There have been so many times when so many names were acceptable and people didn’t so much concern themselves with what people named their babies. Everyone was busy, people were living and dying by their work and within their own little bubbles. Many if not most children were known most as the ___ baby until they were school aged and then if they were upper class even refered to by surnames and titles until they were older, closer to marrying age which would be their mid to late teens. Poor children often called the ___boy /girl or known by their first and last names together as many [name_f]Mary[/name_f]'s were around and so on. Today I may say go call [name_u]Billy[/name_u] but in years past saying go send for the [name_m]Miller[/name_m]'s boy [name_u]Billy[/name_u] or fetch [name_u]Billy[/name_u] [name_m]Miller[/name_m] were more common. People weren’t as on about what everyone was naming their children but it doesn’t mean people didn’t put thought into their children’s names or have some interesting naming practices. And names were what they were and that was that. Many people had many children and children, sadly didn’t all always make it so when children were quite young they just existed, named, but they were just the baby. The backs of a million old family photographs where The [name_u]Baby[/name_u] is photographed along side someone or other named children… we were always trying to figure out who the baby was. So this had me thinking, as I’m always looking for new name ideas I think about the times when children were often kept in the home and people weren’t cooing over the baby like crazy and when a baby was born people didn’t ask too many questions… they were too busy. So I put my short list next to my kids names and inwas thinking well people will always talk about this and I just don’t care, these names mean something to me and these are a piece of who we are and it reminds me of the family Bibles. [name_f]Do[/name_f] any of you have any old family tree’s where a name stood out to younas unusual then or today? I know I’m posting in girls but you can post a boy name as well, typically most names that will stand out to people will be girls names or names that could be unisex I find. We have names across all cultures and religions and I really like that. Lots of interesting ones but I’m curious what you see in yours, your partners, somewhere else, a story, or in your own list what you would use if you knew society didn’t care what you named you child and nonone would say anything until boys were carving your daughters name into a tree and mooning over her saying she had the most beautiful name in the world… regardless of her name ( love struck boys in the age of marry at fifteen you know) so all your guilty pleasures would be on the table. Also common were [name_m]John[/name_m], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]… to the extent that on ship manifests you could count them and just say we have 12 [name_f]Mary[/name_f]'s, 19 [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] and 47 Johns… seriously, so once you named a child after all your favorite Biblical figures and family members… or if you didn’t want to have your child have the same name as 8 other children within walking distance you did get creative… the puritans used tonsometimes open the Bible at random, point and name their child whatever they were touching… sentences even… virtue names got a bit out of hand… so much interesting stuff… then you have times and places where [name_f]Georgiana[/name_f] and [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] were a brother and sister … so dig through your minds and get creative, open discussion ~ what stands out and what would you use if you were then or if you were totally chill today and didn’t let society influence you…
Well, my fiance tells me that I care way too much what other people think when it comes to naming a future child. He’s not wrong, LOL, but as you pointed out, it is hard to stop caring when everyone and their twin brother is asking and has an opinion on the names you pick (I’ve been asked by a few people about when we’re having kids and what we’d name them, and we’re still over a year off from having a baby LOL).
If I didn’t care at all what society said, I’d use these for my child;
Kaleigha
[name_f]Destiny[/name_f]/[name_f]Destinee[/name_f] (S/O doesn’t like the bad reputation that the name has)
[name_u]Saylor[/name_u]
[name_f]Bluebell[/name_f]
[name_f]Honey[/name_f]
[name_f]Kennadie[/name_f]
[name_u]Bristol[/name_u] (although it’d probably go over fine where I live)
[name_f]Pixie[/name_f]
[name_f]Doris[/name_f]
Names I’ve found from the era you’re talking about are a little bit different too, there’s none in either family tree that I could find, but I live near several cemeteries that are now closed - all those buried in two were born before 1930.
Some names I’ve found there that might fit the era you’re referencing are;
Service [name_m]Alonzo[/name_m]
Florala
[name_m]Uriel[/name_m]
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u] Ullah
[name_f]Clara[/name_f] [name_f]Virtue[/name_f]
Sophina
[name_f]Sophronia[/name_f]
[name_f]Assunta[/name_f]
Those are great finds, how fun! I grew up in a town that was just a few hundred years old and full of cemeteries, those are such interesting places to find history!
I feel like the names you like best I have heard some on children and in other cases I have heard of them so they aren’t off the charts crazy 
I know a little [name_f]Destiny[/name_f], she’s named after another [name_f]Destiny[/name_f] actually, its a virtue name I think. I would spell it [name_f]Destiny[/name_f] though since its a word [name_f]Doris[/name_f] is so classic, [name_u]Dory[/name_u] could be a nn, I like that. I always feel like when I meet children and learn their names that you can see things about their parents just from that, its hard to explain but like meet a mary and a [name_f]Pixie[/name_f] and you get a different impression and I like that because we aren’t all the same people and we should be able to see that in our children. Good luck on your future babies!! I hope you’re able tonfind something you both feel comfortable and suits you!
Any more ideas?
[name_f]Ana[/name_f]ïs, [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f], [name_f]Astrid[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], [name_f]Isolde[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f], [name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f], Ludivine, [name_f]Lucretia[/name_f], [name_f]Odette[/name_f], [name_f]Sarai[/name_f], [name_f]Frida[/name_f], [name_u]Damaris[/name_u], [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f], Clémence, [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], [name_f]Carlotta[/name_f], [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_f]Agnieszka[/name_f], [name_m]Sol[/name_m]ène…
Boys I havent thought about as much but [name_m]Anton[/name_m], [name_m]Benoit[/name_m], [name_m]Frank[/name_m], [name_m]Klaus[/name_m], [name_m]Antonio[/name_m], [name_m]Javier[/name_m]
Since you mentioned Puritans I thought of a Puritan name I like: Deliverance. (Deliverance [name_m]Hobbs[/name_m] was one of the accused in the [name_u]Salem[/name_u] witch trials.) I wouldn’t use it because of the movie, and it’s too religious/strange obviously, but something about it appeals to me. It could be shortened to “[name_f]Liv[/name_f].”
I read that people used [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] for their daughter if they were displaced and living in a strange land at the time of her birth, like [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] in the Bible. [name_m]Gershom[/name_m] meaning “a stranger there” was also used. If the family was somehow afflicted they might name their son [name_m]Job[/name_m], after the biblical character who was tested by God and suffered so much. Members of the [name_m]German[/name_m] royal family named their baby Herzeleide or “heart’s sorrow” because she was born shortly after the fall of the [name_m]German[/name_m] Empire and collapse of the monarchy. Boys born at sea were named [name_u]Ocean[/name_u]; during some voyage or en route to somewhere, [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m] (traveler). And in the 16th century in [name_f]England[/name_f], some infants were named Creature if they were born nearly dead or expected to die soon and needed to be baptized quickly (more on that here and here).
I don’t know if this is where you were going, haha. You’re right, there was so much interesting stuff and possibly greater freedom within certain movements and periods. I’m not expecting and don’t have children, just love names, but I think I would/will be more restrained if/when I do name a child and not indulge in my favorite out-there names (I love [name_u]Hero[/name_u] for a girl, for example) but choose something more normal and tasteful for his/her sake. But then I wonder if that would be a fear-based choice. Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal for kids to be named Creature or Deliverance back then, and now we conform and care too much, or at least more? I don’t know.
Anyway, a few from the family tree that stick out:
Apphia
Hazelelponi (I wonder if she was “[name_f]Hazel[/name_f]” or “Poni” for short)
Zitella (cute but begins with “zit” - they must’ve had a different word for zits back then :p)
Some odd names from my family tree:
[name_f]Tamzin[/name_f]- I really like this name.
[name_f]Arminta[/name_f]
Jantha
[name_f]Althea[/name_f]
[name_m]Seraph[/name_m]
Herceloria
[name_m]Ephraim[/name_m]
[name_m]Hiram[/name_m]
Lutheria
Muzette
[name_f]Cyane[/name_f]
Odd names that I love and would totally give to my future children if no one would judge me.
[name_u]Salem[/name_u]
Leonids
[name_m]Hume[/name_m]
Hackley
Aselie
[name_f]Arbor[/name_f]
[name_u]Tate[/name_u]
[name_m]Basile[/name_m]
Edesie
[name_f]Nanette[/name_f]
Ezora