Milly/ Millie

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We are struggling to come up with a name for DD and one suggestion that has come up is Millie/ Milly. I've looked through some old posts and some people seem to really not like it. Is this because it has been popular recently? Just how popular is it? Any other opinions much appreciated.

Yes, very widely used already. In other words, there are lots and lots of little Millies out there already!

There are SO many lovely underused classic names to choose from....!!

I think it's got more popular recently, but it's not super popular, is it?

And then it could be seen more as a nickname for Amelia than as a name on its own, and a lot of people on posting on baby names tend to prefer full versions of names rather than nicknames. So that could be part of it.

But at the end of the day, what really matters is what you think about the name and whether you like it or not.

Only one Millie in my daughter's year

It's lovely as a nickname for Amelia/Millicent. Wouldn't use it as full name though.

Everywhere !

My daughters called Millie shes nearly 4 she's the only one in her nursery with that name and I only know 1 child where we live called Millie x

All the Millies I know were Millennium babies. I think people don't like the name much because it seems very much a name of its time. It seemed to come from nowhere in 2000 and has been popular ever since. You'll find people dislike faddy or trendy names on MN.

Millie sounds very pretty, as I'm sure most people would acknowledge, but it's so commonplace among the current generation that it puts a lot of people off. It's this generation's Claire or Jennifer or Sharon or Tracey.

Another qualm people have with names like Millie is that they were part of the 'cutesy' trend - Evie, Ellie, Gracie, Maisie, Daisy, Alfie, Harry, Freddie, etc - that was popular in recent years. There's been a recent trend, I think, towards more substantial/formal names - Evelyn, Eleanor, Grace, Margaret, Alfred, Henry, Frederick - and perhaps using the diminutives as nicknames.

'I'm thinking of naming my daughter Camilla/Millicent/Amelia and nicknaming her Millie. What do you think?' If you asked that question instead, the response would be overwhelmingly in your favour This is a quirk of MN and not necessarily representative of the 'real world' where Millie by itself probably outstrips Camilla and Millicent massively in popularity. That said, it might be indicative of future trends and you'd be wise to be aware of them even if you choose to follow them.

My advice is just use it if you like it but beware current trends.

Milly - up from 519th in 1996 to 205th in 2010 but peaked in the mid-2000s just outside the top 100.

Millie - up from 140th in 1996 to 32nd in 2010 but was in the top 25 for most of that time period.

Check it out on names.darkgreener.com for yourself if you like.

I think names that suddenly spike in popularity tend to be Marmite names: loved by most but, among the name nerds you get on here, approached very, very cautiously. If a name suddenly shoots up in popularity, it might be a new classic, of course, but it's likely that it'll suffer just as quick a fall.

I take my hat off to Stellan once again with your very sage advice. Just slightly off-topic here, but I keep seeing the most wonderful pieces of thoughtful advice from you on this forum :)

Back to your question, OP: I know two Millies. Millie Anne was born in 2002 and Milly Jane in 2006. It is a popular name, I do hear of quite a few. But, if it is a name that you and your DH like, you should use it.

I would echo Stellan here and say that MN is somewhat in a vacuum. Whilst I acknowledge that people can be more open via the internet, opinions expressed on here about my own daughter's names most often do not reflect (and totally contradict) opinions expressed by those responding to their names in RL. DD1s name is criticised here for being popular and faddy (even though it's history dates back to the 11thC) and DD2s name creates a real Marmite effect and gets some harsh criticism (a traditional Spanish name)

You can't please everybody. Just please yourselves when naming your little baby.

MammaT

I associate it with Milliepede and Mildred and just think of it as a nickname.

I have a Millie. Her full name is Amelia. I have taught 2 little Millies but they were both full names and not short for anything :)

Ruby

i only know 1 millie, i think amelia/amelie seem more widely used. if u like it dont let it put u off x

I think it's a very pretty name and if you like it, go for it. I go to a lot of toddler groups and I have only met one and don't know any at my son's school (certainly none in his year).
I think MN can be very useful and helpful, but wouldn't take it too much to heart. I'm sure if we all did, 98% of us would regret their decisions! I loved the name I called my son for about 20 years before he arrived, but it's thought of as "faddy". I still love it though and he is the only one in his school! My daughter's name has taken a massive popularity surge also, but I loved that name about 2 decades before she was born too! Yet again, there are no others at her nursery or groups I go to.

What I'm trying to say is, if you really love the name, just go with it. What's popular in one area isn't neccassarily popular in your street/ network, and who knows what country our children will end up in!

I like it, but only if it's short for something like Amelia.