old fashioned why are some cute again and others definitely not

[mumofsevenplusfour]

been wondering why some name from early 20th c late 19th eg ruby daisy ruby violet iris etc for girls or alfie archie arthur wilfred etc for boys are cool again. yet others seem destined to remain unpoular for along time to come thinking here of names such as male names stanley ernest percy etc or female names gertrude gladys emerald doris dorothy etc
any opinions as to what makes the difference ?

[cheesesarnie]

i know a toddler stanley.and teenage doris and dorothys.(was thinking about dorothy for dd but instead chose molly another vintage name)

love ernest,percy and gertrude.

[Bucharest]

Some are just plain ugly sounding IMO.

Others will come round again, (thinking Janet, Barbara, Derek, Brian ) (eek perish the thought) but not yet. We need to go through a few more generations.

Was thinking how odd that the girl in Outnumbered is called Karen. She must be the only 7 yr old Karen in Britain! And yet when you hear it used on there, it sounds really pretty.

[crumpette]

Not sure about Derek and Brian but Bucharest is right. It's all down to whether the name sounds ugly. Ugly or try-hard trendy are bad, an old fashioned name should be like a wonderful antique.. a pretty name or an ironically clumpy yet great name or a cute name for a boy. Therefore some names will always be off the cool list and some will come back now and again. OP, FWIW I love the name Dorothy ...

[SchnitzelVonKrumm]

I know two Stanleys and two Dorothys so they're def back in!

[Cortina]

I've thought the same thing about Karen in Outnumbered, I wonder why they chose it? I predict we'll see it making a few shortlists in the future as a consequence.

Names go in cycles as people have said. It's interesting but a few in the 'old person' name family that were definitely no go a few years ago are coming in for serious thought and being chosen now. Thinking:

Enid
Maud (!)
Agatha
Agnes
Elsie
Mabel
Wilfred
Alfred
Stanley
Gerald
Arthur

So I reckon Gertrude (Gertie) and similar can't be far behind.

[theminniebobble]

Doris was going to be the name we used for DS- before we knew he was a DS. If we have another one and she's a DD we will definitely use it. I think that it's lovely.

DS is a Freddie- Frederick on his birth certificate.

I reckon that Enid Blyton chic will be the next thing- Belinda, Janet, Dick (), Anne, Darryl, Julian. I remember that there was a Wilhelmenia in the Mallory Towers. A great name!

[Cortina]

Darrell was made up by EB - from her second husband's surname (he was Kenneth Darrell Waters), hence Darrell Rivers. It didn't really blend in with the other names and was an interesting choice.

I like, from the EB school series, Gwendolen, Clarissa, Sadie, Carlotta, Irene, Lucy, Marjorie (although that may be pushing it) and Zerelda! Zerelda (Brass) was the cool American girl.

[Bucharest]

Eb names, by and large, were horrific! (just re-read MT)

[theminniebobble]

I never knew that re Darrell- v impressed with EB trivia.

Perhaps I should re-name DS Moon Face.

What about Dynasty chic? Blake, Krystle (makes me think of gristle)DEx- there's a whole seam of riches!

[Cortina]

The Far Away Tree, NOW you're talking! How about Silky or Fanny?

Dynasty was done in the early 80s, that and Dallas. Jenna from Dallas etc. Know of a few Blakes too! Paige - Knott's Landing etc.

[CleverCircusFlea]

I have a horrible old fashioned name, that brings an image of old, mean, extremely skinny aunt to everybody's mind when they hear it
And my middle name is so pretty, but never used

[Cortina]

Read something that yesterday's 'chav' names are today's middle class favourites. Ruby, Mabel, Ellen etc were below rather than above stairs in the nineteenth Century I think.

So we'll see lots of educated professionals called Chardonnay and Beyonce etc in years to come .

[CheerfulYank]

I think Susie, Janet, Linda, etc, will be big again soon.

[mumoftoomany]

I know a few little Sarahs, Annes, Stanleys and Quentins, so old-fashioned and/or Enid Blyton inspired names seem to be coming back already...

[Iklboo]

I know a baby Edna and a baby Stanley

[AllieW]

I think the prettiness factor is definitely important. I really want to name our next girl Pearl as I think it's well overdue a comeback.

[mumofsevenplusfour]

i obviously live in a less adventurous area of the country as i have yet to meet a baby stanley or dorothy and know quite a few karens under 6
i have a teenage blake named after a composer my husband liked forgot the dynasty connection until much later but we definitely wont be having a crystal that might be a bridge to far. i notice blake is now in the top 100
every seems to say ugly versus pretty but what defines pretty surely pretty is in the ear of the listener . imo gladys emerald are very sweet sounding and they must have thought that in 1910 when gladys was very popular but now both these names promote really strong negative reactions . does are ear for what is sweet cute change over time

[AllieW]

Maybe it's also to do with living bearers of the name? What I mean is that many of the names now revived are less common among older folk. If you know lots of old ladies called Edith, for example, you may not be so keen, but there are fewer of them about now and I've definitely noticed a couple of Ediths creeping in.

[SchnitzelVonKrumm]

lots of Pearls around too - v pretty name

[mumofsevenplusfour]

or is it to do with celebrate thing eg ruby charlotte chuch's daughter now ruby is popular
and is there a radio presenter on bbc radio 1 called edith or did i imagine it which is now making that name cool
think pearl is very pretty

[Francagoestohollywood]

I like old fashioned name. If I was English I'd probably name my dc after some PG Wodehouse characters