A reader named Debra wrote to me a few days ago about her situation:
I’ve loved the names Sophia and Olivia for about 10 years, but now as I am about to have my own baby girl, these names are very popular. I’m looking for girl names that are old fashioned, a tad unusual, and don’t clash with our names, Nathan and Debra. So far Silvia/Silvie is my front runner but my husband is not in love with it. I’d love suggestions.
Many expectant parents seem to be in the same boat regarding names like Sophia and Olivia (…and Isabella, and Hannah, and so on).
Luckily, there are plenty of other old-fashioned names out there. For instance, none of the following are super-popular on a national level right now (though a few, like Valeria and Lydia, do have the potential to become popular in the next few years):
| Aurelia Augusta Camilla Celia Cora Coralie Cordelia | Dorothy Elodie Eloisa Evelina Flora Georgia Harriet | Helena Josephine Lelia Lydia Matilda Melisande Octavia | Phoebe Ramona Rosa Rosella Rosina Rowena Sabina | Sibylla Stella Theresia Valeria Viola Violet Willa |
I’d intended to exclude all D- and N-names (for a distinct first initial)…but Dorothy I kept. I like how it both begins with a D (as Debra does) and includes a Th (as Nathan does). A cute way to pay tribute to Mom and Dad, maybe?
Let me know what other names you would suggest!
Update: The baby is here! Scroll down to the last comment to find out which name Debra chose.
I can relate. I have a 7 year old Sophia in class with an Olivia (and a Dorothy, it just so happens, but she goes by Dora).
I love Josephine (this baby on the way would have had Josephine involved in the name if he wasn’t a boy…). Marjorie? Marguerite? Charlotte? Beatrice/Beatrix?
Claudia, Regina, Collette, Lucinda, Theodora, Paulina, Patrice
Well, with a similar dilemma…we named our daughter Celeste Victoria in 2006. I don’t know any other Celestes her age…or any other kids with that name for that matter. She’s nearly three now.
Josseline, Emmeline, Eugenie, Clara, Charis, Celia, Susanna, Alice, Geneva, Genevieve, Mariel, Noelle.
Try these on for size. You might think they clash a bit with your own names, but hopefully they are a little unusual.
Evita, Ophilia, Olive, Xavia, Elvira, Yasmina, Alexandria, Corrina, Bettina, Angelina, Angelica, Antonina, Alan, Vivian.
Sorry, I meant to say ‘Alannah’, not ‘Alan’!
Irene, maybe.
I have an Olivia-Louise.
If I ever had another girl, I would name her Elfreda. It was the name of my grandmother’s older sister who died in the 1917 influenza episode when she was three.
Elfreda is a name that only reached real popularity in the 1880s, and then only mediocre popularity. I dig it. Elfie, Freda, Elf…:)
Good luck.
Oh, and by the way, I always distained the popular names…and then went with Olivia…go figure.
I named my daugther Adeline. A classic name, but still unique enough that she shouldn’t be in school with 5 other little girls with the same name. We call her Addy. Everyone who meets her says they LOVE the name. I assume they aren’t lying. LOL.
We have a Josephine Margaret who goes by “Josie”. My formal name is Margaret Fern (born in 1979…definitely not popular!), but my mother nicknamed me “Meg” at birth. I was named after my grandmothers, so we carried on the tradition, but only with the middle name.
We are expecting a second child in September, and I’m struggling to find another old-fashioned girls name that is “perfect”. Some on the list: Evelina, Camille, Cecilia, Vivian, Moira, Francesca, Annaliese. Any suggestions? We have 2 boy names picked out…Gabriel and Ezekiel. Same problem as with Josie…can’t find a girls name we like!
I’ve just heard from Debra that the name she and her husband chose is
Silvia Raine
Very pretty! Congrats! :)