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Baby names

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

Original poster

Rachel

32 replies

Squeejit · 07/03/2021 00:16

Just interested to know what you think of this name? It seems to have been fairly popular in the 70s/80s but what do you think of it now?
I sometimes think it’s timeless and other times think dated. I do like it though. WYOO

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Nell96 · 08/03/2021 13:18

Not keen. Hard-sounding and, having grown up in the 80s, I know a lot of them. I'd put it in the same group as Sarah, Louise and Vicky.

Firebird83 · 08/03/2021 00:38

I know a 2 year old Rachel. It’s quite refreshing among all the Islas and Avas.

bridgetreilly · 07/03/2021 22:33

Lovely.

Mummacake · 07/03/2021 21:47

My Rachel is 12. There's 3 of them in her year group. It's a lovely name but wasn't on my radar at all until she was born!

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 07/03/2021 21:23

Rachel is quite classic I think, so very useable imo - it's just a bit "blah" for me (neither love nor hate).

Ijustlikedthename · 07/03/2021 11:07

Dated probably due to the sheer amount I know of a certain age. Also my first thought is always Friends if I meet a younger one

CanofCant · 07/03/2021 10:38

I like it. Solid name.

LincolnshireLassInLondon · 07/03/2021 10:29

Lovely name

partyatthepalace · 07/03/2021 10:28

Timeless and rare these days.

Lovely name, long tradition.

MyCalatheaHatesMe · 07/03/2021 10:07

I think it's really lovely.

Alsonification · 07/03/2021 09:02

My daughters name is Rachel. She is almost 23. When I was a child aged 10 or 11 I lived next door to twins called Rachel & Emma and I always said if I ever had a girl I would choose one of those names cos I loved them.
My daughter isn’t crazy about her name though because no matter where she is, primary school, secondary school, university, there has been a million other Rachels in her year Confused hahaha I’m in Ireland and it’s clearly a very popular name here. I still love it though.

NeedSomeInfoAgain · 07/03/2021 09:02

I always think it looks and sounds a bit ugly - 'Rach' especially. It's offensive overall, but not a pretty or interesting name and there's always the spelling issue. An adult Rachael I know misses lots of emails. Personally I would go for Rebecca, but that's the joy of naming...we all like different things.Smile

Woebegonad · 07/03/2021 08:52

Rachel is the best name. It's beyond fashion.

PolarnOPirate · 07/03/2021 08:50

Not my taste at all, mainly due to Rachels I’ve known in my life. The youngest Rachel I know is 4. She is obviously not included in my first statement, I’m not that harsh 😄

Spied · 07/03/2021 08:49

I like it. It does have that timeless quality. Reminds me of Emma in that sense.

Number3BigCupOfTea · 07/03/2021 08:48

I like it. In Ireland, all the classic names follow roughly the same trajectories of popularity, up or down (if you take out the Irish names), but Rachel is an exception to this rule. In Ireland, since 2003 anyway, Rachel has always been in the top 50 and has only recently left the top 100 here, it was like Hannah or Sarah. But in the UK it has not been up there in the top 50-100 the last 18 or so years. It's interesting to a name nerd!

ofwarren · 07/03/2021 08:45

Lovely name. It was the girls name I would have used if my eldest wasnt a boy.

TheVanguardSix · 07/03/2021 08:37

I love the name Rachel.
It's in a similar camp to Rebecca and Jessica; beautiful names that get overlooked. I have a Rebecca and I always considered Rachel as a name for another DD if we'd had one.

bjs2310 · 07/03/2021 08:34

I have a 10 year old Rachel. She loves her name and has never met another child with it. Lots of younger adults though.

17caterpillars1mouse · 07/03/2021 08:30

I really like it and know a baby Rachel (I say baby she's actually 2 now lol how time flys)

GreenClock · 07/03/2021 08:20

I think it’s classy. I like it.

I’d be quite surprised to hear of a baby Rachel though - there are a few in their mid 20s at my workplace (possibly because of Friends) but I don’t know any children with the name.

BikeRunSki · 07/03/2021 08:10

It was popular in the 70s/80s, but is a good Old Testsment name, so it’s never going to go away. Definitely due a revival, after decades of diminutive names. I have very positive associations with this name.

WonkyCactus · 07/03/2021 08:05

I think it's a lovely, timeless name. I was nearly a Rachel but my parents chose another name which is now dated!

Synchrony · 07/03/2021 08:02

Love it.

EdgeOfACoin · 07/03/2021 06:19

I love the name Rachel. It was popular in the 80s, but I think it is a classical name that will never really fall out of fashion.

As PP said, it's biblical, so has an established history.

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