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Original poster

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

115 replies

YummyMummybee · 27/02/2012 13:46

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???

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HillyWallaby · 27/02/2012 19:34

It doesn't matter whether you think a name sounds, or deserves to be 'Sharon or Tracey-esque' - it's not a question of using it as a class-based insult or deciding whether it is/was an upper class name once (Jade? Upper class once? I don't think so) it's about whether or not a name has become ubiquitous, and whether it defines an era. It's about whether people can have a pretty accurate stab at how old you are based on your name. Whether or not it was picked by parents who holiday in yurts and shop in Boden, or holiday at Butlins and shop in PoundLand is besides the point.

If there are likely to be several of them in each year group of school for five years on then trot then it is one of those names.

Kaekae · 27/02/2012 19:35

flower names are pretty Sharon and Tracy are harsh sounding. Kelsey/Kelsie is a name I would suggest.

turkeyboots · 27/02/2012 19:38

About 3/4 of DD reception year of 2 classes has been named on this list!

mrsshears · 27/02/2012 19:47

Lexi and kai,without a doubt.

NigellasGuest · 27/02/2012 19:49

When I was at school there were loads and loads of girls called Nicola....
and Julie.
And Jackie was popular. Presumably inspired by Jacqueline Kennedy

wickerman · 27/02/2012 19:50

I like that my kids are much more open minded about names than I am. (In my case I'm an inverted snob and can't cope with overly posh names eg Tarquin Ptolemy Jago Orlando Tilly Jemima). I'm from that same Sharon/Tracy generation and it's true that the Sharons and Traceys tended to be wc or lmc and the Alisons, Helens, Nicolas, and Susannnahs tended to be mc. I grew up in a pretty white pretty monocultural area so these patterns were very obvious.

My kids, thankfully, are much more open minded. There are kids from all over the world in their class and from wildly different social strata. The list of names in their class is really beautiful, varied and amazing and there seems to be no intrinsic judgment about names. Maybe because class isn't so obvious to them? (shines rosy spectacles of progress).

manicinsomniac · 27/02/2012 19:57

You're only 30? I'm just a couple of years younger than you and have never known a Sharon or a Tracey my age. I thought they were more names of the 60s and 70s than the 80s? I knew a few Michelles but they weren't the absolute most popular.

in my experience, the most common names look a little like this:
70s babies - Karen, Lisa, Nicola, Michelle, Sharon, Tracey, Deborah
80s babies - Sarah, Laura, Emma, Rebecca, Amy, Jade, Gemma
90s babies - similar to 80s plus Hayley, Kayley, Chelsea etc
00s babies - Ruby, Evie, Lily, Grace, Ava, Annabelle, Isabella

LaFilleSurLePont · 27/02/2012 20:12

There were a lot of Michelles in the 80s ime,at least here. I'm one of them. There were 6 in my class in High School. Only one Sharon though. No Tracys but I did know one of my age,from elsewhere.

thegreylady · 27/02/2012 22:44

I think it will be all the Kylie Keeley Kiran Kelsey Kinsey names

Haziedoll · 27/02/2012 22:47

I really hate these threads.

blushingcrow · 27/02/2012 22:49

Awful thread . Typical MN though.

DCgirl · 27/02/2012 22:57

I'm a child of the 80s and I went to school with lots of Sarahs, Rebeccas, Amys, Chloes, Kimberleys and Rachels. (One of those is my name by the way!).

I think Ruby, Lola and Scarlett are headed the way of Sharon and Tracy.

DCgirl · 27/02/2012 23:01

I don't get why people get snitty about threads like this. I consider myself a socialist but I want my children to have stylish names, i.e. not the 00s equivalent of Sharon and Tracy - what's wrong with that?

TunipTheVegemal · 27/02/2012 23:03

I know 4 people that have had girls in the last 18 months and they've all called their daughters Isla.

TheSecondComing · 27/02/2012 23:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tiptoptally · 27/02/2012 23:32

It's Lilly/Eva/Madison/Lexi/Alfie/Fin(lay) which annoy me most at the moment.
Lilly/Eva/Finlay because they're massively popular and every second baby seems to be called one of these, and Madison/Lexi/Alfie because I think they'll be really dated.

Actually, as will Darcy, of which I know 3 aged around 2, and Mileywhich isn't even a real name imo

sonniebonnie · 28/02/2012 09:39

Some names become 'fashionable' very quickly as everyone follows the trend and it is these names that become ubiquitous and overused and, as a result, start to date as people tire of them. This has nothing to do with class or whether a name is 'chav' or 'posh'. It has to do with the fact that many people like to follow trends rather than choose stylish, different names for their children. I love that my name is quite rarely used and don't think it has ever been in the top 100 in any country (that I know of).

Overused names imo include Evie/Eve/Eva/Ava, Milly, Tilly, Ruby, Lily, Lola and for boys Alfie/Albie/Archie/Ollie, Charlie, Jack, Oscar, Zak etc - there are just too many of them around imo!

emmyloo2 · 28/02/2012 12:45

Sonniebonnie, I think you are bang on with your overused names. Everytime I hear of another child named one of these names it makes my teeth curl. Not because they aren't nice names, they are, but they are everywhere and they lack originality.

However, then my question is - what names are nice but still original? I really struggle with boy's names in particular. It is hard to find that balance between something nice, not made up, not overused but then not too try hard. IYSWIM? What boy's names do you like?

PercyFilth · 28/02/2012 12:54

I'm surprised that Jeremy is not that popular, given the number of media Jeremys around. Clarkson, Paxman, Kyle, Vine .... they may be marmite but they do vary! Jeremy is a good traditional name though, can be shortened to Jerry or Jem, and has never been in or out of fashion in a big way.

TunipTheVegemal · 28/02/2012 12:58

see I don't think people are consciously following trends. Friends of mine who called their ds Zac thought it was an original and unusual name, it's just that parents all over the country were having exactly the same idea at the same time.

I gave my dcs names that I thought were fairly boring, I didn't try to be original, but somehow they are all the only ones in the school with their names.

sonniebonnie · 28/02/2012 13:21

emmyloo2, if you look outside the top 100 names (on ONS list) you'll find lots and lots of classic normal names, they may just not be 'trendy'.

Names that I currently love include Markus, Quentin, Fabian, Raphael and for girls Antonia, Sarah, Seraphina and Alexandra. Now they may not be to everyones' taste, but that's good as otherwise everyone would choose them Smile.

sonniebonnie · 28/02/2012 13:23

Tunip, I think the name Zac/Zak was made popular through High School Musical and perhaps, more lately, Elton John.

(I personally dislike the sound of Zac/Zak as it sounds harsh and somehow unfinished... it also sounds silly in other languages imo).

FruitSaladIsNotPudding · 28/02/2012 13:31

Amelie, Evie, Scarlett, Ava, Grace, Isla, maybe some of the old lady names.

Alfie, Kaydon etc.

All got fashionable very quickly.

CeliaDeBohun · 28/02/2012 13:37

This is a really snobby thread.

It isn't a snobby thread at all. It's just about names that are becoming overused and "of their time". Nobody's said anything nasty, unless I'm missing something Confused

I think Ruby, Lily and Isabella for girls and Alfie, Harry and Callum will all end up being those very common names that every other kid in school seems to have.

In my day (70s baby) it was Claire, Hannah, Nicola, Rachel and Rebecca for girls and Paul, Mark, Steven and Chris for boys. I've also never met a Sharon the same age as me and only knew one Tracey the whole time I was at school. I think they're more 60s than 70s names tbh.

EdithWeston · 28/02/2012 13:38

I think this is to do both with frequency of use in a particular generation, and lack of use before and after. So it's a bit difficult to predict which will be in a time-limited bulge until it over for a while.

I think classic, trad royal and Biblical names would never fall into this category even when they are the most frequently given; eg if you add standard variants together, the top 2 for 2010 were Sophie and Evie - I think Sophie is immune IYSWIM, but Evie might prove to be such. The other girls name I think may be a candidate is Ruby. For boys, perhaps Finn and Archie.

It's not a criticism of the names, BTW, they are frequently used because so many people think they are lovely.