hi friends! 
i’m currently on a trip, visiting my grandparents, and made a stop to a tiny book store in the closest town to their farm in the middle of nowhere. i picked up a copy of as i lay dying by william faulkner, and have been reading it lying on a quilt overlooking prairie grasses and a pond. i’m swooning over the names in this novel- cora, jewel, eula, addie, darl, vernon, etc. and realized that most of them are in use here, where my grandparents live out west.
i know my time spent here as a child as been a huge influence on the names i love. i played with little boys called loch and rafe after sunday school, i’ve known a ulysses, brothers hezekiah and gideon, and grandmothers named iris, beulah, and ada.
i’m hoping you all can offer suggestions of rare names with the same vibes- vintage, southern, and urban prairie. if it helps, some names i’ve been loving are ida, mayella, temple, dorinda, autry, weldon, junius, and jethro. i’m definitely not afraid of a clunky name that hasn’t come back into style yet!
thank you friends, i can’t wait to see your ideas! 🪻
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i adore southern names! the south was a huge part of stories growing up, and my family, though i’ve yet to get there myself.
my all-time favorites are caroline + georgia + ida, though only ida is rare…
some others i adore, a mix of slightly dated, heard, and rare ~
alva
bonnie
celie
clytie
cricket
della
edie
eudora
fallon
jola
laura
nettie
padget
sully (love for a girl!)
verena
aaron
abner
bayard
beau
clyde
deacon
dolly
duffy
guthrie
hal
lindsey
macon
marshall
uriah
whittaker
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[name_u]Rafe[/name_u] and [name_m]Loch[/name_m] 
[name_u]Hezekiah[/name_u] and [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] [name_f]Eula[/name_f], [name_f]Mayella[/name_f], [name_f]Dorinda[/name_f], [name_m]Jethro[/name_m]
Maybe…
[name_f]Coretta[/name_f]
[name_f]Maudie[/name_f]
[name_m]Carver[/name_m]
[name_m]Coleman[/name_m]
[name_u]Quentin[/name_u]
[name_u]Dessie[/name_u]
[name_f]Celie[/name_f]
[name_f]Toya[/name_f]
[name_f]Loretta[/name_f]
[name_m]Doc[/name_m]
[name_f]Roya[/name_f]
[name_f]Reba[/name_f]
Caroletta
[name_u]Neely[/name_u]
[name_f]Keturah[/name_f]
[name_u]Flannery[/name_u]
[name_f]Eudora[/name_f]
[name_u]Whit[/name_u]
[name_f]Sula[/name_f]
Brockett
[name_f]Alcie[/name_f]
[name_u]Delta[/name_u]
[name_m]Paley[/name_m]
Shadrack
[name_m]Myron[/name_m]
Merlie
McCullers
[name_m]Burgess[/name_m]
[name_m]Delbert[/name_m]
[name_m]Fielder[/name_m]
[name_m]Reeves[/name_m]
Brosie
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f]
[name_f]Adelaine[/name_f]
[name_f]Suki[/name_f]
[name_m]Patton[/name_m]
Sellers
Redell
[name_f]Ree[/name_f]
1 Like
@clair.de.lune thank you for the beautiful suggestions! clytie and duffy are actually family names for me! they were nicknames used for my great grandpas on my father’s sides. i particularly love your idea of clytie for a girl! eudora, sully, abner, guthrie, hal, and whittaker are also lovely!
@Greyblue i absolutely love this list! carver, coleman, dessie, loretta, keturah, sula, alcie, fielder and adelaine will all be added to my list!
thank you both! 
2 Likes
[name_f]Idella[/name_f]
[name_u]Vila[/name_u]
Mauranee
[name_f]Laraline[/name_f]
Ellaline
[name_u]Dessie[/name_u]
[name_f]Rosella[/name_f]
[name_f]Iva[/name_f]
[name_f]Vernona[/name_f]
[name_f]Myrna[/name_f]
[name_f]Ida[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f]
[name_f]Goldie[/name_f]
[name_f]Irma[/name_f]
Annaretta
Theophilius
Urbert
[name_m]Cloyd[/name_m]
[name_m]Morris[/name_m]
[name_m]Rowland[/name_m]
2 Likes
As I [name_m]Lay[/name_m] Dying is my favorite [name_m]Faulkner[/name_m] novel! It does have such lovely names.
I would suggest…
[name_f]Pearlene[/name_f] / [name_f]Pearline[/name_f]
[name_m]Jerome[/name_m]
[name_m]Esau[/name_m]
[name_m]Dawes[/name_m]
[name_m]Cyril[/name_m]
[name_f]Ellamae[/name_f]
[name_u]Jessie[/name_u] (b, this spelling)
[name_u]Abilene[/name_u]
[name_f]Maybelline[/name_f]
[name_f]Eadie[/name_f]
[name_f]Maybelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Loula[/name_f] / [name_f]Lulie[/name_f] / [name_f]Louella[/name_f] / [name_f]Louetta[/name_f]
[name_f]Marietta[/name_f]
[name_f]Lydie[/name_f]
[name_u]Virgil[/name_u]
[name_m]Almanzo[/name_m]
[name_f]Winsome[/name_f]
[name_f]Elvina[/name_f] / [name_f]Elvira[/name_f] / [name_f]Elmira[/name_f]
[name_m]Homer[/name_m]
[name_u]Audie[/name_u]
[name_f]Sybilla[/name_f]
[name_u]Clem[/name_u] / [name_u]Clemmie[/name_u]
[name_m]Algie[/name_m] / [name_u]Alvie[/name_u]
[name_m]Orley[/name_m]
[name_u]Harlan[/name_u]
[name_f]Eulalia[/name_f]
[name_m]Ebenezer[/name_m] / [name_m]Eben[/name_m]
[name_m]Hosea[/name_m]
[name_f]Elda[/name_f]
[name_f]Vernie[/name_f]
[name_m]Maynard[/name_m]
[name_m]Lemuel[/name_m]
[name_f]Beryl[/name_f]
[name_u]Merrill[/name_u]
[name_u]Cecil[/name_u]
[name_u]Averill[/name_u]
[name_m]Howell[/name_m]
[name_m]Enoch[/name_m]
[name_u]Dell[/name_u]
[name_m]Absalom[/name_m]
[name_f]Elnora[/name_f]
[name_u]Acey[/name_u]
[name_u]Aubrey[/name_u] (b)
[name_f]Milly[/name_f]
[name_m]Boone[/name_m]
[name_f]Calpurnia[/name_f]
[name_m]Buck[/name_m]
[name_m]Judge[/name_m]
[name_m]Job[/name_m]
[name_f]Leola[/name_f] / [name_f]Leota[/name_f]
[name_f]Ettie[/name_f]
[name_f]Louvenia[/name_f] / [name_f]Louvinia[/name_f]
[name_m]Rodney[/name_m]
[name_m]Benjy[/name_m]
[name_m]Lyman[/name_m]
[name_f]Dovie[/name_f]
[name_m]Orville[/name_m]
[name_m]Mose[/name_m]
1 Like
@LibelluleClaire what fun ideas! morris is standing out to me in particular. how had i never thought of him before? i’ve met so many older morris’s, but it would be so darling on a little boy!
@EagleEyes i’be almost finished it and it hasn’t even been 24 hours! anyway, thank you for your suggestions, friend. i’m obsessed with esau, dawes, orley, sibylla, merrill, louvinia, and mose! sibylla and merrill are family names, so i’d love to incorporate them someday!
thank you both! 
1 Like
ahhh i just love this vibe! i present to you, my list of rare, sweet, should-be-used-again southern names! 
annella
trula
willodene
alcie
hosanna (looove!!)
magaline
delilah/dalila/delila
claramae
trula (love this one!)
williemae
ortha
matsue
emisue
woodie (loving this one on a girl!)
birdia
aletta
joetta
cleotha
lillias
louisianna
vision
zillah
honora
cordella
sybil or sybilla
adda
helah
apphia
abilene
dorcas
jacoby (jack-uh-bee!)
jobe
truett
rivers
shepherd
alson (alsie?!)
ollis
fowler
roswell
ennis
lou (on a boy! so cute!)
denver
buck
huck
hershel
phineas
monty
guthrie
benaiah
joses
i hope i’ve helped! i love these names! 
2 Likes
all i can say is
exactly the vibe i was looking for, and so many of these are family names for me. i’m in love! thank you miley! 
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wrong. i do have more to say. i cannot get over ennis. it’s so freaking sweet and handsome. also in your opinion is hannah too close as a mother to hosanna? i’ve always loved hosanna but worried it would be confusing or look silly!
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Dinah
Eula
Wilma
Beulah
Eliza
Bonnie
Georgia
Cletus
Horace
Sumner
Ace
Leon
Cotton
Earl
Cutter
1 Like
ahhh i think exactly the same about sweet ennis!! how can a name be so soft and lovely but strong and handsome at the same time?!
hosanna is one of my favourite names, seriously!! i mean, hosy cosy? 
i just love her and i think she’s perfect for you. hannah and hosanna are close but not overwhelmingly or confusingly so, if anything it’s a sweet connection!
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Some from my family tree, all [name_f]Louisiana[/name_f] and Mississippi lol:
Addye
[name_m]Barney[/name_m]
[name_m]Clifton[/name_m]
[name_u]Clyde[/name_u]
[name_f]Darlene[/name_f]
[name_f]Della[/name_f]
[name_u]Dempsey[/name_u]
[name_f]Dollie[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]
[name_f]Elsie[/name_f]
[name_f]Emelda[/name_f]
[name_u]Emmerson[/name_u]
[name_f]Gilda[/name_f]
[name_u]Grady[/name_u]
[name_m]Irvin[/name_m]
[name_f]Jewel[/name_f] (b)
[name_m]Lafayette[/name_m]
[name_u]Lee[/name_u]
[name_f]Lillie[/name_f]
[name_u]Lionel[/name_u]
[name_f]Lorena[/name_f]
[name_u]Lou[/name_u]
[name_m]Lucius[/name_m]
[name_f]Lucretia[/name_f]
[name_f]Maude[/name_f]
[name_u]Nolan[/name_u]
Oneita
[name_f]Ouida[/name_f] (we-duh)
[name_f]Perla[/name_f]
[name_m]Shelton[/name_m]
[name_u]Shirley[/name_u]
Smiley
[name_f]Susie[/name_f]
[name_u]Willie[/name_u]
[name_u]Winn[/name_u]
1 Like