What do you think are the Sharon/Tracy/Michelle names of this generation???

[YummyMummybee]

Out of interest what do you think are the Sharon/Tracy/Michelles names of this generation. No offence to anyone with these names but when I was in school there was at least 3 of each in my class. It seems they really were only of my generation(I'm 30) & never made a revival. In particular Michelle is lovely.
I'm thinking
-Lily
-Daisy
-Poppy will not get carried on as classic names although fab in their own right are they too trendy???

Also for boys what would you suggest. I cant really think of boys names from my school years as I went to an all girls school-possibly Shane was v common but now don't hear very often
I'm thinking
-Finn
-Oscar
may not stand the test of time???

I think there is a difference between not standing the test of time and being a Sharon/Tracey type name, as unfortunately these have negative connotations (not sure why - birds of a feather maybe?) Shame, as Sharon is actually a nice sounding, and biblical name. Whereas there are other names which are less popular than they were (Sarah, Helen, Karen, Laura) but perhaps don't have these negative connotations. Would not like to comment then on which will just be less popular and which will come to be viewed negatively but probably names like Ruby and Lily will not be around so much in twenty years. Darcey also always reminds me a bit of Tracey, so I would be wary of this.

I think the only names akin to the class association that came with Sharon/Tracey/Michelle (my name is one of those) today are names like Chelsea, Jayden, Kai, that kind of thing.

Daisy, Poppy etc, have different class associations IMO, although equally ubiquitous.

Thanks you described the name type better than me!! Linda was another name that could possibly fit in the same category but you wouldnt hear Linda too much nowadays either..

Know what you mean Mr Tumbles but apparently Tracey started out as a very upper class name... Poppy, Daisy also but worked their way to the masses. Totally agree with the Jayden Kai etc..

I think Sharon, Tracey Michelle became such cliches, not just because they were so popular, Sarah, Claire and Karen were just as popular, but they were the new trendy names of the time that represented the desire to be different but inevitably meant everyone ended up the same.

I'd say similar type names now, using this criteria, would be Chloe, Grace, Ruby and Scarlett, they represent what everyone thinks is originality but turns out not to be.

(my ds has a boys version of this phenomenon but don't want to identify myself).

Trendy fashionable names that imo are overused these days include

Lily/Milly/Tilly
Eva/Eve/Evie
Amelie/Amelia/Emily
Poppy/Daisy/Maisy

Archie/Alfie/Albie/Bertie
Finlay/Finley/Finnian and any other Fin variation
Zach/Zac/Zak type names
Harry/Oscar/Oliver/Ben/Will

All these names are very very popular and will start to feel dated as they fall out of fashion.

I agree that there are different class connotations going on. Kayden and Destiny are perfectly fine but will carry the negative connotations that Sharon does now. Names such as Oscar and Daisy are popular now and their popularity will decrease but they are also solid, traditional names (or shortenings of traditional names) and their popularity will go in waves.

But Michelle and Sharon are also traditional names.

Also there are many middle class 40year old women called Sharon, Tracey and Michelle, then they were names these names did not have a working/lower class connotation. The connotation came later when they were used in the media as a ubiquitous way to identify women of a certain age and look, and they were used as these names had become so populate amongst all classes by this time including working class.

It's like when Lauren was used in Little Britain. Lauren was viewed by many as a very classy type name but became so popular it was as likely that an ignorant slob teenage girl would have this name as anyone else.

Everyone is trying to be original and classy, but most get caught in a zeitgeist but don't know it, and Suddenly your agonising tastefulness is common.

Kayden and Destiny are regarded as 'chavvy' now, Sharon and Michelle were not 'chavvy' at the time lots of middle class people used them, they became 'chavvy' through the seizing of them as new trendy names by all classes.

Finley and Alfie are the Darren and Kev of 2025.

I love the name Sharon!

I didn't think they were chavvy names as such - just very'obvious' and overused names?

So in comparison now to that i'd say

Alfie and Zack (or any other variation of Zack) along with Kieran, Kayden, Jay and perhaps Dexter

Mia, Ellie, Millie, Sky, ?

I think it was the writer Keith Waterhouse who started the "Sharon and Tracy" cliche. He used to feature two imaginary dim shop assistants in his newspaper column, and he happened to called them Sharon and Tracy, these being typical names of the time.

He could equally have dubbed them Karen and Michelle, or any of a number of the names that were popular then. (Or should we say, had been popular around 20 years earlier when that generation was born.)

I agree with allthe posts above. I'm in Ireland and so many of my age group are Sharon, Tracy, Lisa, Linda, Michelle, Laura etc. Also here in Ireland Aoife & Niamh would fit into the overused category.
Do you think Molly will be one of those yawn names in 30 years time? Agree with the Isabelles, Ellas, Daisy, Ruby & possibly Olivia(even though this is alot more classic)have reached saturartion point even in Ireland! Lily is out of control at the moment lol!!!

I remember being about 10 and there was an older girl in the neighbourhood called Sharon and she was the girl I wanted to be like. I thought it was a beautiful name. I was so disappointed when it became so common and people started mimicking a thick Dublin accent when they said it!

I think Roddy Doyles The Snapper kind of killed Sharon in Ireland lol!! So know the accent your speaking of Sharon became Shaaardden!!

I'd say:

Bella
Ella
Evie
Lola

Harvey
Finley
Jayden
Callum

Sharon and Tracey were 'the fat slags' in Viz and typified a 'working class, feckless, white stillettos, trowelled on make-up, cheap alcohol and easy virtue' archetype, that would now be called chavvy. Lots of working class girls had those names, some behaved this way, many didn't but were tarred with the Shazza and Trey brush. Michelle wasn't quite in the same category.

That's a totally different thing from names that are merely overused.

I really love the name Tracey.

Tracy was Grace Kelly's character in High Society - Lovely name. It should come back.

Jade was also a very upper class name back in the day and very pretty.

Evie is sooo common now but it's not really a beautiful sounding name at all.

I disagree that Sharon was ever a classic name, or Michelle either. In the US, they seemed to come out of nowhere and were very fashionable for a short few decades, then disappeared (Sharon moreso than Michelle). I think the same sudden arrival and almost complete disappearance happened in Britain (and Ireland). And maybe it was Grace Kelly's Tracey who popularised Tracey?

I don't know how Sharon first appeared, but I have a suspicion that the Beatles' 'Michelle' gave Michelle a boost.

I had a friend in the US who went to see The Snapper with her DH while pregnant and came out with the name Sheridan number one on their list of girls' names. Later, after they had their little Sheridan they eventually got around to reading the book and realised that the name they had misheard was Sharon ('Shardn' in Dublinese) .

Yummy -- I'm also Irish, and went to school with loads of Lindas, Lauras, Geraldines, Michelles, Sharons, Karens, Emmas, but also loads of Niamhs, Orlas, Grainnes, Eimears, Aislings, Fionas, Muireanns, Caitrionas; little Sharons are scarce on the ground but there are loads of Niamhs, etc., still (maybe not so many Grainnes?). I think the Irish names have become classics in Ireland. However, I think Siobhan and Sinead suffered a different fate, mainly because when they spread to the UK they landed in the same parts of Britain where Sharon and Tracey regined supreme.

I think the prime candidate for Sharondom is Scarlett, and Ruby close behind.

My daughter and son's names are in the OP! I don't think they're Sharon and Tracey esque (obviously) but have gathered popularity since we've named them.

DD goes to a 2 form entry school and is the only one with her name. There are about 3 children with DS's name in the whole school.

I would definitely agree with Jayden, Kai, Alfie, Frankie being Darren-esque and Ruby, Scarlett, Gemma being Sharon-esque.

Debbie was another name of the time. No one should be put off the Old Testament Deborah, which is a beautiful strong name, but the variant Debra was also quite popular with those who couldn't spell Deborah

This is a really snobby thread.

I think Grace and Lily