120 old fashioned names that will be popular again soon

By Catriona Harvey-Jenner

11 June, 2021

120 old fashioned names that will be popular again soon

Baby name trends roll in cycles, like many things. And one of the most popular trends to have emerged in recent years is the recycling of old fashioned names. As Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have recently demonstrated, naming their newborn daughter 'Lilibet' after the childhood nickname of 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth, there's a lovely sentiment in choosing an old fashioned name for a modern day baby.

If you take a look at the Office for National Statistics' most up-to-date data on baby names (from all births that took place in the year 2019), it proves just how much the vintage baby naming trend has taken hold over the last few years. Because there are two names that have recently re-entered the ‘most popular’ list for the first time in almost 100 years.

The old fashioned boys name Arthur was a firm fixture in the top 10 names for boys in the early 1900s, but after 1924 it dropped off. In 2018, however, it regained a spot in the top 10 (coming in at number 7), 94 years since it was last listed. In 2019 it grew further in popularity, ranking as the fourth most popular name for baby boys born that year (4,211 little Arthurs, to be precise).

Likewise, an old fashioned girls name that's also soared in the last few years for the first time in almost a century, is Ada. That was last included in the top 100 girls’ names in 1924, but hadn’t ranked again until 2018, when the name made a comeback as the 65^th most used name for baby girls. In 2019, it rose up the list to 47th, with 1,028 newborns given the name Ada that year.

It’s thought the newfound favour for the names Arthur and Ada may potentially have been inspired by the characters in Peaky Blinders, as the monikers Tommy and Esme have also risen in popularity since the BBC series debuted.

If you’re inspired a bit of the old-fashioned when it comes to naming your future child, but want something not everyone is going for right now, you might want to take a look at this list we've drawn up. After cross-referencing the top 200 British boys and girls baby names from the year 1900, with the top 200 British boys and girls baby names from the year 2019, we've pulled out some of the ones that haven't quite risen back to the top yet in today's world - but are likely to.

Ready to see the old baby names that are bound to make a come-back in the coming years, in accordance with the vintage baby naming trend? You can thank us later...