52 Vintage Baby Names That Are Making a Comeback

Every year, we always see surprising and unique baby names rise in popularity. From Malibu Barbie (Trisha Paytas’ daughter) to Eureka (Amanda Knox’s daughter) and even X Æ A-12 (Elon Musk’s son), there’s no shortage of names that didn’t make our bingo card of baby names we’d expect to hear about in 2023.

Typically, names from previous generations find a way of circling back years later into the mainstream baby naming cycle of trending baby names. This year, experts from Nameberry—”the world’s largest website devoted to baby names,” according to its website—can confirm that vintage baby names are on the rise once again. And some of them may be surprising—not to mention adorable.

Inspired by everything from movies and TV shows, to books and royal history, these are the vintage baby names you’re likely to see more often in the years to come.

Vintage Girl Names

• Alice: We’re thinking Alice in Wonderland lovers may have helped bring this adorable name back into popularity.
• Amelia 
• Audrey: Can we perhaps thank Audrey Hepburn for the comeback of this classic name?
• Beatrice 
• Charlotte: A royal name that has been brought back into the limelight perhaps due to Prince William and Princess Kate‘s daughter, Princess Charlotte.
• Clara 
• Daphne: Bridgerton may be to thank for this name’s surge in popularity.
• Daisy
• Eleanor: From “Eleanor Rigby” to royals galore, we’ll be seeing more than one Eleanor in the years to come.
• Eloise: Another Bridgerton reference or an ode to Eloise at the Plaza, this name is no stranger to modern-day stories.
• Evelyn: Did you know that Evelyn also made our list of the top trending baby names of 2022?
• Felicity
• Freya 
• Genevieve
• Hazel 
• Iris 
• Ivy 
• Josephine
• Lucy: Devotees of I Love Lucy will appreciate the comeback of this iconic name.
• Matilda: It looks like Matilda isn’t just one of our favorite 9’0s kids movies to rewatch.
• Nora
• Ophelia: The starring female role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and a popular Lumineers song is becoming more and more common.
• Phoebe: We love all the Friends references we can make with this one.
• Rose  
• Sadie
• Violet: Some may thank Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck for bringing this flowery name back into popularity.

Vintage Boy Names

Justin Case/Getty Images

• Asher: This name is now one of the most popular baby boy names in five states.
• Atlas: A classic from Greek mythology, and popularized by Anne Heche after she named her son “Atlas.”
• Atticus: We may suspect Harper Lee’s protagonist of To Kill A Mockingbird has something to do with this one.
• August: One of our favorite months as well as a classic royal name.
• Benedict
• Caleb 
• Caspian: Another name potentially popularized by C.S. Lewis in his Chronicles of Narnia series.
• Cyrus
• Elliot
• Ezra: The biblical name has risen in popularity in recent years.
• Felix: A throwback to one of our favorite dynamic duo shows, The Odd Couple.
• Finn 
• Hugo 
• Jasper 
• Jude: Can we thank Paul McCartney for cheering up Julian Lennon with “Hey Jude” for this one?
• Miles
• Milo 
• Oliver 
• Oscar: From Oscar Wilde to Oscar the Grouch, there are tons of popular usages of this name.
• Otto
• Ralph
• Remy
• Sebastian: Shakespeare was certainly fond of this name in The Tempest and Twelfth Night.
• Silas
• Theodore: While he’s probably not to thank for its rise in popularity today, it does belong to one of the U.S. presidents with some of the most inspiring presidential quotes—Teddy Roosevelt.
• Wesley 

Now that you know which baby names are making a comeback, these are some of the most thoughtful baby gifts any new parent will adore.

Courtesy Donna Fornabaio

The Most Popular Baby Names from the Year You Were Born

Flashon/shutterstock

13 Baby Names That Have Been Banned Around the World

EvgeniiAnd/Shutterstock

40 Funny Baby Photos That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

Sources

• Nameberry: “Vintage Baby Names“