The Virtues of a Classic Name

Catherine Deneuve
Not too long ago I would have never contemplated giving the first name Catherine to a daughter. Sure, it is the name of my great-grandmother, a wonderful woman by all accounts, but it was too common, too popular, and it didn't have that "wow" factor that I had always looked for.
I started to think of the reasons why I liked Catherine, besides it being a family name, and found it had many virtues. It is name that has never gone out of style, a name that has so much history, and so many wonderful women behind it. I could call her Kitty, Cat, Cathy, Kit, the list is endless. My own mother, who was very close to my great-grandmother, loves the name, and that is something which is very important. If I hadn't put aside my reservations about popularity or uniqueness, I wonder if I would have missed this name, one that I have come to really love.
Taking inspiration from my new love of classic names, here is a list of some of the best.

Marie/Maria/Mary - Given new life by Lady Mary Crawley
Anne/Ann/Anna
Lydia
Catherine/Katherine/Katharine
Jane
Emily
Susannah/Susanna/Susan
Rose
Lucy
Caroline
Frances
Elizabeth/Elisabeth
Laura
Isabel/Isabella
Victoria
Charlotte
Lily
Alexandra/Alexandria
Helen/Helena
Margaret
Claire/Clara
Olivia
Virginia
Audrey
Louise/Louisa
Emma

 William
Charles
James
Adam
Henry
George
Anthony
Jonathan/John
Martin
Edward
Patrick
Arthur
Nicholas
Samuel
David
Philip
Thomas
Edwin
Jack
Peter
Theodore
Richard
Oliver
Alexander
Edmund
Francis

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2014 at 4:05 PM

    This is exceptional. I lover classic names also and Katherine has a special place to me. My mother spelled her name Katherine but we found her birth certificate and it was spelled Catherine, very surprising. I can tell you love names by the way you write about them. Keep it up. Thanks for this article.

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