Old Lady Names
Names that reached the U.S. top 300 before 1945, from forgotten favorites to names back in style.
| Save name | Name & meaning | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yahweh is gracious, through John | 66#2,630 | Down 202 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
Sorrows | 68#2,567 | Up 369 rank positions in five years | 1930 | ||
Power of the spear, through Gerald | 73#2,447 | Down 495 rank positions in five years | 1930 | ||
Kingdom of Lothar | 238#1,044 | Up 350 rank positions in five years | 1928 | ||
Bright | 30#4,568 | Up 91 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Yahweh is gracious, through John | 61#2,794 | Down 433 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Probably traveler; associated with blessed and happy | 583#508 | Up 44 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Honor or Arabic light; also a short form of Eleanor | 6,380#20 | Up 10 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
My God is an oath, through Elizabeth | 2,236#123 | Up 110 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Possibly beloved, through Mary; also a surname transfer | 93#2,044 | Down 197 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Possibly work in Germanic; Sanskrit refreshment and sacred speech | 209#1,120 | Up 59 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Violet flower | 7,546#13 | Up 24 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Bringing victory, through Berenice | 35#4,081 | Down 528 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Spear of strength | 17#6,631 | Down 2,340 rank positions in five years | 1917 | ||
My God is an oath, through Elizabeth | 16#6,887 | Up 83 rank positions in five years | 1916 | ||
God is gracious (Jean); possibly to behold (Jessica), gift or existence (Jesse) | 330#824 | Down 105 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Farmer or worker of the earth, through George | 2,619#99 | Up 78 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Probably nourishing; soul; young woman in Hebrew | 689#449 | Up 111 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Pure or chaste | 246#1,016 | Up 231 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Will and protection, through Wilhelmina | 54#3,060 | Down 597 rank positions in five years | 1916 | ||
Pearl, the gemstone | 350#777 | Steady | 1918 | ||
Lily; also an Elizabeth familiar form | 420#676 | Up 44 rank positions in five years | 1919 | ||
Daisy flower; older word means day eye | 3,206#75 | Up 68 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Possibly torch or moon, through Helen; also an Eleanor familiar form | 567#533 | Up 309 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Lovable | 1,522#201 | Up 227 rank positions in five years | 1915 | ||
The myrtle shrub | 8#11,607 | new | 1918 | ||
Strength in battle (Matilda); lady (Martha); gift of Yahweh (Matthew) | 249#1,005 | Up 40 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Violet | 247#1,015 | Up 104 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Blend of Maria and Magdalene; Magdalene means of Magdala | 177#1,268 | Up 300 rank positions in five years | 1936 | ||
Jane familiar form (Yahweh is gracious) or Jennifer familiar form (white phantom) | 79#2,309 | Up 491 rank positions in five years | 1917 | ||
Usually man or free man; also associated with song through Carol | 9#10,254 | Up 2,142 rank positions in five years | 1942 | ||
Gift in Greek name families; also a Scandinavian Thor-name shortening | 75#2,388 | Up 11 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Familiar form of Eleanor, Ellen, Elizabeth, and other El names | 6,176#24 | Up 5 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Home ruler, through Harriet | 923#334 | Up 87 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Rainbow in Greek; also the iris flower | 3,729#61 | Up 66 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Frenchwoman, through Frances | 46#3,355 | Down 821 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Familiar form of Rose, associated with the flower | 1,088#283 | Up 188 rank positions in five years | 1927 | ||
Familiar form of Louise or Luiz, from the famous-in-battle name family | 100#1,937 | Down 213 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Ivy, the climbing plant | 5,117#39 | Up 18 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Noble | 3,864#59 | Up 40 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
He will add, through Josephine | 3,021#82 | Up 53 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Probably healthy or whole, and wide | 4,251#49 | Up 88 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Gentle strength; other meanings depend on the full name | 3,353#73 | Up 117 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Strength in battle | 46#3,366 | Up 3,452 rank positions in five years | 1888 | ||
Home ruler | 2,260#120 | Up 254 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Help; advantage | 1,183#264 | Up 127 rank positions in five years | 2024 |
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Sources & methodology
Meaning summaries use Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and referenced name histories. Each name’s detail page includes its sources.
Vintage membership uses historical U.S. rankings. This selection includes names now outside the top 1,000, names that have climbed back into the top 300, and names quietly in use between those groups. Rankings and counts come from official SSA birth records. “—” means fewer than five published applications for that sex and year.