A few years ago I combed though a bunch of IMDb pages looking for interesting female names associated with old films (1910s-1940s).
Most of the names I spotted — names like Mabel, Maisie, Hazel, Hattie, Elsie, Selma, Bessie, and Betty — were ones I expected to see. But I did manage to collect thousands of rarities, many of which have never appeared in the SSA data before.
Want to check out all these unusual names? I thought so! To make things interesting I’ll post the Z-names first and go backwards, letter by letter.
Enjoy!
Zabette
Zabette de Chavalons was a character played by actress Bebe Daniels in the film Volcano! (1926).
Zabie
Zabie Elliot was a character played by actress Mary Alden in the film The Broken Butterfly (1919).
Zada
Zada L’Etoile was a character played by actress Sylvia Breamer in the Cecil B. DeMille-directed film We Can’t Have Everything (1918).
- Usage of the baby name Zada.
Zadee
Zadee Burbank was an actress who appeared in films during the 1910s and 1920s. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1867 with the name Sarah Pyle Watt.
- Usage of the baby name Zadee.
Zahanna
Zahanna was a character played by actress Marie Walcamp in the short film The Girl and the Tiger (1913).
Zahrah
Zahrah was a character played by actress Gene Gauntier in the short film The Fighting Dervishes of the Desert (1912).
- Usage of the baby name Zahrah.
Zahrat
Zahrat was a character played by actress Betty Blythe in the film Chu-Chin-Chow (1923) and by Anna May Wong in Chu-Chin-Chow (1934).
Zalata
Zalata was a character played by actress Ruth Stonehouse in the short film Ashes of Hope (1914).
Zalea
Zalea was a character played by mononymous actress Armida in the film Congo Bill
(1948).
- Usage of the baby name Zalea.
Zalia
Zalia Graem was a character played by actress Virginia Bruce in the film The Garden Murder Case (1936).
- Usage of the baby name Zalia.
Zalla
Zalla Zarana was an actress who appeared in films during the 1920s. She was born in Slovenia in 1897 with the name Rozalija Sršen.
Zamina
Zamina was a character played by actress Edna Eichor in the film The Roughneck (1924).
Zana
Zana was a character name used in multiple films, including Tonight Is Ours (1933) and Call Out the Marines (1942).
- Usage of the baby name Zana.
Zanda
Zanda was a character played by actress Laska Winter in the film Shipwrecked (1926).
- Usage of the baby name Zanda.
Zandra
Zandra was a character name used in multiple films, including Carnival Lady (1933) and Good Dame (1934).
- Usage of the baby name Zandra.
Zarika
Countess Zarika Rafay was a character played by actress Rosalind Russell in the film The Night is Young (1935).
Zarita
Zarita was a character played by actress Julie Suedo in the film King’s Mate (1928).
- Usage of the baby name Zarita.
Zarmi
Zarmi was a character played by actress Julie Suedo in the three short films The Queen of Hearts (1923), The Man with the Limp (1923), and The Golden Pomegranates (1924).
Zarrah
Zarrah was a character played by actress Violet Horner in the film A Daughter of the Gods (1916).
- Usage of the baby name Zarrah.
ZaSu
ZaSu Pitts was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1960s. She was born in Kansas in 1894.
Zavia
Princess Zavia was a character played by actress Alice Joyce in the short film The Theft of the Crown Jewels (1914).
- Usage of the baby name Zavia.
Zaza
Zaza was a character played by Pauline Frederick in the film Zaza (1915), Gloria Swanson in Zaza (1923), and Claudette Colbert in Zaza (1938).
Zedorah
Zedorah was a character played by actress Mayo Methot in the film Counsellor at Law (1933).
Zee
Zee was a character name used in multiple films, including Jesse James (1939) and Man from Texas (1948).
- Usage of the baby name Zee (which debuted in the data the year Jesse James came out).
Zeetah
Zeetah was a character played by actress Bessie Eyton in the short film The Totem Mark (1911).
Zeffie
Zeffie Tilbury was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1940s. She was born in England in 1863.
Zeleekha
Zeleekha was a character played by actress Mary Duncan in the film Kismet (1930).
Zelia
Zelia de Chaumont was a character played by actress Ruth Chatterton in the film The Rat (1937).
- Usage of the baby name Zelia.
Zelie
Zélie was a character name in multiple films, including The Rat (1925) and The White Black Sheep (1926).
- Usage of the baby name Zelie.
Zell
Zell was a character played by actress Mollie King in the film Fate’s Boomerang (1916).
- Usage of the baby name Zell.
Zelle
Zelle was a character played by actress Anne Cornwall in the short film The Roughneck (1924).
- Usage of the baby name Zelle.
Zelma
Zelma was a character name in multiple films, including Charity Castle (1917) and Turkish Delight (1927).
- Usage of the baby name Zelma.
Zema
Zema was a character played by actress Louise Vale in the short film The Debt (1912).
- Usage of the baby name Zema.
Zena
Zena Dare was an actress who appeared in films during the 1920s and 1930s. She was born in England in 1887. Zena Keefe was an actress who appeared in films during the 1910s and 1920s. She was born in California in 1898. Zena was also a character name in multiple films, including The Code of Honor (short, 1916) and The New York Peacock (1917).
- Usage of the baby name Zena.
Zenia
Zenia was a character name in multiple films such as His Friend’s Wife (short, 1911) and Centennial Summer (1946).
- Usage of the baby name Zenia.
Zenobia
Zenobia was a character name in multiple films such as Secrets of Chinatown (1935) and The Crystal Ball (1943).
- Usage of the baby name Zenobia.
Zephne
Zephne Lamont was a character played by actress Edna Murphy in the film The Man Between (1923).
Zephyer
Zephyer Redlynch was a character played by actress “Miss DuPont” (born Patricia Hannon) in the film One Night in Rome (1924).
Zephyrine
Zephyrine was a character name in multiple films, including The Suicide Club (1914) and Women Everywhere (1930).
Zerelda
Zerelda was a character name used in multiple films, including Jesse James (1927) and Jesse James (1939).
- Usage of the baby name Zerelda.
Zerilda
Zerilda James was a character played by actress Dorothy Sebastian in the film Days of Jesse James (1939).
Zerlina
Zerlina was a character played by actress Lucile Browne in the film The Devil’s Brother (1933).
- Usage of the baby name Zerlina.
Zetta
Zetta was a character played by actress Zalla Zarana in the film The Lady Who Lied (1925).
- Usage of the baby name Zetta.
Zilah
Zilah was a character played by actress Ruth Miller in the film The Sheik (1921).
- Usage of the baby name Zilah.
Zilla
Zilla Riesling was a character played by Cissy Fitzgerald in the film Babbitt (1924) and Minna Gombell in Babbitt (1934).
- Usage of the baby name Zilla.
Zillah
Zillah was a character played by actress Eulalie Jensen in the film Fighting Love (1927).
- Usage of the baby name Zillah.
Zinida
Zinida was a character played by actress Paulette Duval in the film He Who Gets Slapped (1924).
Zira
Zira was a character name in multiple films, including Heart of Flame (short, 1915)
and The Fortieth Door (1924).
- Usage of the baby name Zira.
Zita
Zita was a character name in multiple films, including The Master Mystery (1919) and The Great Flirtation (1934).
- Usage of the baby name Zita.
Zixi
Queen Zixi was a character played by actress Juanita Hansen in the short film The Magic Cloak (1914).
- Usage of the baby name Zixi.
Zizi
Zizi was a character played by actress Maudie Dunham in the film Circus Jim (1921).
Zohra
Princess Zohra was a character played by actress Edna Maison in the film serial Under the Crescent (1915).
- Usage of the baby name Zohra.
Zoila
Zoila Conan was an actress who appeared in films during the 1930s. She was born in Mexico in 1903.
- Usage of the baby name Zoila.
Zoldene
Zoldene was a character played by actress Gretchen Lederer in the film Black Friday (1916).
Zonia
Zonia was a character played by actress Eugenie Forde in the film The Light (1916).
- Usage of the baby name Zonia.
Zoradi
Zoradi was a character played by actress Myrtle Gonzalez in the short film The Thief of the Desert (1916).
Zorah
Zorah was a character name in multiple films, such as The Cry of the Captive (short, 1914) and Samson (1914).
- Usage of the baby name Zorah.
Zorina
Vera Zorina, often credited simply as Zorina, was an actress who appeared in films during the 1930s and 1940s. She was born in Germany in 1917 with the name Eva Brigitta Hartwig.
- Usage of the baby name Zorina.
Zudora
Zudora was a character played by actress Marguerite Snow in the film serial Zudora (1914).
- Usage of the baby name Zudora.
Zuleika
Zuleika was a character played by actress Maria Montez in the film Raiders of the Desert (1941).
- Usage of the baby name Zuleika.
Zuletta
Zuletta was a character played by actress Lucille Young in the film The Spell of the Poppy (1915).
Zulika
Zulika was a character name used in multiple films, including The Greed of Osman Bey (short, 1913) and How the Earth Was Carpeted (short, 1914).
Zulima
Zulima was a character played by actress Blanche Cornwall in the film Fra Diavolo (1912).
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Which of the above names do you like best?
Want a girl name that’s not popular, but also not made-up?