It is Hebrew for ”companion” or ”friend.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the US for seven years.
Sylvia
Latin silva, wood or forest.
Cecilia
It is from the Roman Caecilius (”blind”). Saint Cecilia is the patron of music and musicians.
Ottilie
”Wealth,” ”fortune,” ”prosperity” and ”riches.”
Myrtle
From Greek myrtos, a myrtle shrub.
Constance
In 1918 Constance Markievicz won a seat in the British House of Commons and is the first woman ever elected there. It comes from the Latin constantia, ”steadfastness.”
Daphne
In Greek myths Daphne turned into a laurel tree to escape Apollo. It means ”laurel.”
Sophronia
”Self-controlled,” ”prudent,” ”sensible” and ”wise.”
Veronica
”True image” or ”bringer of victory.”
Althea
Althea (“healing”) Gibson was the first Black champion at Wimbledon.
Keziah
”Cassia tree.”
Esme
Pronounced as EZ-may. ”Esteemed.” Salinger wrote a story called For Esmé, with Love and Squalor.
Mehitabel
”God makes happy” or ”God does good.”
Eloise
”Wide” or ”whole.”
Flora
Flora is the Roman goddess of flowers and spring. It has roots in the Latin flos, ”flower.”
Iris
Iris is Greek for rainbow.
Violet
Violet comes from the Latin viola.
Christabel
”Beautiful Christian,” and a Coleridge poem he never finished.
Aurora
Dawn.
Antonia
”Priceless” or ”flourishing.”
Cornelia
”Horn.”
Philomena
It combines Greek philos, loving, and menos, strength.
Fay
Fairy, or faith.
Lorna
From Lorne in Scotland, and R.D. Blackmore created it for Lorna Doone.
Clotilde
”Famous battle,” or ”loud battle.”
Lettice
It comes from Laetitia, ”joy.”
Enid
”Life,” and Enid Blyton wrote The Famous Five.
Ida
From Germanic id, work.
Hermione
Pronounced as her-MY-uh-nee. ”Messenger.” A wronged queen in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
Hortense
From Latin hortensius, of the garden.
Jemima
Jemima (“dove”) Puddle-Duck is a foolish duck in a Beatrix Potter tale.
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