Colonial Names for Girls

Dosia is rare but not foreign, especially since the antiquated name Theodosia was highlighted in the play Hamilton.

Kizzy remains the most popular spelling of the Keziah short form, at least in some part thanks to its appearance in the 1977 television show Roots.

This Puritan virtue name may be unstylish, but it is also sympathetic and appealing in these largely uncomfortable times.

Relief was a name used by the Puritans in reference to the relief of Christ. Leafy was the common nickname.

The Puritans used it as a virtue name -- but today it would just be considered weird: silence is no longer golden.

Tace is a cute, cool short form of the rather august-sounding Tacita.

A name mentioned in the Old Testament as the wife of a king of Edom. A curious blend of clunky biblical style, and a "bel" ending that mirrors the feminine sound of names like Isabel and Annabel. Hettie and Belle / Bella are nickname possibilities.

Modesty is a virtue name dating to Roman times, but never widely used, except for hot 1960s movie spoof heroine, Modesty Blaise, based on a comic strip.

Melvina ranked in the Top 1000 for over 65 years in the US, coinciding to a large extent with the years its much more popular masculine counterpart Melvin ranked in the Top 100. Today, Melvin is still hanging on in the Top 1000 for boys, but Melvina hasn't been given to more than 20 babies in a year since 1991.

In the Zulu and Xhosa languages of Southern Africa, Phila is a unisex name pronounced "PEE-la" and means "to live of life" It's also the feminine version of the ancient Greek name Philo, pronounced "FEE-la", meaning friend or lover and present in several contemporary names and words used throughout the Western World. The name Philip, for instance, means lover of horses, while the city name Philadelphia means "brotherly love" and philosophy means "love of wisdom".

Hatty is an old school nickname for Harriet, itself an old-fashioned choice. The more usual spelling historically is Hattie, with was given to more than 750 baby girls last year in the US, three times as many as were named Harriet. Hatty, by contrast, was used for fewer than five babies -- quite a contrast!

In the Old Testament, Asenath was the wife of Joseph and mother of Manesseh and Ephraim.

Experience was used by the Puritans but probably too joke-worthy for a modern child...or teenager.

The Early Americans invented names too, sometimes variations of classical or biblical favorites. This one appears in Colonial rosters; the Aur beginning is Latin and means "gold."

These days Sophie would be the most likely nickname for Sophronia, but back in Colonial times, Fronie was a common diminutive.

Donia is a name with many possible origins. Besides a short female form of Donald, it may also be a form of the Italian Donna meaning lady, a variation on the Arabic Donya meaning world, or a Celtic name of the Don family, which all have meanings related to dark or darkness.

Azuba is a form of Azubah, the Old Testament wife of Caleb. The name was used among early African-Americans.

In the Plymouth Colony of the seventeenth century, Thankful was the third most popular of the abstract word names. It disappeared after 1700 and has virtually no chance of returning.