Unusual 1800s Names for Girls

Looking for baby name ideas for a daughter? If you're a retro mom (or dad) who's into all things vintage, including throwback baby names, our list of unusual girl names from the late 1800s may prove to be a good source of inspiration.

To create this list, we analyzed the U.S. Social Security Administration's baby name data, which goes back all the way to 1880, and selected the names that had their heyday in the 1880s or 1890s but that were not particulary popular at that time. Coincidentally, none of these names, with one expection, were among the top 100 girl names back then (the name that did crack the top 100 was Maude at #43).

We further finetuned the list by removing extremely rare names, that is, names that had on average fewer than ten entries per year. Why? Because names that occur with such infrequency tend to sound strange or even crazy, rather than unusual.

Ready to get inspired? Here's our selection of 30 unusual girl names from the late 1800s:

• Adda. The more common spelling variation Ada has staged a huge comeback, but Adda has been slipping out of notice.
• Bell. Inspired by the surname Bell, an old occupational surname denoting someone making or ringing bells, or a variation of the name Belle, meaning "beautiful"? No one really knows.
• Bess. Bessie, truncated. Take it or leave it!
• Besse. Variant of Bessie.
• Corda. A pared-down version of Cordelia.
• Docia. A short form of Eudocia or Theodocia.
• Donie. Donie's best known bearer — Irish-born journalist and news presenter Donie O'Sullivan — happens to be male, but most Donies, at least in post-Civil War America, have been female.
• Ettie. With the sweet -ie ending, Ettie could be just the kind of old-fashioned name that could easily transition into the category of cool, fresh-sounding baby names.
• Hulda. Hulda, as well as the more uncommon Huldah, were still occasionally heard in the 1800s, but both have since fallen into a deep sleep.
• Huldah. Part of the pious group of old-fashioned girl's names with strong biblical roots.
• Ivah. Ava is hugely popular today, but Ivah remains a rarity.
• Kittie. An endearing vintage moniker with a nicknamey vibe and an animal twist—not everyone's cup of tea, though.
• Lotta. Simple two-syllable names with the classically feminine -a ending were on trend in the 1800s—Lotta is one of the more unusual ones of the crop.
• Loula. Lula may be showing signs of a comeback, but Loula remains an under-the-radar choice.
• Lular. An old, Southern name that seems to have fallen into oblivion.
• Lulu. Somewhat popular in the Gilded Age, this cute (perhaps too cute) L name has yet to find its footing in modern-day America.
• Lutie. Many old-fashioned girl names ending in -ie are coming back, but Lutie isn't one of them.
• Mabelle. All the vintage charm of Mabel, with extra frills and lace.
• Mathilde. Mathilda with a French twist.
• Matie. occasionally used in the 1800s and early 1900s, Matie has virtually disappeared from the baby naming lexicon since then.
• Maud. A somewhat unusual but not unheard-of variation of Maude, the slim, trim Maud was given to more than 7,000 baby girls from 1880 through 1899.
• Maude. The only name on this list that was among the Top 100 girls' name of the late 1800s (it came in at #43).
• Mertie. A nickname for Myrtle but occasionally also used as a given name at the turn of the twentieth century.
• Meta. Meta may be a Greek-derived prefix meaning "after" or "beyond", as well as the parent company of Facebook and Instragram, but back in the 1890s, it was also a Top 300 name for girls.
• Mettie. Despite the sweet -ie ending, we don't see this one making a huge comeback.
• Mintie. A bit too, uh, minty for our taste.
• Myrta. If the 1930s' star Myrna is not retro enough for your taste, try Myrta which predates Myrna on the charts by half a century.
• Osa. If you're drawn to short vintage rarities, it doesn't get much shorter than this.
• Ottilia. On-trend but not overused in the 1800s, Ottilia and Ottilie were surpassed by Otilia (with one T) in the 1900s. Today, all three versions are in circulation, though all remain very rare.
• Ottilie. See above.