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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Old lady names that haven't had a comeback

232 replies

GirlcalledJames · 12/05/2017 11:15

Wondering if any of these will trend:

Eileen, Doreen, Noreen, Maureen
Margery
Dorothy
Doris
Vera
Rita
Norah
Winifred
Mary
Joan
Margaret
Patricia
Ethel
Gladys, Dilys
Edith

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Name15 · 14/05/2017 14:35

I'd quite like Velma to come back so I can use it without a side-eye

MuseumGardens · 14/05/2017 14:22

I love Ida. I'm surprised it's not more popular

Mothervulva · 14/05/2017 12:36

Gasp I wanted Euphemia, DH said no way so we went for Elspeth.

paddypants13 · 13/05/2017 21:04

Dd goes to nursery with a little Ida, she's adorable. I also know of little girls called Margaret, Vera, Reenie (sp?) and Rita.

paddypants13 · 13/05/2017 20:55

Ds would have been an Adelaide had he been a girl!

Bertha
Beryl
Mavis
Norma

I like a lot of the "old lady" names but dd has what I would call a timeless name.

TheScottishPlay · 13/05/2017 19:22

Boo to the Ruth haters. It's lovely.

Mombie2016 · 13/05/2017 18:28

Nora was on my short list
DD is Edith Grin

kookiecookie3 · 13/05/2017 18:26

I love all the old names, both dd and ds have old fashioned names which are more popular now. Expecting dd2 and she is going to be called Vivienne Valerie xx

29Palms · 13/05/2017 17:59

I'm surprised Jean hasn't caught on as it's the name of the little girl in To Kill A Mockingbird, which seems to be a massively popular book.
Jean is much nicer name than the ugly Scout and Harper which have got some celeb support.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 13/05/2017 16:54

squoosh, I don't answer to that! Only the full length version. It was a losing battle at school but I've insisted on it ever since.

You don't often see Meg these days. If there are any, it's more likely to be a shortening of Megan than Margaret. It's the one shortening I might have been able to live with.

MrsSchadenfreude · 13/05/2017 16:13

DD2 is 16 and her three best friends are Karen, Margaret and Gwendoline!

squoosh · 13/05/2017 16:08

Maggie is a fab name Gaspode!

Euphemia on the other hand! Well it just reminds me of Mrs Doubtfire. Busty and matronly.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 13/05/2017 15:58

I come from a Scottish family. A name that has popped up occasionally on our family tree is Euphemia, shortened to either Effie or Phemie. It's a good strong name which has grown on me.

I know of a 10yo Iris. Fantastic name.

Sylvia is great too.

I've always had a fondness for Lindsay. That's possibly not so much an old lady name as just a bit rare. I don't like Lynsey, for some reason.

Lisa was a massively popular name in the 70s and 80s. I'd be surprised to learn that many people are using it now, but that would be one of my tips for what will be popular in another 20 years as the Lisas become grannies.

As ever, pleased to see my own name here - getting a lot more love than it usually gets! Memories of Mrs T starting to fade?

CherryMintVanilla · 13/05/2017 14:15

I love the name Cecily!

normanpriceneedsanasbo · 13/05/2017 08:36

We have a Cecily which I believe is an 'old lady name'.. we love it though obvs 😊

Crunchymum · 13/05/2017 07:35

I know a Sheila (reception age) and a Barbara (baby) and I know 2 Connie's (both aged under 8). Also know in passing a Margaret, Mary, Betty, Linda Shock and Nell

My DD has a more popular old ladies name [wasn't top 100 when we used it] and the name I am in love with at present is Jean.

talllikejerryhall · 13/05/2017 06:35

And my mother changed her mother's name to Susanna posthumously, despite her name being Marjory all her life. That was weird...

waterlego6064 · 13/05/2017 06:32

Some of those are great names. I love Dorothy! Mary is a classic too. (Maybe biased as my mum was a Mary).

talllikejerryhall · 13/05/2017 06:19

Reminds me of when I told a boyfriend how much I loathed the name Martha, and he told me it was his mother's name Confused

Humm1ngb1rd · 13/05/2017 05:25

See Maud(e) is getting a mention. Desperately wanted to call my dd1 after gm maud but couldn't quite bring myself to do it......dd2 got florence in her name and is permanently disgusted with it and refuses to accept its part of her name - can't win can you?!

MarilynWhirlwindRocks · 13/05/2017 04:38

"I'm in Canada now. There are some right bonkers names and random spellings of normal names over here."

Do share a few, Moose!

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 13/05/2017 04:27

My paternal grandmother was Violet, my mom was Joan and my sister is Denise.

I think Joanne has gone out of fashion too. There were three of us in my class at school. Two Claire's, and a Nicola. Don't see the latter around much either.

I'm in Canada now. There are some right bonkers names and random spellings of normal names over here

takeabreakthatslife · 13/05/2017 03:38

I love the granny names
Loads are really popular here like violet and Florence

I love Margot and Queenie have met a toddler one of each!

user1467798821 · 13/05/2017 03:21

I am 49 and don't consider Denise to be an old name!

I know a 3 year old Isla, 2 year old Iris and an 18 month Ivy, not all from the same family I hasten to add!

darksideofthemooncup · 13/05/2017 03:00

I can't see popular names from the 60's and 70s making a comeback. E.g. Jackie, Tracy, Sharon, Kim, Michelle etc

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