Baby names

[Funkycats]

Aibu to think that if you want an unusual name/not want your child to be one among many in their class with that name, you might look at the popular names from the 1960?
I'm asking because I've noticed a trend to wanting 'unique' names, yet ime the so called unusual names start gaining popularity very quickly.
But you don't get many Richards or Amandas in school at the moment, or Susan or Kevin. Just a thought.
My son had 3 Chelseas in his primary school class.

I started a name thread a few weeks ago and got flamed for discussing this, so am wishing you luck OP.

I think you have a point - the names you gave in particular are perfectly normal and pleasant names.

I think however there's a huge sense of people wanting to "go forward" with names - they don't want to seem too old fashioned if something has become a bit old school in their minds.

For example Harry, Tom, Jack, James, Arthur, Oliver, Charlie etc...these names seem to endure.

Bruce, Kevin, Richard, etc...not so much, because they're associated with a time period and feel old fashioned to some

I still maintain as well there's a perception of class thing, where people hear successful names and emulate them, but my post was long gone so I won't de-rail!

YANBU though and would be nice to hear more names from the past.

I don't get this obsession with 'unique' names. No name is unique. If you really want one that is totally unique then throw a load of Scrabble letters into a bag and start pulling them at random. I'd pull out at least 13 (and maybe add a couple of numbers or special characters) to increase the chance that no-one else has created a name with that particular sequence of Scrabble tiles!

Most names end up being recycled eventually. There’s a surge of 1930/40s names atm such as Ethel, Enid, Alfred, Albert, Violet etc. There’s an Elspeth in my DC’s school and a Nellie.

Eventually 1960s names will do the rounds again. It’s funny imagining a baby called Barry but I imagine some people find the current trend weird too.

Thank you GinDaddy. I was just thinking out loud really. In the 90s I don't think Arthur was popular, for instance, yet now you hear it everywhere.
My thoughts were not so much about how lovely or not 60s names are, but more that they would be quite unusual in school now, and judging by the baby names board, that is quite important to a lot of people.
I love the really old, what I would call 'grandparent' names which are regaining popularity now. Nobody would have dreamed of calling a baby Violet or Stanley when my children were born.
I suppose Karen and Martin are seen in much the same way.
I wonder if Brian will ever make a comeback??

Haha thisisagoodidea it would be like my new mumsnet password! I agree about unique names. I have only been aware of such concerns since MN. Children's father and I just chose names we like. They happen to be fairly timeless ones, and there were a few others with those names at school. But equally there were several Joshuas and Calebs and Laceys which had been chosen for being unusual. Middle names weren't chosen to go with them in particular. We threw in grandparents names as middle names. Life was simpler pre social media

I think a lot of people look back at the names in their own family but skip a few generations. Parents names seem really old fashioned. But grandparents and great grandparents names seem different and tend to come back into fashion again

Some names start as 'posh,' for example Sebastian, and then end up getting used by more and more people thereby losing the 'poshness '