Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

Girls name - Gladys?

192 replies

Sheffield2000 · 18/02/2020 04:29

I'm pregnant with my second daughter. Our first is Elsie (middle name Alice). My husband and I have always liked the name Gladys and are thinking of naming our second daughter this.

To me, its cute whilst baby is little and she grows up I like to think of it as a strong, and elegant name. I also like that it's unique and there are not lots of Gladys's out there. But on the other hand, i'm getting myself a bit worried that its a name that a lot of people do not like. I try to stay away from forums, yet here I am positing on one, worrying about the negative comments people have posted about this name in previous threads! For anyone else who likes Gladys, what middle name do you think could match well with it? Elsie was such an easy choice, it was always our favourite name. We are really struggling to be confident with our choice this time!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
yesyesyesyes · 21/02/2020 03:34

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

lemontreebird · 21/02/2020 03:30

I think it goes well with Elsie, being of the same era.

Elsie and Gladys.
Elsie and Iris.
Elsie and Evelyn.

NotNowPlzz · 21/02/2020 03:03

I like it

Bouncingbelle · 21/02/2020 02:25

To me, Elsie's sister is called Sadie or Mabel or Penny.

Gladys isnt granny chic, its sh*t!

Octopuscrazy · 20/02/2020 17:48

Please don't inflict Gladys on your dd. Some lovely suggestions on here.

Reminds me of Gladys from friends shudder

Cheeryandmerry · 20/02/2020 17:47

Nurse Gladys Emmanuel Grin.

I don’t think it’s a classic name - one which comes in and out of fashion every so often but never particularly dates - unfortunately. I think it’s a name that’s of its time......about 80 years ago. If you wanted a classic name there are others suggested up thread.

Letthemysterybe · 20/02/2020 17:39

I love Elsie, but I’m not a fan of Gladys.

What about

Alice
Gwen
Anya

drina27 · 20/02/2020 17:35

Gladys. No.

notalwaysalondoner · 20/02/2020 17:31

Gladys is not nice sounding, in my mind it’s in the list of names that shouldn’t be resurrected like Agnes, Phyllis, Gertrude and Doris.

On the other hand, there are lots of other old lady names that are popular right now that I personally think are ugly, like Dorothy, Audrey, Betty etc so if you love it, go for it.

Patienceisvirtuous · 20/02/2020 07:40

NO. Awful sounding name.

Agree with PP, change your own name to it instead.

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 20/02/2020 07:36

If you're one of these people who cares about their kid being the only one with their name then go for it.

Personally, yuck.

BakedBeeeen · 20/02/2020 07:33

Gladys is awful! Sorry.... how about Carys/Charis for a similar sounding name?

Dontwantmylife · 20/02/2020 07:25

I don’t like Gladys, it still sounds really old-fashioned. Gwen is a beautiful alternative IMHO.

BecauseReasons · 20/02/2020 06:11

Bracket in the wrong place. Sigh

BecauseReasons · 20/02/2020 06:10

I like it! People probably thought names like Elsie, Nancy and Pearl were old lady names that would never come back

Yep. When I was little I loved the name Elsie (from the What Katy Did) series and my mother said it was an awful name and made her think of old ladies. You can't move for them now!

HalfManHalfLabrador · 20/02/2020 00:18

Horrible name

WaxOnFeckOff · 19/02/2020 23:31

Nope.

Maeve
Hetty/Henrietta
Hattie/Harriet
Ena/short for anything like Christina etc
Berta/Roberta
Isa/isabella

hotgamermum69 · 19/02/2020 23:10

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Barryisland · 19/02/2020 22:44

Cruel.

123Dancewithme · 19/02/2020 22:41

I like it! People probably thought names like Elsie, Nancy and Pearl were old lady names that would never come back, and now they’re quite popular again. No reason why Gladys can’t be the same.

SalmonOfKnowledge · 19/02/2020 19:03

It's not a name that is going to come back.

I like so called old lady names, and I'd go for ones that aren't fashionable, such as Beryl, but Gladys is just awful.

Gloria is lovely, so is Gwyneth.

Lots of nicer suggestions on the thread!

Bouncingbelle · 19/02/2020 01:08

Yuck. Sorry.

MollyWindley · 19/02/2020 00:24

My very favourite great aunt was a Gladys and she was a wonderful woman, worked in a munitions factory in the war and then went on to a nursing career, which she gave up to rescue her sister from a mental institution. They ended up living in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere and were locally famous for rescuing unwanted pets, visiting them as a child was always an adventure!

So yes to Gladys from me, she was from a big family her sisters that I can remember were called, Freda, Muriel, Maude and Doris all of which I think would also go well with Elsie.

rosegoldwatcher · 18/02/2020 23:32

Further to my previous post, about my lovely Nana, Gladys Lucy
She hated her name and always said she wished her parents had called her Lucy. When we were expecting our first child we chose Lucy - if what came out was female. But he was a boy so we called him James!
She had many siblings - brothers David, Samuel, Theophelus and George. (3 out of 4 still popular today) Sisters Phyllis, Olive and Hazel. (Not so much!)
It would seem that boys names are less prone to fashion and phases than girls names.

TVandwine · 18/02/2020 23:29

Please don't. It's really not a nice name. There are so many lovely names out there but this really isn't one of them.