Vintage Names Past Their Peak (And What Is Replacing Them)
Namekin Team
Editorial
TL;DR
The vintage name revival has been running for fifteen years, and early movers like Oliver, Henry, Charlotte and Eleanor are now saturated. Parents chasing the vintage feel are reaching deeper into the early twentieth century, with Florence, Arthur, Clementine, Rupert and Beatrice leading the next wave.
The vintage name revival has been one of the longest-running trends in modern naming. It started around 2010 with names like Eleanor, Henry, and Oliver climbing from nostalgic to mainstream. Fifteen years later, some of those early movers are now saturated, and parents who want the vintage feel are reaching further back in the catalogue.
Early movers now saturated
Oliver, Henry, Charlotte, and Eleanor are now top-ten names across much of the English-speaking world. They still work, but they no longer feel distinctive. Parents who chose them ten years ago for the vintage feel will find their child is one of several in any given class. This is not a reason to avoid them, but it is worth knowing.
The next wave of vintage
The names coming up now are deeper cuts from the early twentieth century: Florence, Arthur, Clementine, Rupert, Beatrice, Wilfred, Ivy, Percy, and Edith. Each of these has the same vintage warmth as the earlier wave but has not yet saturated. Expect these to be the dominant vintage names of the next five years.
Vintage names that stayed rare
Some vintage names never caught on and still feel fresh because of it. Consider Constance, Dorothea, Cornelius, Winslow, Sybil, and Ambrose. Each is recognisably old but none has been overused. For parents who want the vintage feel without the saturation, these names reward a little boldness.
See also the vintage baby names making a comeback and extinct baby names that deserve a revival.
