To think this class-obsessed country uses DC's names to change theirs?

[GinDaddy]

I live in the South of England, I'm heading towards middle age, so this gives you some context before my OP, which is..

AIBU to think people are giving their DCs "posh" or "aspirational" names as status signifiers? (Which ironically immediately marks them out to me as such?)

I realise there's always been fashionable and unfashionable names since time immemorial. But what I'm talking about is the slew of names which I would previously only expect to hear on Made In Chelsea or Guy Pelly's guest list at Boujis.

Arabella. Annabelle. Isabelle. Amelia. Jasper. Oscar. Oliver (to be inevitably commuted immediately to Ollie in faux-braying tones). Hugo. Theo. Leo. Harry (not even bothering to use the proper Harold, just going straight to the diminutive because well, it sounds right).

It's just a bit odd really. People can and will call their child what they like, but why are so many folk (and it's always the same folk, the ones who are project managers, who love myWaitrose and head tilting, whose teeth chatter when grandparents offer DC a Kinder Surprise) enamoured with these names?

Can someone actually explain this to me? No one has ownership of names, but I cannot believe that some people aren't using this as some sort of social signifier. 15 years ago not everyone was called Ollie or Theo. I didn't know a load of Arabellas or Amelias, I knew a few but that was commensurate with the environment.

AIBU to think the popularity of these names comes from their associate social status?

my Dad raced whippets. He was fast as fuck

He must have been a high-flier too, Sharpie because I think that one went over a few heads!

Ah, school in the 80s, so probably born around 1970.

I know a lot of Sarahs and a few of them have a SIL called Sarah.

High court judges I know: Anthony, Michael, Jeremy, Tim, David, Alison, Philippa

I think this comment wins the Internet today. Could it be any more pretentious 😂

You misunderstood PardonWhat
Of course that is not an upwardly mobile name.
I am agreeing with the OP that, yes, of course, people name their children certain names so they can belong to a certain class.
My reference was as to why people are so offended by this fact.
Is it because they feel they missed out by not naming their children names such as Polly, Amelia, Robert, etc.
Do you undersatand now?

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Who says I "care"? Why this constant recourse to "why do you care, OP" when no one has anything else decent to offer?

Btw, bit amusing for you to post this considering your username. Not watching Love Island isn't a signifier of social status or intellect.

What is wrong with being aspirational anyway? Surely that is a good rather than bad trait.
In the US perhaps. In the UK it will get you the full Megan Markle treatment.

OP what would you like children to be called?

Do share here.....

Please state 5 approved girls names, then 5 approved boys names.

Thankyou

Well yes it is difficult when you can't tell the Otillie's from the Gracie-Mae's. Almost as though they are all the same species. Shocker

my school in the eighties was overrun with Sarahs

Mine too. I've never actually thought of it as a dated name at all, just based on the ones I know. I know a 90 year old, a four year old and loads of others in every decade in between.

Where I'm from, if it's one of the well known biblical names, it's not going out of fashion. Ever.

Please state 5 approved girls names, then 5 approved boys names.

This probably needs to be broken down by class. I think the rules are different if you actually know Guy Pelley.

I’m loving this thread

Names like Olivia, Harry etc are mega popular because people feel safe with them. They can be used by professionals but they aren’t intimidating.

You need a certain amount of social capital and class confidence to choose a more unusual name for your child yet know that it will be a middle class name.

America is just as bad if not worse. It just manifests itself in a different way. That way mainly to do with the colour of your skin
I would take our class issues over their race and money issues any bloody day of the week.

High court judges I know: Anthony, Michael, Jeremy, Tim, David, Alison, Philippa. There will be Karims, Ravis, Sunithas in a decade or two but I doubt there will be any Jaydens or Evie-Maes just as there are no Garys or Sharons now.

Our local crown court judge is called Wayne.

*Maybe we get them a bit later in the north smile my school in the eighties was overrun with Sarahs.^

Sarah was the second most popular name for girls born in1975 so your experience was normal.

I have no problem with the names. What gets me is the young men with hipster beards thing. They all look middle class but many of them aren't. Top knotted, bearded, sleeve tattooed footballers are the perfect example.

my godfather's a judge and he's called Geoff. As is the retired gentleman porn star I know from my charity work. Different ends of the same generation.

I've got such a posh name I can't go to Asda, it's shrieked menacingly in the toy aisles every few secs and I get a terrible jump. Came into fashion in some circles about a decade ago as part of the Bella'n'Hugo wave.

It's generally accompanied by the phrase 'you little cunt' in South London.

@Thinkingabout1t you just aren’t moving in middle class enough circles. I’ve met Ednas and Agathas (several!) round my way.

@Supersimkin2

Your post made me LOL

Our main consideration when choosing DC names was that they were easy to pronounce in Italian and in English - a lot of traditional/"posh" names work well in most European languages.

Also my DC are mixed race, and will have obviously European surnames post-brexit (DC2 is is due next week)...we've chosen first names that you'd expect MC English boys to have, as they already have lots of things that make them different, I want them to have things that make them the same as their classmates too.

I agree with you OP. I would add Florence to the list though 😊. 2 of my children's names are on your list. Am I from a working class background? Yes. Do I have middle class aspirations for my children? Absolutely. And I 100% named them with this in mind. I love their names but the class/careers I wanted them to aspire to and pursue were definitely considerations. I don't believe these names to be 'posh' though.

My eldest dd actually has a friend whose parents judge who she can be friends with based on their names. Shocking really but I do think that this is part and parcel of mixing within certain circles unfortunately. Some people will judge and have pre conceived ideas. I also know employers that deal with hundreds of cvs for certain roles and the first thing that they use to whittle them down is a name. So, for example, where two people have the same qualifications a 'Sheznay' would not be interviewed, whereas an 'Emily' would.

@Francina670

Exactly this. And most people want to conform, hence the prevalence of certain names.

Upper class folk can take more risks because their future is largely written already.

@Theresomethingaboutdairy top post and thank you. Very true about CVs etc also.

Florence is very normal. I had two ancestors, very working class, named Florence. Just Victorian names coming round again. Everyone had an Aunt Flo in England around 1900!

@ElizabethMountbatten

Of course you named them those names before it was popular to, my bad, apologies.