Unusual Antique Baby Names

Only if you're an aviation buff or seriously addicted to popcorn.

Jabez has a rare combo of three appealing elements: a Biblical heritage, a captivating Southern accent, and a jazzy feel. It was popular with the Pilgrims and on into the nineteenth century (there have been four U.S. Congressmen named Jabez), but it hasn't been in the Top 1000 since 1880.

Hardy is a spirited and durable un-Germanic German surname that is starting to be used in this country.

Edison's middle name is a fabulous option for parents looking for something with history and a soft sound. This could be the name you're looking for if you like Tesla's scientific pedigree but think that it has become too corporate with the advent of Elon Musk's company.

Short and slight, with great potential now that names like Ava, Ida and Orla are popular. Ora Beach is a tourist destination on Seram Island, Indonesia.

Hesper is a feminine form of Hesperus, the name of the Greek mythological personification of the Evening Star. The Hesperides are daughters of nymphs of the evening. Hesper may be related to the name Vesper as well as Hespera and Hesperia.

Jotham is an Old Testament name that today would certainly be the only one in his class, having something of an urban feel via its similarity to the word 'gotham'. In the Bible one Jotham is the sole surviving son of Gideon after the massacre of his brothers, the other is a king of Judah who was an enthusiastic builder. Jotham Riddle is a character in James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Pioneers, while Jotham Powell appears in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome.

Frederica is an interesting possibility for the parent unintimidated by its old-fashioned formality, and who can appreciate the vintage charm and verve lurking inside its stuffiness.

The first letter of the Greek alphabet ande the brightest star in every constellation, this would make an interesting choice for a first daughter, though it does give off some spectral sci-fi reverberations--and references to the term "alpha male.".

An unexpected route to nicknames Bram or Wells, this English surname derives from a historical hamlet in England, whose exact location has been lost to time. It comes from the Old English word for "bramble bush", giving it a connection to the natural world.

Sometimes pronounced MAY-nerd, which is death to a name. However, the name Maynard was given to 25 boys in 2022.

Eustace was originally popularized by St. Eustace, who was born a Norman nobleman and is said to have been converted to Christianity by seeing a crucifix between the antlers of the deer he was hunting. It was introduced to England by the Normans, and can be found in medieval legend. In literature the name appears in the person of Eustace Clarence Scrubb in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.
The image of Eustace today is as sedate and stuffy as the monocled Eustace Tilly character on The New Yorker magazine covers. Its diminutive Stacy became a unisex hit.

A thirteenth-century Tuscan saint, patron of homemakers, Zita is the kind of name that sounded really creative in an earlier era.

Verna may mean "springtime," but May or Spring is fresher.

Aline may have originated as a short form of Adeline in the Middle Ages, but it may also be a variation of the Irish Aileen or Scottish Eileen. Aline dropped off the Top 1000 in the 1950s. Fewer than 40 baby girls were named Aline in the US last year.

Though rarely used now that many parents would rather appropriate men's names than sweeten them with feminine endings, Thomasina does have some vintage appeal.

Presidential surname adopted as a first by numbers of midcentury African-American parents.

It's easy to love a name that rhymes with "cuddly" and is also attached to the surname Do-Right -- once you ignore the "dud" connection.

The protagonist of Toni Morrison's novel, the simple-yet-sensual Sula relates to the Old Testament Shulamit. Alternatively, it might be a short form of Ursula.

Hedda is a card-carrying member of the league of older, slightly bohemian urban names like Nedda, Andra, and Petra; also linked to Ibsen heroine Hedda Gabler, as well as being the basis of cruel joke names like Hedda Hare.