Old-fashioned girl names run the gamut from sweet comeback names to forgotten gems. But what they all have in common is that they were once very much on-trend, and then fell off the radar. This pattern gives them a conspicuously vintage feel, and separates them from classic girl names—old names that never seem to fall out of favor.
Currently, popular old-fashioned names for baby girls include Margaret, Ruth, Annie, Jane and Alice. Names that give off strong vintage vibes but haven't made a big comeback yet include Maude, Agnes, Verna, Freda and Ethel.
Like all names, vintage names can be divided into different categories. There are the old-fashioned biblical girl names, like Ruth and Martha. There are the retro floral names, like Marguerite and Rose. There are the cute and casual old-fashioned girl names that end in -ie, like Annie and Nellie.
You can also narrow your baby name search by length. Perhaps your last name is a mouthful, and you love the idea of a short and sweet old-fashioned girl name like Mae, Fern or Lou? Or maybe the opposite true, and you want to pair your baby's brief last name with a long old-fashioned girl name like Rosemary, Imogene or Winifred? Or pick one of the long retro names with cute nicknames, like Harriet nicknamed Hattie, or Eleanor which shortens to Ellie.
If you're not quite sure what you want and are simply looking for some initial inspiration, the following list of 100 popular old-fashioned girl names can be a good starting point.
The list above covers a whole range of vintage names, from late Victorian names to mid-century monikers, but you can also narrow your search to a specific time period:
Old-fashioned girl names can also be searched by first letter. Some parents have established a letter theme for their children, while others want to honor a family member by choosing a name that begins with a specific letter. For yet others, looking through names in alphabetical order just makes the most sense. Here, you can view hundreds of vintage girl names by first letter: