Names from a different generation

[Tailbetweenlegs]

I met a woman who was late 40s/50 called Emma recently, and also know an Isobel around this age. I also can remember meeting an Amy who would be about 70 now. I was just thinking that this is quite unusual-these names are much more common in my own generation (late 20s) whereas people in their 40s-70s now are more commonly called Sarah, Paula, Karen, Amanda, Sue etc. I think it’s nice to have a name that makes you sound much younger than you are (on paper I’d assume that an Emma,Emily, Amy was much younger than 50). Not that there’s anything wrong with being older of course/having a name that is associated with a generation, but I think it would be nice to use a name that is unusual in an age group so there aren’t tons around yet it’s still a familiar name.
I suppose in the sixties names like Emily, Emma and amy would have been old fashioned granny names (I’m guessing they were popular in the 19th century-Emily bronte, little women, Jane Austen). So what do you think I could call a baby girl now that could end up being a name that is ahead of its time/just beats the “cycle” of names (not sure how long this is). I like the name Lisa and Karen (probably not brave enough to use-but would probably be very unusual now and i think the bad association/meme will disappear soon).

My grandmother was called Emily but my mum wasn’t called after her as in 1940 the name Emily was like calling your kid Doreen. She was called Jean instead and there were 4 other ones in her class :)

Apparently names skip 2 generations, so children share names with their great grandparents.
If this is right then the next trend will be names like Maureen, Marjorie, Anne, Barbara, Penelope, Linda, Julia, Brenda.

Tailbetweenlegs
Emma Isobel and Amy weren’t unusual names in the 60s.
Not sure why you would think they were ahead of their time.

When I was young calling your child Wilfred/Alfie would be seen as sooo old fashioned but now it's all coming back in.

I’m 50. Emma was one of the most used names in my high school. Sarah and Helen too, then my sisters years had 8 Zoe’s (born mid 70s)). Emily, Amy and Isobel were pretty well known too! Karens and Sharons were generally a bit older than us.

Dark Greener plots the popularity of names over the last few decades.

My theory is that children tend to be named after their grandparents. I have met a couple of babies called Zoe recently.

I think if you worry about names dating it's safer to use a really classic name often in the top 100 (Elizabeth, Maria, Alice, Catherine, etc) or alternatively a classic/traditional name but which has very rarely/never been in the top 100 (thinking ones like Claudia, Antonia, Serena, Cecily etc).

But the major thing is to look at the historical ONS statistics and not use a name that has suddenly shot up in the charts in the last decade or two but never made the top 100 before (hence why names like Gemma and Kelly etc feel more dated than "classic" Sarah and Laura for example - despite Sarah and Laura actually being much more popular in the 80's). As far as I can tell Karen and Lisa were 1950's/60's to 80's/90's top 100 names, so they will never feel as timeless as their longer versions (Elisabeth and Katherine) imo.

I’m 50 and there were 100s of Emmas and Emilys in my generation, Isobels too.

Two Emmas and two Emilys in my year at school, an Isobel and an Isabelle.

40s and 70s are two completely different generations. No Sues in my generation though some Susannahs.

Emma isn't an unusual name for people in their 50s.

But if you are looking for names that aren't in fashion yet (I think that is what you are asking) then you need to look at names of people from 55-60ish

Deborah, Karen, Janet, Susan, Suzanne, Catherine, Sarah, Linda, Barbara, Angela, Jane, Alison, Wendy, Pamela,

or
60 - 70ish Sheila, Anne, Joyce, Marion, Deidre, Pauline

My best friend, born in the 80s but only just is named Donna.

Most Donna's are fifty plus.

I have a great aunt Jennifer aged 92.

My daughter is named Sylvie, she's twelve.

Is it true that Victoria Coren Mitchell and David have called their daughter Barbara ? I love they haven't gone for a "trendy" name "

I think Amanda is due a comeback.
Vicky/Victoria.
Elisabeth
Patricia
Anne
Katherine
Marie/Mary/Maria
Sarah
Elaine
Carole
Fiona
Dinah
Anya
Linda
Rita
Jane
Rosemary
Jacqueline

@ZednotZee

I think Amanda is lovely and classic.

Me too. My MIL's name too! So DD2 has it as a middle name.

I am too old now - so won't have a daughter but my choices would have been

Stella , Celia , Margot ( bit trendy now so not so much ) , Margaret , Anne / Annabel . In truth I would have chosen Stella or Celia. - Amanda I think is lovely

Anna
Kathleen
Frances
Sylvia
Melissa
Janice
Michelle
Siobhan
Alma
Maureen
Rachel
Denise
Ellen
Sally
Pamela
Deborah
Joanne
Sharon
Helena
Cynthia
Colleen
Teresa/Terese
Pauline/Paula
Dawn
Sandra
Jeanette/Jean
Allison
Ruth

Christine
Gail
Georgina

Well, I am an Isobel in my late 40s, and I have never met another one.

Not a single one. I could never find my name on plastic tat - not even Isabel/le.

I was named after my Grandmother, and the name was considered so out of vogue in the early 70s (the only place it was appearing was in the obituaries), that my parents gave me a simple middle name so that I could opt for that, if it turned out I disliked Isobel so much. That’s how unpopular it was.

Now, I suddenly have two Isobel colleagues. They’re both in their early 20s!

So to all the people who grew up with loads of them, I am very, very surprised to read this.

@Vroomvroom I do know some with Isabel / Isabelle daughters but I do like the spelling Isobel .

Older name data is pretty hard to come by for the UK. The US have yearly data going back over a hundred years! For England and Wales the best I have found is this spreadsheet. It covers to the top 100 names for boys and girls at ten year intervals since 1904.

Emma in 4th place in 74 and 84.

I’d say Emily, Emilia and Amelia are more popular than Emma now.

The 100 year rule is often mentioned when talking about the cycle of popular names so to be ahead of that, using a name popular 80 years ago would put someone ahead of the curve. For girls, names with -een, -ine or -in sounds at the end were popular in the 1940s e.g. Christine, Jean, Maureen, Eileen, Pauline, Kathleen, Irene, Geraldine, Caroline, Gwendoline, Carolyn, Marilyn, Jacqueline.

And Sally. That's a name I think could be ahead of its time if used in 2021.

I’m an Emma in my 60s and was the only one I knew growing up , though a friend did have a cat called Emma
The midwives told my mum off for giving her baby a nasty old fashioned name

I'm nearly 50 and went to school wity several girls called Emma.

A relative of mine (born 100 years ago) changed her name to Emma as she thought it was posher than her real name. Maybe it had that cache in the 40s (when she changed it) of slightly older more sophisticated women?!