Girls name - Gladys?

@NoSauce I think @AlsoHuman thought it was pretty cruel of you to say that about Elsie because the OP says in her first post that her first daughter is named Elsie. So it did look like a personal insult.

Say it in different regional accents and see if you still like it. It’s a very hard name.

It's actually an alright name. Kind of cool.

Sorry OP, I doubt your DD2 will thank you for Gladys. It's more likely she'll be irate that her sister has a pretty name while she's saddled with a dowdy one.

For vintage chic, how about:

Nora
Veronica
Cecilia
Esther
Sybil or Sybilla
Marigold
Isadora
Rosemary nn Romy or Rosie
Selena
Dorothy (surely due a comeback; nn Dory)
Avril
Pearl
Noella

It sounds homely to me tbh as opposed to vintage chic

I'm frankly surprised to see how strongly people seem to feel about this name. While I personally don't love it there's nothing inherently wrong with it. I'm sure ten years ago people would have commented that Archie is a horrible name but nowadays of course it's fine because some celebrity called their child that.

Pp said that maybe people's reactions irl might be similar - I doubt it. While people are brutal until a baby's named, once the name is on the birth certificate they usually know how to behave (and if they don't this goes to show how rude they are, not how bad the name is).

Besides the population on this board is hardly representative of the population in the street.

And finally, isn't that the point of forums ? To say what couldn't be said irl ?

Anyway, OP, if you love the name of course you should go for it.

Alsohuman I was responding to the poster above me talking about Elsie.

It’s a baby name section, that’s what we talk about.

It was my great aunt’s name-she hated it! She was called Glad by everyone. I’ve always thought it was a really ugly name.

No no no! I like Elsie. How about Mabel? Same vintage, much nicer. Gladys has not made a comeback for a reason, sorry!

I like it.

I love it. Unusual but classic.

Elsie is awful too

Why did you say this? What makes you want to piss on a pregnant woman’s chips? This bloody place does my head in sometimes, I hope you’re not as unpleasant as this in real life.

My grandmother was a Gladys and she hated it. She always said 'Who would look at a lovely baby and call it an awful name like Gladys!!'

However, I always associate it with her so find it quite pleasant for that reason ... but I have no doubt that a child with such a name would probably be the victim of ridicule at school. I think it might be better as a middle name perhaps?

It is a very little-liked name and while you might not mind, you can't know for sure that your daughter won't mind.

Not keen on Gladys...

Old lady names that I prefer are

Agatha
Maureen
Irene
Audra
Deirdra
Maude
Diane
Regina
Ilene (pronounced like Eileen)
Jessie
Constance/Connie
Dorothy and Dorothea nn Dottie
Mabel
Laurel
Marion/Marian
Kathleen
Margaret
Petra
Maeve
Judith/Judy
Christine
Winnifred

God no! The only Gladys I've ever known is a right loon. And even she changed her name eventually.

Gladys to me is grumpy ,old before her time , and no fun
Horrible name

I had an Aunt called Vesta ,I think tjats a lovely name

Elsie is awful too.

To some posters Elsie may be 'modern sounding' but really it's just the same vintage as Gladys. They are both much older in origin but both became popular in the late 19th cent and this popularity continued until the 1920s/1930s.
www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2017/02/elsie.html
www.britishbabynames.com/blog/name-lists/

Elsie has been 'rediscovered', Gladys not yet - so far.

If you like it, go for it, OP.

Sorry it's awful and a no from me

And bear in mind, she might come out and look nothing like a Gladys! You’ll know what she should be

Go with your heart @Sheffield2000

I have a name that is regularly on the ‘oh that’s a horrid name’ list. Same with my sibling.

Interestingly, my mum was going to call us after beloved family members but was told it was too old fashioned, horrible etc and was persuaded to go with the trendy names of the day.

And guess which names are now ultra popular and the names to have? Yup - the ‘old fashioned’ ones...

Do what you feel.

A person is much more than a name

I know I’m in a minority for liking this name and if we decide to call our daughter Gladys, she will probably not meet another Gladys in her age bracket

She might not, but she may meet people who have the same response to her name as posters here, who are equally upfront.

I don’t think the answer is to stay away from online forums but to consider the name may have similar reactions in real life. And your dd will be the one who has to deal with them.

all those poor Lindas, Susans, Elaines and Jennifers.

Those are not in the league of Gladys etc.

I think if you ask for people’s opinions on a name which does have a very dated image, you have to accept opinions, worded as you prefer them or not.
If you are still dithering about the name, there lies your answer.

While I understand you like the name, I do think you need to think how she might feel. Your other daughter has a pretty, quite popular modern sounding name, 'Elsie'. Whereas you're proposing to give your next daughter a harsher, well gone out of fashion never heard for a reason for most name, 'Gladys'. It does seem rather unbalanced...