Can you predict?

[Viennasienna]

I’ve noticed that some baby names that were considered “common” years ago, now sound elegant to me.

An example is:
Victoria (many Vicky’s and perhaps Vicky Pollard tarnishing it’s elegance). However if I were to see a baby Victoria, I’d now find it regal and classy.

Charlotte: I used to know so many growing up, known as “charlie” and it was nothing special. Now if I were to see a baby Charlotte, I would see it as elegant- perhaps because of princess Charlotte.

I just find it interesting how my interpretation of names can change over time.

A few that I predict are:

Emma
Mary
Sarah
Emily? Just because there’s just so many Amelia’s and Emilia’s that Emily just seems more simple.

Peter
Nicholas
Jonathon
Timothy

Which names do you think will make a comeback again?

Emily made a huge comeback when I had my DD 9 years ago. It’s still very popular where I am, but starting to be used much less.

I think Peter and Paul are both due a comeback soon
They're really rare at the moment but lovely names

Charlotte still has common vibes to me. I just can’t shake it, even though I know it’s an old classic. When Princess Charlotte was named, you could have knocked me down with the proverbial feather.

Catherine and John are lovely names imo and due a revival maybe. If I had boy girl twins*, I might call them that actually.

*this is complete fantasy, as we are not planning any more dcs.

daisypond same! I was so surprised. I thought they may have chosen a lesser known royal name like Adelaide. Or chose an older name like Mary. Charlotte wasn’t even on my list of considerations.

@Oneandabean really? I thought it was the era of Amelia’s. Funnily enough though my absolute favourite name as a young child was Emily, which then changed to Amelia growing up, but now it’s too popular to use.

The question is that when Emily came back did you see it in a new elegant light?

@Whatsyourflava I can imagine Peter but not Paul. Paul just seems too middle aged to me...though I guess I’m considered middle aged now so the older generation above myself.

@daisypond oh I absolutely adore Charlotte now. I like that it’s different to all the other names ending in “ie” and “a” and in RP the ending with T sounds great. But it definitely can be butchered with a glottal stop. And Lottie is so cute. I didn’t predict the name, but I do like it. It gives me the same vibes as Eleanor.

@WhereTheCrawdadsSing my absolute favourite favourite name is Catherine. I love it sooo much I wish I could use it. It’s so elegant and regal. And the nickname of kitty I love. That’s definitely due a comeback. As well as Elizabeth. I’m not sure about John though. John just seems so stern, and doesn’t follow suit with the latest boy name trends of long traditional classic names like: William, Thomas, Alexander.

I do think Jonathon works well with the trend with Jon as a nickname. Jon just gives me a different vibe to John which gives me religious vibes, even though the sound the same.

I remember laughing when I first saw a toddler named Noah. Seemed ridiculous. Now it's so popular!

Didn't used to like Mary when I was young but now I really like names such as Mary, Anne, Jane etc. Also Edith - which I used to think was ghastly but now like.

I'm not good at predictions though - not sure what will come back in fashion next. Probably names I least expect like Mildred or Ethel.

@Change17 ooh Adelaide may come back, with similar names on the rise like Ada and Adeline (from the film), Adelaide may be an elegant regal alternative. Adelaide with the nickname Ada. Though I can’t help also thinking of it as a place name which puts me off slightly.

(I see the irony of my username being Viennasienna!)

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

This is a great little tool for helping you track the rise, fall, and rise again of baby names.

@worstwitch18 I agree about Noah! When I watched “The Notebook” I remember finding his name strange.

I’m not ready for Anne and Jane. (But ready for Anna!)

I think Millicent instead of Mildred. Mildred makes me think of mildew and dread.

@borisjohnsonsstylist thanks for this!

I was wondering about the name Suzanne the other day. I never hear of any babies with that name. I did meet a baby Sukey though, which is what prompted my musings on Suzanne.

Agreed, me and my OH love the name Victoria. Not keen on Vicky though but if I were to use it I would say Vick or Tori.

I know a baby Emma! And and baby Emily, I went to school late 90s early 00s and there was loads of Emily's, so maybe our children next generation will use it more?

I really like Jane, Heather and Rosemary. All names I think need a comeback! names like Florence and Beatrice are now back, I wonder if anyone knows a baby Elizabeth? That was so common, my mum is Elizabeth and she was one of about 10 just in her year! It's my DDs middle name but it's one again I feel needs a come back.

I love Jane, and I'm always surprised it's not in the mix with other short names like May and Rose.

Alexandra is the name that was very popular my school year and I never found that interesting (Especially as there were male Alex’s abounding too) but I now really like. It’s both long and elegant but with short and unisex nicknames and has a lot of history behind it.

I like Constance now too, which seemed old-fashioned when I was at school.

Heather is a nice name for a January/February baby as that is when it comes into bloom.

Nicholas, Jonathan, Matthew are all good solid male names that I don’t hear of too often.

I don’t think Elizabeth ever fell away. I know a few in each age range including babies. In the USA, I think it and Sarah have always been included in the top 100 names since records began. There was just a high saturation of them in the U.K. in the late 70s-early 80s that has put our generation off it.

I think Emily is still in the top 10 of girls names given each year. It’s still very popular.

I think Christina and Nicole both sound elegant and lovely, my other half thought they sounded 90s and dated!

I predicted Cathy as being due for a comeback on another thread.
I think that names like Doris will seem elegant again.

Emily always seemed a bit wet to me but with Amelies and Amelias everywhere it seems much nicer.

I've always liked Jane but not as a middle name, and definitely not Jayne.

Paul and Peter will come back, and names like Simon and Andrew. David hasn't really gone away.

MikeUniformMike

“I predicted Cathy as being due for a comeback on another thread.”

I had never considered Cathy. Catherine/Katherine is less common these days but I also don’t think it would be seen as unusual to come across a baby Catherine. And Kate / Katie have never gone out of fashion but I hadn’t thought of Cathy ever coming back around. It really seems so dated but it’ll be interesting to see if you’re right there. It seems kitty has circled back around as a nn for Katherine.

Kitty will date because of Kit being so popular.

I can only think of one Cathy/Kathy under 60.

Names with 'th' in them are popular right now.

@KatnissK

Oh I actually think Suzie is an adorable nickname.
Suzanne is nicer than Susan which I pronounce differently. Though I prefer Susannah most.