Retro baby names

Jul 28, 2011 10:05 AM by Kim Grundy

Posted in Parenting / Having a Baby / Baby Names

Classic Names For
Girls And Boys

In today’s fast paced world, giving your girl or boy a retro baby name is a great way to reconnect to a more innocent time. These classic baby names will stand the test of time. Check out our picks for the best retro baby names for girls and boys.

Retro boy names

Biblical baby names have dominated the charts from the 1800's to modern times.

Check out our list of the top retro boys' names:

1. Hubert
2. Clayton
3. Wilson
4. Harley
5. Curtis
6. Cleveland
7. Cecil
8. Eli
9. Wiley
10. Nicholas
11. Reuben
12. Owen
13. Max
14. Silas
15. Fredrick
16. Sylvester
17. Marshall
18. Emmett
19. Ross
20. Levi
21. Otis
22. Wallace
23. Russell
24. Gus
25. Everett

Get more boy baby name ideas here!

Retro names for girls

These retro girl names, straight from the list of top baby girl names from the 1800s, are full of classic, yet surprisingly modern sounding, baby names.

Here are our top picks for retro baby names for girls:

1. Mary
2. Elizabeth
3. Margaret
4. Ida
5. Clara
6. Alica
7. Florence
8. Ethel
9. Nellie
10. Mabel
11. Cora
12. Helen
13. Lilian
14. Gertrude
15. Rose
16. Pearl
17. Edith
18. Hattie
19. Mattie
20. Julia
21. Maggie
22. Rosa
23. Daisy
24. Nettie
25. Lizzie

Get more girl baby name ideas here!

Old Hollywood baby names

We can also find beautiful retro baby names by looking at the popular celebrities in the 1930's. Some standouts include:

Boy names:

Fred (Astaire)
Charlie (Chaplin)
Errol (Flynn)
Clark (Gable)
William (Powell)
Charles (Laughton)
Thomas (Mitchell)

Girl names:

Greta (Garbo)
Myrna (Loy)
Ginger (Rogers)
Shirley (Temple)
Mae (West)
Hattie (McDaniel)
Claudette (Colbert)

Baby Names from Literature

Take a look back at classic books and the character names for some wonderful names with a retro feel. Names such as Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird), Gatsby (The Great Gatsby), Holden (The Catcher in the Rye) and Phineas (A Separate Peace) for boys. For girls, consider Jane (Jane Austen), Ophelia (Shakespeare), Portia (Shakespeare), Lily (The House of Mirth) or Hester (The Scarlett Letter).

You can also take a look back at your own family tree. Not only may these names have a wonderful retro sound to them, but passing on a family name is a wonderful way to stay connected to the past while moving toward the future.

More baby name ideas:

Tags: baby boy names baby girl names baby names classic baby names traditional baby names

Comments

Comments on "Retro baby names"

I love old lady names too. I looked on the Social Security name regisitery and looked at all the popular names over the last 100 years and my daughters are Lola and Lela (pronounced LEE-LA) both popular around the turn of the century.

My girls are in the top 5!!! My Mary goes by Maisy and I have a Clara too. I love "old lady" names and "old men" names too! If we would have had a boy he would have been Hank, Gus or Abe.

We have an Everett who is 16-months old, plus a Janie and a Meg -- love the retro names, Kim!

My daughters name is Arlene Theresa Louise ... we care currently pregnant with our second child, sex unknown ... if its a girl it will be Ella Frantiska(husbands family tradition) Rose ... if its a boy we are between Jack or James for first names ... middle names undecided.

Why label these baby names as retro? They are just good old fashioned solid names. Think of the Brisish Royal family. They're hardly retro.

baby names will be so retro for childish play and the will nice to call

baby names,very sweet retro

I don't know, some of these baby names might be a little too... retro

Retro baby names obviously reconnect to a more innocent time. The retro baby names Hubert, Marshall, Elizabeth are really nice.

god site for kids names thanks

EASY FOR SELECTING BABY NAEMS

I'm here looking for potential baby names for my older brother, Xander, who is expecting his second child (whose sex has yet to be determend). He also has a 3-year-old named Atticus Israel.