Margaret...

Au contraire @TigerDrankAllTheWaterInTheTap I'm 30s and Mrs T was PM at the time I was born and until I left primary.

I'm also from an area which will never forgive never forget were she's concerned

I love the name! If you the sound and something exotic what about Marguerite?

I know a couple of young Maggie's

There is no doubt in my mind that if the UK's Prime Minister from 1979-1990 had been called Charlotte or Olivia those names would never have been revived. I expect Theresa May is having a similar effect right now on her own name. But nobody under the age of 40 will now remember Mrs T as PM, so that association is on its way out.

Florence is very much a ‘fashionable’ name nowadays. It was also in fashion as a boy’s name at one point. Phoebe is popular probably from Friends etc.

were not where^^

How on earth are names like Mabel, Violet, Scarlett, Florence, Hilda and according to Duck Julie and Debbie evocative and stylish

Those weren’t the names on my list where they?

Only Violet - attractive flower, striking colour, gorgeous perfume. Evocative of grand Edwardian drawing rooms, Violet Bonham Carter, Violet Trefusis...

Not keen on Florence but it’s comparably evocative of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and languid Victorians...

A friend's daughter has recently had a daughter and called her Margaret Hazel.

Oh apart from Florence, I like that. The others are popular now or likely to come back round in fashion imo.

I don't think any of those names are stylish.

How on earth are names like Mabel, Violet, Scarlett, Florence, Hilda and according to Duck Julie and Debbie evocative and stylish 😀 Every one of them (other than Debbie and Julie) are names that had a sudden resurgence. Julie and Debbie might well have one too but the point is all these names can and will be dated to a particular generation.

Margaret, Anne, Elizabeth, Eleanor along with boy’s names like John and William have always been around and always will be around.

The trend for old lady and classic names has probably peaked. Margaret didn't make it did it?

As a PP poster said, the current 'old lady names' weren't old lady when they were given the previous generation as babies.

Ellie, Lily, Ava, Evie, Olivia and all the other current popular names will be 'old lady names' in another 70 years.

And the 'trend for classic names has probably peaked' - what does this mean?

We're all going be naming our kids Moon Unit and Fifi-Trixibelle from now on...?

The current trend for girls names is quite frilly and feminine (names ending in 'a' and 'ie/y') - but that's just a trend.

I can definitely see people moving away from this, towards a different sound of name, of which Margaret is an example. And which is why I said upthread that the OP would be ahead of the curve.

I can’t understand all the hatred towards this name. It’s an underused classic and sure it might be quite hard sounding but not everyone needs to be an Isabella. Every Margaret, granted all old ladies I’ve met has been incredibly strong and almost powerful with my favourite being one I met on work experience at a nursing home (oops now I’m just supporting everyone against it ) who would tell me about her driving around the ranch in Australia while being shouted at and told she was incapable. She clearly had a lasting impact on me and I remember choosing to talk to her after hearing a name like Margaret that sounded powerful. Sorry for going off on a tangent but I just wanted to say that the name is harsh sounding but what’s wrong with having a harder name?

Why give a child a name like that anyway

The natural response to the above question is to ask why give a child a name like Scarlett, Suvannagh, indigo????

The natural response is to go from one extreme to the other?

Alice, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Beatrice, Eleanor, Harriet, Lucy are all classics that have remained very popular throughout.

Margaret hasn't and that's because imo it's not liked as much as the above.

GreatDuckCookery and I don’t always agree but she’s spot on.

Margaret shows no sign of revival for good reason - it’s dour, solemn and rather grim. Not attractive, evocative, stylish.

Old-fashioned names that have resurged were always attractive, they just fell out of fashion - Violet, Phoebe, Iris, Lily, Nancy, Matilda, Margot, Flora, Beatrice etc.

I like Margaret. Was on my list if this bump was a girl.

A sign of a classic name is that it is continuously in use throughout the generations. It generally does not fall into the top names lists as it has always been around and always will be around. A sign of a fad name is that it is rarely used but suddenly jumps in popularity for a short number of years in a particular generation.

Margaret fits into the first category. Scarlett, Mabel etc into the second category.

We will see but I won't hold my breath

The trend for old lady and classic names has probably peaked. Margaret didn't make it did it?

Old ladies were once young, no such thing as an old lady name. Names come and go in and out of fashion, they don't have to do it in a group!

@GreatDuckCookery names continually come back into fashion. It's a biblical name and has been an English name since the 11th century. I don't think it's on its way out.

Names like savanna etc are the names that won't be getting used in 100 years time, not Margaret.

Great name which will do for any era of her life. And she doesn't have to be Maggie. She could be Meg, Maggie, Peggy, Mags...

The trend for old lady and classic names has probably peaked. Margaret didn't make it did it?