What do you do when all your neighbors turn to longtime loves Oliver and Henry?
Go a little dustier, of course.
It’s old news that when not opting for Zaphyn or Bandit, celebrities embrace this type of name in droves. And for good reason. They sound fresh and charming, and are worthy of revival. Who wouldn’t just melt at a meeting a pint-sized Winifred?
Even Jake and Olivia sounded fuddy duddy not long ago.
LADIES
Agatha (Thomas Gibson)
Agnes (Elisabeth Shue & David Guggenheim)
Bernadette
Constance
Cordelia
Dorothea, Dorothy (Tyler Florence has a Dorothy)
Eugenia
Flora
Fredericka
Georgina, Georgiana
Harriet
Hazel (Julia Roberts)
Helen
Henrietta
Hester
Honor (Jessica Alba)
Inez
Ingrid (Gordon Lightfoot)
Irene
Leonor
Mabel (Chad Lowe, Tracey Ullman)
Maud (Judd Apatow)
Millicent
Olive (Sacha Baron Cohen & Isla Fisher)
Philomena
Priscilla
Rosemary
Ruth (Eric Clapton)
Theodora (Keith Richards)
Ursula (Plum Sykes)
Viola
Wilhelmina
Winifred
Zelda (Robin Williams)
GENTS
Anatole
Arthur
Archibald (Amy Poehler)
Augustus
Barnaby
Bernard
Bruno (Nigella Lawson)
Calvin
Casimir
Casper
Cassius
Cedric
Chester (Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson)
Cyril
Dermot
Dorian
Edgar
Frederick
Hector
Ignatius (Cate Blanchett, Julianne Nicholson)
Jerome
Julius
Lawrence
Leonidas
Linus
Louis (Mel Gibson, Ozzy Osbourne)
Lucian (Steve Buscemi)
Nestor
Otto
Pascal
Perry, Peter, Piers (Mikhail Baryshnikov, Meredith Baxter & David Birney, Kirk Douglas, and Sally Field are parents of Peters)
Prosper
Ralph
Rufus (James Taylor)
Rupert
Solomon
Walter
Above: Iris Apfel, proud possessor of a pleasantly old-lady-chic name.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I adore fusty names! *sighs*
Funny that you mention that Olivia sounded fuddy duddy not so long ago. I started keeping name lists when I was 13. For many years I would not even include Hannah because that was an old-lady name that I knew would never come back!
I was born between that span from 1957 to 1967 when Hannah spent a few years ranking in the 900s – I’ve lived long enough now (ouch!) that I’ve seen a name come up from the bottom to reach The Top Ten.
I’ve taken a liking lately to Cordelia. Fredericka has a sophistication that my youth could not appreciate, and I saw a different side of Eugenia when I learned some go by Genie.
I used to feel sorry for Flora (it was a different time) and Philomena. I always have liked Irene, Millicent and Zelda!
As for boys’ names – living in Calfornia, I’ve known a few men and little boys named Edgar, Hector and Nestor since they are popular in the Hispanic community. Nestor you say? It’s really easy to say in Spanish.
I’ve grown to like Bernard and Walter; and Jerome is a name I’ve always appreciated.
Another great post, Elisabeth!
Hector is getting quite popular on young boys in the UK, too!
What fabulous names! And Ruth really is overdue for a comeback.
I love Agnes and Agatha but hubby doesn’t! We are still undecided for names for our soon-to-be born daughter and there’s only 8 days to go!
Good luck with finding the right name in time! You might think of something new altogether when you see her.
My personal favourite is Olive. She is under strong consideration as a first name. Though her birth certificate might have to read Olivia, she’ll be just Olive to us.
And Winifred/Winnie too is darling. I’d use her myself if it wasn’t for that -Fred ending. So our lists feature Minerva/Minnie instead.
Dermot Mulroney also has a Mabel.
Olive is in the top 1000 for the USA now, is that right?
Yup. Olive has ranked the last two years.
Great lists! Well, you know a few of my favorites are here! Especially on the boy list.
I’m super-pleased to see Priscilla make a positive list for once, instead of a name list for pets or drag queens!
I love Dorothea, Harriet, Hazel, Millicent & Winifred.
also Arthur, Barnaby, Cassius, Julius, Otto & Rupert.
I would love to see sisters named Winifred and Millicent! Winnie and Millie, is there anything cuter?
Agatha and Tabitha are two ‘old-lady’ names I love mainly because of their nicknames: Aggie and Tabby! When my Chorus teacher (Heidi) named her daughter Tabitha when I was in the sixth grade, I laughed, thinking, “How ridiculous!” Less than a year later, it made a jump onto my name list. (It has since been knocked down, but I’m still fond of it.)
My very favorites from this list are Agatha, Constance, Georgina/Georgiana, Hazel (currently on my top 10!), Mabel, and Priscilla (which almost on my top 10). For the boys, I’m loving Archibald (Archer is on my list from my love of the nickname Archie), Cassius, Julius, Louis, Lucian, and Solomon (close friend Sullivan was, until recently, on my list).
I have a one-year-old daughter named Winifred (“Winnie”), and I LOVED it until a coworker said, “Hmmm… it sounds sort of Renaissance festival-ish.” Oh no!! Should have gone with Kyleigh Madison. (kidding).
This list perfectly describes my style. We’re planning on naming this little one when she arrives Cordelia. If she’d been a boy we would have gone with Walter.
Zelda<3