335+ Colonial Names from the 1700s

An old royal name in England and Scotland that's also spelled Marjorie. Popular in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, it was revived at the end of the 19th century, peaked in 1921 and dropped off the list in 1958, enough time to be reconsidered as a Margaret alternative. The name Margery Daw is familiar via the seesaw nursery rhyme and Margery Williams wrote the children's classic The Velveteen Rabbit..

Takes the priss out of Priscilla.

A traditional French male name that could, with American pronunciation, become an admirable word name.

Cristina is one case where the streamlined version feels more alluring.

If Abigail's too popular and Tabitha is too...."Bewitched."

Fewer letters does not always mean easier—the traditional spelling is the one most people will recognize.

These days Finney is most likely a pet form of Finn, but it was once a standard nickname for the biblical Phineas.

Abiel is a biblical name (he was the grandfather of Saul) that was used by Puritans, particularly in Massachusetts, so it has a long pedigree. Parents are increasingly looking for underused traditional names, and this name, with the great nickname option of Abe, is ripe for more use!

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.

An interesting and rhythmic name often heard in the Native American community; in fact,in the Gold Rush era in California and Nevada, it was so common that it became a generic English term for a Native American woman.

This sassy, spunky name was used for the mostly Irish jump-roping pigtailed girls of the thirties and forties -- and some Irish and Italian boys as well. Its most noted bearer was iconic country music singer Patsy Cline (born Virginia), and was sighted most recently in the Ab Fab movie. After reaching Number 52 in the late thirties, it dropped off the list completely in 1970--and we're not anticipating a return.

This rarely used Old Testament name will inevitably set off a connection to thirst. Thirza was historically used as both an independent name and as a nickname for Theresa.

Seems destined to be the preferred short form of this old French name, with its brief, modern, word name feel.

A rare Old Testament name that, although short, is resoundingly biblical. It belonged to name the tenth king of Israel, who seized power violently and reigned from about 841 to 814 BCE.

This is a streamlined spelling of the biblical Hephzibah. Hephzibah is an Old Testament name that came into use in the 17th century, but is not often used today. It does have less formal nicknames Eppie and Hepsie, which seem revivable. Hephzibah "Eppie" Cass/Marner is the heroine of George Eliot's novel Silas Marner and Hepzibah Smith is a witch in the Harry Potter series.

Variation of Derek.

Parthenia may be a bit unwieldy, but does conjure up majestic images of the Parthenon.

Sounds a bit like a nickname in a Dickens novel, but this short form was used in New England a few centuries ago, back when names like Micajah were popular. Both short and long forms are now ripe for revival.

Gives a good boy name a bad boy feel.

A name with various origins, Elmira combines the sounds of multicultural Mira with the popular El- beginning. Despite this, the name is rarely heard in the US, though it does rank in the Top 100 names in Azerbaijan.