Ideas for Old-Fashioned and Classic baby names?

[Raintrainer]

Looking for suggestions for both boys and girls as we are keeping the gender as a surprise until baby is born. Mainly looking for names similar to those below that I have liked and feel have a traditional theme.

Boys:
Laurence
George
Henry
Montague (mainly like the nickname Monty)
Rafferty
Kit
Merritt (fairly out there imo but saw it recently and liked it?)
Rory

Also thinking I need more help with girls names ideas…
Girls:
Harriet
Joan
Darcy
India
Saoirse (don’t know if this is exactly traditional?)
Philippa
Winnifred
Honor
Nellie
Theodora

Boys:
Vincent, Samuel, Theodore, Dominic, Frederick, Julian, Nathaniel, Oscar, Maximilian, Alexander, Oliver, Benjamin, Atticus, Sebastian, Tobias, Caspian, Raphael
Girls:
Genevieve, Arabella, Clementine, Seraphina, Rosamund, Octavia, Felicity, Lavinia, Anastasia, Clementine, Isabella, Penelope, Giselle, Evangeline, Ophelia, Serenity

Love your boys list apart from Kit, don't like any of the names on your girls list.

Catherine
Jasmine
Jessica
Jennifer
Laura
Grace
Audrey

Love Rory - I have two DDs but that was my boy name choice along with Samuel for DD2. I think it's classy, timeless and not too 'out there'.

OP is just listing currently fashionable names rather than old fashioned names.

Names like Gordon, Malcolm, Brian, Stuart, Norman, Nigel, Derek, Peter and Frank are surely due a revival.

Joan is probably the only one that falls into that category in the girls' names listed. Jean, Sheila, Barbara, Pauline, Beryl, Brenda, Pamela, Maureen, Doreen, Janet, Susan, Deborah.

Love Henry, kit and theodora

edward
theodore
franklin
spencer
frederick
arthur
cedric
stanley
vincent
chester
alexander
louis
ralph
rufus
victor
reginald
maxwell
wilfred

tabitha
josephine
roberta
juliet
dorothy
louisa
beatrix
vivienne
clara
mabel
florence
henrietta
polly
emmeline
pearl
iris

I love Laurence and Honor or Philippa - if you are after traditional but not overused.

Darcy is most certainly not traditional (other than an occasional surname as first name thing) - it’s now shaping up to be the Tracy of the 2020s. Rafferty similarly is a modern usage. I suspect Merrit is a surname, so only traditional if it’s in your family. Saoirse traditional only if you are Irish. India only if you have a family connection (ie if you are white I wouldn’t use it). Kit and Nellie are but as shortforms of Christopher/Catherine and Eleanor/Helen/Penelope.

Obviously there are loads but a few more here -

Rufus
Patrick
Silas
Rafe
Richard
Robert
Guy
John
Nicholas
Francis
Alistair
Gideon
Zachary
Barnaby

Marianne
Juliet
Lydia
Jane
Frances
Alice
Louisa
Dorothea
Caroline
Miranda
Beatrice
Claudia
Joanna
Rachel

Some of these names are not old-fashioned at all e.g. Rafferty, Darcy, India. The whole list is pretty much in fashion at the moment. (Not heard Merritt, though.)

My favourites are Kit (as a nickname for Christian or Christopher), Laurence and Rory. (I actually like Rafferty, but it's a 'surname as first name one so not classic if that's what you're going for). I love Monty but don't like any of the names it is short for.

Joan and Philippa are great from your girls' list.

Other ideas:
Edward
Elliott
Adrian
Colin
Duncan
Jonathan nn Jonty
Clement
Felix

Georgina
Imogen
Natalie
Sally
Caroline
Dorothea
Maud
Susannah
Josephine

You are just listing mid century names - they aren’t any more old fashioned than many others , just popular in that era.

When the OP says old fashioned she means names that have a long history - some mid century names obviously do, but generally less so than names like George and Alice, probably because mid last century we were very future focused, now the future is fairly terrifying we’re harking back to the past.

I agree mid century names will get revived in decades to come, but it doesn’t seem that’s the vibe the OP is after.

Old fashioned is defined by the era though. So 1950s-1980s names are old fashioned now, the ones OP listed are pretty fashionable.

Rupert might fit your style

Name your DC after one of my grandparents then - Horace, Matilda, Margery or Ernest!

Didn't realize there’d be a bit of a debate over what is old-fashioned lol! But I think I’m just trying to describe the style of names I like as being kind of grandparent-ish but not too stuffy? If that makes any sense but some of these suggestions have been really great!

Loving Pauline, Susan/Susannah, Felicity/Florence, Wilfred, Alistair! Also forgot about Edward, Matilda, Arthur, Catherine, Rupert but those are all lovely.

I saw someone said Guy which has been used in my family before but I feel like I never see it anymore! Don’t know if it’s too old maybe? Also have Perrin as a family name which I like, similar to Peter I guess, but is it too similar to Peregrine which I think may be too stuff? I do like Pippin as a nn though…

I'm not keen on Laurence, Montague/ Monty, or Rafferty.

Really like Kit and Merritt.
The rest are nice.

For girls, I like Winifred (one N is the usual spelling), Nellie, Harriet, and Joan.

The rest are OK. Saoirse isn't traditional. It's a fairly recently coined Irish name.

Suggestions:
Roland
Gregory
David
Nicholas
Ansel
Ambrose
Clement
Beckett
Graham
Simon
Leon

Wynona
Finola
Bonnie
Vita
Audrey
Alma
Vera
Sally
Imelda
Zelda
Philomena
Irene
Bridget

Laura
Gemma
Daphne

OP, what vibe are you going for? Literary Victorian, suffragette, Bloomsbury, mid-century mod?

Cicely, Cecily, Virginia, Vanessa, Alicia, Ethel, Chrystobel, Sylvia, Ernestine, Alberta, Ginevra, Cassandra, Marjorie, Dorinda, Pearl, Priscilla, Diana, Rosemary, Romola.
MCM: Julie, Sandra, Kathryn, Leanne, Robyn, Carolyn, Marie, Susan, Jane, Joanna, Rhonda, Gail, Linda.

Ernest, Victor, Clement, Horace, John, Albert, William, Montgomery, Campbell, Alfred, Wilfred, Keith, Dougall, Ivor, Milton, Kenneth, Osmond, Harold.
MCM: Peter, Mark, Stephen, Gregory, John (again), Alan, Simon, Rodney, Roderick, Jason, Robert, Paul, Leslie, Glenn.

Peregrine
Merrick
Hartley
Neil
Clyde
Nigel
John
Richard

Mary
Vera
Lorna
Desma
Marjory
Dorothy
Blythe
Olga

These are girl suggestions because boys tend to stay in fashion steadily (James, Edward, Andrew) unless you want to go back to Nigel or Lionel.

Girls: Vera, Patricia, Margaret (means daisy), Aurelia?

Love Alistair, Rory and Guy.

Also Laurence, Robert and Richard.

Madeleine
Miriam
Anne
Alice
Valerie
Rose
Hannah
Sarah
Lydia

Adam
James
Elijah
Matthew
Andrew
Charles
Henry
George

Valerie's due a revival. Caroline too. What about Ruth? Victoria? Natasha? Una? Abigail?
A lot of actually very traditional boys' names that were popular in my day - Robert, Richard, Mark, Philip, Simon - seem to be pretty much gone now. All perfectly good names, though. Same goes for girls - nobody (or almost nobody) calls their daughters Rebecca, Sarah, Mary or Catherine any more.

Also adding Francis/Frances to the many suggestions.

Laurence is my stand-out favourite of your boys' list; Harriet and Philippa (great twins' names) of your girls'. Winifred's spelled with one N. I know a toddler with that name.

Dennis
Claude
Algernon
Simon
Colin
Bernard

Denise
Claudia
Sandra
Anne
Alison
Edith/Ethel
Ellen
Margaret
Jacqueline
Lillian

I really like Dennis....

Boys
Andrew
Robert
Joseph
Donald
Rupert
Colin
Alan
Glenn
Clarence
Reginald
Timothy
Malcolm
Eugene
Eric
Guy

Girls
Henrietta
Clarabel
Angela
Polly
Sandra
Sally
Norah
Isabella
Tara
Sharon
Minnie
Viviana
Susana
Nicola
Francesca

Jane
Gloria
Maxine
Louise

Clara
Florence

Quentin
Reuben