Lots of new parents are eager to come up with names that are unique and uncommon. In order to do this, some parents are pivoting towards older names which have fallen out of popularity and now these vintage ‘old-lady’ names are making a comeback.
QR Code Generator examined Office of National Statistics (ONS) data on the top 100 baby girl names in 1924, comparing them to the most recent ONS data on baby girl names to discover which of these nearly 100-year-old monikers are the most and least popular today. The most popular vintage baby name for girls is Lily with 2,290 baby girls in the UK named Lily in 2023 – more than any other vintage baby girl name. Following on from the nature theme, Ivy was the second most popular. In 2023, 1,997 girls were named Ivy.
In third place, trends moved away from the flower and nature theme, with 1,899 girls being named Florence.
However, some names have entirely died out despite being very vintage. Phyllis, Pauline and Gertrude have died out entirely in the UK with zero babies being named any of the three.
Doreen, Muriel and Brenda are the second rarest 100-year-old baby girl names in the UK today, with three baby girls each born with the names in 2023.
Top 10 most popular 100-year-old baby girl names in the UK
Vintage baby girl name (1924) | Rank | No. of baby girls born with the name (2023) |
Lily | 1 | 2,290 |
Ivy | 2 | 1,997 |
Florence | 3 | 1,899 |
Evelyn | 4 | 1,673 |
Elsie | 5 | 1,662 |
Daisy | 6 | 1,585 |
Grace | 7 | 1,541 |
Emily | 8 | 1,280 |
Ada | 9 | 1,089 |
Ruby | 10 | 1,059 |
Top 10 rarest 100-year-old baby girl names in the UK
Vintage baby girl name (1924) | Rank | No. of baby girls born with the name (2023) |
Phyllis | 1= | 0 |
Pauline | 1= | 0 |
Gertrude | 1= | 0 |
Doreen | 2= | 3 |
Muriel | 2= | 3 |
Brenda | 2= | 3 |
Sheila | 3 | 4 |
Beryl | 4 | 5 |
Marjorie | 5= | 6 |
Thelma | 5= | 6 |
Maureen | 6 | 7 |
Gladys | 7= | 8 |
Hilda | 7= | 8 |
Marion | 7= | 8 |
Doris | 8= | 9 |
Edna | 8= | 9 |
Pamela | 8= | 9 |
Mildred | 8= | 9 |
Gwendoline | 9 | 10 |
Janet | 10 | 11 |