To think the words "classic" and "timeless" when talking about certain names are misused a lot

[hcarter8]

I’d agree names like Elizabeth and Sarah, Micheal, James etc are classics because they have always been in the top 100 names and have been consistently popular with every age.

Although I do think some people call a lot of names classic that shouldn’t be…on the this Mumsnet specifically there's a lot of different names that I see this happening with but for an example I see many ppl calling the name Emily a classic or timeless but that dosent make sense to me at all it didn’t enter the top 100 names until the late 70s and was the number 1 name in the US for 12 years in the 90s/2000s and number 1 over here for a few years around the same time.

And is already nearly out of the top 20, my dd was born in 2003 when the name Emily was at its peak and she had 5 in her year group at one point, if I heard the name Emily I’d assume it was someone born 20 years ago because that’s when it was popular. To me a name is a classic if it’s never been number 1 but always been there. Any name that is a “top name” at some point will always be associated with the generation.

I think those words get thrown around too much when people don't actually realise the statistics of some of the names they are calling "timeless"

Sorry for the typo with Michael, I do know how to spell I promise!

Meanwhile if I think of Emily I first think of Emily Brontë or Emily Pankhurst

There were plenty of Emily's in the 1800s; it didn't just appear from nowhere in 1990.

Totally disagree

Emily Bronte? Emily Davison?

It's an old Latin name and absolutely a classic/timeless.

Mrs Pankhurst was called Emmeline, not Emily. But, yes, it's certainly not a modern name!

Classic and timeless isn't about popularity though.

Emily is a old name with one of the most famous being Brontë.

Emily Bishop - a Coronation Street classic.

A name being old doesn't mean it's timeless.

Edith, for example, is an old name that's popular once more but that doesn't mean it wasn't in the wilderness for many decades.

A name being old doesn't mean it's timeless.

Edith, for example, is an old name that's popular once more but that doesn't mean it wasn't in the wilderness for many decades.

I just find mumsnet likes about 12 names, all of which are boring as fuck but won’t be frowned upon in middle class circles.

I agree there’s a difference between classic and timeless too. Both Noah and Matthew are biblical names, but if I met a father with toddler son and I knew there names were Matthew and Noah, I’d have a good idea of which belongs to which person. That makes a name not timeless to me.

Timelessness relates to recent usage, not how ancient or well used a name has been historically.

I don't think being in the "top 20" has anything to do with names being timeless and classic, that is just popularity at any given time.
Timeless is a name that good be used at any period in the last few generations without seeming out of place. Emily would be one of those names (I think of Emily Bronte), Eleanor, Elizabeth, James, Michael etc. But maybe not Tanya, Norman, Leslie for example.

Emily is definitely timeless or a classic. Think Emily Brontë. Sarah not so much.

I'd have thought Sarah was a name that held steadier and was less prone to falling in and out of fashion than Emily, this having more of a claim to the 'timeless' tag,

To me a name is a classic if it’s never been number 1 but always been there. Any name that is a “top name” at some point will always be associated with the generation.
So Sarah has never been number 1???

I think it's a classic name when you don't think of a specific aged person. Take Emma. Emma could be 6 months old, 36 years old or 66 years old. There might be small dips and rises in the name but I wouldn't assume an age based on the name.

Yes, the ethos is ‘Be beige enough not to raise eyebrows.’

And even “timeless” names are cyclical.

I may have been looking at the U.S. charts where the same has always been in the top 100 but never number 1, I didnt realise it has been one the UK but even on the UK chart it has always been in the top 100 since 1904 to now. Whereas Emily wasn't in the top 100 for years until it entered at 80th place in 1977 and continued to gain its popularity.

Based on ONS data, Sarah and Emily have performed comparatively over the past 100 years

Sarah is not in the top 100 in England and Wales, at the moment. .

I immediately thought of James when I read your title, so interesting that is a name you mentioned. The youngest James I've ever taught or come across is now about 15 though, and in fact he's the only James I can think of over 20. As a teacher and having small children myself, I come into contact with a lot of young people! Maybe it's not as timeless as I thought.

According to my DM Emily was an ‘old ladies name’ until the 70s and there were then not many until the 90s. That said, I think it’s a classic of sorts, along with Sarah.

This is exactly how I would define a timeless name - would not be surprised to hear it in a nursing home or a nursery!

My DH has quite a "young" name and DS a very traditional name, there are none at his school though in my year there were so many they all had to have nicknames. Plus its biblical so it's been around forever.

People constantly call them by each others names.

Classic/timeless names don't need to be in a top 100 list.

Why are you studying name lists from so long ago both in UK and US?