Stephanie? Too dated?

[snufflebum]

Hard to please OH thinks Stephanie/Steph is the way to go. Is it dated and a bit blah, or pretty and refreshing in the midst of a granny chic pandemic?

My best friend is Stephanie. She is the sweetest, kindest, funniest person I know.

I also agree with Backforgood about it having all the right qualities for a name

Thanks Silver. I don't know any Stephanies, so it's nice to hear you and others know nice ones. Backfor, my OH is now a personal fan of yours Those who have negative connotations, are you UK based? I am, and am wondering if it's perceptions vary geographically. I've been on the fence about it that long, I've got bum ache

My best friend in school was Stephanie and I always loved her name. Bring it back OP!

It's pretty and totally unpretentious - I like it. It reminds me of that nice Steph who does the business news on BBC Breakfast!

I like some dated names. Lindsay, Jillian, Melanie. (But I don't like Vanessa or Melissa). I think it's a really good way of making sure that your child has a pretty name that every body has heard of and everybody can spell but they will be the only one in their class.

I like it and am bored of the granny chic and cute names.

BUT - when we were little, we would always stress the 'fanny' sound. So it reminds me of that.

I desperately wanted to be called Stephanie when I was little - thought it sounded impossibly glam! Still think it's pretty (and yes, def a change from all those Granny names!) but don't think it's classic enough to be timeless, and not sure it's ready for a revival just yet. I'm a teacher, and if a Stephanie turned up in my class I'd assume the parents were honouring a Stephen, or just had a slightly dated taste in names (a friend of ours has a DD called Melissa, and I think of that in the same way).

Plus I can't think of any obvious nicknames other than Steph and Fanny, neither of which would cut it for me!

Ooh, just saw GreenSpaghetti's suggestion of Stevie - hadn't thought of that one!

I think it's a lovely name, though I'm very bias as my name is incredibly close to Stephanie

big grin especially for you wowser for making me laugh out loud. Definitely an angle worth considering! And thankyou all for your contributions, all genuinely helpful. Temp, from a teacher's perspective, do you have any alternatives that would make you smile on your class list? Pretty, I am now itching with curiosity about your name so I can nick it

love it v pretty

My name is Stephanie. I've always liked it and I'm nice, you bunch of bastards.

Ah me and DH were discussing Stephanie this morning - he likes Stevie but I think Stephanie is a bit blah!

His only irher suggestion was Kristen, do you like that? I do but again think it's V 80s.

*other

I like it and agree with Backforgood that it's familiar but not everywhere.

I'm smiling at this thread because we all do it but you can drive yourself mad with naming nowadays.
Is it dated? will it date? Is it due a comeback? If it is due a comeback is it going to get super popular?

I like it but I don't like the spelling. I do like Stefani (Steffi).

Hmm, that's a tricky one snufflebum! Stephanie has a French vibe to it, so maybe something along the lines of Sylvie or Leonie? (That said, I've noticed a couple of French-inspired names - Amelie, Elodie - getting popular lately, so this might end up being another trend!) Or if you like the flow/sound of Stephanie there are similar-sounding names like Verity and Ottilie.

I teach in Year 1 (N. London/Herts border) and the names coming through tend to fall into 3 camps:

1. Mega Popular (Amelia/Sophie/Olivia/Jessica/Emily/Grace)
2. Cutesy/nicknamey (Ellie/Tilly/Lily/Rosie/Lexie/Evie/Katie)
3. Granny Chic (Elsie/Edith/Ivy/Iris/Betsy)

Pretty much anything outside these makes a refreshing change!

I prefer Kirsten to Kristen. Not that that is what you asked of course!

I like Stephanie. Other names I think of as being similar include: Hailey, Simone, Samantha, Rachel, Joanne, Caroline and Helen.

I know a toddler Stephanie and it feels like a lovely classic pretty name now as opposed to overused and tacky in the 80s

Also love Kirstin

I'm a Stephanie and have always quite liked my name. I'm nice!

The only thing that annoys me about my name is people spelling it incorrectly 'steff' being the worst offender. DH and family call me Stephie, which is a bit flowery but I don't mind it.

If my Dad is anything to go by it also has the ability to put the fear of God into you when said with the right amount of sterness

Oh...for what it's worth I AM an 80s Stephanie but out of a year group of 400 at school was the only one (honestly!)

I think it's horrible and dated, sorry.