Victorian era girl names have been a fascination among people for a very long time now. They are considered to be unique just like the period. The early origin of the girl names in that era went back to the fact that sometimes, a girl’s name included the mother’s maiden name as her second name.
Surnames were also given, so in some cases, the name tended to be very long. Name pairings, such as Sarah Jane were very popular. The Victorians enjoyed giving names with a meaning or virtuous names such as Charity or Faith, in the hope that their daughters would live up to their names.
Some popular Victorian girl’s names and meanings
Various other names with substantive meanings that attracted people were Aurelia, which means golden, Arabella meaning beautiful alter,
Cordelia entailing warm-hearted,
Clementine meaning merciful, mild and gentle,
Dorcas Greek word meaning gazelle,
Delphia signifying Dolphin,
Fern signifying plant, which comes from the old English word fearn ,
Fay or Faye meaning elf or fairy,
Ethel righteous or noble,
Elsie my god is a vow,
Estelle Old French name,
Eloise also French in origin, meaning warrior,
Gertrude, meaning strength is German in origin and was a popular Victorian name.
Garnet meaning dark red, Harriet implying home Ruler, Helene reed or basket, Ida signifying work, Ivy a vine, Jemima little Dove, Lucinda implying light, Lenora shining light, Lyda implying noble, kind, Lucretia intending wealth, success, Myrtle joy or myrtle tree, Mildred gentle, strength, Millicent strong, work,
Novella just born, new to the world, Odessa origin or beginning, Olive olive tree, Ophelia help, helper, Octavia the eighth, Palma meaning unknown, Rowena fame and joy, Rosetta beautiful rose Rosemary combination of rose and Mary, or carries the meaning of sea mist. These were a few very famous girl names of that period.
Victorian girls names embodied moral qualities
Furthermore to the Victorians, with their strict sense of morality, a lot of emphasis was put on strict moral standards, uprightness, virtue and chastity. To this end, many girls’ names embodied these qualities and were named after such qualities. A few names with such emphasis were Agnes meaning chaste or pure having Greek origin, Prudence meaning steadfast or prudent, Imogene meaning maiden, Blanche meaning white or purity, Constance implying steadfast, Ethel meaning righteous or noble etc.
Victorian names were often fairly plain but yet impressive names such as John and Mary.
10 most popular Victorian girl’s names
The ten most popular girl’s names of 1885, according to data compiled by the Social Security Administration were: Mary, Anna, Emma, Elizabeth, Margaret, Minne, Clara, Bertha, Ida and Annie. Floral names such as Daisy were also popular, as were the names of gems, such as Ruby or Pearl.
Victorian girl’s biblical names
Biblical names such as Esther, Rebecca and Ruth were also popular. Women were also named for queens or royalty, such as Anne, Catherine, or Elizabeth.
More unique women’s names might include Ameila, Constance, Edwina, Eudora, and Letitia, Orpha, Phoebe, Selina, or Zylphia.
The uniqueness of these Victorian era names attracts people even today. Random name generator of Victorian names and surnames.
