Elaine | Mumsnet

trueblueari · 2018-06-17T21:48:32+00:00

Opinions on Elaine? Too old fashioned or due a comeback?

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Booie09 · 25/06/2018 05:23

If you like it...less common unlike Sophie,Maddie,Ellie,Molly,Millie,
Ruby,Noah,Louie to many people going for the same names.

Booie09 · 25/06/2018 05:15

When parents are calling there kids Flame,Bear,and Rainbow go for it....

Cinderella2018 · 25/06/2018 05:05

Ellie?

The only Elaine I know (aged 40 but her mother was very old fashioned so I think it was already an “old” name when she was born) gets called Ellie.

moira123io · 25/06/2018 04:46

My 19yr old daughter is named Elaina. She goes by Lainey. I suppose it is a bit outdated but we thought it was classic and sophisticated. I'm just thankful we didn't name her something like Nevaeh or Kystall.

lottiegarbanzo · 22/06/2018 19:56

Apologies to all the lovely Elaines (the last one I met really was lovely and I didn't spend time pondering her name, except to think it was 'of an era') but I realised why I think the emphasis on the second syllable and drawn-out ending sounds peculiar, in Elaine, Yvonne and indeed Lorraine. It's that they are a bit French-looking but pronounced in a peculiarly English way. Like, instead of an honest English Bucket, going a bit French and emphasising the second syllable, a la Bouquet. (Sorry Elaines).

CanaBanana · 22/06/2018 17:45

I know a couple of Elaines aged about 50-60. One goes by Lainey as a nickname.

TheGrassIsGreenerOnMySide · 22/06/2018 17:35

I like Elaine. It's a pretty name.

MikeUniformMike · 22/06/2018 17:30

Me too but that's why we end up with so many Sarahs and Davids in my age group.

TatianaLarina · 22/06/2018 17:07

There's nothing wrong with any of them

Very strongly a particular demographic - working class/ lower middle class.

I prefer names that don’t have strong class associations.

ComeOnGordon · 22/06/2018 17:04

It’s so weird to see your own name written down so many times.
I don’t love it and don’t think it’s due a comeback

NobodysChild · 22/06/2018 17:04

Elaine is bloody awful and dated. I know an Elaine. Has teeth like a witch doctors necklace and never stops yapping total shyte. She's a bore and a drag me down.

Skydiving · 22/06/2018 17:00

I like Elaina

MikeUniformMike · 22/06/2018 16:59

Lorraine.

There's nothing wrong with any of them. I really like Linda.

TatianaLarina · 22/06/2018 16:57

Elaine's friends are Yvonne, Sandra and Linda

And Lorriaine..

wheezing · 22/06/2018 16:47

Not all names come back ...

Kirbs1979 · 22/06/2018 13:58

I thinks it's ok but it is my name I'm not in my 50s, I'm late 30s. A pp mentioned the name Alaine, I had a friend at school called Alaine and most people pronounced our names the same.

FizzyGreenWater · 22/06/2018 13:26

I do think there's something awkward about the sound of Elaine, also Yvonne, with the emphasis on the second syllable and rather 'mannered' drawn-out ending. Most British names emphasise the first syll. Like Eleanor.

This exactly. Yes, it's old-fashioned, but it's also not a great sound and that's one of the reasons it hasn't started to make a comeback like other names of that generation. It's a pretty whiny sound, the stress on the second syllable is just depressing!

Elaine
Yvonne
Leanne
Doreen
Maureen

all of which I would happily bet on not having much of a comeback at all.

lottiegarbanzo · 22/06/2018 09:47

Elaine's friends are Yvonne, Sandra and Linda.

The thing about names owned by women in their 50s isn't that 'woman in 50s' is a bad association, it's almost the opposite, that those women are very much alive and kicking. We know who they are and have difficulty dissociating the name.

All those 'granny chic' names are from the 1900s (Elsie, Evie, Violet) to about 1930 (Ava, Betty, Marnie - adult actresses / character in the 1940s - 1960), so associated with nostalgia, past generations and a few famous individuals - not everyday, living people.

I do think there's something awkward about the sound of Elaine, also Yvonne, with the emphasis on the second syllable and rather 'mannered' drawn-out ending. Most British names emphasise the first syll. Like Eleanor. While Elena (continental pr.) has a neater ending.

Carrotgirl87 · 21/06/2018 07:40

@AvonCallingBarksdale my next door neighbour is iris and I still can't pronounce it... yi-ri... I think. And im in switzerland, so we get a german, French, Italian combination of it 😁

mummabearfoyrbabybears · 20/06/2018 19:53

My daughter is called Elaina. I'm not keen on Elaine.

auntyflonono · 20/06/2018 19:46

I like it! I read a really good series by Robert Jordan with a main character called Elayne, I like that spelling too.

toomanyeastereggsurghh · 20/06/2018 17:52

Don’t like Elaine at all - very outdated.
Elena is nice.
There are lots other similar names:

Eleanor
Ellen
Ella
Elodie
Eloise
Elise
Lanie/Laney
Delaney
Lena

AvonCallingBarksdale · 20/06/2018 17:38

Carrot I used to live in France and loved hearing the name Irene with a French accent there (Ear-Wren is my closest approximation!)

Carrotgirl87 · 20/06/2018 17:35

It's my name and I am 31

Didn't realise so many people hated it but I like it and it gets a lot of compliments in Europe where I've moved to. Sounds beaut when the French say it

LorelaiVictoriaGilmore · 20/06/2018 17:31

I like it. I prefer Elena. But I called my dd Sabrina so maybe I just like slightly dated names!