Melanie

"I just see it as a name from my generation, and I wouldn't give it to a child now any more than my mum would have given me one of the names that was fashionable in her generation."

See, I have an 'unfashionable' name for my generation and love it! I honestly don't understand why so many of you would rule out a name simply because it is not 'fashionable' at the moment.....

I like it.

The more I say it the more I like it.

I'm a Melanie and get called Mel an awful lot despite introducing myself as Melanie.

Otoh, I have only met two other Melanies and nobody else had the same name at school.

I like Melanie, but love Melissa and Melody. They're still 'Mel' names but not so dated.

The opposite of "thirty years wrong" isn't "fashionable". I just mean it's an awkward interval of time. It's close enough that the name could feel odd and ageing in twenty years or so, there hasn't been enough distance created for people to see it in a new light. I just see it as a name from my generation, and I wouldn't give it to a child now any more than my mum would have given me one of the names that was fashionable in her generation. (Obviously some names are classics and are used in every generation, but Melanie isn't one of them).

"Just 50 baby girls were named Melanie in 2011."

That just goes to show how 'fashion' driven many of us are when we name our children.

"Just thirty years wrong"

Why on earth does a name HAVE to be fashionable and current? Why add yet another Sophie or Ellie to the thousands out there already? Melanie makes a refreshing change and her classmates won't even know that it was trendy 30 years ago!

I think Melanie is a beautiful name that works well in most languages - German, French, Spanish and English. Great choice imo!

A name that's pleasing to the ear. In answer to your question, I would think it slips under the wire of being assigned soley to a particular decade. I've got my name books out today because I'm trying to decide on some shortlist names myself so it's hardly any trouble to add some quotes from them. The reasons I think it's fairly non-faddy are:

i) It is an ancient name. Melania was used by both the Greeks and the Romans.

ii) It is a saint's name. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Names, it was the name of the two Roman saints of the 5th century, a grandmother and a grandaughter. St Melania the Younger was the daughter of a patrician family. It states 'she led an austere and devout Christian life and, on inheriting her father's wealth, she emancipated her slaves, sold her property, and she gave the proceeds to the poor. She also established several contemplative houses, including one on the Mount of Olives, to which she eventually retired.'

iii) It has been established in this country for a long time making it a lot less faddy than many names. It has had an ebb and flow of popularity but it didn't zoom in from nowhere in the late 20th century. The Oxford Dictionary of Names says that 'the name Melanie was introduced to England from France in the Middle Ages.' The Collins book of First Names states that it was introduced in the mid-17th century.

I'm inclined to go lean towards the first reference however, the point is that it's been used in England certainly from the time of the Magna Carta to the reign of Charles I

She doesn't have to be called Mel if you don't want her to be; it's the same argument with Elizabeth, Abigail, Catherine and other names and their diminutives. I know a Melanie who's often called Anie if that is any help.

I think it's a lovely name. I do think Mel is inevitable.

1. Yes. You could make an effort with Linny/Lanie I guess, but it would be effort.
2. Yes, it's a 1970s/80s name and the contrast will only get worse. It would be like someone who's twenty now being called Denise or Janice. Just thirty years wrong. I think names need a good 50 year cycle to come back.

IMveryHO.