These Medieval Names Are Surprisingly Perfect for Modern Times
Pinterest just dropped its “Pinterest Predicts” trend forecast for 2025, and there are all sorts of up-and-coming aesthetics to explore — but one that stood out to us is “castlecore.” According to Pinterest, the term “medieval core” is up 110% from last year, and related search terms — like castlecore — are up too. “Medieval is having a major moment,” says Pinterest. “In 2025, Gen Z and Millennials will take home decor inspiration from ancient castles, while fashion and accessories will be gothic inspired. It’s a comeback of the highest order.”
So we have to wonder: will this trend extend into baby naming as well? It isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Just look at coquette names, or quiet luxury names, or western gothic names — all stemming from similar aesthetic trends.
Medieval names may be old, but many of them have never gone out of style; if you know anyone whose name is Charles or Anne or Gregory or Elizabeth, then you know someone with a medieval name. In fact, many of the names that are considered “classic names” today were being used during the Middle Ages! The baby naming world is funny in that way — sometimes a name is a flash-in-the-pan success that goes out of vogue as quickly as it became popular, and other times, a name proves it has serious staying power.
People give the Renaissance (the period directly after the middle ages) a lot of credit for an explosion of art, culture, and literature, but the medieval period walked so the Renaissance could run, and it had its own brand of enlightenment. It was the era of stunning Gothic cathedrals, with their soaring ceilings and stained glass windows. The preservation of knowledge was important; monks painstakingly copied and preserved ancient texts in monasteries, safeguarding information and making it available for future generations. By the later middle ages, universities were established in Europe, becoming centers of learning and debate and sparking intellectual curiosity and innovation. And we can’t forget some small-but-crucial inventions that came about during this period — like eyeglasses, the compass, and the spinning wheel.
Of course, they can’t all be winners, and the medieval period came out with some eyebrow-raising names too: Rabige, Tagibod, Marmaduke, Blither, and Ermenhilde, to name a few. The medieval names we’ve chosen for this roundup aren’t as out-there, but not as obvious as Henry or Margaret. They’re lesser-used names that are distinctive but not weird; vintage in the best way. And most importantly, even though they’re very old, they fit perfectly into today’s unique baby naming landscape — and into the hot castlecore trend too!
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Amabel
Amabel is the medieval form of the Latin name Amabilis, which has possibly the sweetest meaning ever: “lovable.”
Jehan
Giovanni, Janek, Juan, Jean — the list of variants of the name John (meaning “God is gracious”) goes on and on. And you can add Jehan to that list! It comes from the Old French form of yet another variant, Iohannes.
Adeline
Meaning “noble,” Adeline is an old name with a lot of fresh nickname possibilities: Ada, Adi, or Addy, for starters!
Gerard
Two Old German elements — ger and hart — combine to create Gerard, which means “brave spear.” Though it may be a medieval name, it sounds more modern than its similar counterpart, Gerald.
Rosaline
The meaning behind this gorgeous name is, well, kinda funny. It comes from Rosalind, which is made up of the Old Germanic elements hros, meaning “horse,” and lind, meaning “flexible.” So it technically means … flexible horse? Anyway, its spelling was influenced by the (much more flattering) Latin phrase rosa linda, meaning “beautiful rose.” And Rosaline, without the D at the end, is its medieval variant.
Piers
You’d probably never guess it given the differences in their sound, but Piers is the medieval version of a highly-popular male name: Peter! It means “rock.”
Eleanor
The story behind Eleanor is actually fascinating — starting with 12th-century queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Her given name was Aenor, after her mother; to distinguish between the two, she was referred to as alia Aenor (meaning “the other Aenor” in the Occitan language), or Aliénor. Some sources say the name was used prior to this, but most agree that this instance is the actual origin.
Eleanor has several great nickname possibilities, like Elle, Ellie, Nora, and Nell.
Colin
Though Colin is considered its own, standalone name these days, back in medieval times it was a diminutive of Col — which was a nickname for Nicholas, meaning “victory of the people.”
Bronwyn
This name is said to be a variant spelling of the ancient name Branwen, which means “white raven” in Old Welsh. It was the name of a central character in one of stories in a late-medieval collection of Celtic myths collectively known as the Mabinogion.
Benedict
This name comes from the Late Latin name Benedictus, meaning “blessed.” There was a St. Benedict as far back as the 6th century, but this name became very popular around the 12th century.
Avelina
Considering the current popularity of names like Avery, Evelyn, and Everly, this similar-sounding medieval pick could make a very modern choice. It may stem from the medieval name Avice, which comes from the Latin avitia, meaning “bird.” Aveline is also a pretty alternative!
Wilkin
Wilkin comes from the medieval Germanic name Willehelm, which means “will helmet” (that doesn’t make much sense, but the elements that comprise the name mean “will or desire” and “helmet, protection” respectively). Another version of this name is the perennially-popular William, but Wilkin is a fresher-sounding take.
Isolde
This comes from Iseult, whose meaning is unknown (though some sources speculate that it means “ice battle”). It appears in a popular 12th-century fable about an Irish princess, and then again in a 13th-century German poem by Gottfried von Strassburg called Tristan, where the Isolde spelling was first seen.
Faron
Faron is the French form of the medieval name Faro, which comes from the Germanic element fara, meaning “journey.”
Lella
The meaning behind Lella is actually really adorable: it’s a sweet nickname! For some reason it’s hard to picture medieval folks as anything but austere and solemn, but they loved and had affectionate nicknames just as we do. Lella is the diminutive nickname for any Italian name ending in –ella. It could also be used as a short form of Louella, though this wasn’t the case in medieval times.
Judd
Would you be surprised to know that the “modern” name Jordan was actually around in the medieval times? It was — because Judd is a diminutive, or shorter version, of that name! Its meaning comes from the river of the same name, often mentioned in the Bible.
Juliana
Juliana is the feminine form of Julian (also a medieval name!), coming from the Latin Julius, meaning “downy-bearded.” In medieval England, Juliana was used far more commonly than Julian.
Dominic
Derived from the Latin dominicus, meaning “of the Lord,” this name was often used in the Middle Ages to children who were born on a Sunday — dies dominica.
Matilda
This name was typically spelled “Mathilda” in medieval times, but even without the H, it’s a medieval name. It comes from the Old Saxon and Old High German elements maht and hiltja, meaning “mighty in battle.”
Ellery
This name — typically masculine — is derived from the medieval name Hilary, meaning “cheerful, light-hearted, lively.” But like a surprising number of “girl” names, Hilary was once more widely used for boys. Since Hilary is now pretty firmly in the girls’ camp, we like Ellery as a unique modern alternative.
Gwenore
With possibly the coolest meaning in the entire list of medieval names, Gwenore comes from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar (also spelled Guinevere!), meaning “white phantom.”
Remy
Derived from the Latin word remex, meaning “oarsman,” this name can make a cute gender-neutral choice, as it’s heard for both sexes in modern times.
Idalia
Derived from the Old Frankish element idal, meaning “work,” this beautifully unique and feminine name has several cute nickname possibilities too — like Dalia, Ida, or Dali.
Gisela
If you’re highly sensitive about a name’s meaning, you may want to skip this one; it comes from the Old High German element gīsal, meaning … “hostage.” But! If it helps, the name Gisela has been borne by several royals — and, it’s just plain pretty!
Andry
Though it could be seen as an alternate nickname for Andrew (meaning “man”), this unisex choice is actually derived from a combination of the Gothic element andeis and the Old German rih, meaning “end ruler.”
Cora
Cora comes from the Greek κ?ρη (or kore), which means “maiden.” It was another name used for the Greek goddess Persephone — the queen of the underworld, and the goddess of agriculture and grain.
Aalis
If you thought this name sounds like Alice, that’s because it’s the medieval French form of that name! It originated with the name Adalheidis, meaning “noble.”
Melisende
Melisende is the glamourous-sounding medieval French form of Millicent, which itself comes from the Gothic name Amalaswinta, meaning “brave and strong.”
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