Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Old fashioned names new again....

Vladimir Berkov

One Too Many
Messages
1,291
Location
Austin, TX
If I ever have a girl, I think the coolest names would be Ilsa, Astrid or Ursula. I used to think the best name would be Leia (I actually knew a Leia in school) but that was at a time when I was even more obsessed with Star Wars than I am now.
 

Lincsong

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,907
Location
Shining City on a Hill
CharlieH. said:
If I ever had a son, his name would have to be one of these - Norman, Preston, Cecil, Benny, Charles (III), Jack, Walter, Ferdinand, Simon, Roman, Vito, Glenn, Jerry, Irving, Lionel, Harold, Ronald, Henry, Roger, Eugene, Edward, Timothy, Harry, Rochester, Frederick, Theodore or simply Louis.

If it's a girl, then it's Kathryn. No contest.

You could have a son for each name.lol Or have 13 sons.:D
 

ITG

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,483
Location
Dallas/Fort Worth (TEXAS)
My boyfriend and I have agreed that if we have kids, he will name the boy(s) and I'll name the girl(s). I think he's afraid I might name a son Indiana or Indy. He wants to give his son a manly name like Maximus (which makes me think of gladiators), or Leopold (his dad's name) or Leonardo, etc. If I have a girl, I want to name her Ella (after my great grandmother and the singer Ella Fitzgerald), not to mention it's close to my mom's name: Elsa. And I might even name a 2nd girl Ana (as in Indy-ana). If I had a boy I'd probably want him to have my dad's name.
 

raiderrescuer

One of the Regulars
Messages
209
Location
Salem Oregon
My two Sons...

Oldest is Craig Scott
Just pulled Craig out of the air (or watched Man from Snowy River the boy's family name is Craig) and Scott was/is my best friend since grade school.

Youngest is Jacob Tyler
Jacob was my Great Grandfather & Grandfather's name (Although I misspelled it, it was suppose to be Jakob.) and Tyler was my Godfather's name.
 

raiderrescuer

One of the Regulars
Messages
209
Location
Salem Oregon
Family name...

Most of the thread has been about First names...how about family names:
My Grandfather changed it, but it was originally Mehl.
My Great Aunt attributes our Family name to old time occupations.
Guess what the old family did for a living...Mill.
I have debated about changing it back but it would cause way too many problems.
 

Jack Scorpion

One Too Many
Messages
1,097
Location
Hollywoodland
I think I decided to name any son I have OTIS.

After the elevator company?
Or Mr. Redding?
Or the LA art school?

Otis seems to be a vintage name, I guess. I don't hear it much concerning anything.

It must be better than my other choice for a son's name: "Rocket." (My last name is Mann.)
 

Miss_Bella_Hell

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,960
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Lena_Horne said:
Lillian is for the character from Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged (don't tell me how it ends I haven't finished it yet and I've been reading it for going on two years now.) Edith is because I liked the nickname Edie the moment I heard it, and Edie Falco of course.


Sorry to dredge up an old thread but I had to reply to this!! PLEASE! Finish the book before naming your daughter after Lillian Reardon! For God's sake!
 

Lady Day

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
9,087
Location
Crummy town, USA
names

Ive always liked classic names for boys: Brooks, Edward, Anthony

Or first names that sound like, or have traditionally been last names: Johnson, Jackson, Maxwell, Grant, Lennox

For girls names, Ive laways liked names after states, or cities: Georgia, Virginia, Denver, Michigan . . .

Then again, I have a lot of classic family names: Alvin, Vernon, Clare, Leona, Eloise, Gertrude



LD
 
Some exceedingly East Coast/ Old South vintage boy's and girls' names. Often, these names are unisex!


Atherton
Armistead
Archibald
Astor
Ames
Acton
Archer
Ambrose
Armstrong
Amory
Avery (becoming trendy)
Aldrich
Arent
Averell
Astoria
Ashley Originally a MALE name (much too trendy now)
Ashton & Asheton (again, too trendy now)
Akeley
Abercrombie
August & Augusta
Amherst
Ayer
Arabella
Adelson
Aldis
Addison (becoming trendy)
Alden
Armitage
Ashby
Allaire
Audley
Allerton
Aldys

Buckley
Breese
Beaumont
Brayton
Brighton
Brinkley
Brynn
Breene
Brewer
Bourne
Blythe
Buchanan
Benton
Barrington
Bentley
Blase
Banks
Barclay
Baring
Blackwell
Baldwin
Blair
Brock
Bayard
Bradford
Bond
Barron
Bingham
Briggs
Byrd
Blaney
Brodie
Bennett
Bowman
Blaine
Brinton
Bruton
Burnham
Birchard
Bronson
Briton & Britton (NEVER Brittany)
Brooke & Brooks (NEVER Brooklyn)
Burke
Brinsley
Barbour
Breck
Blakeley
Brayton

Carlisle
Casden
Caswell
Chaplin
Calvert
Crawford
Chauncey
Cartwright
Clifton
Channing
Carrington
Coleman
Cutter
Cannon
Copeland
Cortland
Collis
Crosby
Cheney
Cabot
Crane
Craige
Cuyler (Similar to the trendy Kyler, use caution)
Claiborne
Callahan
Campbell
Chapman
Chandler
Colden
Corliss
Catlin
Calloway
Corcoran
Carlton
Caldwell
Chardon
Creighton
Connery
Conaway
Cornelia & Cordelia
Carter (becoming trendy)
Coleridge
Clairemont
Chapin
Cutler
Courtenay Originally a male name (THIS spelling)

Duval
Dutton
Delancey
DeWitt
Drexel
Duffield
Danforth
Dellora
Driver
Denison
Duke
Dunbar
Davison
Drayton
Dorrance
Davenport
Davis

Eckley
Elgin
Eaton
Easton (becoming trendy)
Ellery
Eldridge & Elbridge
Emerson
Ehney
Evert
Emmons
Elverton
Ewing
Emory
Eastburn
Espy

Fortune
Fowler
Folsom
Fairbanks
Freeborn
Farwell
Foxhall
Foster
Fulton
Fairfield
Forbes
Farnsworth
Ferguson
Fitz & Fitzgerald
Fairchild
Fenwick
Falley
Finley
Falkner
Forrester

Greer
Gates
Garrison
Godfrey
Grant
Greene
Grigsby
Gerrish
Gifford
Grafton
Goddard
Gardner
Gratia
Guilford
Galbraith
Gorham
Goodloe
Graydon
Geary
Gareth
Greeley
Garrett
Grantland
Gray
Grayson (use caution, becoming very trendy)

Hunt (NEVER Hunter)
Heisley
Holden
Hewitt
Hartford
Hall
Honore
Harris
Hathaway
Hale
Holbrook
Hamilton
Hargrave
Hallowell
Hartwell
Hart
Hazard
Hammond
Harrison
Harkness
Hearst
Harden
Hartley
Heatherly (NOT Heather) Healy
Hollins
Howland
Harper (becoming trendy)
Hutchinson
Harris
Hadwen
Hendrick
Hill
Hays
Higgins
Huntington
Hawkens
Hadley
Harcourt
Hollis
Howell
Hollister

Ives
Ingram
Insley

Jennings
Judge
Janeway
Jamison
Johnson
Jackson (EXTREMELY trendy now)
Jarvis
Jefferson

Kirkland
King
Kingsley
Kingston
Knight
Kittredge
Keller
Kortright
Key
Kimball
Keating
Keene
Kempton
Kilbourn

Lorillard
Loring
Lowden
Langdon
Larimer
Lendrum
Livingston
Lynde
Lowthian
Langston
Lenox
Loomis
Lawford
Larkin
Lauder
Laughlin
Lawson
Ledyard
Lake
Lathrop
Lock
Latham
Landley
Lowell
Leyden
Lovett
Lovell
Lyon
Lachlan
Lowry
Leighton
Lochridge
Logan (VERY trendy now)

Morgan Originally a MALE name
Moreau
Marriner
Murdock
Montague
Major
Moore
Meyer
Milbank
Marsden
Merriweather
McLane
McPherson
Mercer
Mitchell
McKinley (Becoming trendy)
Malcolm
Morse
Merritt
Munroe
Mills
Morrell
Maine
Maximilian ("Max" has become too trendy & popular now)
McIntire
Mercedes (use with caution, better as a middle name)
Mead & Meade
Meigs
McDowell
Manning
Mackall & McCall
McCarthy
Marshall
McKinney
Merrill

North
Newell
Northrup
Nelson
Newcomb
Neilson
Newlon
Noble

Oakleigh & Oakley
Oakes
Olney
Ogden
Osborne
Oel
Ossian
Octavia

Peyton (becoming trendy now)
Payson
Paxton (also becoming trendy)
Preston (trendy too)
Priestley
Patton
Pierce
Pruitt
Pyne
Pierson
Pratt
Powell
Pomeroy
Palmer
Price
Parke (NEVER Parker)
Prescott
Power & Powers
Pym
Prentice & Prentiss
Payne
Patterson
Phoebe
Potter
Phinney
Porter
Pemberton
Proctor

Quinney

Ridgely
Raley
Rushton
Randolph (NEVER Randy)
Rhodes
Redington
Reeves
Raleigh
Rothwell
Roane
Reese
Rowe
Reed & Reid
Rutherford
Rawlings
Rivington
Remington
Ryer
Ridgeway
Rush
Riegel
Royal
Ramsey & Ramsay
Royce
Rand
Rainer
Rucker
Rockwood
Ryland (becoming trendy)
Rynn

Schuyler (similar to the trendy Skyler, use with caution)
Sinclair
Sutton
Sayer
Seaver
Swanee
Sheffield
Sanger
Sloan & Sloane
Summit
Stone
Summerfield
Schofield
Stockton
Stanhope
Stanton
Sterling & Stirling
Sumner
Spalding
Stowell
Stoddard
Saxton & Sexton
Simmons
Stoneleigh
Seville
Severin
Somers (NOT Summer)
Sargent
Steele
Stockard
Shafter
Sprague
Stafford
Sidney Originally a MALE name (too trendy now)

Truxton
Thayer
Townsend
Tilford
Tibby
Thorn
Thornton
Turner
Truman
Teele
Tazewell "Taze"
Thakrey & Thackary
Teller
Tower
Tristram
Thatcher
Tyndal
Tinsley
Thruston & Thurston
Tripler
Thurlow
Thornwell
Tallant
Tyler (Use with caution, extremely trendy now)
Taylor (Use with caution, extremely trendy now) Tilney
Teagan
Tuckerman
Taggart
Tenley

Vallee
Vanderbilt
Vail
Vanleer

Waldron
White
Whitlyn
Whittier
Winter
Worth
Waverley
Weston
Wellesley
Whitmire
Winthrop
Wright
Worthen
Wolfred
Wharton
Wyndham
Walbridge
Witherspoon
Windsor
Whitney Originally a MALE name (has become trendy)
Waite
Wythe
Wheeler
Witherbee
West
Winchester
Ware
Wyclef
Walker (has become very trendy, use with caution)
Weatherley
Worthington
Webb
Winfield
Wilder
Winslow
Willoughby
Watson

Yale

Zani
Zeph
 

Caledonia

Practically Family
Messages
954
Location
Scotland
I have friends and family whose children are called:

Hester
Harriet
Hamish
Sean
Sarah
Maggie
Joseph
Scarlet

Not all to the same parents I hasten to add.:D
 

Rosie

One Too Many
Messages
1,827
Location
Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, NY
I too like "older" names, my first name is kind of trendy/ethnic, I guess. My aunt's names from both parents are Lillian, Pearline, Mary Elizabeth, Emma Lee, Bette (betty) Lee, Arabelle, and Katherine Mae. When I have children, I'll probably go for Olivia or Miranda for a girl. The middle names for these change from time to time (not that I'm always thinking about it) but choices for middle names include Elizabeth, Michelle, Hellen, Grace, Anne and sometimes Phoolan (after Phoolan Devi). Sadly, I've given boys names much less thought and have only come up with Matthias as a name that I really like though from time to time, Malcolm and Asheton sound nice.

My uncle's go by nicknames, I have an Uncle Cowboy (who ALWAYS wears cowboy hats), Uncle Rock (he's really tall and big), a Uncle Pop (because he took over the family responsibilities after my grandfather died) and a Uncle PeeWee, (because he's really thin and small). What's funny is, I didn't know most of my Uncle's real names until I was an older teenager. But their names are Warren, Stockton, Cleveland and Sterling which are names I never hear anymore. I have an Uncle Royal, an Uncle King and an Aunt Queen too (King and Queen are siblings).
 

Lady Day

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
9,087
Location
Crummy town, USA
HA!

BettyValentine said:
I feel like Norma is ready for another heyday.

I never liked Elizabeth because it's just so standard... but I think I've started to appreciate just how many ways there are to shorten it. I've been Liz, Lizzy (also Lizzie and Lizzi. Stupid 1980s.), Elsbeth, Eri (when I was living in Japan. It was easy to say.), and now Betty. With the way kids will probably re-invent themselves during their lives, I think flexibility is an underrated virtue for a name.

My extended family all has the same set of surnames for middle names. I don't think anyone even knows whose names they are anymore.

BV


My mother's name was Norma (died last lear, cancer), and my father wanted to name me Elizabeth. Glad I dodged that one. I think Marie (my middle name) is common too, but like Elizabeth, May, Mary, etc, they have such a LONG history they are beyond just names and more of markers of a lineage.


LD
 

Big Man

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,781
Location
Nebo, NC
My children:

William, IV - after his father (me), his grandfather, and his great grandfather. (By the way, my grandson is William, V)

James - after his great, great uncle and great, great, great grandfather

Sara - after her great aunt, and her great, great grandmother

Mary - after her great grandmother and her great, great grandmother
 

Tony in Tarzana

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,276
Location
Baldwin Park California USA
Sometimes a goofy name will have a cool nickname associated with it. No offense to the Chesters out there, but "Chet" sounds cool to me. Maybe because I grew up with "Good night, Chet" on the TV news. ;)

"Mortimer" may sound a bit stilted, but "Mort" or "Morty" sound cool.

Or you could name your son "Hugh" and call him "Stuffy." I guess that would only really work if your last name was Dowding, though.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,289
Messages
3,078,022
Members
54,238
Latest member
LeonardasDream
Top