Page 3 | To think names considered trashy 20 odd years ago could reemerge as classy name choices in the late 2020s?

PenCreed · 14/09/2026 13:07

HolidayHideaway · 14/09/2026 10:05

The uber Posh I know are unworried about names & if not going trad are happy to pick cool names like ‘Jessie’ & don’t have any ‘middle class’ squeamishness about it being “Jessica” on the birth cert.

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I think of Jessie as a pretty trad Scottish name, tbh. My granny was born in the early 20th century and was called Jessie! No-one thought it was short for anything.

LeedsLoiner · 14/09/2026 13:08

HolidayHideaway · 14/09/2026 09:46

Our great grandchildren will be Gary, Sharon, and Darren ;)

You mean "Gazza", "Shazza" and "Dazza" ?

LeedsLoiner · 14/09/2026 13:13

RosesAndHellebores · 14/09/2026 13:05

I recently did our family trees and was surprised to see how many Marthas, Esthers, Louisas and Naomis there were, amongst all the Anns, Elizabeths and Alices that spanned 1400's to 1900's. For men the stand outs across the period were: Robert, Christopher (also expressed as +topher), James, William.

The gobsmacker was a ggg grandmother "Louisa, bastard of Aurora", born in a workhouse!

"Louisa, bastard of Aurora" would be a great social media name !!! 😃

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 14/09/2026 13:18

A lot of real, old-people’s names from my GPs’ time (born in late Victorian or Edwardian eras) have become popular again - much to my amazement. Maisie, Edith, Ava, Poppy, Mabel, Gertrude, Stanley, Alfred, Sidney…

I can’t see Chantelle ever being seen as classy, sorry. Classic names that don’t date are often either royal, or they come from the Bible or Shakespeare.

wiredandtired · 14/09/2026 13:19

They all come back around but I think it will be quite a while for a names like those. People who are currently the age to be having kids probably have negative connotations with some of those names.

Perhaps people currently being born would consider them for their children, as by then they will sound fresh again... so maybe in 30 years time?

TheJuryIsOut · 14/09/2026 13:20

I never realised Maddison was a chavvy name

RosesAndHellebores · 14/09/2026 13:31

LeedsLoiner · 14/09/2026 13:13

"Louisa, bastard of Aurora" would be a great social media name !!! 😃

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I see the heartbreak of it rather than an sm name and find the thought rather distasteful.

FruAashild · 14/09/2026 13:31

TheJuryIsOut · 14/09/2026 13:20

I never realised Maddison was a chavvy name

It's the misspelling of a surname that does it. And that the name started as a joke in the film Splash.

Katflapkit · 14/09/2026 13:37

HolidayHideaway · 14/09/2026 09:59

Apparently Violet, a name I love, was seen as very naff by my mother’s generation. Thing was she knew elderly many ‘Vi’. I’ve never come across an 80 or 90 something Violet.

I love the name Violet and put it forward for our daughter's name. My Swedish DH said 'No, it's a biker's moll name?' Who knew?

HolidayHideaway · 14/09/2026 13:40

EstoyRobandoSuCasa · 14/09/2026 12:30

It’s not an “odd fear”, just a belief that the main purpose of names is to distinguish one person from another.

Anyway, I think some names will come round again and some won’t. And it’s not always possible to predict which ones. Who could have predicted 100 years ago that Florence, Alice, Lily, Ivy, Beatrice, Harry, Thomas, George and Arthur would be very popular now, but that Edna, Doris, Kathleen, Gladys, Winifred, Hilda, Harold, Leslie, Ronald, Kenneth and Dennis would not be?

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There are quite a few Ronnies around - and Reggie (!)

IDrinkTeaAllTheTime · 14/09/2026 13:43

FruAashild · 14/09/2026 11:21

Lindsay is a tradition Scottish boys name that is still used in Scotland. See also: Leslie. But hopefully the English will stop using them for girls.

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I’m Scottish and went to school in the 90s/early 00s. All through primary and high school there were about 3-4 Lindsay’s with various spellings in my year. All girls, all Scottish.

pontefractals · 14/09/2026 13:44

RosesAndHellebores · 14/09/2026 13:05

I recently did our family trees and was surprised to see how many Marthas, Esthers, Louisas and Naomis there were, amongst all the Anns, Elizabeths and Alices that spanned 1400's to 1900's. For men the stand outs across the period were: Robert, Christopher (also expressed as +topher), James, William.

The gobsmacker was a ggg grandmother "Louisa, bastard of Aurora", born in a workhouse!

Martha, Esther and Naomi are all biblical names, so that makes some sense. I'm not sure about Louisa.
Poor Aurora. I wonder what happened to the bloke involved?

HolidayHideaway · 14/09/2026 13:46

ReturnYourParcel · 14/09/2026 13:00

Oh, interesting! My mum also used to think that flowery names were "a bit common", names such as Violet, Ivy, Daffodil, Primrose, Marigold, Pansy, Hyacinth etc. But, oddly, Rose was deemed ok!

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Very much “below stairs” in Agatha Christie mansions etc. :) Which are the equivalent today?

HolidayHideaway · 14/09/2026 13:50

pontefractals · 14/09/2026 13:44

Martha, Esther and Naomi are all biblical names, so that makes some sense. I'm not sure about Louisa.
Poor Aurora. I wonder what happened to the bloke involved?

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Biblical names seem to generally stand test of time.

Sharon hasn’t fared well & I wonder that’s because using it was being a bit cool/trendy - rose of Sharon etc, a feature/location not a name?

KilkennyCats · 14/09/2026 13:50

Trashy never crosses the bridge to classy. Not in a million years.

Comeonbabylightmyaga · 14/09/2026 13:53

A family member was upset that none of her dgc had been given her name as a middle name but the boys had been given her dh name and her sisters dc had used their dm name.

Her name is Tracey. (Her sisters and Dh have more classic names).

Whynottryagain · 14/09/2026 13:55

Creepybookworm · 14/09/2026 11:22

In the school I work at there are 2 Martins and a Kevin. There are also more than one Eric.

I absolutely LOVE Martin! Was very near the top of the list if I'd had a son!

Possibly because I crushed on a very cute Martin when I was 9 😂

TheJuryIsOut · 14/09/2026 14:01

FruAashild · 14/09/2026 13:31

It's the misspelling of a surname that does it. And that the name started as a joke in the film Splash.

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I also didn't know that! I feel like it's quite common in my area, my little niece is called Maddison

WecanbeheroeslikeBowie · 14/09/2026 14:01

Chardonnay, Chelsea and Destiny and the like were never classy first time around and never will be.

HolidayHideaway · 14/09/2026 14:03

TheSquareMile · 14/09/2026 11:50

I really liked the name Chantal and still do. I was a nanny in the South of France in my late teens and one of the lovely little girls in the family was called Chantal.

The name also acquired a certain glamour with the arrival on British TV of Chantal Cuer, who presented a wonderful programme called Téléjournal.

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I think an issue is it was appropriated by Brits and then can sound a bit naff, ditto Michelle (with apologies to Michelles) thought chic.

Like being posh using serviette & dessert.

CruCru · 14/09/2026 14:56

I wonder sometimes if all the French names that the English find chic (like Ottilie, Amelie, Aurelie, Genevieve) will end up being the Michelle of the 2020s.

TorroFerney · 14/09/2026 15:29

TheSquareMile · 14/09/2026 11:50

I really liked the name Chantal and still do. I was a nanny in the South of France in my late teens and one of the lovely little girls in the family was called Chantal.

The name also acquired a certain glamour with the arrival on British TV of Chantal Cuer, who presented a wonderful programme called Téléjournal.

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Was it Chantal that was married to Preston (which is not a proper name imo). She looked like a British Paris Hilton?

Redheadedstepchild · 14/09/2026 15:29

CruCru · 14/09/2026 14:56

I wonder sometimes if all the French names that the English find chic (like Ottilie, Amelie, Aurelie, Genevieve) will end up being the Michelle of the 2020s.

Meanwhile the most popular girl's name in France for 2026 is Louise which is fair enough but the second most popular is Jade.

Pronounced Jhadde with a short a somehow. Didn't see that one coming.

Sweetpea232 · 14/09/2026 15:40

A few weeks ago I was looking at the history of a ruined castle we came cross on a walk. The lady of the manor, in the thirteenth century, was called Tiffany! I thought that was a 20th century invention….

C8H10N4O2 · 14/09/2026 17:29

Rightsaysfred · 14/09/2026 09:44

I’m specifically thinking of Chantelle/chantal here which sounds very classy and a little French to my ears. Haven’t heard of any babies given the name in a good quarter of a century. I don’t think it would have the same associations if given to a baby now.

Same goes for names like Maddison and destiny

Chantal sounds French because it is an old French name from the Aquitaine region. It also has religious associations but the name predates the Catholic saint from the region. It was particularly popular in the Basque region when I had cause to look.