Antique Girls' Names

Vintage girls' names such as Ada and Olive are clearly coming back into style. Then there is the slightly more old-fashioned group of names, the antique names. 

Distinguishing antique from vintage names is not a simple task, since the two terms are often used interchangeably in the naming world. However, it helps to equate antique names with paintings and sepia-toned daguerreotypes. 

To qualify as an antique, a name must:

1. Have peaked in usage among English speakers and/or heavily associated herself with the eras before 1880
2. Associate with multiple famous namesakes predating the twentieth century
3. Fit in with antiquated trends, including lesser-known Biblical heroes, Puritan virtues, and stately elegancies 

Of course, many names from the Middle Ages sound so unfamiliar today they would merely come across as "unique." Yet, here are some beyond-old-fashioned names from the olden times:

• Amice
1. Popularity peak at #16 in medieval England
2. Medieval namesakes such as Amice, Count of Rochefort (d. 1215) and English noblewoman Amice de Clare (1220-1284)
3. Anglo-Norman translation of Latin Amicia; derived from Latin root meaning "friend"

• Arabella
1. Popularity peak at #79 in Restoration Norfolk, England
2. Notable namesakes from the sixteenth-to nineteenth centuries, including Lady Arabella Stuart of England (1575-1615), English royal master Arabella Churchill (1648-1730), and American female lawyer Arabella Mansfield (1846-1911)
3. Royal inheritance

• Augusta
1. Popularity peak at #87 in 1840 England
2. Famous namesakes from the eighteenth-and nineteenth centuries, including Princess Augusta of Great Britain (1737-1813), Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom (1768-1840), Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (1797-1889), American suffragist and temperance leader Augusta Merrill Hunt (1842-1932), and Canadian suffragist Augusta Stowe-Gullen (1857-1943)
3. Royal inheritance 

• Clemence
1. Popularity peak at #44 in medieval England
2. Famous namesakes from the nineteenth century, including American physician Clemence Sophia Lozier (1813-1888) and English feminist Clemence Housman (1861-1955)
3. Anglicization of Latin Clementia, Puritan virtue associated with mildness

• Dinah
1. Popularity peak at #42 in 1700 England
2. Notable namesakes from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, including British novelist and poet Dinah Craik (1826-1887), philanthropist Dinah Elizabeth Pearce (1836-1918), and American educator Dinah Watts Pace (1853-1933)
3. Minor Biblical figure

• Drusilla
1. Popularity peak in top 100 during Victorian England
2. Notable namesakes from the nineteenth century, including American temperance leader Drusilla Wilson (1815-1908)
3. Classical revival, minor Biblical figure

• Electa
1. Peak usage of 17 girls between 1841-1850 in United States
2. Famous namesakes from the nineteenth century, including American philanthropist Electa Amanda Wright Johnson (1838-1929) and suffragist Electa Nobles Lincoln Walton (1824-1908)
3. Inspired by Puritan trait "elected," meaning "chosen"

• Eugenia
1. Popularity peak at #190 in in 1882 United States (though style dates it in earlier times)
2. Famous namesakes from the nineteenth century, including historian Eugenia Washington (1838-1900) and elocutionist and educator Eugenia Williamson Hume (1865-1899)
3. Latin feminization

• Henrietta
1. Popularity peak at #50 in 1850 England
2. Famous namesakes from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, including Princess Henrietta Anne of England (1644-1670) and Charles Darwin's daughter Henrietta Litchfield (1843-1927)
3. Latinization, royal inheritance from throne

• Hester
1. Popularity peak in Victorian England
2. Famous namesakes from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, including English Quaker writer Hester Biddle (1629-1697), English silversmith Hester Bateman (1708-1794), and American writer Hester A. Benedict (1838-1921)
3. Latin form of Esther

• Kezia(h)
1. Popularity peak at #82 (without "h") and #116 (with "h") in 1940 England
2. Notable namesakes from the nineteenth century, including 1850s-70s Midwestern farmer Keziah Brower and English prison reform volunteer Kezia Hayter (1818-1885)
3. Minor Biblical figure

• Lavinia
1. Popularity peak at #63 in 1860 England
2. Notable namesakes from the eighteenth-and nineteenth centuries, including English actor Lavinia Fenton (1708-1760), Arkansas executed woman Lavinia Burnett (1785-1845), and American author Lavinia S. Goodwin (1833-1911)
3. Classical revival

• Lucretia
1. Popularity peak at #174 in 1840 England
2. Notable namesakes from the eighteenth-and nineteenth centuries, including American suffragist Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) and former First Lady Lucretia Garfield (1832-1918)
3. Classical revival

• Mercy
1. Popularity peak at #81 in 1840 England
2. American writer Mercy Otis Warren (1728-1814)
3. Puritan virtue

• Patience
1. Popularity peak at #89 in Elizabethan England
2. American sculptor Patience Wright (1725-1786)
3. Puritan virtue

• Phoebe
1. Popularity peak at #31 in 1700 England
2. Notable namesakes pre-dating the twentieth century, including American nurse Phoebe Pember (1823-1913) and poet Phoebe Cary (1824-1871)
3. Minor Biblical figure

• Pleasance
1. Popularity peak at #49 in Elizabethan and Restoration England
2. Notable namesakes from the eighteenth-and nineteenth centuries, including English writer Pleasance Smith (1773-1877) and suffragist Pleasance Pendred (1864-1948)
3. Puritan virtue

• Prudence
1. Popularity peak at #34 in Restoration Norfolk, England
2. American schoolteacher Prudence Crandall (1803-1890)
3. Puritan virtue

• Rhoda
1. Popularity peak at #56 in 1840 England
2. Notable namesakes from the eighteenth-and nineteenth centuries, including Mormon wife Rhoda Richards (1784-1879), law woman Rhoda Lavinia Goodell (1839-1880), and businesswoman Rhoda May Knight Rindge (1864-1941)
3. Minor Biblical figure

• Temperance
1. #46 in Elizabethan Norfolk
2. Notable namesakes pre-dating the nineteenth century, including Jamestown settler Temperance Flowerdew (1590-1628) and Revolutionary War hero Temperance Wick (1758-1822)
3. Puritan virtue meaning "abstinence"

• Theodosia
1. Popularity peak at #169 in 1840 England (with combined spellings only)
2. Notable namesakes from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, including English adventurer Theodosia Ivie (1629-1697), Aaron Burr's wife Bartow Prevost (1746-1794) and daughter Burr Alston (1783-1813), American botanist Theodosia Burr Shepherd (1845-1906)
3. Latin feminization

• Zillah
1. Popularity peak at #145 in 1850 England
2. New Zealand leader Zillah Smith Gill (1859-1937)
3. Minor Biblical figure

What are your favorite antique girls' names? What names would you add to this list?