"Old person" names are fashionable, BUT...

See I really like Edith and it doesn't sound old lady at all to me. Whereas some of the names I have come across like Mable, Maud, Stanley and Archibald are too far for me. Funny how we all react differently to names.

I really like my name but only recently someone pointed out to me it was a terrible 1970s name. I see what they mean, but I still like it.

Humphey... love it.

I'm probably not the ideal person for this thread....

Humpfrey and Edna cross the line. Really I like the older people style.

The one I disliked the most is a sib of Kimberley, Jennifer and Courtney: far too 70s. Much bigger crime for me than the 1930s revival.

Phyllis I love. I had it on my list. Which looked like this:

Phyllis
Truda
Rita
Margot
Reggie (but not Regina!)
Olive

I really wanted Reggie for a girl but no-one liked it. Still love it. We chose Robin in the end.

Remember also that our great-grandparents chose these 'grandparents' names for their cute little babies at the time... they didn't name old people .

I know a baby Phyllis, its a name that I wouldn't want to come back. I really like Edith though.

"Yeah, that's the thing. I don't think names like Bertha, Wilfred or Doreen are unpleasant names on an old person at all. They suit them and sound pleasant. But on a baby they just don't work for me at all."

That is only because you only know old Berthas and Wilfreds, so your brain associates the name with old people. As soon as you meet a gorgeous young Bertha or a little cool Wilfred, these associations change almost immediately!

The more I hear some of these names, the more I actually like them as I find they make a refreshing change from all the 'cutesy' names these days. Agatha, Pearl, Vincent, Quentin and Leonard etc. are all going to increase in popularity, I reckon.

Nora isn't a nickname, it's a name of it's own.

I know of twin boy babies called Reginald and Leonard. That's too far for me, but I do love Stanley, Sidney, Albert type names.

Yeah, that's the thing. I don't think names like Bertha, Wilfred or Doreen are unpleasant names on an old person at all. They suit them and sound pleasant. But on a baby they just don't work for me at all.

I love Elsie. The thing with old fashioned names is you can see the growing old with your child. I have real trouble imagining an elderly Tyreece, Teagan, Kylie, or Maddison.

nomoremarbles - I don't know how old you are but ... Marjorie Elaine?

I was only talking about a personal line!

Ones I like/love include:
Connie, Constance, Esme, Elsie, Elise, Elsa, Eliza, Edith, Edie, Dora, Florence, Frances, Grace, Hattie, Iris, Ivy, Josie, Josephine, Lily, Martha, Maisie, Nora, Polly, Ruth, Rose, Sylvia, Tessa, Verity, Violet, Yvette

Alfie, Archie ... hmmm, actually I like the old fashioned touch less on boys. Maybe because fashions change less with boys names (George, William, Edward etc are just classic not old fashioned?)

Other people might think some of those are over their line.

there are twins in our library group Betty and Barbara, they are 4 i'm not keen TBH. i have a Violet though

I think, apart from Nigel and Fanny, most names on manicinsomniac's list are up and coming and make a refreshing change from all the cutesy baby names. My son's name is also on your 'over the line' list, actually .

I LOVE Maud Couldn't get it past DH for dd though
I really like most of the older old lady names, the ones I don't like are the next generation along, so probably the ones my dc will be picking for theirs!

Boniface - I kid you not.

I have a Meg (just Meg), and the only other ones I know are 70+. If I have another DC they will be something equally old - Sid, George, Sylvia

I think as we live in an age where Dhsksifn is an accepted spelling for John, there will be little to no bulkying where names are concerned.

We have a noah and a Maisie and are expecting I like Arthur for a boy and Elsie or kitty for a girl is that too far?

What's wrong with Arthur and Eric?

And Alfie is so popular now,surely some people are actually using the full name? I would if inclined to use Alfie.

I have to say I don't agree with the following names being beyond the pale:

Olive
Rita
Sally
Freda (so trendy in Germany at the moment)
Nancy
Jean
Janet
Coral
Kathleen

Arthur
Alfred
Douglas
Eric
Kenneth
Neil
Sidney
Vincent
Walter
Wilfred

The others are an acquired taste maybe but still, nothing really ugly there.

Or am I weird?

Nigel is terrible! That's possibly worse than Maud

Manicinsomniac you had both my first and middle names on your list of girls names over the line... Il give you a pound if you get the combination first time

Wow, that's most of my relatives, if you add Colin and Neville, Marlene and Joyce :-)

I have a definite line between old fashioned names I love and hate but I don't know what it is that makes me think of some as lovely and others not.

Ones that are over the line for me include:
Agatha, Avis, Alma, Bertha, Beryl, Betty, Betsy, Bessie, Coral, Doris, Delores, Doreen, Edna, Enid, Ethel, Eunice, Eileen, Elaine, Edwina, Freda, Fanny, Gertrude, Gladys, Gloria, Golda, Irene, Ilsa, Ida, June, Jean, Joan, Janet, Kathleen, Maud, Mabel, Mildred, Marjorie, Maureen, Nancy, Olive, Pearl, Queenie, Rita, Sally, Sheila, Shirley, Theresa, Una, Ursula, Vera, Wendy, Yseult

Arthur, Archibald, Alfred, Albert, Boris, Barry, Clyde, Douglas, Derek, Eric, Eustace, Frank, Gilbert, Guy, Horace, Herbert, Harold, Kenneth, Maurice, Nigel, Neill, Quentin, Roy, Ralph, Seth, Stanley, Sidney, Vincent, Walter, Wilfred