Unusual/uncommon/old-timey names that you like

You may find this thread of interest.

I sure don’t like any of these.

Richardine?!

OP? Tell me you're gay without telling me you're gay.

R3, I like female versions of male names (though not all of them).

Pauline (but not Paula)

Jane, Joan (but not Jean)

Augusta

Caroline, Charlotte

Josephine

Julia, Juliana

Adriana

Hughette

Michaela (but not Michelle)

Jacobina

Louisa, Louise

Alexandra

Bernadine

Names that you might be surprised were actually in use in Medieval England:

Austin (vernacular form of Augustine)

Tiffany (vernacular of Theophania, often given to girls born on the Feast of the Epiphany)

Jordan

Brian

Jennifer (only in Cornwall, it’s the Cornish form of Guinevere)

Denise

Emma (ubiquitous today, but used from the 11th century after Queen Emma of Normandy)

OP = Frau alert!

I’m a nerd, not a frau.

If you ever wondered where the old-timey name Effie comes from, it’s a diminutive of Euphemia, which sounds like some kind of respiratory illness. But no, it’s a name that actually exists.

Letitia (Latinized as Leticia) is another name that dates back to the Middle Ages. The vernacular Medieval English form was the rather unfortunate Lettice.

A famous Letitia was US First Lady Letitia Tyler, wife of President John Tyler. A 19th century diminutive of this name was Titty, which fell out of favor for obvious reasons.

The name Audrey was also used in Medieval England. It’s the Anglo-Norman form of the Old English name Æðelþryð (Latinized as Ethelreda) and the name of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon queen who became a nun and was canonized shortly after her death.

The name Ethel, while a root for common names originating in Pre-Conquest Britain, did not become a standalone name until the 19th century. The word itself means “noble” and is sometimes identified with the name Adele, which comes from an Old Germanic word that also means noble and was used as a root for names like Adelaide (which means “nobility”).

My grandmothers were Mabel and Myrtle. I love those names.

Grandfathers were Sherman and Lee, which sounds very Civil War.

I like Mabel, too. It has also been in use since the Middle Ages, a variant of the name Amabel (itself a feminine form of the Roman name Amabilis, which means “lovable”). Annabel and Arabella are Scottish variants of the same name.