The Name Game: Oldies But Goodies

Julia Roberts wowed the fashion world in a vintage Valentino gown while accepting the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001, but her love of all things vintage didn’t end there. She went on to select vintage names for all three of her children with husband Danny Moder — 4 ½-year-old twins Hazel Patricia and Phinnaeus Walter, and 2-year-old Henry Daniel. According to nameberry.com co-founder Pamela Redmond-Satran, Julia was simply following a popular trend. “Celebrity parents are leading the way for the rest of us by reviving some of these old-fashioned names, dusting them off, and making them seem fresh and new.”

So what’s the appeal? Pamela explains,

“Vintage names are finding favor with parents who want something a bit different from the classics such as Elizabeth or David that have been widely-used for decades, but that still have deep roots and staying power, that go beyond the name of the moment.”

Some names, it appears, never go out of style — and if they do, it’s only temporarily! Pamela notes that just this week, the name Mae was selected by former Crossing Jordan star Kathryn Hahn; Other timely examples include Adele (chosen by Molly Ringwald), Marion (by Sarah Jessica Parker), Helena (by Kelly Rutherford), Mabel (by Chad Lowe) and Phoebe Margaret (by Julianne Nicholson and Jonathan Cake).

Violet Grohl, Henry Driver, Olive Baron Cohen — Splash News Online; Mike/Fame; Bauer-Griffin

Click below to read about which celebrity baby had the biggest impact on the trend!

In the not-so-recent past, celebrity baby girls with vintage names include Alice (chosen by Tina Fey), Agnes (by Elisabeth Shue), Clementine (by Rachel Griffiths and Ethan Hawke), Daisy (by Meg Ryan), Honor (by Jessica Alba), Olive (by Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen; see above right), Ruby (by Charlotte Church, Jillian Reynolds and Tobey Maguire), Sadie (by Adam Sandler) and Stella (by Tori Spelling). Even mom-of-six Angelina Jolie — who has historically eschewed traditional names — chose a vintage moniker for one of her children, 1-year-old Vivienne. It was a certain 3 ½-year-old perennial Celebrity Baby Blog fave who made the biggest splash of all, however. Notes Pamela,

“Jen [Garner] and Ben [Affleck]‘s bold choice of Violet did much to promote the vintage trend in names among Hollywood parents.”

Not long after, of course, followed 3-year-old Violet Grohl (Shown above-left, as chosen by Dave Grohl).

Baby boys have also benefited. There is Augustin (chosen by Linda Evangelista), Felix (by Gillian Anderson and Barry Watson), Henry (by not only Julia Roberts, but also Heidi Klum and Minnie Driver; see center photo above), Ignatius (by Cate Blanchett), Leland (by Brendan Fraser), Samuel (by Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber), and Sebastian (by Kim Fields).

On the U.S. popularity list, vintage names at or near the top of the list include six of the top 10 girls’ names. They are Emma (#1), Isabella (#2), Emily (#3), Olivia (#6), Sophia (#7) and Abigail (#8). For boys, popular vintage names include Jacob (#1), Ethan (#3) and Joshua (#4).

As for vintage names which are steadily on the rise but haven’t yet cracked the top ten, Pamela singles out Ella, Grace, Lillian, Lila, Evelyn, Emmeline, Cora and Clara for girls; For boys, she says to watch out for Nathan, Elijah, Lucas, Owen and Josiah!

In addition to her work with nameberry.com, Pamela has co-authored ten baby-naming books with Linda Rosenkrantz. Their newest title, Beyond Ava & Aiden, is available now.

– Missy

Did you, or will you, select a vintage name for your child? Which vintage celebrity baby name is your favorite?

Comments

I have a nephew who lives here in my city and a niece living in L.A. who each named their new baby boy Elijah!! The babies were born within days of each other and neither parent knew that the other had chosen the name. Then, we have three Davids and two Samuels. So, classic names are all the rage in my family!! Also, I was named for my Great-Aunt and it’s an old southern name. In fact, it’s so old that I’ve only heard of one other person who has it but it was fairly popular in the south 100 years ago!!

- mslewis on July 31st, 2009

I like Augustin for a boy. I chose Nola for our daughter, as I like vintage names but I’m finding them so trendy here in the Pacific Northwest.

- Betsy on July 31st, 2009

I think there will be a day where names like Sarah, Matthew, Nicole, Michael etc will be revived….not that people still don’t name their kids that but there was a day where I had about 4 Nicoles and 5 Jessica’s in my classroom! Just like now a days kids will grow up with multiple Madison’s, Ava’s and Jacobs in their classes. It changes over the years on what is trendy.

Sorry but names like Bronx, Zuma, and Apple will NEVER become trends…I think those kids are safe!

- JMO on July 31st, 2009

When I was a kid, I hated my name. I wanted to be a Jessica, Michelle or Tiffany so bad. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown with my name and now love it. As for my future children they will have old fashion names because they are classic.

- Ruth on July 31st, 2009

I LOVE old, traditional names that have stood the test of time. I definitely think most (if not all) of my children will have “vintage” names. Some of my favorites are Lilly, Audrey, Celia, Rose, Margaret, Jack, Eli, and Oliver.

- Lis on July 31st, 2009

For my girls, I chose Abigail and Kathryn. My son is Terry. They are classic names that have never really gone out of style (except perhaps Terry), and have been around for centuries. They all still sound totally normal in this day and age too though. For the girls’ middle names, though I again went with something that has been around forever, but isn’t heard very often- Celeste and Lorelei, respectively. Terry’s middle name is actually a last name that has been used as a middle name for 3 generations now.

- Shannon on July 31st, 2009

I have two girls – Vanessa and Vivienne.Now,as the third one is on the way and we don’t know the gender yet(it’s a delivery surprise)my hubby and I made a list of our top 5 names for girls and boys to choose from.For a boy’s name we came to an agreement – it will be Michael in honour of Michael Jackson.If it’s a girl it will be one of those names:Madison.Nicole,Michelle ,Harlow(I adore Nicole Richie’s daughter Harlow) or Alicia.I don’t know if they’re old fashioned or not because I’m a foreigner.As a European my taste is slightly different from my husband’s who is fully American.

- Cheryl on July 31st, 2009

I know someone named Agnes, it’s such an old school name, she didn’t like it growing up but she’s grown to love it it’s definitely unique int he age of the avas, isabelles and sophias.

My fav celebrity vintage name is vivienne, especially if they pronounce it the french way. Clementine is a close second.

- lilliana on July 31st, 2009

Love love love! I have an Oliver and have chosen anabelle. My son desperately wants a sister named Minnie – growing on me but still can’t get past that darn mouse…

- brannon on July 31st, 2009

violet grohl is going to be so much trouble when she grows up. man, she’s one pretty little darling.

- kai on July 31st, 2009

We just named our daughter Oona, which used to be more popular with the Latin (as opposed to Irish) spelling Una.

- Stella Bella on July 31st, 2009

I LOVE Cora…. I really hope it doesn’t become too popular. I already had to drop Ava from my list! Although, my top 2 names for boys and girls aren’t even mentioned so I guess I shouldn’t fret too much haha.

As JMO pointed out, it seems like names come and go in waves, just like every other trend. I think celebrity names will continue to be unique (good and bad) and seemingly made up, while, for the most part, the general population will continue on with names that are less likely to cause a stir, whether they be vintage or trendy. Although I’d be perfectly content and Sarah and Jessica and every version of Katie, and Michael never became top names again. Not that they aren’t nice names, I just know too many people born in the 80s (especially late) with those names!

- marimel on July 31st, 2009

Reading this article, I’ve realized that in Europe (in each language) most of the names given to children are what you call “vintage” (we call them just traditional/normal names). There are some “new” names, but most of the people give just the same names generations over generations. Obviously there are trends but inside this traditional limits.

- Suse on July 31st, 2009

I love most of the ‘vintage’ names mentioned. Two of my kids have ‘vintage’ names; Henry Strom and Emmalynne Izobela

- Micheley on July 31st, 2009

Cheryl

I love your girls names. And not that I’m going to change your mind but I’d rethink Madison lol….it’s overused, not very classic, and actually means “son of”….I think your girls have very angelic classic names have you ever thought of Victoria, Valerie, or Veronica for a girl? Plus it keeps the tradition of the “V” going?! But on your list my vote is Alicia Best of luck with your new one!

- JMO on July 31st, 2009

My son is Emmette James, which I think brings some old school charm. (I could just be biased)

- Makenna on July 31st, 2009

Makenna
I think Emmette James is a beautiful name.

I love James as middle names for boys. I think it just finishes the name off nicely.

- Micheley on July 31st, 2009

Funny Makenna I know a guy named James Emmette

- JMO on July 31st, 2009

I named my daughter Audrey. I felt it was a safe, beautiful name that would stand the test of time. I love it!

- Deadra on July 31st, 2009

My children have a mixture of vintage classic names along with a few that aren’t.
Shannon Elizabeth (my step-daughter whom I didn’t get to name, but still is my child)
Kayla Kathleena
Marygrace Elizabeth
Catherine Olivia
Caroline Alessia

My favorite celebrity name would have to be Violet and Stella. I am really loving those lately.

We are trying to have another child and for the next one I want to use Iris Elena or Eva Elena

- Shea on July 31st, 2009

I absolutely love vintage names and I also love family names, and luckily for us, we have lots of awesome vintage, family names to choose! My fave is Clara, after my granny. I love that name!! But I also love Lily, Isabel, Pearl, and Della, which were all my great-grandmothers’ names. I think if you’re into vintage names, you should definitely check into the wealth of names that probably already exists in your family history…what a great way to honor your family!

- angela on July 31st, 2009

not really a fan of vintage name like violet, henry… but not a fan of zuma, bronx and pilot neither. i would go for something original but no weird…. that will be hard i guess.
my niece has a little classmate – the little boy is her lover i think! - named Malone and i find it really cute. i’m not sure that an english pronunciation would be great but in french it’s nice.

- daze on July 31st, 2009

Shea
I personally like Eva Elena

I think my favortie vintage celebrity baby names are Harlow,Adele and Sebastian

- Micheley on July 31st, 2009

I named my son Curtis, not because it was a vintage name but because it was my grandfather and cousin’s name.

- TC on July 31st, 2009

I’m a fan of some vintage names and not of others. I love the name Brendan but would spell it Brenden..I also plan to have a daughter named Mallory, as that was my name for my first 3 days alive lol but my parents thought Ashley suited me better. I agree because Mallory was meant to be my daughter
I am also a big fan of the name Gabrielle and Joseph.
I am not a huge fan of the name Henry, as I would never name my child that but …
My favorite celebrity baby vintage named child is Henry Story Driver because I think he is so adorable and his name fits him perfectly!!

- Ashley on July 31st, 2009

Lucas isn’t a vintage name. If you check the popularity, in the last century, it only cracked the top 100 ten or so years ago.
Its classic but definitely not vintage.

- Emily on July 31st, 2009

Growing up, little girls say “If I have a baby girl, I’m going to name her….”, and that name often changes ten thousand times before they actually have a child. My name is vintage and was picked by me at the tender age of nine, and NEVER changed. My daughter’s name is Sidonia Emily, and we affectionately call her “Sadie” for short. I wanted something old-fashion and unique, with a common enough nickname, that we wouldn’t have to hear, “So how did you guys come up with a name like that?”.

I love biblical names for boys. And very vintage names for girls. I do not understand some of the names that I hear and see people naming their children these days. But to each their own! That’s what makes the world go ’round!

- Meredith on July 31st, 2009

I am also a fan of the name Iris…very pretty and classic name. Given to Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow’s youngest daughter. (and I’m sure other celebrity babies that are not in my mind right now)

- Ashley on July 31st, 2009

Meredith is a vintage name? Are you sure about that?

- Alexandra on July 31st, 2009

I have two girls and the first is Phoebe Evelyn (after a Grnama), and the other is Francesca Olive (not sure why….just went hormonal and couldn’t think of anything else but Olive!).

Every time I wanted to call a child Clementine but wimped out as I thought it was too weird but now its becoming popular! Almost used Matilda but thats VERY popular in Australia.

I like Hazel, Maeve, Adelaide, and so on.

- deedot on July 31st, 2009

we selected vintage names for two of our kids – Damian for our older son… Ruthanne for our daughter

our younger son (our middle child) came out looking so much like my husband that he was named for him, but even there, we found that there aren’t a ton of Jeffrey boys anymore.

With each kid, I was hoping to go unique, but something that anyone could look at and prounounce and spell (even if it wasn’t the most common spelling, they could do it easily kind of thing)

I also wanted something that either had a lot of meaning to us from family members or a lot of history and meaning behind it.

Damian struck me as such a great name because at the time it was just this name that I loved and seemed to stand out to me for the baby, but I wanted something with meaning, so I researched it and found out about the Patron Saint of Physicians, his work with lepers and such made it an easy choice.

Ruthanne is for my grandmother, Ruth, my husband’s great-aunt Ruth, and my sister’s middle name of Anne My grandmother does not like her own name, but we adored her and wanted to name our daughter after this amazing and strong woman… by using Ruthanne instead of just Ruth, she was easily convinced, as she thinks it’s prettier and more feminine

I love that my kids can one day know just how much thought, meaning, and history is behind their names.

- Kat_momof3 on July 31st, 2009

I named my little girl Charlotte, which I think is a beautiful and classic name, I think it also gives her the option of going classic with Charlotte and shortening it to the bit more modern, Charli, I call her both names at the moment so she can be comfortable with either

- Jen on July 31st, 2009

I think I would consider my childrens names vintage.

Genevieve Adeline
Isadora Monroe
Clara May
Evelyn Louise
Auden Leon
and
Eden Samara

- Elene on July 31st, 2009

I have decided on either Anastasia or Lilith for a girl. And Oliver for a boy. I also love Elliot or Jude.

I also love Isobel and other names on that sort of thing. I loved Adele.

I love the name Abigail also. And Allegra.

- Jessi on July 31st, 2009

I love Linda Evangelista’s choice…”Augustin”…great boy’s name!

- Kimmi on July 31st, 2009

I named my daughter Emma Leigh. I think the name is beautiful, plus it’s easy to say AND spell. My name is misspelled so often, I wanted to give her a chance to have people spell her name correctly.

- Jaime on July 31st, 2009

I love love vintage names!
My Daughter is Ruby Ruth.
Ruby because I loved the name and Ruth was for a grandmother.
I love the names Milo, Oliver, Axel & Amos for a boy and for girls I love Adelia (my middle name is Adel), Stella, Nola, Cora, & Olive.

- Becka on July 31st, 2009

I refuse to refer to any name as ‘vintage’. Sorry.

I’m a fan of older names. We’re adding to our brood via adoption and we were talking about names. The husband and I like Bartholomew Odin, Icarus Laban or Silus Amir for a boy. Eris Beldora for a girl. The names we like tend to be ancient LOL so I guess they’re oldies but goodies. My mum hates the name Bart so, if doth protest much we’d change it to Olivier(oh liv ee ay).

It may seem immature but I would be extremely upset if another child had my daughter or *sons name so we’ve tried hard to avoid any hint of a trend.

- gaia's mom on July 31st, 2009

I love the name Hazel.

- anna on July 31st, 2009

I have a Jacob who is now 34. There were no Jacobs around when I chose the name.
My sons are
Dzin Alekzander (pronounced Jin, it’s Yuogoslavian/Hungarian as that’s where my family are from) and Alekzander after my Dad
Chay Sandor (shortened Hungarian name for Alexander)
Jacob Van
Jared J
Torin Quinn

- Alexa on July 31st, 2009

My son’s name is Nolan which is an old-fashioned celtic name. The other name I loved and strongly considered was Graham.

For a girl we had chosen Lila, Vivienne (this was before Angelina’s little one thankyouverymuch ) or Nina. I LOVE Nina. Although I really do like Mae and Iris as well.

I love old fashioned names. I hate super trendy names with “unyque” spellings.

I have an old-old-old fashioned German name. (My mom is originally from Germany.) My whole life I have corrected people on the pronunciation – it is not Anjelica or Anjeleeka…it is An-gee-lee-ka. I do NOT understand why people want to give their kid name they will have to correct the spelling and pronunciation of every day of their lives!

- Angelika on July 31st, 2009

I have two girls, Sadiya Reagan (called Sadie) and Emmaline Daisy. My father was an Iraqi immigrant and my mother was American, so I used the names from each grandmother (Sadiya and Daisy). Sadie’s middle name is, of course, after president Ronald Reagan, and Emmaline was a name I read in a novel years ago and fell in love with!

- Sorayah on July 31st, 2009

My Daughter has a Vintage name…its Lillian June (we call her Lilly though) my sons name is Brett Allan. Not sure if his would be considered vintage?

- BEckyCarter on August 1st, 2009

JMO thanks for the advice I didn’t know what Madison meant.I’ve picked it because one of my favourite celebrity babies is Kai Madison(Donald Trump’s granddaughter).I haven’t thought of V-names for that one because my husband wants something different.We’re waitnig for the baby to see what name will suit it.It won’t be that long – I’m due late August/early September

- Cheryl on August 1st, 2009

I love the name Fiona. My newest grandbaby will be Elle Violet.
The two others are Jack Michael and Braden Eugene.

- Donna on August 1st, 2009

I LOVE “vintage” names! In fact, that’s my favorite “genre” of names! If I were to ever have kids, they’d definently have vintage names! For a boy, some of my favorites are James, Luke, Andrew, John, Adam, and Thomas. For a girl, my favorites include Anne/Anna, Lucy, Luciana, Emma, Violet, and Mary.

- CelebBabyLover on August 1st, 2009

I love the name Olivia but that’s about it. I prefer gender bender names lol.

- Aniah on August 1st, 2009

I take that back. Isabella and Sophia are beautiful names too.

I love the names Sophia Madelynn and Isabella (or Olivia) Grace.

- Aniah on August 1st, 2009

My son is named after our fathers Minas Lawson (my relatives in Greece don’t like Lawson and his relatives in Britain don’t like Minas),so we’re going for something more conventional yet beautiful for the soon-too-be-born girls…Sylvia Madeleine (Madeleine is my mother-in-law’s name) and Louisa Katerina (Katerina is my mom’s name).My mother-in-law called my yesterday and suggested that we name one of the girls Sylvia Lena (which is the nickname my fiancee gave her when he was little) but I think Madeleine is a beautiful vintage name!What do you think?:)

- Maria on August 1st, 2009

i, myself, have a vintage name. mother of God, how much more vintage can you get than that lol! considering my age, ppl are sometimes shocked, b/c u rarely see anyone my age with my same name. it’s mainly older women with my name. i usually get oh, that’s my mom/grandma’s name. never my daughter/niece. but it’s cool, cuz i never had to worry about anyone in class having my same name.

having that said, my kids probably won’t have ‘traditional’ names, so to speak. but they also won’t have a name from the top 10 boy/girl naming lists either, or something that is just so far fetched and absurd. there will be a happy medium.

- Mary on August 1st, 2009

My daughter is Alyssa Jenna Rose, I always loved the name Alyssa and thankfully here in England it isn’t a popular name unlike elswhere! I chose Jenna as a derivative of my Grandma’s name Jean (both from Jane) and Rose because it is beautiful. I think for any future children I would like to go slightly unusual but not too out there, mostly for the sake of the child, they have to live with the name. I also like names that can be shortened, like mine has been, because then they can be known by whichever version they like best but if they have a professional kind of job then they have a more serious sounding full name. I have grown to like my name, and now love many biblical names like Elijah and Zachariah. Other faves are Francesca and Frederick.
Spelling and pronunciation can also be a real pain for unusual names, which I have found with Alyssa, but then if you have a surname that requires constant correction then I suppose it’s not a massive leap for the first name aswell

- Rebecca on August 1st, 2009

Brannon – I love Minnie! Forget the mouse, it’s gorgeous!
I named my twin girls very traditional names, Ivy and Audrey. However, Minnie, Kitty and Maggie were all on our shortlist. They are traditional but have not been done to death.
We called my son Theodore, and he is known as Teddy. I also loved Pablo and Elroy, but my husband wouldn’t hear of them.
Elene – beautiful names you’ve chosen.
One thing I think is that if you go with traditional names, you should stick with the theme for all your kids. The names of Brad and Ange’s kids, to me they just don’t work together. I mean, the twins’ names sound odd compared to Maddox, Pax, Shiloh and Zahara, which are all kind of quirky.

- Sadie on August 1st, 2009

12. marimel Says:
July 31st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I LOVE Cora…. I really hope it doesn’t become too popular.

UHOH… Cora is my first pic for a girl, too, absolutely love it!… and I have the same feelings, I really hope it doesn’t turn into a trend. I also like Lara, which I don’t think it old-fashioned. Loved the name Corinne for years, but it was shot down by my husband, it’s too similar to his brother’s name….

- SO on August 1st, 2009

I love the name Nolan. We were actually looking at ‘nole’ as a middle name, but I don’t think that’s a real name and I don’t want to just make a name up. I also love the name Emmaline after the womens rights activist, but its gain a bit of popularity over the past few years. There are very few names listed here that I don’t like! For once lol.

- gaia's mom on August 1st, 2009

I’m kinda indifferent towards the old name thing. Ava was an old name too 10 year ago. Mabel is one name that I cannot stand. Too much like horse stable. I like biblical and hebrew names if they have meaning for the parents. Overall I do prefer these names to ‘Bryden’ and ‘peyton’ but I guess it depends on the name.

- Elzbieta on August 1st, 2009

Re: Gaia’s Mom: My father’s best friend growing up was Noel. It is a real name, although spelled differently than you have it. See this link at Think Baby Names http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Noel

- lawgirl on August 1st, 2009

“Vintage” sounds a bit too trendy for me, so I prefer to think of them as traditional or classic names. I really like traditional names, and my husband and I hope to use more traditional names for our children. I really like William and Christian for boys.

- lawgirl on August 1st, 2009

Sadie-
Thank you Im quite fond of their names myself
And I adore your twin daughters names. Ivy and Audrey are probably the best twin names I’ve heard.

- Elene on August 1st, 2009

i LOVE vintage names. almost every name on my list of future baby names is a long-lost vintage. i appreciate that my parents named me “margaret,” because i feel like it’s classy and sophisticated. i hope to give my future children classy, vintage names as well.

- Margaret on August 1st, 2009

I have an aunt, Lila, and a relative, Pamela, however, I just don’t really get what they mean that those are “on the rise”. I like Hazel, Adelaide, Ethan, and Henry, with so much more.

- Holly on August 1st, 2009

@Mary, I have no idea how old you are but I have a feeling you’re relatively close to the same age as me. My name is Marianne and I am 22 and the only thing anyone ever says is “oh, Marianne, that’s my great-aunt’s/grandma’s/dead relatives name” haha. And, like you, totally loved being the only kid with my name growing up… I’ve only ever met one other girl my age with my name. I was at the beach earlier this summer and this group of women were taking pics of their daughters and I heard one of the ladies keep saying the name Marianne, and I was so excited I asked if one of the little girls was Marianne…….. NOPE, just one of the 60-year-olds taking the pics hahaha.

@SO…. love Corrine and Lara too! You have great taste haha! What about Coralynn? Then you could have your combo of Cora, with the rhyming of Corrine? I found that name somewhere on the internet… a baby name site, so it’s not made up haha. My top names for future children are Brynn, Leia and Evalena (eh vuh lay nuh)– Evalena hasn’t been in the top 1000 since the 1800′s so I think that probably constitutes vintage lol. And boys names I love Kelan (Kellan), Beckett, Barrett, Trey, and Leyton.

and @Gaia’s Mom… LOVE your daughter’s name! Also, I know someone who’s last name is Noel but pronounced Nole. I think it’s a great, strong, masculine name for a boy!

- marimel on August 1st, 2009

Our girls are Antonia, Francesca, Georgina, Julianna, and Arabella. All are rather vintage – some with a Mediterranian flare and some decidedly English undertones. Their names suit them tremendously well.

- ARRA on August 1st, 2009

I love names like James, John, Edward, Walter for boys. And Beatrice, Violet and Mary. So, I guess a traditional name first and less “vintage” name middle is my thing.

- Ana on August 1st, 2009

Oh! I thought that ‘noel’ was pronounced No-elle, but now that I think about it you guys are right! I feel silly but that’s good news. We’re leaning toward Silas right now…I swear naming a child is one of those most difficult/most fun part of the whole new baby process.

- gaia's mom on August 1st, 2009

Oh and thanks Marimel!! I really appreciate it. I love Evalena, its so feminine. Gorgeous.

- gaia's mom on August 1st, 2009

@Gaia’s Mom – Noel is a real name. The 1990′s TV show “Felicity” even had a main character with that name. Actually the names from that show Felicity, Ben, Noel, Julie, Meghan, Molly, Elena, Sean are all so called “vintage” names. Even the hip new “90210″ is going old for the name of the main characthers with Annie, Naomi, Ryan, Erin. Maybe “vintage” is the modern day “trendy”.

- kerlyn on August 1st, 2009

Hm…I named my daughter something quite classic I believe, Isabella Noel, she was due before Christmas so I found that appropriate.

- Jen on August 1st, 2009

I think vintage names are the best out there. They are timeless and they suit people well throughout their lifetimes.

I have daughters Violet, Josephine, Fawn, Harper and Vera. If I had another daughter, I would have definitely named her Mae. My daughters are all in their twenties now. I love seeing vintage names like Violet and Harper making a comeback.

My daughter Josephine is expecting her first child in November (!!!!) and has no desire to name her son anything modern (the -aden/-ayden/-aiden/-aeden/etc genereation) with obscure spelling. She’s thinking maybe Ross or Weston. I love both names

Also.. I’ve never heard of/seen Violet Grohl in my life.. but she is completely angelic. Oh my goodness, she’s one of the most beautiful toddlers I’ve ever seen. Wow.

- Joyce on August 1st, 2009

ya i know a Noelle and Kim Karsashians(sp) middle name is Noel.

- Tina on August 1st, 2009

Gaia -

My grandfathers middle name is Noel and my cousin used the name Nolan as a middle name for his kid (made it more modern)….although I would of used it for a first name myself. And Silas is on my baby name list too! I got it after the Showtime series Weeds with Mary Louise Parker….Although I also like it spelled Cylas so I could call him Cy for short. But I’m years away from havin kids so I know my taste will change. And I’m like most once I pick out a unique name then hear it more then once I axe it from the list! I want my kid to have something different without it being strange. I will not go out of my way to make up a name or spell it “uniquely” but I hope to come up with some very good one’s that are rarely used.

So far names over the years I had to scrap are:

Jaden
Isabella
Gianna
Evan
Alexa (although I still like it’s just too popular for me now)

- JMO on August 1st, 2009

@Mary
My 13½ yur old is Marygrace Elizabeth. Mary and Grace were her great-grandmother’s names and so we honored them both as her first name, she uses both names, or the nickname Mg. I just thought Elizabeth, a name I always have loved, just sounded so perfect with Marygrace.

- Shea on August 1st, 2009

I love all the vintage names. I myself have an odd name, Trishlina, pronounced Trish-leena. Its a unique name but I get a lot of looks when people try and say it For our daughter we chose Peyton Olivia which I think is nice pick between a modern and vintage name. I get a lot of people that say Peyton is a boy name, but I have heard it for both. Either way we loved it!

- TDC on August 1st, 2009

for me it depends, there are some modern names and some older names that i like. i think in both cases it depends on how popular names are at that point in time. lots of people seem crazy about the name Ava right now but i really do not understand the appeal, equally interms of more old fashioned names there are some old fashioned names that everyone seems crazy about that i don’t really get. clementine, stella and olive are all not to my taste.

with my kids i don’t think the age of the name was really a question. we just chose names we liked and will do so with our two new ones we are expecting. My oldest is Dylan Wilde (after Bob Dylan and Oscar Wilde), my oldest daughter is Catelyn Everly (Cately closely related to a family name and Everly after the Every Brothers), our first set of twins are Holly Kathleen (Holly just because we like it Kathleen after my grandmother) and Jude Patrick (Jude after the Beatles song and Patrick after my grandfather), and our youngest Elliot Michael (we call him Eli (Eeeeli) for short, Elliott just because we liked it and Michael is a family name on both mine and hubby’s side).

we haven’t decided on names for the two new ones yet. but just because someone above mentioned it, i also love the name Silas.

- JM on August 1st, 2009

I also love the names that people have suggested here:
Francesca, Josephine, Olivia (really popular), Nolan.

I also really love Beatrix or Beatrice.

I don’t necessarily want to name my children something that everybody has. So that is why I want to use either Lilith or Ananstasia. Lilith Matilda and Anastasia Maeve. Also I love Charlotte Moira if I ever have a third girl.

Oliver James is an amazing name. Or Oliver Malachi. And Elliot Miles. Jude Moses

- Jessi on August 1st, 2009

I like older names to be completely honest. Probably Anastasia Maeve, Lilith Matilda, or Charlotte Moira for my first three girls.

And Oliver Malachi, Elliot Miles, and Jude Moses maybe for my first couple boys.

I really like some of the names that people have suggested:
Francesca and Josephine.

I also like Beatrix or Beatrice.

- Jessi on August 1st, 2009

Sorry about the double posts, I’m trying to figure out this site

- Jessi on August 1st, 2009

My husband and I named our son Oliver Thomas, and our daughter Ruby Charlotte. We’re still thinking on what to name #3 and #4 who are due in three months. So far, we’ve picked Charles Anthony, and Isabella Grace.

- Nylah on August 1st, 2009

JMO

Weeds is what brought the name to my attention too. Well, I’d heard it before but when I heard it on the show I was like “hey! Sweet name”. I’m sure some celeb will use it and I’ll have to scratch it. I’ve had to ditch Isobel, Vivienne, Charlotte, Miles, Oliver, benjamin(I was pretty upset about losing benjamin). Le sigh! Oh well.

- gaia's mom on August 1st, 2009

thanks Sadie – i’m getting attached this post is a great collection of names – better than any i have seen on baby names sites! my oliver scott and anabelle alix fit in quite well! since the middle names are all for my brothers i suppose next up will be minnie tyler

- brannon on August 1st, 2009

I like vintage names usually but it depends on the name.

My favorite names right now are fairly popular ones. For girl names I’m very very flexible because I just think there are so many pretty ones. I’ll probably let my husband (whoever he may be!) do most of the deciding… as long as it isn’t something horrible lol.

But my favorites right now are
Allie, Gracie, and Alexis. Most likely I’d have Allie have a longer name… I kinda of like Allianna (Alley-on-uh) which is not that common I don’t think! Gracie would probably be a nickname for Grace. I used to HATE the name Grace but I’ve warmed up to it. Alexis I would like to call Lexie but I know that is fairly popular now… (also can you tell I like the ie ending? haha)

I would like my kids to have names that are not too far out there but aren’t necessarily going to be found all the time. I’ll feel bad when we go to buy keychains, stickers, etc. with names on them and they can’t find theirs but I’ll feel better knowing they won’t have people in their schools with the same names (or at least not many of them)

For a boy I like the name Lucas or Logan.

- Laura on August 1st, 2009

I hate how people try and judge other people baby names. Who are you to judge? Honestly.

- withme92 on August 2nd, 2009

Hi all! I have a daughter who is named Elisabeth Mary in honor of my grandmother. I also just got lucky that hubby loves it too. Recently we became grandparents for the first time to Martha Anna Leigh, again a family name. I think classic names serve children well and instills pride in the very people that started our families and I can’t imagine not honoring two of the most special people that my hubby and I adore. If we have any more, and its a boy, its going to be George David after my late beloved father. I say good for celebs to go traditional. Its great for the children to have a tie to the very people that loved them so dearly and are no longer with us.

- Angie on August 2nd, 2009

WITHME92 – Humans are judgemental creatures I’m afraid, and I can’t say that some of the awful names out there do a beautiful child much justice. There are simply some names which seem to cut off a child’s options.

Vintage names are wonderful! I love some of the fustier ones which most people still eschew, like Agatha, Agnes, Milton and Maude. My favourite boy names are Reuben, Theodore, Walter, Augustin and Felix.

I think Beatrix/Beatrice are going to be the next huge thing. I think they have similar energy to the very popular Violet, and people are starting to look for something fresher.

- apple on August 2nd, 2009

I hate how people try and judge other people baby names. Who are you to judge? Honestly.
~
I hadn’t read a single negative comment til yours. Everyone is having fun commenting on each other’s name choices. Its like an online mother’s group. Why comment negatively when it’s really not neccessary? I was enjoying reading everyone’s name choices and reasons behind them. Your comment was the last one and really burst my bubble.

- Kay on August 2nd, 2009

I think it’s better to dispel the idea of ‘vintage’ names. Besides, vintage in which culture? To me,as a white British citizen, there are classic names that go in and out of fashion but are recognisable names to me, for example John, James, Hannah, Lucy, Sarah, Sophie, Andrew, Emma etc etc. They all have different origins (often these names have Biblical origins) but have been used for many many years. I wouldn’t call them vintage. There is a trend I would say for names from the early part of the previous century, like Ava, for example, but that is now so well-used it will sound modern to the several children in the same class that will share it.

But current fashion dictates what is acceptable. Can you see many celebrities naming their kids Doris? People also tend to steer clear of names that were popular in their own generation. I used to be in classes with hundreds of Sarahs – can’t imagine many people my age now calling their daughters Sarah…

- vixen on August 2nd, 2009

In the end I think we like so many names we’d have to have a soccer team of kids to use them all!

- Ana on August 2nd, 2009

To me, a vintage name (though I find that term rather silly) would be Oliver, Hazel, Maeve, and so on. Henry, Alice, Violet, Samuel, etc. are really just classics.

Though I am happy to see older names come back into fashion, if only to get people away from the Addison/Madison Aiden/Jaden Nevaeh-Sparkleigh-Reignbeau crap, it kind of makes me nervous. My favorites tend to run along those lines and the selfish part of me does not want to share!

Gaia’s Mom, Noel is more or less pronounced like “nole” and it’s a totally legitimate masculine name. I think it’s very handsome!

- Candice on August 2nd, 2009

My daughter Abigail Faith Lowine (two middle names) passed away. I would love to use her name as another baby, but I could use Abigail I guess as a second middle name. Or Lowine which is my middle name.

I actually think that Abigail is classic to be honest. Because I haven’t heard that very many times.

- Jessi on August 2nd, 2009

I love vintage names! I try not to judge people for their choice of names, my family hates my daughter’s name and it really bothered me when I was pregnant that they were so judgemental. I even tried to honor both of my grandmother’s, my daughter is Milla Evelyn, her first is after my grandmother who is still living, her maiden name was Mills, and Evelyn after the one who passed a few years ago. My grandma said, “I didn’t know you were THAT close with your other grandmother” haha, people are so harsh! I tried to pick something different for my daughter, I knew about 10 Jessica’s growing up. I imagine it will be like that for the Isabella’s and Ava’s, 4 of my friends named their sons Jackson too. All pretty names, but very popular! I want another girl at some point, I love the names Rowan or Marla, but I’m leaving my family out of it this time:)

- Jessicad on August 2nd, 2009

Lol, I have to agree with the above poster. We didn’t tell anyone my daughters name, except for our mothers who were pretty open. I don’t mean to be judgemental, I would never be mean to someone about their name because none of us got to choose our birth names. However, in this forum if you tell a bunch of moms, young women, older women, a name you chose for your child they are going to comment. I think most of us have been pretty receptive/respectful.

And I like the name Milla, its very pretty.

- gaia's mom on August 2nd, 2009

Jessi- I’m so sorry to hear of your loss!

- CelebBabyLover on August 3rd, 2009

i rly like maeve :] and other old irish names like that. such as kieron, conor, pierce, rory, etc

- Maeve on August 3rd, 2009

im calling my baby boy that is due in 5 weeks ryder, people either love it or hate it but ive had a lot of bad comments on it what do you think?

- claire on August 3rd, 2009

We named our daughter Lily. If she had been a boy, she would have been named James.

- Finais on August 3rd, 2009

Thank you Gaia’s mom:) and Claire I really like the name Ryder! Just remember it’s your son and you’re the one who will be saying it most of the time so don’t worry too much about what other people think. You’re growing him so you should go with what feels right to you! I think Ryder is a strong and unique name.

- Jessicad on August 3rd, 2009

I do like the name Ryde. Its similar to names like Brock and Hudson super masculine which is why I like it.

- gaia's mom on August 3rd, 2009

What about Ava? I would certainly consider it to be a “vinatge” name. I think Reece Witherspoon naming her daughter Ava really jumpstarted the trend.

- Kathleen on August 3rd, 2009

I love Daniel, Samuel, Isaac, and Vincent, for boys names. I just recently lost my grandma who’s name was Elizabeth Jane and I have been thinking lately that I would love to name a future daughter Jane Elizabeth. I love reading about what people choose for baby names!

- Kristi on August 3rd, 2009

I am a huge fan of vintage names myself. I have always liked the idea of a name “growing” from a child to an adult. My children are Madeline Grace, Brady Harrison and Helen Claire. My husband and I were sure to research family names and incorporate those also. My children have always liked hearing the stories about who they were named after and seeing photos of those relatives. I also received a lot compliments on their “classy” names, which is always nice!

- Emily on August 3rd, 2009

I’ve picked my future baby name when I was 12: Izabella Victoria for a girl, Liam James for a boy. However, my partner doesn’t like the boy name, so we’re still considering. I have managed to convince him to name our future daughter Izabella, though, so it’s a partial victory.
For celebrity baby names, I love Vivienne, Violet, Honor and Olive (those babies are adorable!). I loved Mark Wahlberg’s youngest son’s name (Brendan). As for the vintage name, I’m fond of Joshua, Nathan and Ethan – but not Jacob.

- Julie on August 3rd, 2009

Thank you CelebBabyLover! She only lived a couple hours. Thank you.

- Jessi on August 3rd, 2009

Maeve-do you pronounce it like May-ev? That is how I have heard it pronounced?

- Jessi on August 3rd, 2009

Jessi, I can’t answer for Maeve, but it is usually pronounced MAYV.

- Candice on August 3rd, 2009

ARRA, I LOVE all the names of your daughters! I love that you ended them all with an “a” and they go together while keeping their individuality! Excellent choices! My daughters have more modern, trendy names (my oldest daughter doesn’t really like hers and my youngest daughter loves hers) and my granddaughters have classic names that I adore, with each name suiting them perfectly. I was a very young mother and didn’t really have the sense of adventure with names that I would have had if I had children later in life. I would tell you the names of my granddaughters but anyone on here who knows them would instantly recognize them (and others would probably want to use the names because all we ever hear are how beautiful they are…and we don’t know anyone with their names…yet!)

- SouthernBelle on August 4th, 2009

Jessicad-
Our family was so judgemental of all three of our kids names. They were all different but I just felt that since they knew that was what we chose they should atleast keep their mouths shut lol.
Their names aren’t vintage though just different lol;
Tabitha Novalee, Avalon Louisa, and Timaree Grace

- Izzy on August 4th, 2009

Candice that is how I thought. Thank you

- Jessi on August 4th, 2009

I love classic/vintage names, my husband on the other hand love unique names, so we compromised. Our oldest daughter’s name is Anissa Isabella (A-kne-sa). For our twins we had a great debate that lasted throughout the pregnancy. He wanted Darwin Majestic for our son (our son now 9 laughs at this) but was happy with the name I chose, River Michael. For his twin sister he wanted Pepper or Peekaboo I was against this!I wanted Farrah Whisper but he did not like the name Farrah so we named her Alana Whisper (a-lawn-a).

- aznative on August 5th, 2009

I named my daughter Cadence. Everyone looked at me weird when I did it. You never really heard it, but now it has become popular which bothers me because I didn’t want her to have a popular name. I don’t know if that is vintage but I liked it.

- Sara C on August 5th, 2009

my name is GINGER KAY.i am 52 years old.my sweet daddy gave me this name. everyone is a unique individual, and having a unique name always made me feel very special. i have only met 5 other ginger’s in my life.i NEVER met anyone who didn’t ablosutely love my name,as do i.parents,feel free to consider GINGER as a name for your baby.

- ginger kay gehrke on August 5th, 2009

Maria-
Sylvia Madeleine (Madeleine is my mother-in-law’s name) and Louisa Katerina (Katerina is my mom’s name

Sylvia to me(25yr old Aussie) is a very middle aged name. I really don’t like it/ Actually half the cleaners at the hospital I work are called Sylvia it seems-Italian immigrants!
LOVE Madeline, Louisa & Katerina. I also like Eloise with Louisa the names are similar but not matchy matchy.

My name (Rachel) is very tradional and I don’t particually like it, it’s
not very pretty but better than some made up trendy name.

- Rachel on August 6th, 2009

I’m currently pregnant with my first child and I’m totally in love with classic (some might say vintage) names. We found out we’re expecting a girl and the name that seems to be the frontrunner is Lily Grace. I’m also a huge fan of Ava, Audrey, and Alexandria. Always great to keep it classic My husband and I are certainly not going to end up with a Moxie Crimefighter in our family!! (or an Apple Martin for that matter….did Gwyneth even realize that if you add an extra i, her name is Apple Martini????)

- Corinne Lennox on August 6th, 2009

I have 3 children, Eric Edward, Emily Erin and Rachel Ann. I guess I like older names.

- eremra's mom on August 7th, 2009

Madeleine is so great spelled like that! I love the name Sylvia Madeleine.

Audrey is adorable too! And I am partial to Aoife just because I love it and it sounds like Eva: ee-fa.

- Jessi on August 11th, 2009

Ginger is a fantastic name!

- Jessi on August 11th, 2009

I guess I love all names vintage (and a little bit southern). I have a Justin, Jacob and Annalisa-all family names. My darling granddaughters are Kate, Sarah Margaret, and Frances Jane, again family.

- lisa preaus on August 21st, 2009