I think this name is far too old-fashioned, should I tell my friend?

Sorry, I didn't mean the poem. I had the page open for a little while before I answered so it came below your poem!

CommonNortherner:

So the poem is in Good Wives? It didn't say on the website I found and I only read Little Women. Funny, having decided dd4 was going to be Meg (I have a Betsie and was considering Josephina until I remembered the names out of Little Women!), I did wonder whether I should buy a new copy and then read Good Wives and Jo's Boys. I've already had several comments about my family starting to look like the March sisters.

Okay, technically Good Wives!

It's in Little Women!

I know a Daisy, full name Marguerite. I thought most Daisys were some form of Margaret. Her Honour Justice Daisy doesn't quite have the requisite formality!

I was looking online for why Peggy is short for Margaret the other night (as my nan was known as Peggy) and found this:

Regarding the question about how Peggy derived from Margaret, you showed some astonishment that Daisy derived from Margaret. It is, in fact, the origin of the name. La marguerite is French for daisy. Daisy historically (until this century) has been a common diminutive of Margaret, and in the fifteenth century Marguerite d'Anjou, wife of England's Henry VI, used the daisy as her personal symbol.

An anonymous poem:

In search from A to Z they passed,
And "Marguerita" chose at last;
But thought it sound far more sweet
To call the baby "Marguerite."
When grandma saw the little pet,
She called her "darling Margaret."
Next uncle Jack and cousin Aggie
Sent cup and spoon to "little Maggie."
And grandpapa the right must beg
To call the lassie "bonnie Meg."
From "Marguerita" down to "Meg,"
And now she's simply "little Peg."

Nooka, how is Daisy short for Margaret? I've not heard that one before.

I'm called Eileen, and so's my wife.

She won't stay a little girl forever you know.

Perhaps she should choose a more "little girly" name for her now and then when she applies for serious grown up jobs, change her name. indeed.

my name is eileen and i love it! oh and i'm not old

Florence, I think so, I think that the trendiness of "isla" paves the way for Eileen to begin to sound mainstream. Not saying that is mainstream YET.

But May and Mae are very popular and Maeve is at least known.

Niamh and Eve are popular at the same time. I mean, both are names for young people and not middle aged people.

Chloe and Clodagh are popular at the same time within the same age groups.

I see patterns, I see patterns

My niece is 13. She is called Ruby. When my brother first announced it the grandparents were all up in arms as they thought it was old-fashioned. Now there are lots of little Rubies and it's considered a lovely and very 'normal' name. Perhaps your friend is just ahead of the curve on Eileeen?

Also, I think that as you grow to love the child their name grows on you. I now adore, for instance, Agnes and Edmund, but they weren't names that I would have chosen myself.

It is a really sweet name - but you are right, it is a tiny bit old-fashioned. Suggest that you suggest to her that she gives the baby a middle name. That way she (the baby) can always use that if she tires of being an Eileen.
Also Eileen could be shortened Ellie which in my opinion is really cute!

It's quite trendy here in Barcelona.

It's considered "exotic"

My Mum is called Eileen and my daughter has it as her middle name... much nicer than Elsie!

Do you think by the time babies born this year are grown up "Come on Eileen" will mean anything at all to them or their friends? Doubt it.

My older sister nit picked at all the names i was thinkin of for my 1st baby and i was not happy about it. At the end of the day wud u think it better for her baby to have the same name as 9 other girls n her class and hav to be called by her full name her entire educated life... And im irish so i like the name Eileen cause its still around for all ages here...

Sorry OP, just read your latest post. If she asked for your honest opinion then do give it. Sounds like she's having 2nd thoughts anyway.

pinx i love pearl and hope, i think they are quaint rather than old fashioned, have lovely connotations, and are unusual too. All good things in my opinion! I also like the name eileen. Its none of the original posters business if she doesnt like it, its not her baby. much prefer original names than the ones in vogue, or even recently in vogue from the 80s and 90s, too many of them around.

I mentioned what we were thinking of calling our baby if its a boy to friends of my husband's on sunday and the girl immediately said 'seriously, are you mad! do you want the child bullied!'. I dont think she meant it so I didnt react, but I thought it was inconsiderate. you dont know why people choose names either... could be after a granny/grandad, or other link you dont know about. In our case it was after my husbands brother who died 2 years ago, and its a lovely name (Donagh) so I thought she was a bit thick to comment. she can shove it anyway, I like it.

Come on Eileen!!

Some quite strong opinions here for you, I take the point that your friend actually asked you for an honest opinion.

Do what you think is the right thing to do based on the closeness of your friendship and whether you're normally this frank with each other.

Good luck x

It's my name in RL! I love having an unusual name and have got used to everyone saying 'My Nan's called that' or singing the Dexy's Midnight Runners song at me (I hated that song as a kid but as a teenager my friends would always request it at discos etc which I thought was cool!) By the time she is 20 most of the older people with name will sadly have passed away and it will just be a unique, funky name.

But to answer your question, keep your nose out! If your friend likes it, let her choose it.

I might say something if she was having a boy and intended to call him Roger, but then again, it wouldn't really be my place.

Eileen is ok. Many people are using old fashioned names for boys, like Charles, George and William, so why not for girls. Much nicer than the fashion for calling girls something like Beyonce or Shanika or the like.

I like it

there is an Ei on here isn't there who signs every post.

It means egg in German which puts me off a little, but still...