Girls name - Gladys?

[Sheffield2000]

I'm pregnant with my second daughter. Our first is Elsie (middle name Alice). My husband and I have always liked the name Gladys and are thinking of naming our second daughter this.

To me, its cute whilst baby is little and she grows up I like to think of it as a strong, and elegant name. I also like that it's unique and there are not lots of Gladys's out there. But on the other hand, i'm getting myself a bit worried that its a name that a lot of people do not like. I try to stay away from forums, yet here I am positing on one, worrying about the negative comments people have posted about this name in previous threads! For anyone else who likes Gladys, what middle name do you think could match well with it? Elsie was such an easy choice, it was always our favourite name. We are really struggling to be confident with our choice this time!

Elsie is awful too.

Gladys to me is grumpy ,old before her time , and no fun
Horrible name

I had an Aunt called Vesta ,I think tjats a lovely name

God no! The only Gladys I've ever known is a right loon. And even she changed her name eventually.

Not keen on Gladys...

Old lady names that I prefer are

Agatha
Maureen
Irene
Audra
Deirdra
Maude
Diane
Regina
Ilene (pronounced like Eileen)
Jessie
Constance/Connie
Dorothy and Dorothea nn Dottie
Mabel
Laurel
Marion/Marian
Kathleen
Margaret
Petra
Maeve
Judith/Judy
Christine
Winnifred

My grandmother was a Gladys and she hated it. She always said 'Who would look at a lovely baby and call it an awful name like Gladys!!'

However, I always associate it with her so find it quite pleasant for that reason ... but I have no doubt that a child with such a name would probably be the victim of ridicule at school. I think it might be better as a middle name perhaps?

It is a very little-liked name and while you might not mind, you can't know for sure that your daughter won't mind.

Elsie is awful too

Why did you say this? What makes you want to piss on a pregnant woman’s chips? This bloody place does my head in sometimes, I hope you’re not as unpleasant as this in real life.

I love it. Unusual but classic.

I like it.

No no no! I like Elsie. How about Mabel? Same vintage, much nicer. Gladys has not made a comeback for a reason, sorry!

It was my great aunt’s name-she hated it! She was called Glad by everyone. I’ve always thought it was a really ugly name.

Alsohuman I was responding to the poster above me talking about Elsie.

It’s a baby name section, that’s what we talk about.

I'm frankly surprised to see how strongly people seem to feel about this name. While I personally don't love it there's nothing inherently wrong with it. I'm sure ten years ago people would have commented that Archie is a horrible name but nowadays of course it's fine because some celebrity called their child that.

Pp said that maybe people's reactions irl might be similar - I doubt it. While people are brutal until a baby's named, once the name is on the birth certificate they usually know how to behave (and if they don't this goes to show how rude they are, not how bad the name is).

Besides the population on this board is hardly representative of the population in the street.

And finally, isn't that the point of forums ? To say what couldn't be said irl ?

Anyway, OP, if you love the name of course you should go for it.

It sounds homely to me tbh as opposed to vintage chic

Sorry OP, I doubt your DD2 will thank you for Gladys. It's more likely she'll be irate that her sister has a pretty name while she's saddled with a dowdy one.

For vintage chic, how about:

Nora
Veronica
Cecilia
Esther
Sybil or Sybilla
Marigold
Isadora
Rosemary nn Romy or Rosie
Selena
Dorothy (surely due a comeback; nn Dory)
Avril
Pearl
Noella

It's actually an alright name. Kind of cool.

Say it in different regional accents and see if you still like it. It’s a very hard name.

@NoSauce I think @AlsoHuman thought it was pretty cruel of you to say that about Elsie because the OP says in her first post that her first daughter is named Elsie. So it did look like a personal insult.

I always think of the P.G. Wodehouse story where Bertie Wooster goes out with a very glamorous character named Gwladys, and Aunt Dahlia says, "Not Gwladys? Listen Bertie, no good can come of an association with anyone labelled Gwladys or Ysobel or Ethyl or Mabelle or Kathryn. But particularly Gwladys." But that was really a commentary on the spelling using a 'w.'

Anyway, I love the story. Gwladys is an artist who's a fast but terrible driver and paints a very unflattering portrait of Aunt Agatha. Needless to say, she doesn't end up with Bertie.

Complete digression.

All the so-called “old lady” names are unsuitable for modern children. They have been used by some parents who imagine they are trendy - and yet often the full name is abbreviated by them to a more palatable, modern alternative eg Edith to Edi.

Just why?

I was responding to the poster above me talking about Elsie

Completely failing to notice OP’s firstborn is called Elsie?

The top boys’ and girls’ names in Scotland in 2019 are Jack and Olivia. In England they are Mohammed and Olivia.

Names of that vintage fall into two groups, the Granny Chic and the others. The two groups are perceived rather differently.

Granny Chic:
Elsie
Ivy
Mabel
Violet
Iris
Maud

Others:
Gladys
Mavis
Maureen
Doreen
Beryl

Fortunately for children most parents are traditionalists when it comes to naming offspring. (However, most swerve away from the “Granny Chic” variety.)

Granny chic is massive where I live, probably to counteract the Kylies and Chardonnays. Next door neighbours’ little girl is Olive. I don’t think it’s anywhere near its peak and Gladys is going to become very popular in the next few years. I can’t believe anyone thinks Sybil is better!

Fortunately for children most parents are traditionalists when it comes to naming offspring.
I don't think this is fortunate actually. Many parents choose unusual names for their children, which is why names that are common go out of fashion and vice versa.
I think it's wonderful when children aren't given one of the trendy names of the moment.
Gladys takes a bit of getting used to but I think it will sound quite nice. Her peers will hardly know anyone else called Gladys and therefore won't have the old lady connotation.