Top hats, leafy ferns, white wedding dresses are just a few of the things that come to mind when you think about the Victorian era. This time period is also a great place to go to if you are looking for excellent baby names. From frilly feminine names to male royal family names, many of these Victorian baby names remain popular to this day.
60 Victorian Baby Names for Girls
1. Mabel
Mabel may have disappeared from popularity for a while, but it is starting to top the charts again. This old-fashioned, Victorian baby name means lovable.
2. Millie
Millie is an old-fashioned name that means noble or free born.
3. Viola
This play was the name of a character in Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night. It is also a modification of the name Violet, which is from the flower.
4. Kitty
Kitty is such a charming name. It comes from a nickname for Katherine, which means pure. During the 18th century, it was a popular nickname.
5. Ida
In German, this name means hardworking or diligent.
6. Evie
Normally, this is a nickname for the names Eve or Evelyn. In English, this name means lively or life.
7. Eliza
Elizabeth can be turned into nicknames like Bessie or Eliza. It is a name that means pledged to God.
8. Clara
Clara is an old-fashioned, Victorian baby name that means clear and bright.
9. Adelaide
This adorable baby name has a very aristocratic, classy ring to it. It makes sense then that it means noble.
10. Isabella
Isabella is such a beautiful name. It means devoted to God and was used commonly in the 1850s. More recently, the nickname Bella became popularized because of the character in the Twilight movies.
11. Rosie
Rosie is a version of rose. While it was popular in the Victorian era, it is still popular today.
12. Maida
Maida is a name that hails from Southern Italy. Long ago, it was popular to name baby girls after major battles. Maida is one of these names, although it actually means virgin.
13. Flora
Flora is a very floral sounding name. It means flower and is a reference to the Roman goddess of flowers and springtime. It reached its peak popularity in the 1880s and 1890s.
14. Effie
Effie is actually a nickname for Euphemia. It means well-spoken.
15. Catherine
Catherine was popular during the Victorian era and meant pure. It can be turned into nicknames like Kate, Katie or Kitty.
16. Agatha
Agatha sounds like a very Victorian name and means good woman. The popular mystery novelist, Agatha Christie, was born in the 1890s and was given this name.
17. Della
During the 1800s, Della was actually a nickname for names such as Adelaide, Adelle and Adeline. It is thought to mean noble.
18. Ruth
This old-fashioned name means friend. There is also a Book of Ruth in the Bible.
19. Maisie
Maisie is an old Scottish name. It is a modification of the names Margaret or Marjorie. This name means pearl.
20. Josie
Josie is one of the most popular nicknames for Josephine. This popular name means may Jehovah add.
21. Esther
Esther is an old name that comes from the Bible. It is said to mean star.
22. Audrey
Audrey means nobility and strength. In more recent decades, it was popularized because of the popular Breakfast at Tiffany’s star, Audrey Hepburn.
23. Alexandra
Alexandra is a name that hails from the royal family. This Victoria name was popular during the 19th century and is said to mean defender. Alexander the Great had the masculine form of this name.
24. Arabella
Arabella is another royal name. It comes from the Latin name Orabilis, which meant yielding to prayer.
25. Clementine
Clementine means mild and merciful. A popular children’s song is about this name, and you can also give your daughter clementine oranges for her namesake.
26. Elsie
Elsie hails from Scotland. While it reached its peak popularity in the 1890s, it is starting to become popular again. This name means my God is bountiful.
27. Martha
Martha is a name from the Bible that means lady.
28. Lucy
Lucy was a popular name in the 1850s, but it is still popular today. This name means light.
29. Bertha
Bertha comes from Germany and means bright.
30. Jane
This name was popular during the Victorian era and was the name of the famed English novelist, Jane Austen. It means God has been gracious.
31. Emma
Emma is a popular name today, and it means universal.
32. Josephine
Josephine means God increases. It can also be shortened to the popular nickname, Josie.
33. Cora
Cora was a character in the James Fennimore novel, Last of the Mohicans. This name means maiden.
34. Henrietta
Henrietta was a female version of Henry and meant home ruler.
35. Maggie
Maggie is a different version of Margaret and means pearl.
36. Florence
During the Victorian era, baby girls were named after the city of Florence in Italy. It means flower.
37. Minnie
Minnie may be a mouse today, but it was a popular Victorian baby name. At the time, it mean rebellion.
38. Lily
Lily means pure and the flower is a symbol of innocence.
39. Fannie
Fannie means free. While it is less common today, it was popular during the Victorian era.
40. Ebba
Ebba means strong. It was the name of a German saint and is an alternative to Ella or Emma.
41. Briar
Briar Rose was the name of Sleeping Beauty and meant thorny shrub.
42. Alma
Alma is a name that means good in Celtic. It meant apple in Persian and loving in Swedish.
43. Eleanor
Eleanor means bright and was the name of a previous First Lady of the United States.
44. Harriet
Harriet is a female version of Henry. It means estate ruler. It can also be turned into the Victorian nickname, Hattie.
45. Nora
Nora is a pretty name that means light.
46. Lilian
Lilian means lily and is a fancier way to evoke the purity of a lily without just calling your daughter Lily.
47. Frances
Frances was the name of a saint, but it actually means French woman.
48. Elizabeth
Elizabeth was a popular name since it hearkens back to the queen, Elizabeth I. It means pledged to God. J
49. Blanche
Blanche is a name that comes from French. It meant white, so it was often used for pale-skinned babies. Later on, the name became associated with concepts like purity.
50. Adelia
Adelia is a name that means noble.
51. Anne
Anne is the name of many saints. This popular first name or middle name is said to mean grace.
52. Victoria
Victoria is the ultimate Victorian name. It means victory and was the name of Queen Victoria.
53. Hazel
Hazel was a name that means hazelnut tree. It reached its peak popularity in 1901.
54. Emily
Emily is a name that means industrious. The popular author Emily Bronte had this name.
55. Beryl
This name means gemstone. It only started to appear in the 19th century when it also achieved its peak popularity.
56. Alice
Alice is a name that means nobility. This popular Victorian name became even more popular after the publication of Alice in Wonderland.
57. Ada
Ada is a name that means adornment.
58. Edith
Edith is an old-fashioned sounding name. This popular Victorian name meant prosperous in war.
59. Lottie
Lottie was a Victorian favorite and is incredibly adorable. It is a nickname for Charlotte and means free man.
60. Nellie
Nellie means shining light and was popularized by the adventuress and stunt journalist, Nellie Bly.
60 Victorian Baby Names for Boys
1. Floyd
Floyd is a charming Celtic name that means gray. It was the name used in Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s 1863 novel, Aurora Floyd.
2. Larkin
Larkin reached its peak popularity in the 1880s. It means rough or fierce.
3. Wellington
Wellington was a surname for the Duke of Wellington, but it can also be a first name. It means from the wealthy state.
4. Silas
Silas is a name that means from the forest and is a very serious sounding name.
5. Hugh
Hugh means intellect. Because of the actor Hugh Grant, it is becoming popular again.
6. Edgar
Edgar was a name that meant powerful or fortunate. It was the name of the leader Edgar Degas and the writer Edgar Allen Poe.
7. Alfred
Alfred means elf ruler. It was the name of the poet Lord Alfred Tennyson as well as Prince Alfred of Britain.
8. Bram
Bram is a name that means father of multitude. It was the name of the writer of Dracula, Bram Stoker.
9. Ives
Ives is a name that means eve. It is a variation on the more traditional spelling of Yves.
10. Warren
This name means park keeper.
11. Otto
Otto is a name that means wealthy. It has been used by many literary characters.
12. Louis
Louis was a popular Victorian name and meant famous warrior. Many kings of France had this name.
13. Franklin
Franklin means free landholder. Famously, Benjamin Franklin had this as his surname.
14. Edmund
Edmund means prosperity.
15. Arnold
This Germanic name means eagle power.
16. Harvey
Harvey is a vintage name that means battle worthy.
17. Merritt
This English surname can now be used as a first name as well. This Victoria name means worthy.
18. Victor
Victor would be a fortuitous name for a baby since it means winner.
19. Raymond
Raymond is a name that means wise protector.
20. Jules
This elegant sounding name means youthful, which is an ideal name for a baby boy. Today, it is also sometimes used as a nickname for the girls’ name, Juliet.
21. Fletcher
Fletcher means arrow maker.
22. Claude
Claude means from the Roman clan. A variation of this Roman name was used for the famed Roman Emperor Claudius.
23. Arthur
Arthur was quite popular in the 1880s. Long ago, it was the name of King Arthur in the Arthurian legends. King Arthur’s stories about the knights of the round table are still popular today.
24. Edwin
Edwin means rich friend. It was popularized in the Charles Dickens novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
25. Frank
Frank was extremely popular in the 1880s, and it is starting to become a little more popular today. This name is said to mean free man.
26. Leo
Leo means lion, and it is a perfect name if your son’s zodiac sign is the Leo. It was also the name of the popular Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy.
27. Tesla
Tesla is a Serbian name that means of the ax. Today, it is also a type of car.
28. Phineas
Phineas meant oracle. This Victorian name was also the name of an extremely important person in medical history. Phineas Gage was a railroad worker who had a steel bar shoot through his skull. He amazingly managed to live for years afterward, and it is because of him that we realized some of the functions of the frontal lobe.
29. Hugo
Hugo is a name that means intelligent.
30. Bert
The Victorians used Bertie as a shortened form of names like Albert, Robert and Bertram. It means bright.
31. Edison
Edison means son of Edie. It was also the name of the famous inventor, Thomas Edison, who created the light bulb.
32. Cassius
Cassius is a Victorian name that means empty. It was also the name of one of the Romans in Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar.
33. Gilbert
Gilbert originally became popular because it was the name of an English saint in the 12th century. This name is said to mean shining pledge.
34. Everett
Everett means wild boar and was a popular name in the 1800s.
35. Jack
Jack means man and is also used as a nickname for a number of other names.
36. Oscar
Oscar means God’s spear and is now the name of a popular awards show in Hollywood.
37. Luther
Luther is a name that means renowned warrior. In the 1960s, it became famous as the middle name of the civil rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr.
38. Sterling
Sterling means easterner.
39. Oliver
Oliver is a lovely Victorian name that appeared in Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist. This name means olive tree.
40. Henry
Henry was a royal name that meant estate ruler.
41. Enoch
This name means dedicated.
42. Clarence
Clarence is a Victorian name that was later the name of a Supreme Court justice in the United States.
43. Baxter
Baxter is a name that means baker.
44. Douglas
Douglas was once the name of one of the most powerful clans in all of Scotland. It was used as a first name during the 1500s onward. It means dark stream.
45. Theodore
Theodore is a name that means gift of God. It was the name of the American president, Theodore Roosevelt.
46. Martin
This Victorian name means warlike.
47. Ivor
Ivor is a name that means bow warrior.
48. Ernest
Ernest means earnest. It was popularized through writers like Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway.
49. Archie
Archie might be a comic book character today, but it was once a shortened form of the name Archibald. It means bold and true.
50. Bernard
This name means strong bear. You can also turn it into the nicknames Bern or Bernie.
51. Clifford
Clifford was popular in the 1800s. It was a term that described a ford located near a slide.
52. Grover
Grover is a name that means grove of trees. Today, you may recognize it as a name from Sesame Street. Back in the day, it was the name of the United States president, Grover Cleveland.
53. Watson
Watson means son of Walter. While it was popular as a baby name long ago, it will forever remain immortalized because of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In his Sherlock Holmes mysteries, John Watson was the sidekick.
54. Jerome
Jerome is a popular English name that was well-loved in the Victorian era. It was an English version of the name Hieronymus.
55. Harold
Harold is a name that means ruler. Often, this popular Victorian name would be shortened into nicknames like Harry.
56. Charley
Charley is a fun variation on the name Charles. It is a name that meant man, and it remains a fairly popular name today.
57. Abraham
Abraham has been a popular name for generations since it is the name of a leading figure in the Bible. This name is said to mean father of multitudes. In the 1800s, it became famous as the name of the United States president, Abraham Lincoln, who led the country during the Civil War.
58. Augustus
Augustus is certainly an upper-class sounding name. This name means great. It can be shortened into nicknames like Gus or Auggie.
59. Elmer
Elmer is a name from the Victorian era that meant famous or noble. Before then, it was a Teutonic name that meant awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, modern people probably recognize this because of Disney’s cartoon character, Elmer Fudd.
60. Thaddeus
Thaddeus is an old-fashioned name that once meant wise. It was a fairly popular name during the 1700s and 1800s. Today, it is a name that you probably won’t hear at the playground anytime soon.
