Five vintage girl names from the 1950s that are making a comeback and one is Scottish
As parents come to choose a name for their precious new-born child, they might think of the seasons, days of the week, months of the year - or back to their grandma or great-grandma's generation for inspiration.
Old-school names can be very sweet to name your child, and can stand them in good stead for when they grow out of their youthful stage and into adulthood. In fact, going traditional is a popular route for a lot of parents-to-be.
Over in the US, the Social Security Administration (SSA) keeps a list of the 1,000 most popular names in the US each year going back to 1900 to see which vintage names are on the up, and which are decreasing in popularity.
In general, the boys' names, historically, have remained steady, and the girls' names experience big swings. For parents looking for vintage inspiration, these are all the girl names that are growing in popularity today.
Good Housekeeping recently compiled a list of the grandma monikers that are getting trendier every year. The titles weren't necessarily devised in the 1950s, but they were very commonly used around that time period.
What's more, all of these names increased in popularity between last year and the year before, which means they could be headed for the top again. And what's even more intriguing? One of the names is Scottish.
Deborah
The name Deborah, of Hebrew origin, means 'bee'. It's a feminine name, most famously borne by the prophetess in the Old Testament Book of Judges. The name is derived from the Hebrew word 'dvorah'.
In the US, it was a very popular name from the 1950s to the 1970s, often ranking among the top 20 names for girls.
It has been on the decline ever since - until last year, when it jumped more than 100 places in rank between last year and the year before in US top baby names.
Marilyn
Marilyn Monroe may spring to mind when you read this charming name, which means 'drop of the sea,' 'bitter', and 'beloved'. The name peaked earlier than the 1950s - in 1937 - but remained extremely popular throughout the '50s.
The American actress, star of Some Like It Hot and The Misfits, was a global superstar. Her real name was Norma Jeane, of course, but that didn't stop parents and carers of this era from naming their children after her.
. The name only stopped decreasing in popularity in 2022 and has been all over the map since.
Judith
Judith is a girl's name with Hebrew origins, inspired by Yehudit, meaning 'praised', 'woman of Judea', and 'Jewish woman'.
For many, Judy is an abbreviation of Judith, of which there were many famous people including Judy Garland, Judy Davis, Judy Collins, and Judy Holliday to name a few, which may have upped its regard.
Judith is a traditionally popular name in the UK, with ukbabynames.co.uk rating it at a decent 65 per cent popularity on this side of the water.
Leslie
Meaning 'garden of holly', Leslie could be seeing a surge in popularity as the name is pretty gender-neutral and also ends with 'ie,' which is a growing and more recent trend among girls' names.
Elsewhere, Marjorie, Scottie, Elodie and Lettie, all ending with this 'ie,' are all current fast risers.
Bonnie
Bonnie is a Scottish name meaning 'pretty' or 'beautiful', derived from the Scots word bonnie. The name was ranked #26 for baby girl's names in the UK in 2025, according to babycentre.co.uk, down just three from 2024, proving it to be a strong contender not only among wee ones born in Scotland but across the UK.
The name peaked in 1950, at the dawn of the decade itself, according to Good Housekeeping, but dropped off the most popular baby names lists in the US in 2004.
It reappeared in 2014 and has been steadily climbing ever since. Former Love Islander and Scottish TV personality Laura Anderson named her daughter Bonnie in 2023.
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