100 vintage baby names experts believe will be popular again soon

From Cosmopolitan

Baby names trends roll in cycles, like many things. One of the most popular trends to have emerged in recent years is the recycling of old-fashioned names.

Recently, the Office for National Statistics released the most up-to-date data on baby names from all births that took place in the year 2018 – and it proves just how much the vintage baby naming trend has taken hold. Because two names have, for the first time in almost 100 years, re-entered the ‘most popular’ list.

The boys’ name Arthur was a firm fixture in the top 10 names for boys in the early 1900s, but after 1024 it dropped off. In 2018, however, 94 years since it was last listed – Arthur regained its spot in the top 10.

Ranking at number 7, with 3,644 babies having been called Arthur, the name was the only new entry in the top 10 names for boys in 2018. It replaced Jacob, which dropped down to 11 in the most recent data set.

Likewise, a vintage girls’ name also soared in popularity in 2018, for the first time in almost a century. Ada was last included in the top 100 girls’ names in 1924, but hasn’t ranked since. In 2018, the name made a comeback, being the 65^th most used name for baby girls, with 811 babies given the name Ada.

It’s thought the newfound favour for the names Arthur and Ada may potentially have been inspired by the characters in Peaky Blinders, as the monikers Tommy and Esme have also risen in popularity since the BBC series debuted.

If you’re inspired a bit of the old-fashioned when it comes to naming your future child, baby naming website Nameberry drew up a list of names that all featured within the top 500 most popular back in 1918 - just over 100 years ago - but which haven't featured in any of the top 1,000 names in recent decades. These, Nameberry predicts, are likely to becoming increasingly selected by parents keen to call their children something unique.

You won't spot any Olivias or Olivers in this list...

Girl's names (in alphabetical order):

1. Agatha

2. Alpha

3. Althea

4. Augusta

5. Avis

6. Bernadette

7. Beryl

8. Bessie

9. Birdie

10. Carmella

11. Cleo

12. Delia

13. Dixie

14. Effie

15. Etta

16. Fay

17. Geneva

18. Gertie

19. Ida

20. Inez

21. Ione

22. Iva

23. Lelia

24. Loretta

25. Lorna

26. Lottie

27. Louella

28. Lucinda

29. Lula

30. Lulu

31. Mamie

32. Maude

33. Merle

34. Minerva

35. Minnie

36. Muriel

37. Myrtle

38. Odessa

39. Olga

40. Opal

41. Pauline

42. Philomena

43. Polly

44. Rosalind

45. Rosella

46. Roxie

47. Sibyl

48. Theda

49. Winifred

50. Yolanda

Boy's names (in alphabetical order):

1. Abe

2. Alphonse

3. Ambrose

4. Archie

5. Barney

6. Benedict

7. Booker

8. Burl

9. Cecil

10. Chester

11. Claude

12. Clement

13. Cleveland

14. Cornelius

15. Dale

16. Dewey

17. Dorsey

18. Doyle

19. Dudley

20. Edmund

21. Ferdinand

22. Floyd

23. Forest

24. Garland

25. Grover

26. Hiram

27. Homer

28. Isadore

29. Kermit

30. Lemuel

31. Lowell

32. Lucius

33. Luther

34. Ned

35. Noble

36. Norris

37. Ollie

38. Perry

39. Pete

40. Roscoe

41. Rufus

42. Sol

43. Stuart

44. Thaddeus

45. Ulysses

46. Vito

47. Waldo

48. Wallace

49. Ward

50. Wiley

I look forward to a future of retro-sounding Effies, Merles, and Wallaces.

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