These are names Victorian families actually used. There are no official rankings for Queen Victoria's reign (1837–1901), so we used the closest reliable evidence: the Office for National Statistics top 100 for babies born in 1904, the earliest official list, plus Douglas Galbi's study of name frequencies in England and Wales through the 1800s. Every name here was in the ONS top 100 for girls or boys born in 1904.
Meanings come from Behind the Name. Many Victorian favourites were revivals of medieval or Old English names, and a few, like Ethel and Daisy, were brand new in the 1800s.
By Rich · 13 November 2026 · 105 names · 99 with their real rank in England and Wales · every meaning checked against the sources below
Disputed The meaning is disputed or popular but unproven.
Checked The meaning is recorded in the sources below.
Word name A modern name made from a real word.
Victorian girl names (55)
“possibly from an Egyptian word for "beloved" or "love"”Hebrew, via LatinDisputed[3]
Civil registration of births in England and Wales began in 1837, the year Victoria came to the throne, but the government did not publish lists of popular names until much later. The earliest official figures are the ONS top 100 for 1904, three years after Victoria died. Children named in 1904 were given names their parents' generation knew, so the list is a fair picture of late Victorian taste, though not of the 1840s.
For the earlier part of the century, Douglas Galbi's analysis of name samples shows how concentrated naming was: in 1800 Mary and John were each given to more than one child in five, and William overtook John as the top boys' name around 1840. By 1900 the ten commonest names covered far fewer children than in 1800, as parents spread across a wider range.
Revivals, royals and flowers
Three fashions shaped Victorian naming. The first was the revival of Old English and medieval names, encouraged by novels and an interest in the national past: Alice, Edith, Hilda, Maud and Mabel all came back in the 1800s, and Arthur, used in England since the Middle Ages, had a surge in popularity. The second was royalty: Albert had long been rare in England until Prince Albert, Victoria's husband, made it popular again.
The third was flower and plant names. Violet, Ivy, Lily, Daisy and Rose were all in the 1904 top 50 for girls. Violet came into general English use and Daisy was first used as a name in the 1800s, and Rose, an old name, was revived with the flower in mind.
Using a Victorian name today
Many of these names have come back. Florence, Ada, Alice, Arthur, Albert and Alfred are all in recent England and Wales rankings, while Gertrude, Mildred, Horace and Cyril are still rare. The ranking shown with each name is its recent position, so you can see which ones are popular again and which would still stand out.
For a period story, remember that the top few names were far more common then than any name is now: around 1900 about one boy in eleven was still called William, so a schoolroom of Williams, Johns and Georges is no exaggeration.
Old English and Anglo-Saxon Names: Recorded Anglo-Saxon names like Æthelflæd, Eadgifu and Ælfred, and the modern names that came from them, from Audrey and Edith to Alfred and Edwin.
Welsh Baby Names: Over 100 Welsh girl and boy names in real use, from Cerys and Seren to Dylan and Rhys, each with a simple pronunciation guide and a checked meaning.
Names That Mean 'Light': Over 70 real names that mean 'light', 'lamp' or 'brightness', from Lucy and Nur to Uriel and Kiran, with every meaning checked against a cited source.
Names That Mean 'Love': Over 70 real names that mean 'love', 'beloved' or 'dear', from Amy, Mabel and Carys to David, Kevin and Aroha, with sources and a few famous myths.
Medieval English Names (Naming Library): How the Norman Conquest changed English first names, why so few names covered so many people, and how pet forms like Hob and Wilkin became surnames.
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Names (Naming Library): How Anglo-Saxon names like Æthelstan and Edith were built from two Old English words, what the parts meant, and which names survived 1066.
How Surnames Began in Britain (Naming Library): How British surnames began: single names before 1066, Norman bynames, the four main types, and when names became hereditary, region by region.
Frequently Asked Questions
+What were common Victorian names?
For girls: Mary, Florence, Edith, Annie, Alice, Elizabeth, Elsie, Ethel and Ada. For boys: William, John, George, Thomas, Arthur, James, Charles, Frederick and Albert. All were in the top 25 for babies born in England and Wales in 1904, the earliest official list.
+What are some unique Victorian girl names?
Names that were common then but rare now include Gertrude, Millicent, Blanche, Bertha, Minnie and Edna. All were in the 1904 top 100 for girls in England and Wales.
+Why were so many Victorian children called William and Mary?
Naming was much more concentrated in the 1800s. In 1850 about 15 per cent of boys were called William and 18 per cent of girls Mary, compared with about 4 per cent for the top names in the 1990s.