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What are considered to be old fashioned names in countries other than UK?

14 replies

TomArchersSausage · 07/02/2013 21:29

Just out of curiosity really (I don't actually have any babies requiring namesGrin)

There is a revival of older names here, but I wouldn't know if a French name for example, would be considered an older person's name or not.

I was sat musing this through Les Mis the other night. Could Fantine be the equivalent of Ethel in France?

And everywhere else too. What are the old man and lady names of other countries? And are they also being revived?

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GregorSamsa · 07/02/2013 21:30

I love Ilona, but it's considered very old lady (not in a good way) in Hungary.

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solveproblem · 07/02/2013 21:33

I've got a Harry, my parents back in Sweden laughed at me when we told them his name as its really only an old persons name there. (But old people's names are very trendy there, so I was spot on, lol)

IME all countries have generational trends in names.

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TomArchersSausage · 07/02/2013 21:36

Ah it's really pretty too and unusal. Are you in Hungary?

Isn't it funny how if you have no reference point or have never heard a name before it doesn't come with any preconceptions?

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Teapot13 · 07/02/2013 22:17

Grandparent-vintage names are popular in a lot of (European) countries right now.

Your point about preconceptions makes it hard to find names that work in two cultures/languages. Even if you find a name that both sides of the family can pronounce and spell, it's often the case that a perfectly nice name in one country is a horrible out-of-style name in the other.

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chesticles · 07/02/2013 22:25

My friend in Sweden has called her son Erling , which I believe is very old fashioned. Probably the equivalent of Albert/ Bernard/Wilfred

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znaika · 07/02/2013 23:43

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MmeLindor · 07/02/2013 23:48

My husband laughed me out of the house when I suggested Liesl when I was pregnant. I still like it, but it was very old fashioned when we had DD. Still is.

Leni seems to be back in fashion over in Germany at the moment, and the past 10 years has seen almost every child called Anna, Maria, Sophia or a combination of those.

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znaika · 08/02/2013 00:37

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TomArchersSausage · 08/02/2013 08:17

These names all sound rather lovely and striking.

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Weissdorn · 08/02/2013 08:21

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cuillereasoupe · 09/02/2013 08:35

Granny chic is definitely not in in France. People on here often post about wonderful exotic French names like Aurore that sound like a forty-year-old librarian to me Grin

Fantine is almost unheard-of as a name BTW. Never met one, never heard of one IRL.

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TomArchersSausage · 09/02/2013 10:58

I find this all this interestingGrin. And to me French girls names always sound wonderfully feminine and pretty.

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zimbomaman · 15/02/2013 17:29

DH has plenty of Aunties and Uncles named:
Rolande, Claude, Josiane, Yolande, Annette, Charles, Henri, Gérard...definitely no Granny chic going on in France.

My 17yr DD1 has a very good friend, Aurore, who is the furthest one can imagine from a 40 year old librarian *cuillere

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Unlurked · 15/02/2013 17:40

I don't know about other countries but I have an Italian friend who was going to call her baby Deborah if it was a girl which I think would be quite unusual for a newborn! She ended up having a boy and gave him a very Italian name.

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