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Baby names

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Original poster

Names that shouldn’t be considered classics?

65 replies

Thatgirl1990 · 14/12/2021 14:47

I’ve been having a debate about the name Emily. Emily is so early 2000s and dated now I worry it’s the Karen of 2040 especially because not many kids are being named it now.I get really confused why people call it a “classic” it was practically unheard of until it became the top name in America. For example emily doesn’t fit into the bracket of timeless names Elizabeth, Hannah, Sarah. Emily reminds me of a blonde mean girl in a American film. Does anyone else agree?

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scottishnames · 14/12/2021 17:32

Emily and Elizabeth are both over 2000 years old. Of course OP they are 'in the same bracket'.

Classica · 14/12/2021 16:56

In one of the St Trinian's films Joyce Grenfell's character who is posing as a games mistress is given the undercover name of Chloe Crawley. She protests that Chloe is hideously old-fashioned and can't she have a nice modern name like...can't think what it was, along the lines of Brenda or Marjorie, something that sounds really old-fashioned to our ears.

Chloe was clearly a (not very cool) granny name in the 1950s, so not just a 1990s name.

Classica · 14/12/2021 16:44

I think the name Emily is dreary and boring but it's classic enough as far as these things go.

I do think people go so over the top in dissecting what a 'classic' name is though.

Aderyn21 · 14/12/2021 16:37

Emily could be 100 years old or one week old - that's what makes it classic.
Classic names can go through peaks and troughs of popularity but that doesn't make them less classic.

Anoisagusaris · 14/12/2021 16:23

Emily Dickinson
Emily Bronte
Emily from Bagpuss 😆
Emily from Corrie 😆😆

Emily would have been a very old fashioned, traditional name when I was a child.

DontKnowWhatToThink7 · 14/12/2021 16:18

Can everyone calm down all I’m saying is it will never be in the same bracket as Elizabeth

In your opinion.

You've started several threads about this now, clearly, because you want people to agree with you. So maybe you should calm down?

HollyandIvyandAllThingsYule · 14/12/2021 16:14

People are being perfectly calm...as far as I can see you’re the only one getting het up about it!

I’d consider it in the same classic vein as Elizabeth, most definitely.

Givemebackmyhulahoop · 14/12/2021 16:06

It definitely feels classic fo me but it was my grandmother's name when everyone else I knew had grandmothers called names like Agnes, Helen, Janet or Doris which always seemed a lot more dated to me.

She died when I was a child but would have been approximately 100 now.

WhoppingBigBackside · 14/12/2021 15:57

I think the ones I mentioned are classic but have become dull because of over-popularity for the time being

Bideshi · 14/12/2021 15:50

'That Emelye, that fairer was to sene
Than is the lylie upon his stalke grene,'

Chaucer: 'The Knight's Tale' 1390s

There's fashion and there's style. It's a classic name.

WhoppingBigBackside · 14/12/2021 15:49

I'd add Olivia and Lily, and maybe Sophia as they have been so overused in recent decades. Not sure if Lily is classic as it was a diminutive of Elizabeth in the past.

Chloe isn't a classic name in the uk. It was hardly used until the 1990s

SummaLuvin · 14/12/2021 15:47

@Thatgirl1990

Can everyone calm down all I’m saying is it will never be in the same bracket as Elizabeth
Jack will never be in the same bracket as William, that doesn’t mean it’s not a classic.
scottishnames · 14/12/2021 15:46

Emily appears in Chaucer (14th cent, with spelling to match). And it has origins in Ancient Rome.

Interesting short article here www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2014/08/emily.html

As strangevipers says, it became popular in England in the 18th cent. The above article explains why.

woodhill · 14/12/2021 15:45

Iyo though, it's subjective

Original poster
Thatgirl1990 · 14/12/2021 15:43

Can everyone calm down all I’m saying is it will never be in the same bracket as Elizabeth

OP posts:
HollyandIvyandAllThingsYule · 14/12/2021 15:40

Emily absolutely is a classic name. Just because it might go in and out of favour doesn’t change that. Classic vs. timeless is a good way of looking at it. If a name becomes too much of its time then I suppose it could end up no longer being considered timeless at least in relative terms, so let’s say in the 30-50 years after its explosive popularity.

Doubleraspberry · 14/12/2021 15:39

There are several prominent 19th century Emilys on this list.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_(given_name)

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SummaLuvin · 14/12/2021 15:34

Classic does not equal timeless. I don’t think Emily is timeless, but it is a classic. It hasn’t had Karen levels of trend swings IMO. I put it in with Jessica and Abigail, classics which are not timeless and were popular in 90’s. Though you say you are American and this is a predominately UK based board, so your experience might be different.

woodhill · 14/12/2021 15:32

I know some Sarah's in their 20s. I think Chloe is more dated than Emily or Sarah

Colladanngelo · 14/12/2021 15:26

@ISaidDontLickTheBin see to me, Sarah is a classic because it’s biblical

Original poster
Thatgirl1990 · 14/12/2021 15:22

If u look on America’s name list from 1800s Emily barely cracked the top 100 we are looking at two different things. It is different where I live maybe

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AndARiverBeneathYourFeet · 14/12/2021 15:22

Are Samanthas still being born?

Throughout my whole school time, there were always at least six or seven Samanthas in my year (90s-00s) - now I never hear of babies being named Samantha.

I wouldn't class it as "classic" but apparently it was recorded in the early 1600s being used as a name. I just think of it as quite a 90s name.

ISaidDontLickTheBin · 14/12/2021 15:20

Emily is more of a classic than Sarah (which is decidedly dated)

Doubleraspberry · 14/12/2021 15:20

Emily Dickinson, 19th century poet, American.

Original poster
Thatgirl1990 · 14/12/2021 15:17

I’m American so maybe it’s different over here. If your from England you may have different perceptions of names than me🤷🏻‍♀️

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