To think its an old fashioned name!

[Mammyloveswine]

Talking with a colleague lately about common names from the 80s and 90s... the usual., Sarah, Laura, Becky, Lydia, Lindsay, Louise, Emma etc..

We then got talking about more unusual names we went to school with "Hester.. Paula..Hermione (way before Harry Potter 😂).."

I just cannot imagine a baby or small child being called Paula! I can't even imagine a person my age (30s) being called Paula!

Any other names you just cannot imagine as a baby/small child?

How about baby Boris.

Doreen
Gladys
Maureen
Sheila

@Mammyloveswine Baby Bryan incoming for me in July! I can’t stand all these modern cutesy names of Alfie, Leo, Charlie, Theo etc

Someone said Finn - it’s in the top ten boys names in Ireland at the minute - hundreds of Finns!

also think a lot of the names here are not only 1960’s/1970’s but 1980/1990’s I am 30’s and am friends with Pauline, Sharon, Paula and work with a Derek and Alan both late 20’s

This really interests me.
I'm in my mid 40s now, and 25 years ago I worked in a Care Home for the elderly.
Back then we were caring for Edith, Lily, Elsie, Flo (Florence), Annie and Molly (all popular names of the present generation).
Now the elderly residents would have names like Janet, Carol, Patricia, Joyce and Helen which haven't yet come around again.

I struggle to imagine babies with names from my era, but equally I am having a hard time picturing myself in 40 years time, rocking my walking frame with Kerry, Michelle, Rachel and Tracey!! That really is mind blowing!!

Ian - who'd name a baby Ian?

Ian is from Iain which is the Scots Gaelic version of John, so lots of people do!

Multiple Paula's & Jennifer's in my year at school (80's) and Elsie was popular in my grannie's generation, a century ago.

But do we really choose thinking of 'baby X' instead of the adult they will become? Seems odd to me.

Simon

Why do you think you're so much cleverer than everyone here? I think the majority can just about manage the word eminently 🙄

Anyway,
I know mabel, daphne x2, edie, Stanley, Rupert, percy x2, the one that really raised an eyebrow was Gilbert. I have a 2 year old and a baby so surrounded by lots of small children. Most children end up suiting their name and you don't give it a second thought, can't get over Gilbert though.

Debbie which is my name!

Caroline
Stacey

Charles
Gordon

@Chiwi the one that really raised an eyebrow was Gilbert

Watch out for redheads with slates in his vicinity! Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Depending of the age of the Gilbert, his parents either read the books, saw the 80's TV adaptation, or are watching the version streaming now.

😂

I have friends with daughters called
Hazel
Olive
Nell

and, for boys
Caleb
Elias
Jaekub

Names like
Patricia
Pauline
Caszper
Christopher
and many others I’d expect to be people in their 60’s seem to be popular names people from Poland, Romania or other Eastern European countries give their children.

My name has been mentioned in the thread as one you wouldn’t give a child nowadays; and it wasn’t as popular name 50 years ago when I was given it - far more popular names then were Michelle, Sarah and Clare/Claire (though Clair was less frequent and seemed more ‘exotic’ somehow!) with at least 6 Claire’s in my year at senior school in the 80’s while I was the only one in the whole school with my name!!

What happened to all the Charlottes? Every other girl was called Charlotte in the early 70s but I haven't met one in years. Are you all out there?

Paula is a common name in Spain. A lovely name, there are Paula's all ages including babies and grandmothers. It's considered a 'classy' name.

Not for another 60 years or so now in the UK.

While there will be a few baby Boris around it will fall out of favour due to the criminal behaviour two of them.

However in Ukraine it may be different like the Kosovan Albanians in their late teens/early 20s called Tony Blair (Tonibler)

I'm an Angela and I wanted to be called Joanne too!

I remember watching a documentary about obsessive One Direction fans a few years ago, and one of the young girls on it was called Sandra. Seemed so incongruous.

Thanks to a Royal "Charlotte", the name is still popular so there are girls and women of all ages called that name.

I love old fashioned names.
The names I'd picked out for a baby were Rita and Stanley

My beautiful 18 month old granddaughter is called Hilda. Hilda really suits her 💕

Elaine
Marlene
Christine
Denise
Diane
Lisa

Nigel
Brian
Trevor
Keith
Ken
Tony

Charlie is popular.

Not sure how many of them have "Charles" on their birth certificates though.

Gordon has always been a rare name but then I'm in London and the SE. Most of the Gordon I've met come from North of the Midlands.

What about Cynthia, beryl, Sylvia, Edna, daphne, Doris, sheila, Patricia and Audrey.

Geoffrey.

I have a couple of friends in their 30s called Paula. Not an unusual name at all or old fashioned. In fact i know quite a few Paula’s of all different ages…