Which of these names will date badly?

@Kolin , Babies called Ottilie in England & Wales since 1996 suggests otherwise.

I have an Ottilie. She’s in her mid 20s, and was named for my great grandmother’s sister who disappeared in WW2. No-one had heard of it when we named her, apart from the jazz singer Ottilie Patterson.

Ottilie is already very dated I’d say. It’s also almost never pronounced correctly in the UK. Most are probably shortened to Tilly anyway.

Jude is the most likely out of your boy’s list.

Your name being an age signifier isn’t important to some people- but for some it is and there’s plenty of ways to avoid it if it’s something the OP would prefer (either by choosing something that’s always been popular like Alexander or alternatively by choosing something that never has never been very popular).

Its just like name popularity in general- some people love having a popular name (for themselves or their kids) but others couldn’t think of anything worse as they hate the idea of two in a class/or at work. It’s a good job we are all different!

Personally I don’t care about popularity as such but am wary of names dating, in part due to the awful “Karen” thing (or Tracey, Kevin, Wayne etc - people stereotype/make assumptions, it’s unfair but I’d like to avoid that for my kids if I can).

Tbh all of them will likely date to some extent as they have all rapidly risen, albeit some of them not to the Top 100 yet.

Vivienne (because it’s not super popular yet despite the celeb kid thing) and Clara (as it’s a bit more classic despite its retro trend) will likely date the least of your girls options.

All of your boy’s options will likely date badly imo unless they happen to stay popular- and it’s too early to tell yet. For example top boys names like Oliver and Jack haven’t dated badly because they have been popular for about 40/50 years now, so you meet middle aged ones too. Very few middle aged or older men with your boys names at the moment (apart from Jude Law who started whole Jude trend). Imo the best bet of those would be to stick Alexander on the BC and then it doesn’t matter if his nn “Zander” dates.

For sure, you'd have preconceived expectations of ages etc - I'm not sure why that matters though? I mean most names are age-signifiers (and often signify other things too) - does it really matter if people imagine you in a particular way before they meet you?

Particularly with age - if OP has a baby Ottilie or Arlo, say, and it dates them to a particular generation - I think it might even be nice/familiar, a part of your generational identity.

I know. Hence my post.

Try hard original 15 years ago now common as muck

Okie doke.

@JanglingJack , Noah has been in the top 20 for about 15 years.

@BootballJoy , it's because if you see the name without the person being present, you will make a guess as to what they'll be like. What would you expect a Doreen to be like? A Jackie? A Michelle? A Chloe? A Mia?

Which of those is likely to be 11yrs old?

Theo and Noah will be the Darren and Kevin of today. They are already starting to feel dated.

All of them will date badly imo. Maybe not Noah or Clara quite as much as the others - they've been around for a while.

All the boys names will be very obviously 2020s, and Ottillie probably. The others are ok.

Theo, Noah, Jude and Ottilie have risen so rapidly in popularity that people will eventually tire of them and they’ll fall out fashion and feel dated.

Will any of them become the equivalent of Doreen and Brenda though? I just can’t imagine it (Sorry to anyone called Doreen or Brenda)

I would say Clara would date the least

What do you even mean by ‘date badly’? If it’s a nice name and you like it, it will still sound nice in 40 years time. The Vivienne’s I know are all around 60s- so does that count as ‘dated badly’. Most names are cyclical and if you choose something uncommon that can also change very quickly. I don’t personally know anyone who is of UK origin and older than about 20 called ottilie or Noah so I’m guessing they may be more associated with a certain demographic

Names being dated etc is talked about a lot on here. I actually struggle to see the issue really. I mean as soon as people meet you they'll be able to tell roughly how old you are anyway? I don't think I'd mind it at all if I had a name typical of my generation.

Anyway- I do think they'll all date. Theo and Noah probably slower than the others. Your best bet for names that won't date are names that you really don't automatically picture an age.
I'd say along the lines of:
Frances
Harriet
Elizabeth
Philippa
Julia
Lydia

Thomas
Alexander
Benjamin
Dominic
William
Edward
Samuel

But even with those the diminutives will change with their age e.g. Bess/Betty/Liz/Beth/Libby/Betsy
Bill/Will etc.

Noah was really trendy try hard about 15 years ago, now common as muck. As is Jude. Is Zander a 'proper' name, it just sounds like parent didn't know it was Xander, short for... Theo, v popular, v dull - that includes Teddy etc etc

So, all the boys names are dated already.

Vivienne is nice and classic, I just don't like Viv.

Ottilie hmm, reminds of when everyone decided Amelie was novel.
Maeve the rave. Unless it's a family name, it's too try hard old fashioned.
Clara - posh girl in old school books.

So none of the above then.

What about Nevaeh? It must be 3 years now since someone told me... Yes, I know... You're not unique.

My very wealthy cousin and her even wealthier husband have chosen Eliza.
. Ooh like cheeky cockneys!

I might have a lie down 😂

Ottillie came out of nowhere and will disappear just as suddenly I reckon.

All will date to some extent but if you mean which will indicate someone was born within a specific 5 or 7 year period, I don't think Noah, which has been a popular name for maybe 12+ years, falls into the same category as Ottilie.

Ottilie

All the boys will date badly. But Judah or Alexander wouldn't.
All the girls names will date except Clara

This 💯

I really dislike Ottilie, though I don’t know any, and Noah. Jude is nice, so is Theo. I much prefer Clare to Clara, don’t really like the other names.

Names are cyclical with 60 to 90 year cycle. People naming after grand parents or great grandparents, going for something classic.