My recent trip down south left me largely incommunicado. Apologies. However, I return with a full report on Southern baby naming. My vacation turned up an alumni magazine for the all girls school my mother once attended, and I’ve included names from its rival as well. Mostly these just reaffirm that Southerners spearheaded the movement of surnames on girls, often as a way of passing on family heritage that could otherwise be lost. So too do they like to pass on the names of their grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Siblings Georgina and Frances are particularly delightful. Pretty girls, too.
Ann
Anna (x2) (& Grace)
Austin
Bailey
Barrett
Beeland
Betsy
Blair
Blaise
Brooke
Callie
Camille
Caroline
Celia
Claire
Colleen
Connor
Edie
Elisabeth
Eppie
Evey
Eliza (x2)
Elizabeth (x3)
Ella
Ellen (x2)
Elliot
Emily (x2)
Estes
Fontaine
Georgina (& Frances)
Gigi
Ginny
Greer (x2)
Kaki
Hayly
Holland
Jane
Jane Clare
Janie
Jeanne
Jennie
Kallen
Karen
Kathryn
Katie
Kelly
Kendra
Kennan
Lacy
Lauren
Leigh
Lillie
Lily
Lizzy
Louisa
Louise Day
Lucy
Madison
Margaret (x2) (& Nancy)
Margo
Marina
Marietta
Mary
Mary Caldwell
Mary Catherine
Mary Greer
Mary Evelyn
Mary Jane
Mary Ward
Meg (probably Margaret)
Memory
Meredith
Merri
Mimi
Mindy
Minor
Mollie
Molly
Natalie
Nicolette
Paige
Palmer
Phoebe
Rachael
Rachel
Reese (x2) (& twin Tess)
Ruth
Ruthie
Sara
Shelby
Sigrid
Sloane
Susan
Tempe
Tess (twin Reese)
Theresa
Townes
Walton
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Zomgz! I study Russian with a lovely girl named Georgina; she has an older sister named Frances; and both of them graduated from a girls’ school in Tennessee!
Too funny Paul! Small world.
Lovely list – Mary Greer is fabulous! Actually, Mary Nearly Anything is nice.
Lots of interesting monikers on this list. I particularly like:
Caroline
Celia
Edie
Elisabeth
Eppie-cute as a nn for Eponine
Eliza
Elizabeth
Ella
Fontaine
Georgina (& Frances)-Great set
Gigi
Holland-GP
Jane
Jeanne
Lily
Louisa
Lucy
Margo
Marina
Marietta
Nicolette
Phoebe
Pricey-GP, and Gray is somewhat cute on a girl, I can’t warm up to the other name
Ruth
Sigrid
I really cannot warm up to these and find many of the following quite odd as fns, especially on women:
Ann-the lack of an E makes it look incomplete
Austin
Bailey
Barrett-very harsh on a female
Blaise-love this on a boy
Connor
Dial-to me, this is just a random object
Elliot-I wonder if they call her Ellie
Estes
Kaki-reminds me of Kaka
Kallen-I can’t figure how this could be pronounced. Like Collin, or is it (KALL-len) or is it Kaylin spelled a different way?
Kelly
Kennan
McCaughan (Dial)-not very appealing as names, much less on females
Madison-its interesting to see an adult Madison, definitely nmsaaa
Meredith
Minor
Paige
Palmer-why not Palma?
Reese-has always reminded me of Reeses pieces
Shelby-way too cutsy on a full grown adult
Tempe-for some reason, this reminds me of tampon, though I do love Temperance which I’m guessing is possibly a full name for Tempe
Townes
Walton
Delurking to comment that these are very much like the names I hear everyday in the South. My 2 yr old daughter is Phoebe, she has friends like
Girls
Gray
Emerson
Connell
Ann Stuart
Judson (nn Juddy)
endless Mary-somethings (most often Caroline)
Boys
Bower
Hays
Rhodes
Gillis
Gates
Matthews
These types of names are considered very traditional and in the best taste in the South. Feminity and “cuddliness” comes far distant to flaunting family heritage!
Thank you for coming out from lurkdom for this Caroline! I visit the South about once a year, and every time it’s a joy to spy on the names. Individually they aren’t so different, but en masse it’s somewhat different than those I encounter on a regular basis. I really appreciate names that come out of time-honored traditions.
I was told that my daughter looks like a 2-year-old Phoebe there. Wonder if it’s yours?
I myself live in the South, and can’t help but feel my chest swell up with pride at this list! Though two of my three girls’ names couldn’t possibly sound farther from Southern, I have always had a strong penchant for names like these
My favorites…
Beeland – I’ve never heard of this before! I love it.
Heehee.
Blair
Camille
Caroline
Eppie – This is such a precious nickname.
Fontaine – Ohhh! I used to absolutely love this name, but had long forgotten about it until now. Its officially back on our shortlist for baby number four. Sinéad, Shelby, Victoire and Fontaine? I kind of like it…
Georgina
Ginny
Leigh – This was my favorite name when I was a little girl!
Marina
Marietta
Mary Greer
Mary Jane
Memory – Word names are typically my style, but I like this.
Mimi – My grandma’s name is Emily, and we call her Mimi. I love it.
Nicolette – This is on our shortlist!
Shelby – This is, of course, my favorite
Theresa
Beeland! Wow! This reminds me, I just heard of a baby girl named Rosebank.
Rosebank! That’s really something.
That’s a pretty RIGHT on list here in Texas!! Kallen that I’ve heard is Allen w/ a K in front. A TON of Carolines in this town.
I actually really like the idea of Blaise on a girl – and Barrett too. Great list.
Dial?? Oh my goodness.
Coming from Canada this list looks very foreign to me. I definitely don’t see any of my friends naming their daughters the likes of Beeland or Fontaine — delicious!
Margaret and Nancy are so cute!
I’m loving Gray, but the hubs will never go for it.
I am a white southern girl from Louisiana and could not help but love most of these names. After growing up with the name SheRhonda ( my mothers name is Rhonda BTW) I vowed that I would never name my children anything that would take them 10 years to learn and understand why I was the star out of five children got that name!!! So anyway I named my little girl Evalynn Rose- my mother in law had Lynn in her name, I had a great aunt evaline and my great grandmothers name was Rosie; I am still in love with this name! I then had a son and named him Carson Benjamin- we both like Carson and I let Benjamin come in just because the hubby wanted it and I made a deal the his name could be in there as long as it’s not a Jr!!!! You know the usual south has allll of those jr’s running around with overalls… no need to say anymore!! Now we are trying for another and I would like a name to go with Evalynn and Carson only idea I came up with so far is Emerson Blaise or blaze… Any other ideas please let me know
If you’re channeling Southun Uppa Class, Mary + anything as a double fn works. Generally not heard amongst the middle class, but wild with the wealthy. Mary Morgan, Mary Grace, the combinations are endless. Also Caroline. Pair Caroline and Mary+? and you have the perfect southern sibset!
Here’s some southern girl family names (I’m from Alabama):
Frances
Odessa
Cameron Claire
Helen
Ida
Norma Jean