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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Unusual Victorian/Edwardian names please

139 replies

Jimjamjools · 25/03/2019 18:26

Purely hypothetical as baby number 2 doesn't exist yet, but I've been broody and currently obsessed with unusual period names.

I have an ancestor from about 1900-1910 called Mahala which I think is beautiful, and an Everilda (less so...)

For boys I love Rudyard, but think that might be a passing thing!

So, what other unusual slightly out there period names are there?

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Arpafeelie · 04/04/2019 19:59

(Hectorina was the youngest in a family with lots of girls. They had Mary, Jane, Elizabeth, Catherine, then Wiiliamina and Georgina and finally Hectorina.)

Arpafeelie · 04/04/2019 19:55

Hectorina
Laetitia

Petalflowers · 03/04/2019 19:07

Aubrey
Clarence
Hector

Edna
Maud
Elsie
Phyllis
Joyce

Enko · 03/04/2019 14:29

DH s family tree had

Reginald (I so love this)
Winnie
Lennie
Honoria

mine is Scandinavian so less helpful lots of Marie s on it

Rhubarbina · 01/04/2019 16:39

In my family tree amongst my grandparents' brothers and sisters, all born around 1900, there included:
Billy
Josephine
Kathleen
Patrick
May
Ellen
Catherine
Frederick
George
Sidney
Percy
Samuel
Will
Louisa
Mahlah
Lillian

upaladderagain · 29/03/2019 17:00

We have a Randolph nn Randy and a Thetis, which I actually quite like. Then there's Florence Nightingale's less famous sister Parthenope, but you'd have to be VERY brave!

MsTSwift · 28/03/2019 21:42

Morley
I like Alberta but everyone else hates it luckily not having any more!

TheDisillusionedAnarchist · 28/03/2019 21:29

DD2 is Marilla which is of that era. Quite uncommon too.

KingHenrysCodpiece · 28/03/2019 21:19

Looking at famous 19th/Early 20th century novels and historical references I found:

Gatsby
Newland
Phineas
Rhett
Aslan (pushing it really)
Nickleby
Uriah
Jonas
Ebenezer
Gallant

Dorrit
Augusta
Cordelia
Scarlett
Rosalind
Gertrude
Sheba
Dilly
Dinah
Hepzibah

Fifthtimelucky · 27/03/2019 20:14

@Catquest1 I have a Zillah in my family tree too.

Original poster
Jimjamjools · 27/03/2019 20:00

@catkin Hmmm DH wasnt convinced on Rudyard, I might struggle with Mould and Slag! But I'll give it a go Grin

OP posts:
CatkinToadflax · 27/03/2019 12:52

My mother had two great aunts named Aunt Mould and Aunt Slag. They are both long gone and we have no idea if those were actually their names or not! Confused

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 27/03/2019 07:35

My grandmothers family (her siblings mostly born in late nineteenth century, some, like her born early twentieth) had 22 children! (All the same father, two different mothers with eleven each). The youngest brother was named Boy 😯. I’ve always assumed that they’d just run out of names by then 😂

Catquest1 · 27/03/2019 07:29

We have a Zillah in our family tree! Never come across anyone else who has. She was a lovely lady by all accounts

Dockray · 27/03/2019 07:19

We've got a Nehemiah in our family tree, it was used for quite a few generations.

Baby2namehelp · 27/03/2019 07:17

A friend of mine is Hayley, after her grandma Mahala who wouldn’t let her parents call her Mahala as she hated it but I think it is very cool!

Theworldisfullofgs · 27/03/2019 07:14

Minnie.

Petalflowers · 27/03/2019 07:11

Jabez - always wish I was brave enough to use it. Definitely the name i’ll Use in the novel i (Probably never) will write

singingismypassion · 27/03/2019 00:30

We have a
Zipporah
Lots of Nesta's
Gideon
Sholto
Ptolemy

mathanxiety · 27/03/2019 00:06

I know a Mahala who is in her early 20s.

DontCallMeCharlotte · 27/03/2019 00:02

Midsummer. Actually a boy. Guess when he was born?

Well there's a Summer in our family whose birthday is in December. Mind you her parents regularly hold a summer Christmas party. I can only assume they're wannabe Australians.

NigellasGuest · 26/03/2019 21:35

WRT Mahala, that rang a bell with me. I remembered a novel, except it's spelt Mehala.

www.allthingsransome.net/literary/meh_top.htm

RussellSprout · 26/03/2019 21:19

No names, but can I suggest looking around some old graveyards for inspiration?

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 26/03/2019 21:18

Actually my DS goes to preschool with a Marmaduke (Duke) and Albertine (Bertie), so I guess those names are already coming around again.

Yika · 26/03/2019 20:53

Eglantine
Seraphine

Marmaduke
Ernest

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