Old-Fashioned, Vintage, Retro, Classic, Eclectic, Unusual and Uncommon Names for Girls

Ida is one of those terminally old-fashioned names that suddenly sounds fresh again, especially given how fashionable it is in Europe. Ida, usually pronounced ee-da, is a Top 100 name in Scandinavia and German-speaking countries, and is rising more gently in the US.

Ilene might be a phonetic way to spell Aileen or Eileen, though in the end people may have more luck pronouncing the original.

A name that's unknown in the US and Britain but is popular as a nature name in Finland. May also be known as a Hungarian variation of Amelia and a Spanish form of Wilhelmina.

This variant of Helen is used across Europe, in France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and it's native Hungary. Reminiscent of Elena, Leona, Ilaria, Fiona and Lola, it nevertheless remains a rarity in the US.

Ilsa is remembered as the radiant but tragic heroine of "Casablanca," and it's having something of a European resurgence.

Imogen has long been fashionable in England and is gaining favor in the US among stylish parents. Pronounced the British way — the initial i is short as in Kim, as is the final E as in Ken — Imogen is as pretty and classy as it is distinctive.

This suffix is used as an independent name, but doesn't your little girl deserve more?

Also spelled Ines, this name of the prudish mother of Don Juan in the Byron poem has a touch of mystery, but has also been fully integrated into the American name pool.

Ingeborg (and all Germanic and Scandinavian names beginning with Ing-) references the ancient fertility god Ing. Ing, later known as Freyr, is one of the primary gods in Old Norse mythology.

Isla is hot, Iona is cool – maybe it's time Iola got a second look? Last heard from on Carol Burnett's Mama's Family show, Iola feels like just the sort of uncommon, vowel-rich, vintage name that should be ripe for rediscovery.

This name of a small island off the coast of Scotland is trending upwards along with other I names.

This unusual Greek flower and color name has gained considerable recent attention via actress Ione Skye, who is the daughter of sixties folksinger Donovan.

In mythology, Iphigenia was sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon -- a difficult legacy to pass on to a daughter, and only one reason the name is hardly ever used.

Serene Irene, the name of the Greek goddess of peace and one of the most familiar Greek goddess names, was hugely popular in ancient Rome and again in the United States a hundred years ago.

Irina is a Russian ballet-inflected classic, one of the Three Sisters in the Chekhov play. While some Americans will pronounce this like Irene with three syllables, the pronunciation used throughout Europe, where it's widely used, starts with a short i as in it or if and a strong emphasis on the second syllable.

Iris has so much going for it. It's a fashionable flower name. It's a mythological name, from the Greek goddess of the rainbow. And it's a classic name, always ranking in the girls' Top 1000 but now at its highest point ever.