In the past few years there has been an increase in new parents on the hunt for a more unique name for their baby, and bringing back forgotten names from different eras and generations is becoming more popular than ever. Here are the top vintage baby names for baby boys and girls making a comeback.
Baby experts Bella Baby have researched the most popular names of 2022 and the re-emergence of vintage baby names, using statistics from Baby Name UK and Google Trends.
“The prediction regarding most baby names is that it takes 100 years for most baby names to become popular again and after the century they will become desirable again and have an incredible spike in popularity,” said the experts at Bella Baby.
“This may be due to many people not having any association with these names anymore and that names usually ‘skip’ a generation before they are used again. It is lovely to see a rise in these vintage names as they have beautiful origins and are absolutely timeless.”
Top 10 Vintage Baby Names
1. Luna
Ranking: #7 in 2022
In ancient Roman mythology, Luna was the moon goddess. The name Luna means “moon” in Latin and in several languages with Latin roots, including Spanish and Italian.
2. Hazel
Ranking: #26 in 2022
From the English name for the tree, or nuts from the tree, which derives from the Old English haesel.
3. Iris
Ranking: #69 in 2022
From the name of the flowering plant, which comes from the Greek iris, meaning “rainbow”.
4. Olive
Ranking: #161 in 2022
A Latin name, formed by the word oliva, meaning “olive tree”.
5. Frankie
Ranking: #639 in 2022
Form of Frank, a short form of Francis, which is an English form of the Italian name Francesco, from the Latin Franciscus, meaning “French”.
6. Edwin
Ranking: #640 in 2022
From the Old English ead meaning “wealth, fortune, riches” and weard, meaning “guard”.
7. Nellie
Ranking: #898 in 2022
A short form of Eleanor, Ellen, Helen, Helena and Cornelia.
8. Patricia
Ranking: #1,110 in 2022
Feminine form of Patrick, from the Latin patricius, meaning “nobleman” or “patrician”.
9. Reggie
Ranking: #2,249 in 2022
From Reynold, which is of Norman origin, from the German ragin, meaning “advice” or “decision” and wald, meaning “ruler”.
10. Albie
Ranking: #4,312 in 2022
From the Latin alba or albus, meaning “white”. Could also be from the Celtic alp, meaning “rock or crag”.
More Vintage Baby Name Ideas
Want more vintage baby name ideas? Lottie.org utilised Forebears.io to discover which old-fashioned baby names are making a comeback.
Top 10 Vintage Baby Girl Names
1. Patricia
2. Anita
3. Rita
4. Martha
5. Barbara
6. Esther
7. Diana
8. Gloria
9. Ruth
10. Irene
Lottie.org can reveal that Patricia is leading the vintage baby name revival. Patricia was a fashionable name in the sixties and ranks 59th most popular in the world today, with over 5.6 million people bearing the name.
Anita takes second place. This Spanish name means ‘grace’ and has a total of 5,478,714 people sharing the name.
Top 8 Vintage Boys Baby Names
1. Samuel
2. George
3. Francis
4. Frank
5. Oscar
6. Edward
7. Walter
8. Albert
In top for the boys is Samuel. With Hebrew and biblical origins meaning ‘heard of God’, this name is shared most notably by actor Samuel L. Jackson and playwright Samuel Beckett.
Lottie.org used reputable online sources Nameberry, Mother & Baby, Fatherly and Parade to create a comprehensive list of vintage or old fashioned names.
Lottie.org utilised genealogy website Forebears.io, inputting each individual name to discover the global popularity, amount of people bearing the name and countries where the name is most popular. Once data was collated for all names, they were then ranked by global popularity.
