Classic Baby Girl Names That Have Come In And Out Of Style

With every birth of a baby, the difficult choice of choosing a baby name means that the new parents are perusing through countless options. Baby name popularity come and go, but some names stand the test of time. Here are some names that used to be popular as well as ones that are back in style.

Ava

Glamorous Ava Gardner inspired many people to name their baby girls Ava. The name is derivative of the name “Eva” and is said to be connected to the Latin word “avis,” meaning bird.

Joyce

Joyce comes from the Middle English “joise,” which in Modern English means rejoice. The name became popular due to Saint Joyce, a Breton prince that was the song of Judicael, king of Brittany.

Hattie

The diminutive of the name Harriet, the name Hattie is absolutely adorable. Harriet is the English version of the French name Henriette. Hattie means “little mistress” or “little ruler” of the house, which originates from the male name Henry that means “powerful ruler of the home.”

Georgia

The name Georgia comes from the Greek name Georgios, that means “farmer” or “earth worker.” The name is also the name of both a European country and the US state. It became popular thanks to St. George and the Georgians.

Leona

Leona is a beautiful name that comes from the Latin word for lion, “leo.” There have been many famous Leonas throughout history, including American silent film star Leona Hutton, Croatian ski racer Leona Popović, and British singer Leona Lewis.

Pamela

The name Pamela originates from the Geek words pan, which means all, as well as meli, which means honey. Therefore, the name Pamela means “all sweetness.” The name first rose to prominence after it appeared in Sir Philip Sidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia.

Anita

The name Anita comes from the popular name Anna. Anita means “favor” and “grace.” Other forms of the name include Juanita and the Hindu version of the name means “no guided” in Sanskrit.

Roseanne

Roseanne, which means “gracious rose,” was first very popular during the 1900’s. It later came back into prominence thanks to comedian Roseanne Barr who became popular thanks for her TV shows Roseanne and The Roseanne Show.

Tabitha

The name Tabitha was quite popular between the years 1718 and 1745. It came back to prominence in the 1970’s and 80’s. It was also featured in the TV show Bewitched. The name Tabitha originates from the Old Testament and the Aramaic word for gazelle.

Bonnie

The name Bonnie is Scottish in origin and has been used for both boys and girls. It means attractive or pretty and originates from the French word bonne, which means good. The name Bonnie is best known from the Scottish folk song “My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean.”

Dorothy

Dorothy comes from the Greek name Dorothea, meaning “God’s gift.” It is related to the name Theodora, which was a top 10 popular name in the United States between 1904 and 1940. The name was especially popular after The Wizard of Oz was released.

Louisa

The name Louisa means “renowned warrior” in Latin. It dropped out of the top 1000 most popular names in the United States for about 45 years but it came back into the list in 2014.

Marguerite

The French version of the name Margaret, Marguerite comes from Latin and Greek words meaning pearl. It is also the French name for the ox-eye flower.

Betty

The name Betty is actually a diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. Betty can also be short for Beatriz, which is the Spanish version of Beatrix, which is the Latin version of English name Beatrice.

Etta

The name Etta is Italian and is the diminutive form of Antonetta and Atonietta. It can also be short for the name Henrietta. The name is also popular for Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, and Danish speaking people.

Odessa

The name Odessa derives from the Greek work that means “long journey.” It can be traced back to The Odyssey, the Greek epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus long journey home after participating in the Trojan War.

Daisy

The name Daisy comes from Old English “day’s eye” and is also the name of the popular flower. The name is also a nickname for Margaret, because the French version of the name is the name for the ox-eye Daisy flower.

Polly

The name Polly comes from the Latin word that means “little” or “humble.” It also comes from the name Molly, which is a variation of the names Miryam and Mariah.

Delphine

The name Delphine comes from the French word that means “dolphin.” It evokes the delphinium, which is a bluebell-like flower. It is also reminiscent of the name Delphi, which was an ancient Greek city.

Gloria

The name Gloria comes from the Latin Gloriae, meaning glory, fame, praise, and honor. It was a very popular name in the US during the 1930’s and 40’s and came back into style during the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Shirley

The name Shirley comes from the place-name Shirley from the Old English scire, or shire, which means clear or bright. The name was originally for males, but after Charlotte Bronte released her novel Shirley, it became more popular for girls than boys.

Kitty

The name Kitty is adorable and is actually the diminutive form of the name Katherine. It’s an English name that has the meaning of “pure.” Of course, we can’t help but think of adorable baby cats when we hear this time as well.

Hazel

The name Hazel comes from the color as well as the tree, both of which derive their names from Old English. The name became very popular for English speakers in the 19th and 20th centuries and became popular once again in 2016.

Constance

Different variations of the name Constance include Constanze, Connie, and Constancia. They all derive from Latin and have a meaning of “constant.”

Opal

The name Opal comes from the precious gemstone that is the October birthstone. The name comes from upala, Sanskrit for jewel. The name became popular during the late Victorian era.

Janet

The name Janet means “God’s gracious gift,” and can be traced back to the Old Testament. It derives from the name Jane, which is the female version of John. The name John comes from the biblical Hebrew name Yochanan.

Eleanora

The name Eleanora derives from the name Alienor comes from the name Helen, which comes from the Greek myth of Troy. The French version of Helen, Helene, means “moon” or “light”

Olivia

The name Olivia means “olive tree” in Latin. The name is the feminine form of the name Oliver. These both can be traced back to 13th century English.

Sophia

The name Sophia is a Greek name that means “wisdom” and became popular thanks to St. Sophia. She was a saint that was greatly celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Church. The name became very popular with European royalty in the Middle Ages.

Charlotte

The name Charlotte is the feminine name of Charlot, which is a diminutive of Charles. The name Charlotte comes from the French which means “petite” or “free man.” Related names include Charlie, Lottie, Carlota, and Lotte. Charlotte dates back all the way to the 14th century.

Grace

The name Grace directly refers to “God’s Grace.” It comes from Latin and means charm, goodness, and generosity. It’s one of the most popular virtue-related names.

Zoey

The name Zoey has Greek origins and means “life.” The name Zoey in Jewish Greek tradition derives from the name Eve. The name is also popular with Christians due to two Saints that went by the name.

Aubrey

The French name Aubrey has roots in Norman French and means “elf ruler.” Following the Norman conquest of 1066, the name spread to England. It was the 20th most popular name in the US in 2014.

Brooklyn

The name Brooklyn has English and Dutch roots and means “beautiful brook.” It also originally came from a last name that means “one who leave near a brook.” Now most of us associate the name with the New York City borough.

Violet

Violet is Latin for purple, and is also a variation of the name Viola. It is also the name of the flower.

Madelyn

The name Madelyn has roots in Hebrew, Greek, and French and means “the woman from Magdala” or “high tower.” It is closely related to the French name Madeleine.

Margery

The name Margery, also spelled Marjorie, comes from the name Margret that means pearl. Marjorie derives from a medieval version of Margery, all of which are connected to the herb marjoram.

Adele

The name Adele is closely related to the German name Adel which means “noble” or “nobility.” Now most of us associate the name Adele with the fantastic English singer.

Cleo

The name Cleo means “fame, glory, praise, rumor, and credit,” and has Greek roots, deriving from the word kleó, which means “to make famous” and “to celebrate.”

Esther

The name Esther comes from the Old Testament story. Esther, who was also called Hadassah, was the Jewish wife of the King of Persia. Esther risked everything to save her people from being persecuted. The name Esther means “stae.”