Unusual Antique Baby Names

If default nickname Eli is too common for your tastes, you may consider resuscitating the antique nickname Lige for your little Elijah.

Back in the day, Lacy used to be available to boys as well.

This Myrtle variation may not be the most melodious choice but it does have that appealing nature meaning.

Ida is one of those terminally old-fashioned names that suddenly sounds fresh again, especially given how fashionable it is in Europe. Ida, usually pronounced ee-da, is a Top 100 name in Scandinavia and German-speaking countries, and is rising more gently in the US.

Orpha, with its Biblical roots and its animal meaning, was once a fairly popular name, but fell from sight around the time of the Second World War, along with so many other Old School Names. And its similarity to the word orphan probably didn't help.

Elnora is best known as the name of the heroine of the early 20th century novel A Girl of the Limberlost. While Elnora might plausibly have many derivations, the most logical is that isn't a contracted form of Eleanora, the Latinate variation of Eleanor.

Variation of Tennessee.

The Early Americans invented names too, sometimes variations of classical or biblical favorites. This one appears in Colonial rosters; the Aur beginning is Latin and means "gold."

Jacobine is a rare -- no baby girls received the name in the US last year -- feminine form of the popular Jacob. But Jacobine has a quirky appeal. The Jacobins were a radical political club formed during the French revolution as well as an order of Dominican friars.

General as a name sounds more like a military rank than another word for "widespread". You may find your little General ruling the household.

Missouri, the name of a tribe, a state and a river, derives from the Illinois word mihsoori meaning "dugout canoe". It became a somewhat popular American girls' name in the mid-19th century.

Mittie is an antiquated nickname, best known as the name of the mother of President Theodore Roosevelt. It may be a short form of the pet name Mitten.

Clemma is a one-hit wonder, appearing on the US popularity list only once, back in the 19th century. This is one case where the diminutive is not cuter than the proper name.