From 1890 to 1899 and beyond, the music halls of New York City were filled every night and music poured into the streets. “Give My Regards to Broadway” was the song of the decade. Theater goers packed the playhouses to see the “Pirates of Penzance.” Stephen Foster's “Beautiful Dreamer,” was still everyone's favorite melody.

The 1980s were also a time of reading and discovery. Freud lifted psychology into the modern age. Mystery readers thrilled at the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

Against this happy background, new parents looked for romantic baby names and their meanings from ancient Latin, Greek and Old German. They chose heroic names from literary classics, music, art, and poetry. Many even named their babies after real heroes in history as well as the names of places and great battles.

From among the romantic baby boy names of the 1890s, here are a few:

Adolphus (German royal name) means “noble wolf;” Byron (Anglo Saxon) from an English place name meaning “small cottage;” Carleton (English) comes from a place name meaning “Charles' town;” Clement (Scottish) means “gentle;” Edmund (Anglo Saxon) means “happy protection;” Gilbert (German via French) means “bright pledge;” Napoleon (Greek) means “lion of the woodland dell;” Nathan (Hebrew) means “gift;” Percy (French) comes from a place name meaning “mysterious;” Roderick (German) means “famous ruler.”

The beautiful and romantic baby girl names of the 1890s are classical and come from Latin and Greek. Baby names coming from old German, French and Anglo Saxon were also wildly popular. Here are some of the favorite baby girl names:

Beatrice (Latin) means “bringer of joy;” Catherine (Greek) means “pure;” Clementine (Latin) means “merciful;” Cordelia (Latin) means “warm-hearted;” Drusilla (Latin) comes from a Roman family name meaning “strong;” Honoria (Latin) means “honorable;” Lorelei (German) means “alluring one;” Helen (Greek) means “the beautiful one;” Minerva (Latin) means “goddess of wisdom;” Tess (Greek) comes from the name “Teresa” meaning “harvest; ”Victoria (Latin) means ”victory.”

With the passing of the 1890s, the Victorian Era came to an end. The innocence of that era, however, carried over into the new century. Even the baby boy names and baby girl names reflected the romantic happiness and music of these years. The question was - how would the 20th Century treat that happy innocence which was a gift of romance.