Looking for a traditional name for your baby? Looking for a name for a piece of historical fiction that you are writing?

I know that many people are looking for popular baby names from ages past. The older names just seem special and deserve to be remembered! Also, many writers of historical fiction are looking for names for characters that are from a specific time period.

For a long time, I have been wanting to visit the oldest cemeteries in our area and copy down a list of first (given names) to share.

Today is Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024. It is a beautiful warm, sunny day in the southland. I could not think of a better day to get started, so I visited two of the little one room churches and cemeteries in our county. My husband helped me, and we recored every name with a birth date in the 1800’s. We found a couple with a dates from the 1700s.

I will try to make at least one post per month. If a name is repeated, I will just have a number of times it appears in parenthesis beside it. For example, Mary was a very common name today, and in the first cemetery I found three Marys. So I will have Mary (3) with the dates for each.

If there is a second name listed, it is a middle name, not a last name.

Tabernacle Church

Hwy. 32, Calhoun County, MS

Female Names

• 1. Annie–1843
• 2. Annie Maud–1879
• 3. Betty–1853
• 4. Eliza Beth–1812
• 5. Elizabeth–1850
• 6. Elnor–1875
• 7. Elsie–1822
• 8. Emily–1841
• 9. Fannie–1819
• 10. Frances–1835
• 11. Georgia–1852
• 12. Hareiet–1817
• 13. Harriett–1850
• 14. Hattie–1867
• 15. Luisa–1852
• 16. Lula–1883
• 17. Margret– 1854
• 18. Mary (3) –1878, 1823, 1817
• 19. May–1897
• 20. Merneva–1861
• 21. Minnie–185?
• 22. Nanay–1877
• 23. Nettie–1878
• 24. Nona–1894
• 25. Ophelia–1830
• 26. Saloma–1854
• 27. Sarah–1822
• 28. Sarah Frances–1832
• 29. Susie–1871
• 30. Victoria–1870
• 31. Virgin–1868
• 32. Willie–1892

There is one name from 1911 that I had to record because I love it and have never heard it before: Ila Mae–1911

Male Names

• 1. Charlie–1865
• 2. Daniel Elliott–1850
• 3. Frank–1849
• 4. Henry Claud–1890
• 5. James (2)–1866, 1811
• 6. John–1795
• 7. John Leland–1872
• 8. Johnnie–1822
• 9. Joseph–1832
• 10. Lemuel–1805
• 11. Martin–1827
• 12. Perry (2) 1854, 1870
• 13. Pichard–1832
• 14. Ray–18??
• 15. Thomas (2) 1870, 1850
• 16. Thomas Shannon–1871
• 17. Thomas Washington–1801
• 18. Turkey Bill–1839 (He was captured and raised by local Indians)
• 19. Walter–1878
• 20. William (3)–1847, 1839, 1811
• 21. Winter–1864

Pilgrim’s Rest Church

Yalobusha County, MS–CR 134

Female Names

• 1. Bertha–1862
• 2. Blanche–1867
• 3. Delany–1830
• 4. Della Mae–1876
• 5. Evelyn–1868
• 6. Emma–1866
• 7. Geneva–1877
• 8. Georgia–1898
• 9. Gertrude–1898
• 10. Henry May–1884
• 11. Ida Lee–1894
• 12. Janet–1863
• 13. Jemima–1832
• 14. Josephine–1872
• 15. Julia–1857
• 16. Julia Elizabeth– 1860
• 17. Laoorah–1863
• 18. Lodema–1845
• 19. Lucy–1899
• 20. Maggie (2) 1896, 1889
• 21. Malissa–1854
• 22. Mamie–1880
• 23. Margaret (2) 1862, 1878
• 24. Martha–178?
• 25. Mary (3)–1874, 1818, 1839
• 26. Mary Ellen–1881
• 27. Mary Jane–1847
• 28. Mary Lula–1864
• 29. Mattie–1878
• 30. Minnie–1884
• 31. Missouri–1841
• 32. Nannie Sue–1880
• 33. Nicy–18??
• 34. Pearl (2) –1898, 1890
• 35. Permelia–1847
• 36. Pernecy Ann Ardecy–1840
• 37. Roda–1836
• 38. Rose Lee–1869
• 39. Sarah–1853
• 40. Willie–1868

Male Names

• 1. Abb–1890
• 2. Albert Leroy–1834
• 3. Alfred–1887
• 4. Charles–1888
• 5. Charlie–1862
• 6. Claude–1878
• 7. Clyde–1896
• 8. David (2) –1858, 184?
• 9. Elijah–1809
• 10. Erastus–1871
• 11. Franklin–1824
• 12. Fredrick–1843
• 13. Gilbert–1880
• 14. Harvey–1894
• 15. Henry–1873
• 16. Henry Harrison–1871
• 17. James–1877
• 18. James Peray–1882
• 19. Joe Aaron–1886
• 20. Jessie Daniel–1859
• 21. John–1879
• 22. John David–1894
• 23. John Marion–1857
• 24. John Robert–1861
• 25. John Wisdom–1780
• 26. Louis–1879
• 27. Mack–1879
• 28. Richard–1853
• 29. Rufus–1873
• 30. Seaborn Lyman–1855
• 31. Terry–1852
• 32. Thaddeaus–1887
• 33. Thomas (2) 1896, 1864
• 34. William–1853
• 35. William Thomas–1864
• 36. Wilton Mozetta–1895
• 37. Winfred–1877
• 38. Wyatt–1898