Names that used to be 'posh/unusual' but are now quite 'normal'

[shoobidoo]

A few years ago names like Jemima, Ottilie, Clementine, Arabella, Rupert, Quentin, Sebastian and Hugo would have been described as 'posh' and unusable. Now these names seem more 'common' and I certainly know some very un-posh people with these names . I remember reading a chapter in Freakomonics about how names move 'down the ranks'.
What other names would you have discounted a few years ago that you'd now consider?

never thought about Reese. I had never realised it was a surname used as a first name.

I had a grandmother and a great aunt called Elsie. Lots of Georges in the family, too. All as far from posh as you can get.

I remember the rise in popularity of names like Charlotte and Elizabeth in the 90s - it officially became known as aspirational naming because people didn't want to saddle their kids with names which might disadvantage them in life.

Of course, aspirational naming is ongoing, but there's the opposite thing where people are coining ewneek spelyngs of traditional naymes - usually by adding random ks and ys and superfluous hs.

Reese's real name is Laura.

Dominic is "chav" here, too.

Fanjo that makes sense. As long as it's a rarely heard surname, not Cooper (know lots of little boys called this) or Parker.

I like surname type names for middle names. My great-grandparents' surname was Watson, and my grandfather's middle was Dawson. I've always like both of those and considered using them as middles for future DC.

When I went to college in 1987 and rang my mum on the first evening after I'd met the 30 or so people on my course. Her first question was "what are they like?" to which I responded, "nice but quite a lot of them are really posh. One is even called Chloe!"

i think there is a difference between posh and middle class. Some of the names above, to me, are posh, and others are what i expect a yummy mummy in hampstead to call out in the pizza express.

i've always heard scarlett in a chavvy context tho.

And actually i disagree about the alfie/archie/betty/ruby/daisy type names. I have always considered them working class, dickens type urchin names, which seem to have been adopted by the middle classes looking for something quirky.

Henry and Harry were posh when I was younger

And when I met a Sebastian and an Emily at university, I was impressed as I thought they were über-posh names!

Yes, exactly spuddy - totally agree, those sorts of names have working class origins and have moved to the middle classes (as well as continuing to be used by the WC as well). Definitely not posh origins.

My DH wanted Peregrine for our DS. I think that's fairly posh (though not the reason we didn't use it)

Peregrine is so posh. So is Piers.

I think Diana is posh too. And Arabella and Araminta.

I knew a very posh Clarissa when I was a child, but DS2 was at Primary school with one who most definitely wasn't.

Really, Diana is posh? I know several dinner ladies round here called Diana and it has no posh associations to me.

But I too find Piers very posh.

I know a Diana who is about 13 so she must have been born about a year after the Princess died...I don't remember hearing at the time that lots of babies were being called Diana in honour of the Queen of Hearts, but evidently there was at least one.

Posh:
Piers
Miles
Guy
Tristan
Barnaby
Humphrey
Montgomery
Edward
Cosmo
Rufus

Harriet
Clementine
Flora
Candida
Araminta
Arabella
Cassandra

I don't think Isabella, Olivia and the like are posh.

I think Greythorne's list is reasonably accurate. I'd add

Rafe (although I know one where the family isn't posh but aspire to be :bitchy:)
Jasper
Rupert
Rufus

And for girls I'd add Caroline

But it's true that all sorts of names are being used by all sorts of people these days so you can't tell as much from a name as used to be the case.

Although I think it can date somebody - Sharon / Tracey / Jane / all very popular in the 1970s

And Ruby and Daisy are too common to be posh imo

Harriet is definitely not posh here.