110 Inspiring 1800s Names That Are Charmingly Old Fashioned | Kidadl

110 Inspiring 1800s Names That Are Charmingly Old Fashioned

Georgia Stone
Feb 16, 2024 By Georgia Stone
Originally Published on Nov 30, 2020
Baby sitting in red dress
Age: 0-99
Read time: 11.5 Min



Some of these old fashioned names still appeal to people of our age because of their timelessness.

Parenting is a very big responsibility and one of the biggest and foremost task is to choose a name for the little angel. If you like vintage names, then the era of the 1800s has some very charming and beautiful names.

It can be a tough and challenging job to choose a name. With this list we hope to make your job that much easier.

We hope this list helps in your search but if want some more inspiration why not look at charming old man names, and vintage girls names.

Victorian Male Names

Victorian names have always caught the attention of whoever hears them.

1. Abraham (Hebrew origin), means “father of a multitude of nations”.

2. Albert (Germanic origin), means “noble” and “bright”. It is one of those names that now reflect intellect.

3. Alfred (Old English origin), is a modern representation of the Anglo-Saxon “Ælfræd”.

4. Archie (English origin), is derived from one of the most popular 19th century names “Archibald”.

5. Arthur (English origin), is one of those names that have stood the test of time and remained relevant throughout history.

6. Augustus (Latin origin), is named after the title given to the first Roman emperor. It means “majestic”. Augustus is one of the popular names in the 1890s and the beginning of the 1900s in England.

7. Baxter (English origin), refers to an occupational name for a baker.

8. Benedict (Latin origin), was the name of the 5th century saint St Benedict.

9. Bernard (Germanic origin), means “as brave as a bear”.

10. Clifford (English origin), means “ford on a cliff”.

11. Henry (French origin), Henry means home ruler. The biblical meaning of Henry is “Lord”. Henry is an English name, which is derived from Henri which is an old French name. In fact, Henry has different variations in different languages. Undoubtedly, Henry is one of the perfect old fashioned boy names.

12. James (English origin), is the English form of Jacob. James means “one who follows”. The name James has a lot of derivatives as well. Jamie is another derivative of James. Jim is also derived from James.

13. Phineas (Hebrew origin), meaning “mouth of a snake”.

14. Thomas (English origin), means “twin”. There are several variations of the name Thomas. Tom is short for Thomas. Tommy is another short form of Thomas. Tomas is the European form of Thomas. Naming your child Thomas is a great idea.

15. Victor (Latin origin), means “conqueror”.

16. Warren (English origin), is a middle English occupational name for someone associated with a game park.

17. Wellington (English origin), is a name given to people of the place Wellington.

18. Willie (English origin), is another popular name and is a short form of William. The name William means “protection”. William has influenced a lot of names from the Victorian era. Will is short of William. Bill is another short form of William.

Popular Victorian Baby Girl Names

Girl names from the Victorian era are elegant, sophisticated, sweet and frilly. Choose from the below list of old fashioned girl names.

Cute baby wearing red and green dress

(Your baby girl deserves the best Victorian name.)

19. Ada (German origin or Hebrew origin), means “adornment”.

20. Adelaide (German origin), a beautiful Victorian baby girl name meaning “noble”. “Alice” is the short form of Adelaide.

21. Agatha (Greek origin), this baby girl name refers to “a good woman”.

22. Alma (Multiple origin), this name in Persian means “apple”, in Swedish it means “loving” and in Celtic it means “good”.

23. Audrey (Anglo-Saxon origin), this unique Victorian baby girl name means “nobility and strength”.

24. Bertha (German origin), this name means “bright”. One of the olden names for ladies which is popular even today.

25. Blanche (Latin origin), another rare name from the Victorian age, it means “pure or saintly”.

26. Clementine (European origin), a beautiful old- fashioned name meaning “merciful and mild”.

27. Dahlia (Latin origin), this beautiful girl name is named after the flower.

28. Della (German origin), this baby girl name means “noble”.

29. Ebba (German origin), is named after the famous German saint “Ebba” meaning “strong”.

30. Eliza (English origin), this is a unique name for a baby girl and is the shortened version of “Elizabeth”. Both Eliza and Elizabeth are very popular Victorian names. The meaning of this name is “a pledge to God”.

31. Esther (Hebrew origin), this name is derived form the holy Bible and the meaning of this name is “star”.

32. Fannie (American origin), this Victorian baby girl name means “free”.

33. Flora (Roman origin), this baby girl name means “flower”.

34. Ida (German origin), this Victorian girl name means “hardworking”.

35. Josephine (Hebrew origin), it is the feminine version of Joseph which means ” God increases”.

36. Lily (Greek origin), it is the name of the beautiful flower Lily which means “pure”.

37. Mabel (Latin origin), this name refers to someone who is “lovable”.

38. Maida (Italian origin), one of the unique names, it means “virgin”.

39. Nora (Arabic origin), one of the names from 1800s and it means “light”.

40. Zadie (Arabic origin), this charming name form Victoria era means “prosperous”

Popular Names In The 1800s

Some names like Elizabeth, Clara, Jane, Margaret, Mary are popular names even in today’s age. This shows how beautiful and relevant these names are still.

41. Abel (Hebrew origin), was the son of Adam and Eve.

42. Adrian (Latin origin), is one of the names that transcends borders easily. Meaning “sea” or “water” it is easily one of the most popular name to date in Europe.

43. Alice (German origin), one of top 10 baby girl names in the 1800s and it means “nobility”. This name Alice became popular after the fairy tale “Alice in a Wonderland”.

44. Alexandra (Greek origin), this baby girl name means “defender”. This name was so popular it was believed that at least one baby girl in the royal family was named as “Alexandra”.

45. Annabella (Hebrew and French origin), Anna-Bell means “grace that is favoured”. This name is a combination of Hebrew name “Anna” and “ Bella” which is French name. This is another name influenced by the prefix “Anna”. Anna is an extremely popular name in itself. Anna means “grace”.

46. Archie (English origin), is derived from one of the most popular names “Archibald”. Archie is now a name of its own and means “brave”, “genuine” or “bold".

47. Catherine (Greek origin), the meaning of this name is pure.

48. Charles (English origin), is a name that has remained popular through the ages. There are several variations of Charles in use. Carl is another form of Charles. Carlos is another form of Charles. Another variant of Charles is Carolus. Charles is a good name for a kid.

49. Clara (Latin origin), one of the elegant baby names from the 1800s refers to someone with a “sharp and a bright mind”.

50. Dorothea (Greek origin), this name captures the essence of the Victorian times and it means “God’s gift”.

51. Eleanor (French origin), this pretty name from the 1800s means “bright”.

52. Elizabeth (Hebrew name), another very popular name in the 1800s meaning “a pledge to God”. Elizabeth is popularly associated with Queen Elizabeth.

53. Emily (Roman origin), means “industrious”.

54. Emma (German origin),  this sophisticated and classy name was very popular amongst the wealthy and rich in the Victorian times. The meaning of this name is “universal”.

55. George (English origin), as name has a reference in almost all languages. In Greek, George is Georgios. In German, George is Jorg. In Dutch, George is called Joris. The name George is indeed popular.

56. Gilbert (French origin), A popular name from the 1800s it means “noble bright youth”.

57. Isabella (Hebrew origin), Isabella was a very popular name in the 1800s and it means someone who is "devoted to God”.

58. Jane (Hebrew name), the meaning of this baby girl name means “God is gracious”.

59. Lucy (Latin origin), one of the vintage names that was extensively used in England and it means “light”.

60. Maggie (English origin), meaning of this name is pearl. It is a short form of the name “Margaret”.

61. Margaret (Persian origin), this name means “pearl”. There are many famous personalities with the name Margaret. In different languages, “Margaret” has many diminutive forms like Marge, Meg, Rita etc. Margaret is again a very popular name which is used even today.

62. Mary (Hebrew origin), this name has several variations. Maria is the English form the name Mary. In French Mary becomes Marie. The name Mary is derived from the Hebrew name Maryam which means “a sea of sorrow”. Mary is considered to be one of the top 100 names for girls who were born in Ireland. Queen Mary II is one of the famous personalities with this name. Mary is a lovely name for a child.

63. Victoria (Roman origin), one of the very popular names in the 1800s and widely used in the royal families. This name means “victory”.

Ship Names In The 1800s

Let us take a look at some of the important ships from the 19th century.

64. Beagle (English origin), was a ship built in England by Woolwich Naval dockyard.

65. Challenger (English origin), was a Pearl class warship of corvette style built for the Australian Navy by the British.

66. Constitution (US origin), was manufactured in 1797 and is the battleship that has served the longest in Naval history.

67. Flying Cloud (US origin), was the ship commandeered by Eleanor Creesy which set what was then the fastest passage from New York to San Francisco.

68. Hunley (US origin), has the distinction of being the first submarine to sink a ship in history.

69. Lusitania (English origin), was technically not commissioned in the 19th Century building of both Lusitania and Titanic started in the 19th century.

70. Maine (US origin), was commissioned in 1895 and was deployed to Havana harbor during the Cuban war. But the ship spontaneously exploded which raised suspicions. The blame was prematurely assigned to Spain and that acted as a deterrent to peace talks.

71. Mayflower (English origin), was an English vessel with a special place in history.

Baby on beach wearing straw hat

72. Monitor (US origin), was the first ship to be fitted with a gun turret which could rotate.

73. Victory (English origin), is considered to be one of the greatest warships made out of wood.

Popular Danish Names In The 1800s

Here is a list of Danish baby names from the 1800s.

74. Abiorn (Old Norse origin), means “a dreaded bear”.

75. Achton (Old Norse origin), meaning “without land” in Danish.

76. Agmund (Germanic origin), roughly translates to “sword”.

77. Aren (Danish origin), meaning “eagle” is an impressive name.

78. Bodo (Germanic/Danish origin), was originally a derivative of “bod” which in German means “lord” or “ruler”.

79. Diamant (Danish origin), means “diamond”.

80. Edel (German origin), means “noble”.

81. Gefion (Norse origin), the Goddess who plowed Zealand.

82. Heri (Scandinavian origin), means “hare-hearted” or simply “hare”.

83. Hjalte (Danish origin), is derived from “hjalt” which means “hilt”.

84. Isa (Swedish/Norwegian origin), one of the popular baby names that means “ice”.

85. Jakob (English origin), is a derivative of the name James. Like many names derived from James this is one. Another variant and derivative of James is Jacob.

86. Johan (Hebrew origin), is derivative of John. John finds reference in various names in Danish.

87. Jorgen (English origin), is a derivative of George. Another variant of George is Jurgen.

88. Lill (Swedish/Danish origin), is a diminutive form of Elizabeth. Lill in Danish means “little”.

89. Lyn (Danish origin), directly translates to “lightning”.

90. Maidis (Old Norse origin), means “Goddess of may”.

91. Rosenkrans (Danish origin), means “rosary”.

92. Sejr (Danish origin), translates to “victory” in Danish.

93. Silke (Danish/Swedish origin), means “silk” in Swedish and Danish.

94. Sofus (Greek origin), means “clever” or “skilled”.

95. Tulla (Swedish/Danish origin), means “little girl”.

96. Vagner (German origin), means “Wagner” or “wagon-maker”.

97. Vilhelm (Danish origin), is a derivative of William. William as a name has influenced a lot of names.

98. Villum (Danish origin), is another derivative of William.

Gender Neutral Names From The 1800s

Gender neutral names have been prevalent for a long time, here are some below.

99. Evelyn (English origin), meaning “beautiful bird”.

100. Kelsey (English origin), refers to someone from Ceol’s island.

101. Raleigh (English / US origin), someone from the rye or red fields.

102. Ramsey (Scottish origin), someone who is from the “island of garlic”.

103. Robin (English origin), means “bright fame”.

104. Whitley (English origin), means “from the white fields”.

105. Whitney (English origin), means “from the white island”.

106. Wren (English origin), means “small bird”.

Popular Girl Irish Names In The 1800s

Irish baby names have been influenced by historical events and are quite charming and beautiful.

107. Aine (Irish origin), this name is the Irish version of “Anna”.

108. Aishling (Irish origin), this name means “vision or dream”.

109. Amy (French origin), meaning “the beloved”.

110. Anna (Greek origin), means “someone who is favoured”.

111. Ciara (Gaelic origin), named after the Saint Ciara.

112. Hannah (Greek origin), means “being favoured”.

113. Megan (Welsh origin), means “strong”. This is short for Margaret.

114. Michelle (Hebrew origin), means “someone who is like God”.

115. Katie (Greek origin), variation of Catherine.

116. Olivia (Latin origin), derived from the Olive tree.

117. Rachel (Hebrew origin), means “ewe”.

118. Rebecca (Hebrew origin), means “God’s servant”.

119. Sarah (Hebrew origin), the last name on our list is a popular Irish girl name that means “princess”.

Kidadl has lots of great baby names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for 1800s Names then why not take a look at old German names, or for something different take a look at old French names.

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Written by Georgia Stone

Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia Stone picture

Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.

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