Old names you've found

[Hadtocomment]

Was looking through old registers for fun mainly 1200s to 1400s. You can see how lots of versions and spelling start to solidify around various classics like Margaret including people called Magot! And then then the name Mold and Molde! Ahem. Then there were names I thought were far more recent like Barbara and Margory. Anyway I pulled out these as interesting old girls names. Have you come across any interesting old names you like that might have fallen out of usage?

Aliva
Amabel
Annora
Athelyna
Dulcia
Felicia
Galiene
Gelle
Idone
Idony
Iseletta
Josian
Jonetta
Jeva
Kemma
Kitta
Linet
Mariota
Minnota
Mirabel
Osanna
Peronelle
Reyne
Roseia
Somerild

My Gran had a friends called Felicia - pronounced Fel-eesha but the way they said it sounded more like Fleesha.

From that list I really like Annora and Idony.

Grissel / Grisel

I like Sidonie too! Could have nikname Sid like Cyd Cherise

I've always liked Heber (boy). I love loads of these names, shame I've already named all my DC

Love Idony. I believe it comes from Idunn, a Norse name (possibly a goddess?)

Linet is rather lovely. There is a masculine name 'Somerled' in Scotland, is Sometild the feminine version? In Gaelic, Somhairle.

@Hadtocomment

I like the name Tamar and knew one in the past too. I think it's quite an old name same root as Tamara. But some might name for the river now. I think it's a nice unfrilly name for a girl. Haha about Aliceanne.

I love Tamar but not keen on Tammy and if you read The Wilding…

Following on from this thread - I had in the back of my mind something about girls and boys having the same names for a long while and it was only in the writing that the "a" comes in. Not pronounciation. I checked this and it seems to be true. That in the Middle Ages men and women often had the same names. So a girl and a boy were both called Philip. But when it was recorded the latin meant the recorder put a feminine ending on. But it would have been pronounced the same. It is only later that the name morphs to become different names - ie Philippa.

Apparently Richard was THE top girls name in the mid 1500s! (Although we dont seem to have a Richarda do we? Why not?).

www.historyextra.com/period/norman/baby-names-popular-royal-history/

This article is VERY England focused which is annoying but it's quite interesting none-the-less. I find it amazing how old some names are so old that we don't think much about. Matilda is so trendy right now seems to be an Old English name along with the horror that is Mildred. But so is the newly trendy Audrey! I had no idea THAT was so old! But then the Norman names come in and everyone quickly names their offspring those instead.

Now we seem to have so much more variety and choice from all over the world which is so much more interesting. I suppose at the time of half of all women being Mary, Anne and Elizabeth - it explains why you get all this mad variety of nicknames. Polly from Mary for example! Imagine a family of 13 children and trying to find different names for them. I suppose they could have just gone for calling all the girls Richard...

On the Euphemias in my local cemetery, I looked up some old Scottish lists and Eufemie is there right back in the 1300s too! But I've not seen that on the English lists. Euphemia and Effie are a big deal in the Victorian times and had a fashion moment, but obviously there's a far older history there which seems to be in Scotland rather than England.

I LOVE Annora!

Also Christian for girls. Not sure if it was said Christine as it seems to be interchangeable in some cases.

In older times, Christian in Scotland was pronounced Christen, as the final "i" was not usually sounded. This also occurred in other names, e.g. Marion, William, Daniel.

From c.1820 onwards the pronunciation changed to the modern standard, although it still differs from English pronunciation. In Scotland it tends to be "Chris-chin" as opposed to England's "Christie-an".

Very interesting. I’ve seen Mahala on a gravestone in my town. I’ll check the date, but pretty sure she’s Victorian. I’ve also seen nicknames on gravestones.

I have a list from my family tree
Girls:
Bettina
Caresse
Constance
Lavinia
Rosena

Boys:
Enoch
Eyden
Elias
Farse
Hawley
Kennet
Ninu

Also

Boys
Gamaliel
Gilbert
Power
Risleigh
Wesley

Girls
Hamble
Hester
Phoemaya
Sandrine
Zinnia

What an amazing list, OP! Some of these names deserve a major revival.

I love Somerild and its meaning. In Gaelic, Somhairle. @midsomermurderess, how do you pronounce this? Sort of like "Sovarla?" Here in Australia there's a town called Sofala. I wonder if it was named by a Gaelic speaker who travelled in summer.

@groovergirl, I think it's 'Sorley'.

We had Amabel on our shortlist for dd2 but she didn't feel like an Amabel. I do love the name still

I love all these gaelic references. It's such a nice idea for a name Summer traveller or something like that? And for a girl too - quite adventurous for the time.
@KloppsTeeth you have some amazing names there - the boys more exotic than the girls for a change.

@midsomermurderess are people called Sorley these days? I like the sound of Sovarla too - although not sure if that's a name now.

I don't know if Sorley is much used these days. There was the Scottish Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean.