Are you looking for a vintage baby name that hasn’t been overused? This list of the hottest vintage baby names for boys and girls are rising in the baby name charts.
Vintage Baby Names Gaining Popularity
Giving your child a vintage name has been a popular trend for the past decade or more. While most vintage names stand the test of time, some are becoming extremely overused. Sophia, Isabelle and Lily have been standards used over and over again in the past decade and are past their prime. Other names like Olivia, Charlotte and Ava have been hovering at the top of the charts for the past few years and are about to be past their peak.
But there are plenty of vintage baby names that have not been overused. I’ve rounded up plenty of vintage baby names for boys and girls that are rising in the baby name charts, but have not peaked in popularity.
If you’re looking for a vintage name that hasn’t been overdone, this list is for you!
Vintage Names for Girls
Ada
Ada is a vintage name originating from Germany. It means ‘nobility’ or ‘noble’. Ada has risen sharply in popularity over the past decade and a half, after being off the charts since the 90’s. Last year, it rose to spot 251, the highest it has been on baby name charts since 1941!
Ivy
From the small crawling plant of the same name. Ivy is a beautiful nature-inspired name for girls, which rose from 107 to to its highest ranking ever, at 86, last year. If you’re looking for a vintage name that is slightly boho, Ivy could be the perfect choice for you!
Isla
Isla, pronounced eye-la, is a baby name originating in Scotland. There is a Scottish island called Islay, or it may be derived from the Gaelic word for ‘rocky place’. Isla is also the Spanish word for island. It’s one of my favorite boho names for girls. It entered the top 1000 in 2008 and moved from 103 to 82 last year.
Rose
Rose is a classic and beautiful English name. Rose was brought to England by the Normans, it stems from the Germanic word meaning ‘horse’. It is also associated from the Latin word for ‘flower’ or ‘rose’. Rose is a classic name, but has not been overused like some vintage names.
Emilia
Emilia is an Italian girl’s name meaning ‘rival’. Emilia is featured in Shakespeare’s Othello. Emilia is a more unique choice than Amelia, which is currently one of the most popular baby names for girls. Although it sounds similar, Emilia and Amelia are different names with different roots and meanings. Emilia has risen steadily in popularity since the year 2000 and reached position 58 last year.
Josephine
Josephine is the feminized form of Joseph and means ‘God increases’. The wife of Napolean, was a notable Josephine. Josephine’s popularity peaked around 1910, but is making a comeback. Josephine is a true vintage baby name that is absolutely lovely, and still fairly unique. It also has cute nicknames like Josie or Joey. (For more vintage girl names with cute nicknames, click here).
Mila
Mila is quickly becoming a very popular girl’s name which stems from Slavic and means ‘gracious, dear’. Rising from 30 to 14, it’s risen in the charts each year since 2007. It will likely be one of the most popular names of 2020.
Cecelia
Cecilia was a 2nd/3rd century martyr. The name was brought to England by the Normans. This name is beautiful and sophisticated. It’s crept up steadily on popularity and reached its highest spot on the chart last year at 155. Cecelia is a perfect vintage girl name. It’s recognizable, easy to pronounce and not too out there, but still fairly underused and absolutely gorgeous!
Esther
Esther is a biblical name, referring to Queen Esther, heroine of the book of Esther. Esther means ‘star’ in Hebrew. It jumped up 12 spots last year on the baby name charts, from 165 to 153. It’s a vintage name on the rise!
Genevieve
Genevieve has roots in French or German meaning tribe woman. It’s popularity peaked in the early 20th century, but is on the rise again today.
Iris
Iris is the classic purple and yellow flowering bulb that arrives to mark the start of spring. Iris is a recognizable name, but still special. Last year it rose from spot 148 to 138. If you’re looking for more gorgeous flower-inspired names that haven’t been overused, see this post.
Cora
Cora was first used in the 19th century novel, The Last of the Mohicans. It comes from the Greek name, Kore, which means ‘maiden’. Similar to Nora, which has become quite popular over the last decade, Cora is a nice alternative that is not as widely used.
Eliza
Eliza is a variant of Elizabeth, an English baby name meaning ‘God is my oath’. If you like English baby names, check out this post on traditional English girl names.
Josie
Josie is a French name that means ‘God increases’. It can be a nickname for Joanne or Josephine, or can stand alone. Josie rose to spot 192 in the charts last year, just beating its previously top ranking year, 1901.
Delilah
Delilah is a Hebrew baby name, meaning ‘delight’. Delilah was Samson’s mistress in the Old Testament. It’s seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, rising from 102 to 94 on the charts last year.
Aurora
Aurora means ‘dawn’ and has its origins in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the sunrise. It was also the name of the princess in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, making it a sentimental favorite among princess fans. After years of rising on the charts, it cracked the top fifty year year, jumping from 51 to 44. If you like the name Aurora, check out this post with 50+ names similar to Aurora.
Ellie
Ellie is a shortened version of Eleanor or Ellen, but is gaining popularity as a name in its own right. It comes from Hebrew and means “God is my light”. After steady increased for years, It reached its highest spot on the chart last year at 37.
Margaret
Margaret means ‘pearl’ in Greek. Margaret has often been a name given to members of royalty. It was popular in the early 20th century and is making a comeback!
Freya
Freya, the feminine form of Frey, means “the lady, mistress or noblewoman”. Freya was a goddess in Norse Mythology. The name grew in popularity from 305 to 266 last year.
Rosalie
Rosalie is a gorgeous vintage French baby name. It comes from the Latin word ‘rosa’, meaning ‘rose’. Rosalie is a really lovely alternative to Rose, if you’re looking for something a little more fancy.
Eloise
From Heloise, Saint Eloise was a 12th century saint. Eloise is the titular character of the famous children’s book and makes is a lovely choice for a baby name. Eloise entered the charts at spot 999 a decade ago and has risen steadily for the past ten years. Last years it rose from 190 to 167 last year.
Anastasia
Feminized variant of Anastasius, and means ‘resurrection’. This name evokes tradition and just a bit of glamour. It rose from 169 to 148 last year and has been steadily rising each year.
Juliette
Juliette is a French girl’s name, meaning ‘youthful’. Despite the slightly different spelling, this name is synonymous with the star-crossed lovers from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Last year it rose from 207 to 185.
Vera
This is a super recognizable, but unique vintage name that is very hip at the moment. Vera is a Russian baby name meaning ‘faith’. This could be the perfect baby name if you’re looking for a mix of sophistication and simplicity!
Georgia
Georgia is a particularly lovely vintage girl name that I personally adore. The feminized form of George, Georgia means ‘farmer’ or ’tiller of the soil’. Although certainly not as popular today as it was in the 19th century, Georgia is on the rise and is a common vintage name today.
Vintage Names for Boys
Sebastian
Sebastian is a Latin baby name and means ‘venerable’. Although Sebastian has been in the top 100 since the year 2000, it has slowly been creeping up the charts. Last year it reached its highest spot ever and leaped from 23 to 18.
Abraham
This Hebrew name means ‘father of many’. Abraham was a biblical figure in the Old Testament. The name, Abraham, has been hovering around the 200 mark on the Social Security charts since the year 2000, but recently began pushing toward the 150 spot. Last year it jumped up 5 places from 169 to 164 alone.
Roman
Roman has slowly been creeping up the charts. It has only made the top 100 names in the past three years; last year it rose to its highest position at spot 85.
Leonardo
Leonardo is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish form of Leonard, which means ‘brave lion’. Leonardo da Vinci was the most famous bearer of this name, but Leonardo DiCaprio is a more recent celebrity bearer. Although Leonardo has been in the top 100 since the year 2000, it has slowly been creeping up the charts. It has only made the top 100 names in the past three years and last year it rose to its highest position at spot 92.
Jack
Jack is a nickname for John, which means ‘God is gracious. It is now more popular as a name of its own. Jack rose to its highest spot ever last year, jumping 7 places from 35 to 28. Jack is one of my favorite one syllable boy names. Click here for over 100 more one syllable names!
Jameson
Jameson was originally an English surname, literally meaning ‘son of James. As a given name, Jameson has been shooting up the charts and jumped from 100 to 91 last year.
Ezra
This name comes from the Hebrew word for ‘help’. Last year, it rose a whopping ten spots on the Social Security charts, from 69 to 59. Click here to see more cute four letter names for boys.
Everett
Everett was a surname, coming from the given name Everard, which means ‘brave boar’. It’s become quite a popular name in recent years, and broke into the Social Security Top 100 last year, jumping from 105 to 95.
Damian
Damian comes from the Greek and means ‘to tame’, or ‘to subdue’.
Silas
Silas is either a form of Silvanus, or a Greek version of the name Saul. Silas reached his highest spot on the charts last year, jumping ten spots from 120 to 110.
Jonah
Jonah is a Biblical name. In Hebrew, it means ‘dove’.
Leo
Leo is a two syllable baby name meaning ‘lion’ in Latin. Leo is a great three letter boy name! Last year it rose from 61 to 50, making it into the top 50 for the first time.
Elias
Elias is a form of Elijah used in the Greek New Testament, among other places. It comes from Hebrew and means ‘my God is Yahweh’. Elias has been steadily growing in popularity, and jumped last year from position 78 to 67.
Miles
The meaning of the name Miles is unknown, but may refer to the Latin for soldier. Miles may also come from the name, Milo, a German name, meaning ‘gracious’. Miles has been quite popular over the past ten years, but last year it broke into the top 100 for the first time, leaping from 110 to 98. Its alternate spelling, Myles, also saw a big rise last year, from 212 to 195.
Rhett
Originating from Old Dutch, meaning ‘advice’ or ‘counsel’. Rhett has made major leaps on the charts each year for the past ten years plus. Last year it rose from 180 to 167. It’s the perfect mix of rustic and vintage naming trends!
Declan
Declan is the Anglicized form of the Irish name, Deaglan. Its popularity has grown steadily since the year 2000. Last year it rose 14 spots on the Social Security charts from 115 to 101. It almost certainly will break through to the Top 100 next year!
Dean
Dean was originally an English surname. It’s risen steadily in popularity over the past 15 years. It broke the top 200 two years ago, and rose 14 spots last year alone, from 187 to 173.
Theodore
Over the past ten years, Theodore has becoming more and more popular. It jumped from position 62 to 44 last year, marking the highest spot in the top 1000 it’s had in years. If you like the name Theodore, check out this post on cute names similar to Theodore.
August
August comes from the Latin and literally means ‘to increase’. As a name, it means ‘venerable’ or ‘esteemed’ and was given to emperors. August has been shooting up the charts, gaining steadily in popularity since the year 2000. It broke through the top 200 in 2015, and jumped a whopping 21 spots from 190 to 171 last year alone!
Lorenzo
Lorenzo is the Spanish and Italian version of the name Laurence, which originally referred to someone from the Roman city of Laurentum. Lorenzo has risen on the charts steadily since 2012, making a giant leap last year alone, from 197 to 174.
Jasper
From the Hebrew, meaning ‘treasure’. In the Bible Jasper was one of the three wise men, or magi, who visited baby Jesus. The name Jasper has been on the rise since the mid 2000s, peaking last year when it jumped from 184 to 154.
Brooks
Brooks literally means ‘dweller by a brook’. It was originally used as a surname before becoming a popular given name. Brooks is moving up the charts at a rapid pace. Just last year, it jumped up an unheard of 43 spots in a single year from 204 to 161!
Gael
Gael is a name referring to the descendants of ancient Celts living in Scotland and Ireland. The name means ‘joyful’. It only appeared on the top 1000 chart in 2002 and has risen sharply ever since, peaking last year at spot 132. Next year it’s sure to rise even farther!
Well moms, those are the top up and coming vintage baby names for boys and girls. I hope this helps you find the perfect baby name!
Name meanings sourced from Behind the Name.
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