So, if it was say the year 1412 I wonder what baby names....

[Starwisher]

Would have been considerd far too edgy and "out there"

Anne? Henry?

I just see so many threads with new names on here and posters saying its too weird etc......

but think once upon all names were probably considerd zany until they became popular.

The horror the name Maureen or mike might have initially encounterd!

(disclaimer: I know nothing about the actual history of baby names)

what were people called back then?

I've missed something, what's wrong with Mike? One of the nicest people I've ever met was called Mike.

Lol

No, nothing wrong with mike, but what I mean is if you never heard the name before, mike it might have been considered all whacky at the time because it was so new and unheard off.

Like if I said I want to call my baby "lemon" people may think I'm mad but in 20 years time lemon could be just as common as Anne and no one bats an eyelid.

Hope makes sense!?

So who's going to start the trend for "Lemon" then? :o

Problem is your baby still has to live with the name NOW and not in a more (or less) enlightened 20 years.

ALL names were once 'made up.

Saints names and biblical names must have been big.

Biblical names like Thomas and Samuel
French names like William
German names like Geoffery

In Wales, Ireland and Scotland, names from those places.

Not many Anglo-Saxon names - well out of fashion.

Similar for women. Mary, Catherine, Elizabeth.

I should imagine there were lots of regional names too in certain towns and villages. But probably no Lemons

I think people went for tried and tested, solid names back then rather than creativity.

People would have been saying 'ugh sooo cliched, there are five boys in my son's wood whittling class called Henry. I'm more into old man names like Athlestan and Egbert'.

Laughing at Squoosh.

Thinking though of the Puritans 150 years further along - they had names like Increase, Lamentation and Repent-before-God. Makes Blue Ivy fairly dull in comparison! And the Victorians were a tad nuts too.

I dimly recall that Mary was an edgy name for a while, a bit like calling your kid Jesus (South Americans aside!).

in the elizabethan era, according to the website below ,70% of all girls were either Elizabeth, Joan, Margaret, Anne, Alice, Agnes, Mary, Jane or Katherine. More than one out of every four men were named John, and 70% of all men were named either John, Thomas, William, Richard, or Robert.so in that enviromment being original and different probably wasn't that hard .
the new by shakespeare names invented or at least first used in public must have seemed very weird and risky eg imogen, jessica , miranda .olivia ,celia and ophelia. www.babynamesgarden.com/shakespeareanbabynames.aspxshakespeareannames

Oh good find on the site Rosesatdawn

Its funny to think in 100 years time maybe a name like "Harper" will be considered old fashioned and dull

People thought my dd name was "edgy" in 2006 but now its in the top 100 baby name charts; to my distress...

Of course I solely take credit for incresing the popularity

Women's names
Men's names

Thomasine for a girl. Now thats edgy

Im also liking Giles, very unique

I wonder were the expression "any Tom, dick or Harry" comes from then, always assumed was to do with popular boys names

I think you're probably right Starwisher.

My family in the late nineteenth century - parents Samuel and Emma, children Emma, Thomas, Elizabeth, Samuel, Sarah Ann, John, Ernest, Lily, Arthur, William, Lizzie and Fred.

Still very traditional - no Gwendolines, Archibalds or Algernons creeping in there.

D

I don't know; I think Ernest might have been considered a bit edgy and modern in those days.