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Baby names

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

Thoughts on the name Heather?

66 replies

Sorbustree123 · 16/12/2022 08:40

I was surprised to see it barely made it onto last year's list of top 1000 names in the UK, at number 968. Just want to check I'm not missing some other reason for it being so unpopular. Thanks!

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Figgypudding123 · 17/12/2022 09:23

I'm a Heather.

Tbh, I never minded the film association. It's a cool film. 🍿
I also quite liked having a name that wasn't really over-used. I went to school with so many Sarah's, Emma's, Claire's, Joanne's and Katie's. Whereas I was the only one in my year.

Agree that it's a name that gets mangled in certain regional accents. Yorkshire/humberside accent absolutely butchers it. Have a family friend who has referred to me as 'Ether' my entire life and I HATE it.

PritiPatelsMaker · 16/12/2022 19:37

I've only ever met a coupe and both were born in different decades. I think it's lovely and a good, underused, name Wink

IneedanewTV · 16/12/2022 17:49

I think it is lovely. No different to Amelia, flora, jasmine etc. Just classic plant names.

elQuintoConyo · 16/12/2022 17:44

Metabigot haha! DSis and I used to say that all the time!

Metabigot · 16/12/2022 17:33

elQuintoConyo · 16/12/2022 13:30

Chandler, Duke or McNamara? 😆

I think it's a lovely name, due a comeback.

How very

WhaleInAManger · 16/12/2022 13:47

TowerStork · 16/12/2022 09:00

I think it's lovely but I like nature-based names like Willow and Rowan in general.

Me too.

I like Heather.

ofwarren · 16/12/2022 13:41

I think it's really nice!

elQuintoConyo · 16/12/2022 13:30

Chandler, Duke or McNamara? 😆

I think it's a lovely name, due a comeback.

Metabigot · 16/12/2022 13:29

Immortalised in the film Heather's which is in my top 5 favourite films of all time.
They were all bitchy as fuck though

rainbowandglitter · 16/12/2022 13:27

It's got a meaning with youngsters at the moment all over tiktok. It means popular, desirable, attractive etc.

larkstar · 16/12/2022 13:23

I knew only one Heather back in the 70's - I like the name and she was lovely - flame haired, freckled and Scottish. I don't hear it at all these days - I don't know why not.

Throughabushbackwards · 16/12/2022 12:48

Beautiful.

MajorCarolDanvers · 16/12/2022 12:22

Good Scottish name

NooNakedJacuzziness · 16/12/2022 12:18

Maybe the ex Mrs McCartney put people off

AnnieApple123 · 16/12/2022 11:45

I’m also surprised it’s not more popular. Surely it’s due a comeback? It’s admittedly not one of my absolute favourites but I do like it.

Lightningrain · 16/12/2022 11:20

I have a relative called Heather and she doesn’t like her name.

Apparently she got Hev at school which she didn’t mind but a lot of people with a regional accent where she now lives seem to drop the H which she really dislikes.

MaryMollyPolly · 16/12/2022 10:49

Erica is the official Latin name for heather, and I like that a lot more.

catmum88 · 16/12/2022 10:44

I think it's a lovely name. One of my close friends is called this and has always been known as 'Hev' as a previous poster said - so depends if you like that or not.

MurderAtTheBeautyPageant · 16/12/2022 10:41

It was just so uber-popular at one point, as demonstrated by the film Heathers, where three of the four high school girls are called Heather, that it then dipped out of fashion.

I like it though. 2022's Heather equivalent is Willow.

BibblesworthTheThird · 16/12/2022 10:40

80s baby. I knew too many Heathers at school to have any fondness for the name - three of them were really mean! Give it another ten years and maybe it’ll be retro enough for a proper revival. It also just doesn’t seem to really suit anyone iyswim - I just think any Heather would probably suit a different name far better. But of course it’s all done to personal taste in the end. There are certainly worse names.

lndnbrdge91 · 16/12/2022 10:35

I only know lovely Heathers. I think it's a great name, and underused.

Theoldwoman · 16/12/2022 10:34

A big fat no.
Three popular names growing up I didn’t like were:
Fiona, Wendy and Heather.

HundredMilesAnHour · 16/12/2022 10:34

I think it's a lovely name.

Luredbyapomegranate · 16/12/2022 10:33

I find it really ploddy.

Don't know why because who doesn't like heather... but as a name it really is dull

VioletCharlotte · 16/12/2022 10:31

I'm not keen to be honest. The Heathers I know are in their 60's and 70's so it feels like an older woman's name to me. If you like nature names (rather than how it sounds), how about Fern?