Ada
Adelaide
Adele
Alice
Alma
Aretha
Astrid
Beatrice
Bess
Betsy
Blanche
Bunny
Camellia
Camilla
Camille
Cecelia
Cecilia
Celia
Clara
Constance
Cora
Cordelia
Coretta
Cornelia
Daisy
Delia
Della
Delphine
Delta
Dinah
Dixie
Doris
Dorothy
Dulce
Edith
Edna
Eleanor
Eleanora
Elena
Elise
Eloise
Elsa
Estella
Estelle
Esther
Estrella
Ethel
Etta
Evalyn
Evelyn
Fern
Flora
Florence
Frances
Geneva
Georgia
Gilda
Ginger
Gladys
Gloria
Glory
Goldie
Greta
Guadalupe
Harper
Hattie
Hazel
Hedy
Helen
Helena
Ida
Imogen
Ingrid
Iris
Ivy
Jacqueline
Joan
Joanna
Joelle
Josephine
Joy
Joyce
June
Kay
Kit
Kitty
Kora
Lila
Lois
Lottie
Louisa
Louise
Lu
Lucia
Luciana
Lucille
Luisa
Lydia
Mabel
Macy
Mae
Maeve
Magdalena
Maggie
Margaery
Margaret
Margot
Maribel
Marjorie
Martha
Matilda
May
Mildred
Minnie
Naomi
Nell
Nellie
Nomi
Nora
Norah
Octavia
Odette
Ophelia
Paloma
Patience
Pearl
Peggy
Rosalee
Rosalie
Rosalyn
Rose
Rosemary
Rosie
Rosita
Ruth
Sadie
Selah
Sigrid
Sookie
Stella
Sybill
Sylvia
Sylvie
Tess
Thelma
Theodora
Thora
Trudie
Uma
Una
Vada
Vaeda
Veda
Vera
Violet
Virginia
Vivian
Vivienne
Ygritte
Zadie
Zelda
Zola
Zora
180+ Sweet Old Lady Names Rooted In Tradition
We are a society overrun with nostalgia. People pay hundreds of dollars to rent storage units full of family heirlooms they can’t part with. Today’s fashion is nearly identical to fashion from 30 years ago. There are multiple Facebook groups dedicated to various interior design styles and antique collecting. Whoever first said, “Whatever’s old is new, again” hit the nail right on the head. They could give Einstein and Nostradamus both a run for their money. Collecting old crap and swooning over even older, more expensive stuff is certainly popular. Nothing, though, seems as popular as the revival of older baby names. Gone are the days of made-up names. Now your toddler’s friend-group is made up of kids with names like Opal, Ruth, and Arlo.
No matter what kind of life you lead or style you love, there’s an old lady name to fit that vibe. Ruth, for instance, is Biblical. (It truly doesn’t get any older.) A name like Opal might be perfect for someone who knows the importance of charging their crystals. And June? Well, maybe you like June Carter Cash, or maybe you just like the name. It doesn’t matter. Vintage names are chic. And we’re about it.
Not that any of this makes naming your baby any easier. It’s still a tough decision. There are traditional names that will always be somewhat popular, like Elizabeth or Katherine. They’re gorgeous names. Everyone has a grandma or great-grandma with that name. But everyone also probably has a sister or a cousin with that name. Disney characters also have a classic feel to their names as well. Sometimes picking an “old lady name” means using their nicknames. How many Betsys or Kittys do you know now? Both names are steeped in tradition, have their roots with more popular names but offer a decidedly vintage twist. Then, of course, there are names that people have genuinely stopped using for the last 60 to 100 years — names like Agnes, Mabel, or Naomi.
One of the best ways to pick an old lady name for your precious baby girl is to sit down with a family tree and examine the names of actual old ladies. You can also just ask your mama or grandma to list the relatives they remember. If, however, you want a traditional name but aren’t (or don’t want to be) tied to your actual family, we’d like to help. We scraped the database and these are the best old lady names we could find for your precious baby.
And if you don’t find your oh-so-perfect name here? That’s okay, too! This list is gigantic, but it’s also just a sampling of the amazing names that exist in the world. And maybe an “old lady name” isn’t what you wanted, after all. Another option might be to draw from your own heritage, whether that means picking a Hawaiian name or something with Mexican roots. All you English majors out there? You might want to take a look at the names of your favorite poets and writers. If you’re a big fan of simple, cute names, another way to go might be to look for three-letter names or one-syllable names. If all you care about is raising a badass baby? We have you covered there, too, with strong names for your determined little girl. What can we say? Naming our kids is a hard job to do — anyone who says otherwise is lying. But, ScaryMommy is here to help.
Quotes By Fierce Females With “Old Lady Names”
“There’s only one of you, so why would you want to look like everyone else? Why would you want to have the same hairstyle as everyone else and have the same opinions as everybody else?” — Adele
“Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.” — Alice Walker
“I always thought that ‘thriving’ would come when everything was perfect, and what I learned is that it’s actually down in the mess that things get good.” — Joanna Gaines
“I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven’t.” — Lucille Ball
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It’s our basic human right.” — Aretha Franklin
“We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it as not as dreadful as it appears, discovering that we have the strength to stare it down.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable.” — from Matilda, by Roald Dahl
“The American dream is a term that is often used but often misunderstood. It isn’t really about becoming rich or famous. It is about things much simpler and more fundamental than that.” — Dorothy Dandridge
“The thing that makes me feel powerful is when I make a decision about something and I make it happen.” — Estelle
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.” — Georgia O’Keeffe
“As you grow up, always tell the truth, do no harm to others, and don’t think you are the most important being on earth. Rich or poor, you then can look anyone in the eye and say, ‘I’m probably no better than you, but I’m certainly your equal.’” — Harper Lee
Need more baby name ideas for your little tot? We’ve got comprehensive lists for middle names for boys, middle names for girls, one-syllable names, unique names for boys, unique names for girls, last names as first names, nicknames as first names for your little Ace, even nicknames to call your girlfriend (or a boyfriend), and so much more!