Boring vs trendy name?

I really don't like Alice (I think it's a horrible sound to say) so I definitely prefer Edith.

@MarianneUnfaithful I'm 61 and there was always a Charlotte in my class. The Sarahs and Emmas came later but were used in hyphenated names on the 60s when every class had a Sarah-Jane, Emma-Jane, Sally-Ann or Mary-Ann.

Great Gran 1880
Eleanor
Grace
Isabel
Alice (were the sisters)
Husband's sister was Helena

Grandma's cohort 1910
Alice
Evelyn
Edith
Mabel
Ethel
Grace
Celia
Elizabeth
With a few Marinas, Alexandras thrown in

Mother's 1936
Shirley
Silvia
Barbara
Patricia
Joan
Marion
Anita
Elizabeth
With a few Daphnes, Antonias, Dianas thrown in

Mine 1960
Susan/nah
Caroline
Deborah
Jane
Helen
Julia
Heather
Alison
Joanna
Elizabeth
With a few Cressidas, Drusillas, Annabelles, Lucindas thrown in

DD's 1998
Eleanor
Cicely
Francesca
Alice
Imogen
Rose/ie
Isabel
And every variation resulting in the diminutive of: Milly, Molly, Tilly, Ellie. And a few Octavias, Christabels, Jemimas, Olympias thrown in.

It all.goes round and round. Those that endure the most timelessly seem to be: Helena, Eleanor, Alice, Grace, Elizabeth.

I'm a 35 year old Alice and definitely not wet, don't know whether to be offended by some of these comments

I think we fall into all sorts of traps writing names off as ‘boring’, ‘wet’ etc.

And trying to second guess fashion and evolving taste / popularity. So what if our names are identifiable with the decade we were born in?

‘Classic’ names like Charlotte were reintroduced as ‘old lady’ names, there wasn’t a seamless line from the Brontes via the 1950s to now.

Choose the name you love and would look forward to calling your child, and as long as it isn’t obscene or unpronounceable or a joke when paired with your surname, use it.

I like Alice and Edie, but I hate the name Edith. Have you considered Meredith with the nickname Edie?

If dating is a huge concern then I would go for Alice. If you look at the name chart for Edith then you can see that in 20 years it’s gone from being used under fifty times per year to over 600. In general if you want to avoid dates names, avoiding names with which a sharp spike up is sensible. When I was younger Edith most people wouldn’t touch the name Edith with a barge pole, and after the peak in popularity I imagine it will go back to being the same. Whereas Alice has been popular for so long that even if it’s popularity does fade, I imagine it will feel more like Sarah which is a bit dated but not unusable.

I like Edie, but there are 3 in my son’s class at nursery and another 4 in the year below….

Oops it was Lewis Carroll Google him.

Just Google cs Lewis

Sorry edith is a granny name- and not in a good way. Alice will always be associated with the books. If I had a daughter now i like Vivienne nn viv or liv.

I love both Edith and Alice, bit think Edith with nn Edie are my favourites. Alice ends up often as Al or Ali, which I'm less keen on. Both are classics and not hugely popular, but not different enough to be too controversial.

I prefer Edith.

I think both are relatively classic.

Alice is my favourite though. It’s a perfect name.

I like Alice and Edith. I think Alice is a pretty classic.

Alice and Edith are both names I like and would consider to be fairly classic. Whilst Alice has been more popular since the 1980s, Edith hasn't been so well used - its usage is much more in line with something like Miriam. If I were naming a daughter any time soon, I'd choose Edith over Alice because I prefer the -ith ending to the -iss one.

I would say Phoebe and Imogen are not massively dated names, both have floated within the top 100 for about 25 years. My children were born in the 1990s and have known are few around their age over the years.

Not overly wild on Imogen (its ok) but I really like Phoebe.

Imogen and Eloise are gorgeous

Alice is really pretty. My friend when I was a kid had a great-aunt Edie and she used to call her Idi Amin 😬

Only my opinion of course, but Alice (along with Grace) is the ultimate in "wet" names.

I love Eloise & Lucy though!

Phoebe is nice.

Imogen is ugly sounding to me. And the adult Imogen I know well (almost 50) has always hated her name & the fact it has no real alternative other than the very babyish Imi.

Really just pick the name you love the most. It might date, it might end up sounding boring, but if you love the name you will always love it & won't regret it.

Edith is beautiful, as is Edie. I find Alice quite safe and boring.

Edith 100%!

Most names date but only some date badly. I think trendy names that will date badly might be ones like Wren or Darcy, names that have only recently been used as first names. Whereas names like Ivy that are having their 5th time around will sound 'dated' but not naff. If you know what I mean.

For example, Tracy dated badly (although I know some lovely Tracys and am throwing them no shade!) whereas Louise is also dated but is still an absolutely fine name.