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Vintage Girl Names: How To Find A Cool Old Name
Vintage Girl Names: How To Find A Cool Old Name
Dec 13, 2024 10:49 PM

  Vintage girl names are back in style, which choices such as Emma, Olivia, and Adeline ranking high on the popularity lists. But maybe you want a vintage name for your daughter and are hoping to uncover a hidden treasure from the past. 

  We’ve written a lot about the 1910s baby names that are coming back, thanks to the Hundred Year Rule: Alice and Florence, Lillian and Hazel and Ruby.

  But what about the names in the Top 1000 of 1910 that are virtually unknown now? A hundred years ago, Helen was the number 2 name for girls, right behind Mary. Mildred was number 8, Ethel number 13, and the dubious Gladys hot on her heels at 15. You don’t meet many Ethels and Gladyses (Gladysi?) anymore outside the nursing home.

  And I’ve never heard of a Ceola, Ozella, or Exie, yet those names and dozens of others now lost were in the 1910 Top 1000.

  Several months ago we looked at the Lost Names of 1880, and were surprised by how many there were. We declare ourselves surprised anew by how many lost names we’ve located on the 1910 roster that are different from those we listed in the 1880 story.

  

Girl Names Popular in 1910

The first group are not lost, exactly, as they’re still heard from time to time. A few — Blanche, Lula, Viola — may even make a comeback. But most of these names, popular in 1910, have been in mothballs for decades now and may never make it out.

  Aline

  Alma

  Avis

  Beulah

  Bernice

  Bertha

  Blanche

  Clarice

  Doris

  Elnora

  Ernestine

  Eunice

  Fern

  Hilda

  Inez

  Iola

  Iona

  Leona

  Lois

  Lorena

  Lula

  Melba

  Merle

  Myrtle

  Opal

  Pansy

  Rosetta

  Thelma

  Veda or Vida

  Velma

  Verna

  Viola

  Wilma

  Zelma

  

Obscure Names of 1910

The second group are names that have already slipped under the surface. While I’m certain that some of you knowledgeable berries will protest about the visibility or viability of a handful of these names, most seem to me to no longer be part of the basic American name lexicon. Your opinions on exceptions welcome.

  I want to note that several of these names seem like quasi-names, a group we singled out in the 1880 story. We include here choices not included there — Alta, Elva, Lera, Rilla — and there are enough of these name snippets to assume it was still a trend in 1910….though it is not today.

  Albina

  Alida

  Almeda

  Alpha

  Alta

  Altha

  Alva

  Alvina

  Arvilla

  Ceola

  Della

  Delma

  Delphia

  Dona

  Elda

  Elna

  Elva

  Emmer

  Erma

  Ethelyn

  Eula

  Florine

  Floy

  Glenna

  Hulda

  Idell or Idella

  Ira

  Leatha or Letha

  Lela

  Leola

  Leora

  Lera

  Louvenia

  Lue

  Lura

  Marvel

  Meta

  Mozelle

  Myrtice or Myrtis

  Nedra

  Neva

  Nona

  Novella

  Odell

  Oleta

  Ozella

  Palma

  Reatha or Retha

  Reva

  Rilla

  Rosina

  Treva

  Trula

  Vada

  Velva

  Verda

  Verla

  Vesta

  Zada

  Zella

  Zola

  Zula

  

Nicknames of 1910

And then there are the lost nickname-names, epidemic in 1880 and still raging in 1910. We listed a lot of those names in the 1880 story and didn’t want to repeat, but here are several nicknames that were hot in 1910 and are rarely heard now.

  Arie

  Arlie

  Bennie

  Bertie

  Callie

  Claudie

  Exie

  Flossie

  Gussie

  Jannie

  Kattie

  Linnie

  Lonnie

  Lossie

  Macie

  Maudie

  Mazie

  Mossie

  Myrtie

  Nannie

  Ollie

  Ossie

  Ressie

  Tennie

  Tressie

  Vergie or Virgie

  Verlie

  Versie

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