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Original poster

Older MNers who had kids in the 80s/90s

64 replies

PortSalutPlease · 19/10/2025 01:23

Why the fuck did we all get the middle name Louise?! Have just left a hen do, and of the 12 women there, 9 of us. NINE. Was there some kind of 80s rule about it?

OP posts:
DrCoconut · 19/10/2025 15:24

It seemed like half the girls in my early to mid 80s primary school class were called Claire or Catherine, with Emma as a close third. Boys were Matthew, Paul and David. DS1 was born in the late 90s and I can't really remember what was fashionable. It was all "old man" names by the time my younger two arrived.

Hatehayfever · 19/10/2025 15:18

Guilty too! It was a nice name that went well with the first name.

MargaretThursday · 19/10/2025 15:17

I'm from a little before that age, and Elizabeth seemed to be the universal middle name.
I wonder though if it was something to do with the silver jubilee.

Milliways · 19/10/2025 15:05

Guilty! My 91 born DD has Louise as her middle name- sorry!

SeptemberOctober25 · 19/10/2025 14:55

I work in a job that involves typing people's full name into a legal document I always have a little game in my own head every time I get a Lisa for example and known it'll be Jane or Claire and it'll be Marie. Etc.

SeptemberOctober25 · 19/10/2025 14:53

Throwing in Marie too.

thecatdidit · 19/10/2025 14:41

My daughter (35) has no middle name, I would like her to add my mum's beautiful name as her middle one now she's an adult but it's not worth the hassle.
I don't know anyone with Louise as a middle name, but one girl in my junior school in the 60sl/70s had that as her first name.
My first name is unusual, middle name is rare (one other person with it in the UK going back to1970)

Thisismyalterego · 19/10/2025 14:34

Our niece, born in 1993, has Louise as a middle name. Her name was changed at the last minute due to a tragic news story at the time and Louise was a name that went well with the replacement first name.
My DC's are boys, but Louise was not even on our long list, let alone shortlist! However, I did notice that almost every other boy around the same age had either Luke, Thomas or a combination of both as their names. Again, we didn't use either.

Jollyjoy · 19/10/2025 09:38

Haha very funny! Amanda is my middle name - I’d wager some of the other 3 had that??

ELO10538 · 19/10/2025 09:19

Slightly off topic, when I was a kid in the 60s we had one Louise in our primary school in South London and her name was considered unusual. Go figure.

Mumofteenandtween · 19/10/2025 09:03

Mumofteenandtween · 19/10/2025 09:02

I was born in 1979. In my primary school there were only 3 girls who did not have the middle name Louise. Me and two girls whose first names were Louise.

I felt very left out!

That is in my primary school class. I don’t know the middle name of all girls in the whole school!

Mumofteenandtween · 19/10/2025 09:02

I was born in 1979. In my primary school there were only 3 girls who did not have the middle name Louise. Me and two girls whose first names were Louise.

I felt very left out!

Ohwhatfuckeryitistoride · 19/10/2025 09:02

Mea culpa, although dd was born in he 90s. Its my dsis's name, though she was a bit underwhelmed by the "honour" as she later said she never liked it.

Covidwoes · 19/10/2025 09:01

So funny OP! My 45 year old SiL has the middle name Louise, and 2 of my friends born in the late 80s do too. 😂

Mewling · 19/10/2025 09:00

My middle name’s Louise and I’ve passed it to my DD. I don’t see why I should be the only one to suffer.

redfairy · 19/10/2025 08:52

My daughter, born 1986 has the middle name Elizabeth (after the Queen) and younger daughter born 2001 has the very popular middle name Mae. They just seemed so pretty at the time.

Westfacing · 19/10/2025 08:47

Well I had boys so don't blame me!

But Louise is such a lovely name so had things gone differently I'm sure I would have been tempted 😊

UncleHerbieIsBack · 19/10/2025 08:44

DramaAlpaca · 19/10/2025 02:00

Well, I had my children in the 90s and none of them have the middle name Louise.

It might be because they are all boys Grin

It's not confined to that time though, my cousin born in 1963 has Louise as her middle name.

Hilarious. I just snorted! 👏

2021x · 19/10/2025 08:43

Is your cistern stuck?

teacupzs · 19/10/2025 08:42

All boys were called James

ComfyPyjamaBottoms · 19/10/2025 08:38

My 90's girls have no middle names, but all the girls I grew up.with have the middle name Jayne. With a Y

Dontcallmescarface · 19/10/2025 08:35

DD was born in the very early 90's and doesn't have Louise as a name. At her wedding last week there was only 1 Louise (DD's step-sister), but there were a lot of Chloes.

thornbury · 19/10/2025 06:43

My kids were born in 90s, middle names are Katherine and Eve. My sister and I were born in the 60s and don't have middle names (she gave her girls Rachel and Michelle as middle names).

Bikergran · 19/10/2025 06:26

No idea. My two daughters' middle names are Rachel and Emily. Don't know any of her friends called Louise.

PflumPfeffer · 19/10/2025 03:48

On the same note, why were so many of us called Emma/Gemma?!