'Dated' names

@SalsaLove you are obviously a chic French woman whose age no-one can work out.

Agree, names a generation up are most dated. It’s ok if your name shows your age to an extent.

I’m one of the Emma/Sarah/Rachel/Helens of the 70s and 80s but since don’t feel our names have dated badly. They are less popular now but not jarring.

I am 33 and the only names that really stood out amongst peers I knew were Ian, Sheila and Esther. They all seemed too old when we were teens/early 20s, but it doesn't really notice now.

Don't forget that this is a name forum with people who are interested in names. We aren't really representative of the population at large. A lot of people don't care that much about their names or if dated

Actually I disagree with my own point after reading some more comments!

A one off burst of popularity in a made up/previously unused name does tend to date it (see Sheila, Tracey).

Better to stick with a name that’s part of a life cycle of names and has ebbed and flowed throughout history if you’re keen to avoid a dated name (Elizabeth comes to mind). Something that has stood the test of time across cultures!

Otherwise, YOLO and just call your baby what you want.

I think it’s fine to be called a name that is popular when you are a baby, as then as you say you just move up through the years with a popular name. I think the issue people have is when you’re named a name that was recently popular but not popular now - as then your name is always associated with people slightly older than you and sounds weird?

Agree that a one off isolated burst of popularity in a name shouldn’t really “date” it. It’s more like someone calling their baby Susan today. It’s just not quite old enough for people to not associate it with someone’s mum that they knew.

I’m a Marianne. I hated it for years but I’m fine with it now. I figure it could’ve been worse. My cousin got stuck with Sheila.

There's only one Dorian though!

Sharon and Tracey had already been paired together: the writers of Birds of a Feather were acknowledging the joke.

Aurora seems very trendy - #64 in England & Wales. Aurelia is similar and on an upward steep curve.

Aurora has too many Rs in it for my taste, and Aurelia has two pronunciations.
Aurelie makes me think of Orally.

I work with young families....most of the Mums are 80s babies .....many are called Jennifer or Clare ( or a different spelling of Clare) ..... Aurelia will be a dated name IMO ...lit doesn’t have to be a bad thing though....my own name and those of my 3 children are all classic names....there are a few in every generation and we will never have our names spelled wrong..... this is only my preference though

One thing to look at when choosing a name is if you live in a diverse city or large town is to be aware of how well the name is known and how common it is internationally.

I gave my DD a name which while the popularity of the name has increased since the late 90s in the UK, there are only about 200-30 girls a year given that name with it is different spellings. However it is well-known in other English speaking countries and in Europe as it is a name that has been round for centuries.

When DD was a baby we bumped into various Europeans who cooed over her. When we told them her name they didn't bat an eyelid and pronounced it like they would in their own countries.

So while many on here have said certain names like Hannah and Chloe are dated, if you live in a city/large town in a diverse community you will hear woman and girls of various ages called those names.

I think Aurelia is fine but cannot imagine using it in day to day life...as in yelling up the stairs "Aurelia, your dinners ready". There's no way to shorten it and it just seems like such a mouthful to use in day to day conversation

I know a 22 year old Walter. His sister is Mary.

I know an Eileen in her 30s.
That's definitely worse than having a name that's of its time.

My name is not popular for my age group.
Claire was very popular something to do with Gilbert O Sullivan and his song.

I quite like my name.
Martina.

I really like Walter and Agnes, they are old enough now to be back in fashion.

It’s it a bit Areola? You know the dark bit around your nipples?

I was reading the other day about a woman who wants to name her twins Walter and Agnes when they're born. Wally and Aggie? Who would want to lumber innocent babies with names like that?

@Comedycook Gemma is one of the most iconic eighties names. I have a beginner’s piano book that I often teach from published in the late eighties. It has the ditty “What is your name/Gemma or Jane?” in it. I wil ask the children (knowing the answer) if they know any Gemmas or Janes. Naturally they don’t. I reply that there were lots of girls called Jane when I was at school and that their mums will have known plenty of Gemmas - most of the mums were born in the late seventies/eighties and they confirm this. I taught a girl called Jane a few years ago and realised she was the first young Jane l had come across in many years. It’s a nice name. My own children were born in the nineties and the most popular girls’ names were probably Bethany, Megan, Eleanor, Katie, Rebecca and Chloe.

Maureen is not five, she's 60

More like 80, I'd say.

My name was 15 years ahead of it's time. As a teenager I was very bemused that lots of babies were given my at the time unusual name.