Certain old-fashioned girl names have become extremely popular over the past decade. Emma, Isabella, Ava, Olivia, Hannah and Sophia are all currently in the top 10, and not far behind are the likes of Ella and Lily. Why have these blasts-from-the-past become popular? And, why have other oldies like Myrtle, Mildred and Maude fallen by the wayside?
One word: Vowels. Ella, Isabella, Olivia... they're full of voiced vowels. They even start and finish with vowels.
Many other old-fashioned female names are weighed down with consonants -- very often, clumps of them. By today's standards, these clumps neither look nor sound particularly attractive -- especially when compared to the fluid, sonorous names currently in style. This modern inclination toward "high vowel density," let's call it (just to sound pseudo-scientific) has helped names like Hannah and Lily become popular, and pushed names like Edith and Gertrude into obscurity (among the newborn set, anyway).
Now that we know what factors helped resurrect certain old-fashioned names and not others, it won't be hard to find similarly nice-sounding, old-fashioned names that are still quite under the radar. For instance, if you like names that are a bit longer and more sophisticated, you could try:
Alida, Althea, Amalia, Arabella, Aurelia
Augusta, Estella, Evelina, Idella, Isadora
Odelia, Odessa, Odette, Sabina, Sophronia
On the other hand, if you prefer the shorter and snappier names, you might want to consider:
Della, Etta, Ettie, Evie, Ina, Iva, Lela
Leta, Lida, Lina, Lula, Lyda, Lilla, Neva
Nita, Nola, Nella, Nelle, Nellie, Una
All of these names are reminiscent of today's top names, but retain their old-fashioned feel because -- of course -- they aren't today's top names. They therefore manage to escape that "trendy" quality so many expectant parents try to avoid.
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