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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

genuinely old English girls names?

44 replies

utopian99 · 03/05/2014 07:01

Looking for true old English not just 'vintagey' sounding. We have loads of good boys options but really struggle with girls. Our ds has a name we decided years before he was conceived which then turned out to be in the top ten that year which will irk me forever, so less common is better...

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LynetteScavo · 30/08/2019 21:48

Lena Genevieve

LynetteScavo · 30/08/2019 21:46

I think you should just use Genevieve as her first name.

florascotia · 06/05/2014 10:11

Lilias is Scottish.

Lorelei is German - name of water-maiden who sat on rocks in the Rhine and lured sailors to their doom.Inspired German poetry/songs.

beershuffle · 06/05/2014 10:01

Lorelei even.

beershuffle · 06/05/2014 10:00

Its lo

beershuffle · 06/05/2014 10:00

Its

Effic · 05/05/2014 23:32

Lorelie
I've never heard it before or since (and I'm a teacher!) but apparently it's a very old English name?

Sleepyfergus · 05/05/2014 23:21

I went to school with a girl named Lilias and she was nickname Billy which suited her a lot more than Lilias, she was a bit of a tomboy!

I never used to like it when I was young but it's sort of grown on me now that I think of it and could be shortened to Lil or Lily.

Noises where it originates.

Tenrec · 05/05/2014 20:49

Eda
Alesia
Isolda
Clara
Anastasia
Ema
Minna
Sabina
Yda
Alba
Elinora
Juliana
Madelina
Anabel
Ida
Elvina
Merewen
Adelina

RedNosedClone · 05/05/2014 20:21

Lavender

Rosalind

Isobel

mathanxiety · 05/05/2014 19:50

I would add Frances to that gorgeous list.

mateysmum · 05/05/2014 19:49

If you want something time honoured but not ancient there are some simple classics like

Jane
Caroline
Sarah
Elizabeth
Mary
Ruth
Catherine
Janet
Lydia
Susan/Susannah
Anne
Rebecca
Rachel
Judith
Helen
Rosamund

Bowlersarm · 05/05/2014 19:41

Lettice nn Lettie really due a comeback. Very pretty.

SoftSheen · 05/05/2014 19:39

I have a copy of Entinck's dictionary, published 1806, which contains lists of commonly used men's and women's names of the day.

The list of girls' names includes (amongst others):

Abigail
Alice
Amelia
Amy
Beatrice
Bridget
Cassandra
Catharine
Charlotte
Christiana
Cicely
Clarissa
Clementina
Damaris
Diana
Dorothy
Edith
Eleanor
Elizabeth
Emma
Esther
Eunice
Faith
Felicia
Flora
Florence
Frances
Gillian
Grace
Hannah
Harriot
Helen
Hester
Isabel
Isabella
Jane
Jemima
Jennet
Judith
Julia
Juliana
Leah
Leonora
Lettice
Lydia
Magdalena
Margaret
Martha
Mary
Maud
Matilda
Millicent
Mildred
Nancy
Naomi
Patience
Penelope
Phillippa
Phoebe
Phillis
Priscilla
Prudence
Rachel
Rebecca
Rosamund
Rose
Ruth
Salome
Sarah
Sibyl
Sisera
Sophia
Sophronia
Stella
Susanna
Tabitha
Thomasin
Ursula
Winifred
Zenebia

Many of these names are still popular 200 years later and can rightly be called classic English names. Others might perhaps be due a revival- Damaris and Sisera both struck me as rather beautiful.

MissMysticFalls · 05/05/2014 19:33

Try a book called Bring Back Beatrice - sounds perfect for you! It was my best friend when choosing our list of names.

WorldWildWifeFund · 05/05/2014 19:14

Been looking at tenth and eleventh century English history this afternoon, and the following women's names came up.

Edith
Avina
Emma
Mabel
Maud
Sybil
Juliana
Margaret
Judith
Ealdgifu
Aethelgifu
Aeffe
Aelfgifu
Christiana
Gunnhild
Beatrice
Hawisa
Lufu
Deorwyn
Deorswyth
Golde
Tate
Lulle
Hwite
Dudde
Dunne
Buhe
Aethelwen
Eadugu
Aethelgyth

EduCated · 05/05/2014 14:28

Ingrid
Mathilda
Johanna
Hilda
Ismay
Marjorie
Hester (I love this one!)

mistyegg · 05/05/2014 13:46

ViviPru nearly every other 34 year old bloke I know seems to be called Chaim or Coy, I'm sure it's got to be accurate? Wink

beershuffle · 05/05/2014 12:45

At least half of the names given here are french, but I suppose you can cite norman influences.

Old english isnt really meaningful, how old do you actually mean?

Hadagutsful · 04/05/2014 20:05

yy to Alice, but spelled the Middle English way which is Alys I think. wasn't it Chaucer's Wife of Bath's name? I like to think of it being pronounced more like "Ahhlis" than a short A sound.

Original poster
utopian99 · 04/05/2014 19:54

Love Isolde, Sybilla, Aphra.

Happy not to be obsessed over the English bit - the only thing driving that was ds' name is old English but most people actually think it's not of English origin at all...

OP posts:
ViviPru · 04/05/2014 14:34

MistyEgg I don't trust that search... I've just changed the list to 1980. Surely the boys names are incorrect:

1 Chaim
2 Kameron
3 Isaia
4 Coy
5 Jakob
6 Garrick
7 Taurean
8 Kraig
9 Lazaro
10 Houston

For 1980????

hobbjobb · 04/05/2014 11:35

Cecily does mean 'blind', but she is also the patron saint of musicians which has a nicer meaning

LeggyBlondeNE · 04/05/2014 06:29

Hmm define English? Most of the names people have suggested above are French. Because high status Medieval English people mostly spoke French until quite late on. A few are derived from Ancient British languages (mostly filtered through Norman French) and a few are from Anglo Saxon languages, ie German, and filtered the same way. I would pick a era and go look up names from then, but not get hung up on Englishness..

mathanxiety · 04/05/2014 06:18

Inga
Jacqueline/ Jacquetta

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