Unusual Antique Baby Names

The Selma-Thelma-Velma connection dates it.

Despite Thornton Wilder, playwright of the perennial Our Town, only a handful of baby boys receive this name each year..

General as a name sounds more like a military rank than another word for "widespread". You may find your little General ruling the household.

Feminization of the Greek place name Delphi (of oracle fame), Delphia could also be used as a nod to American city Philadelphia. Delphine and Delphinia are similar names.

An English surname derived from multiple place names, which ranked in the Top 500 for boys in the US until the turn of the 20th century.

Thebe is the name of more than one daughter of Zeus, according to some myths, and is also the name of a moon of Jupiter. Thebe rhymes with Phoebe and may appeal to lovers of that name.

Early is a word-turned-name, pleasantly suggesting the start of a bright new day. Of the new word and day names, Early is one of the best. Early James is the stage name of singer-songwriter Fredrick James Mullis Jr.

Rocking out on the porch with buddies Hubert, Norbert, and Osbert.

Despite the presidential pedigree, it's still hard to shake the image of the cartoon cat (named after his creator Jim Davis's grandfather). However, there are other Garfields, such as Barbadian cricket player Sir Garfield Sobers, who carries it with gravitas.

This Victorian pen name is the childish version of the novelist's real name, Louisa, but it has managed to gain a sophisticated image. Ouisa is a similar childhood nickname name.

A unique international short form of Margaret.

Richmond is a place-name — it's the capital of Virginia — that makes a fresh way to honor an ancestral Richard.

This Myrtle variation may not be the most melodious choice but it does have that appealing nature meaning.

The visibility of actor Wilmer (That 70s Show) Valderrama has highlighted this name, but it's not likely to spread because of its similarity to the feminine (and dated) Wilma.

Elnora is best known as the name of the heroine of the early 20th century novel A Girl of the Limberlost. While Elnora might plausibly have many derivations, the most logical is that isn't a contracted form of Eleanora, the Latinate variation of Eleanor.

Problematic, even if not for Dilbert.

Leota is an antique name rarely used any more -- it was given to just 8 baby girls in the US in 2021. Some sources says Leota is a Native American name meaning blue flower.

Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names.

If default nickname Eli is too common for your tastes, you may consider resuscitating the antique nickname Lige for your little Elijah.