Has your taste in names changed over the years?

[notanumber]

While I like to think of myself as an intelligent and savvy individual, unswayed by naming fashions, this is clearly not the case at all.

When I was in my early teens, I thought that I would have three children and call them Lauren, Steven and Gemma. Not in a million years would I give those names to a cat now, let alone a child.

If you had said to thirteen-year-old me, 'How about Ivy for a girl?' I would certainly have stuck my fingers down my throat and pretended to retch disagreed with quiet dignity.

Yet fast forward fifteen years, and Ivy was the name I really really wanted for DD. I just loved it.

A random selection of the names I used to love versus my current loves are:

Then: Lauren, Steven, Gemma, Daniel
Now: Arlo, Ivy, Jude, Esther

So, I am definitely zeitgeisty, no matter how pretty-but-unusual-yet-not-weird I like to think my choices are.

Snob that I am though, there are certain names which I reject for being - ugh- ubiquitous, even though they are nice names. (God, I'd love some therapy so someone could tell me why I think the way I do about certain things, it'd be facinating. )

However, I've got a friend who has had the names for her DCs picked out since she was about seven and remains steadfast to them even though they are boring and dated.

I am not sure what zeitgeisty is TBH, I do know that had I been able to forsee the possibilty of becoming a mother when I was 15, my DD would have been called Stephanie or Tiffany. Neither of which I would consider now.

I agree I would have never considered Ivy for our DC3 even a few years ago, but it's now number 2 on the list and DH is in agreement luckily too!

With me it's more that years ago I quietly thought of some names that were unusual (and this is pre-baby-name-site-reading, so can't have picked them up from anywhere) and was convinced I might use Evelyn, Grace, Amelia, Isobel, Niamh... then suddenly everyone else got there first and used them and they are everywhere!

So now I am looking for different names instead :-)

My first baby dolls (early 70s) were Alison and Paul. Alison was the height of sophistication for me....They then evolved into Anna and Simon briefly, followed by Julian and Rebecca.
I went through a Russian stage and my children were going to be called Natasha (the horror the horror) and Nadia.
Then my Irish stage when my daughter was going to be Rhiannon.
Dd got lucky I reckon.

Bucharest - Julian! Surely the worst name in the world ever!

my names have never changed.
I always wanted James for a boyand Eleanor for a girl.
the middle names are completely unchangeable, even if they go out of fashion, because one's after my dad, and the the girl's is after my best friend.
(Graham is more likely to sound daft than Katherine, but I can't use Wilfred instead ...)

LOL Bucharest, what did you call your DD?

My taste in names hasn't changed which means that most of the names I like are "boring" or 70's. I like most of your early dolls names! Not that this worries me especially and it means the name we choose could be something unusual for this generation.

A lot of the popular names at the moment are names of my great-grandparents or great-great-uncles and aunts which is just a bit too weird, and I couldn't possibly use any of them. Oscar, for example, was my great-grandfather who had a dozen or so children and apparently used to beat them all with his belt if they said a word :(

Yes. I googled an old poll on another parenting site asking what you thought of the name Reuben and I said I didn't like it and it's now DSs name.

Yes my tastes have changed a lot. I seem to keep up with naming fashions without even knowing it. A couple of years ago I thought I was being incredibly cutting edge dreaming up the name Evelyn, nn Evie. Then I looked it up and found it to be incredibly popular. No idea how these things filter through.

I liked 'exotic' names (i.e. made up) when I was younger such as Tallice, Denlai, Althea. Thankfully I wasn't a young mum because I don't like that sort of thing now.

BUT I have always liked the two names I chose for my dds and they are quite normal.

My dolls when I was little were Harriet and Laura and Felicity. I still think they are OK (although I wouldn't choose them for DD).
When I was a teenager I thought if I had a girl I would call her Isabella, and a boy Joachim or Ivan. DD is not called Isabella, but I still like that sort of name 15 years on, so I haven't really changed.

my dolls were normally named after the people who gave them to me, so ii would never cross my mind to call my DCs after them iyswim.
some teddies were named after pop-stars or people i admired (okay, my friends)

when i was a child my dolls were enny and sarah but i would never call my children those names (no offense to the jenny and sarahs of the world). i have always been consistent with Caitlin. its my favourite name and i would call my child it, nn kate. but lately i love the name Amelie. i have never liked the name Millie, thought it was horrible and my Amelie would either just be Amelie or Mila (a bit of a stretch i know but i also love the name Mila but think it would make a nice nn). anyway lately i have been drawn to the nn millie, so my Amelie might be a millie also, but i wouldnt have it as a 'proper' name.

Yes - definitely have changed!
When I got to child bearing age I wanted to use unusual names.
I loved Elinor or Eleanor (Elinor from Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility) and Lauren. Also DH would not hear of my other favourites Isabelle/Isobel and Olivia.
Turned out thousands of other people my age agreed with my choices and they all became very popular.
Now I wouldn't use any of them (well, maybe Elinor).