I have to admit I love the history in old cemeteries. You can learn a lot about what happened in a family simply by taking a look at their headstones.
A Treasure of Names in Cemeteries
You can see when epidemics came through a community and how much higher the infant mortality rate was one hundred years ago. It’s amazing how much shorter people’s lives were in general.
Because I’m interested specifically in names, I often take note of names I find in historic parts of a cemetery. You will always see plenty of Georges, Annas, Williams and Janes, but what about more unusual names?
Out of the Past
The names you never hear anymore or maybe have never heard? I recently visited the cemetery in my community to find some interesting names to share and you never know, maybe some of the names on this list should make a comeback!
Hazen
The person with this name was born in 1895 and sure enough the name Hazen has not had enough use since 1901 to even be measured statistically, but I did find out it is a name of German origin meaning “Gray” or “Black” and that the name Hazen is currently #4275 in U.S. Births (boys and girls).
Ambrozie
This name was given to a boy in 1899 and because I had never heard this name before, I wanted to research it and learn more. This name has its roots in ancient Greece.
In Greek mythology, ambrosia nectar was believed to bring immortality to the gods. The name was popular in Europe during the Medieval Era and means “immortal” or “divine”. There are cultural variations of this name including Ambrosio, Ambrosius and Ambroz.
Zella
This name was given to a little girl in 1875. What this name means and where it comes from varies a lot depending on what source you access.
Zella has African-Bobangi roots and means “Lacking nothing” or “one who knows the path” or Zella is a Yiddish or German name meaning “Happy” or “blessed”. Take your pick as far as meanings or origins — it’s all good and maybe we will see more Zellas in the future.
Larkin
In my mind, this name should definitely make a comeback! The Larkin I noted at the cemetery lived from 1851-1909 and though I don’t know how common the name was back in 1851, I do know it is a very uncommon name in 2025.
The current US popularity for the name Larkin is #3,734 according to the Social Security Administration. It is a boy’s name of Irish/Gaelic origin that means “Fierce” or “Rough”, or “Descendant of Lorcan”.
Arvilla
This name was given to a girl born in 1873. This name is actually the feminine version of the name Arvil, a variant of Arvel. It originates from the Old Welsh language possibly meaning “bird”.
This name was recently in the modern spotlight when it was used for a main character played by Jessica Lange in the movie “Bonneville” in 2006. US Popularity for this name is currently #6,578 so if you choose Arvilla as your baby’s name she will not be confused with any other kids having the same name in class!
There are many more historic names where these came from and I will share them with you in a series of blog posts in the future.
