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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Chloe- classic & traditional vs "chavvy"?!

83 replies

TurquoiseDress · 22/07/2018 13:50

Baby is due very soon, Chloe is one of several names that we really like and are trying to make a final decision very soon.

I have always thought of Chloe as being a solid, classic, traditional name...I've known a few over the years, they have always been well educated, generally great women.

One Chloe I still know is French, I love the way it is pronounced over in France.

Have been reading quite a few comments saying that the name Chloe has become "chavvy" (I really hate this word) and much more "common" in recent years.

What do others think of the name Chloe?
Do my observations above ring true?

It wouldn't stop us using the name but I am keen to find out why it seems to have chavvy connotations in recent years.

OP posts:

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MikeUniformMike · 23/07/2018 19:15

It will date because there will be fresher names getting popular and the Chloes named now will be at the tail end of the popularity surge.

Pemba · 23/07/2018 19:18

So what would you think if someone now named their daughter Sarah (or Helen, or Catherine)?

LionAllMessy · 23/07/2018 19:23

People on mumsnet (and possibly in real life too, I don't know) do get a bit fixated on the whole "dated" vs. "timeless" thing, but almost all names are generational to some extent. Obviously some more than others, but actual cross-generational names that aren't easily identifiably to a certain generation are extremely rare.

For boys names that have consistently been in the top 50 for the last 100 years or so (rather than in then out again after just a decade or two), you have Thomas, Charles, William, James, Joseph and Michael.

For girls you have Elizabeth, and..... Nope, that's the only one I can find on the ONS website.

www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/dvc363/babyindex.html

Tarlu · 23/07/2018 19:26

My son's name sounds fresh for being dated iykwim. It is a 40 - 55 year old's name. So it sounds a bit surprising on a child. Not traffic stoppingly surprising but...............not another Harry, Max or Sam

dinosaurkisses · 23/07/2018 19:26

I wouldn't think anything of it Pemba, because there's a difference between names that are classic and those that are popular.

Helen, Sarah and Catherine have been very popular names for centuries- they might also have been commonly used in the 1980s, but that popularity doesn't tie them to a particular decade like Chloe's does.

Moominfan · 23/07/2018 19:28

I think it's timeless

VioletCharlotte · 23/07/2018 19:36

I love Chloe, I think it's a really pretty name. It was popular when DS1 was born in the late 90'S.

samanthajonespr · 23/07/2018 19:45

I'm a Chloe, nearly 30. I've only ever met 1 other Chloe and she's at my son's nursery and is 2 so that's a bit weird. I love it though, I love the nicknames/shortenings I get from it as well. Definitely not chavvy. I think it's classic and will stay that way.

TheDowagerCuntess · 23/07/2018 20:04

Isabel (whichever spelling) was never dated. I was born in the 60s and only knew a couple of contemporaries with the name

With all due respect, as the owner of the name at the time, it was dated!

I'm named after my grandmother who was born at the turn of last century. My parents were so unsure of naming me it, that they agreed on a simple middle name, that I could choose to use instead, if I wished. That's how controversial it was at the time!

And then just after I was born, apparently a load of them turned up in the obituaries - it was a proper, genuine 'old lady' name.

And the fact that you only knew a couple of contemporaries at that time with the name, proves it. I've never met another person even broadly my age with the name.

It's probably because it's massively popular again now that you can't think of it as dated.

Chloe falls into exactly the same bracket.

Pemba · 23/07/2018 20:18

But honestly AT THE TIME I never thought of it as dated, and none of the other kids laughed at the girl named Isabel. In fact I sort of wished I was named that myself, I had one of the very popular names of the time. Whereas I think they might well have laughed had she been Gladys - in fact there was a Chinese girl at college who had chosen Gladys for her English name, everyone thought it was quite unfortunate. I guess you must have had a different experience though.

Theycouldhavechoseneve · 23/07/2018 20:49

My name has never been popular but is famous. As you can tell from my user name, there was a more glamorous option

User183737 · 23/07/2018 20:51

Pretty. Was the choice for ds2.....

BerysWheel · 23/07/2018 21:19

I definitely think of Chloe as a name common among girls from a lower socio economic background.

It's definitely not a classic/posh name in my opinion.

I think it's quite boring, and quite dated - very 90s.

Shaboohshoobah1 · 24/07/2018 07:45

I had a friend at university called Isobel in the 90s and we thought it was really old fashioned - she would have been born in the early 70s. I thought it was an old lady name.

jmh740 · 24/07/2018 07:53

I think it's a beautiful and classy name definitely not chavvy, 11yr old dd is Chloe she was 1 of 3 Chloes at her school of 300 so I wouldn't say it was that popular

sonnyboo · 24/07/2018 07:56

Chloe sounds much more 'dated' and 'common' than Sarah, Helena or Catherine imo.

Just because a name is 'old' or even 'biblical' doesn't give it special protection against overuse.

Equally many modern names sound very unusual and interesting.

ButterflyOfFreedom · 24/07/2018 08:00

I love It!
If DS had been a girl he probably would have been a Chloe!
I know three aged 40, 20, & 2.
Seems a nice, timeless name to me.
Not chavvy at all.

BlueCookieMonster · 24/07/2018 08:01

Let’s look at it another way, as it’s not as popular as it was, there won’t be a billion of them in her class.

Go for it, I love the name Chloe and some of the nicest smartest people I know are called Chloe.

user1457017537 · 24/07/2018 08:02

What about Cleo it’s similar

Original poster

TurquoiseDress · 24/07/2018 09:43

So many posts about Chloe!

Great to get such a range of opinions...overall, it seems that Chloe is still considered a classic name.

Only a handful saying it's "chavvy" but not really much explanation as to exactly why?
Also, is it a regional thing?

OP posts:

sonnyboo · 24/07/2018 09:47

Only a handful saying it's "chavvy" but not really much explanation as to exactly why?

I wonder how one would explain why a name 'feels' 'chavvy' to someone?

Original poster

TurquoiseDress · 24/07/2018 09:47

@user1457017537

Cleo is a name I've not considered at all- it seems v cute.

Also a short version of Cleopatra? which is a rather grand first name IMO

My first car was called Clio...well it was a Renault Clio!

OP posts:

user1457017537 · 24/07/2018 09:48

Haha I love Cleopatra! Didn’t think of that!

y0rkier0se · 24/07/2018 09:51

I’m a Chloe and have always liked my name. I’ve also taught a few Chloes, and have always found them pleasant girls Aslong as you don’t drop the h for goodness sake, I’ve come across two “Cloes”

whiskeysourpuss · 24/07/2018 10:55

DD1 from my original post became an Emily, she was born just before the name had a surge in popularity but 18 years later she is still the only one I know personally although I know of others through family & friends.

I chose both her name & DD2's for the same reasons - they are classic names which will suit a baby, a child, a teenager, a grown woman & an old lady. DD2's name seems to be liked more on MN but they are both names which you'll find throughout the decades & even centuries a bit like Chloe so I wouldn't say they are dated.

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