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).

If I think women in their 60s and 70s now are called things like Sue, Liz, Pamela, Deborah, Jane (hundreds of them) Lindsay, Judith, Valerie, Sheila, Ros, Kate, Andrea, Caroline, Linda.

I'm 53. Emma was quite a popular name when I was at school.

@Buttons294749

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

Same when I was young with Thomas , William, Harry, George im 53.

40s to 70s

I like Christine, Jean, Deborah, Susannah, Caroline.

People in their late 40s weren't born in the 1960s, fyi. And Emma was extremely popular in the 1970s and 80s.

@FoxgloveSummers

If I think women in their 60s and 70s now are called things like Sue, Liz, Pamela, Deborah, Jane (hundreds of them) Lindsay, Judith, Valerie, Sheila, Ros, Kate, Andrea, Caroline, Linda.

I was born in 1970, I know several Kates but not one of the others and wasn’t at school with any either.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/babynamesenglandandwalestop100babynameshistoricaldata

Top 100 baby names in England and Wales by decade from 1904 to 1994.

Emma was the fourth most popular girls’ name in 1974 and was still in that spot in 1984.

@TatianaBis but women in their 60s and 70s would be born in 1961 or before... so quite a lot older than you!

I think people use the names of their grandparents imo.

Names that will make a comeback in the next 10-15 years: Carly, Sarah, Janet, Helen, Louise, Nicola, Gina, Gemma, Lisa, Julie, Peter, Paul, Trevor, Stephen, John, Kevin, Brian, Gary

I know, I was just emphasising your point - OP is conflating 40s-70s for some reason.

@Buttons294749

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

So true. My first name - which I hate so much I’ve never used it - is deeply fashionable now. Emma, Emily, Sarah, etc are timeless classics.

@TatianaBis

I know, I was just emphasising your point - OP is conflating 40s-70s for some reason.

oh sorry! didn't get it

MIL (69) has friends called Gwen, Linda, Pauline, Gillian, Jill, Janice, Judith, Maureen- all horrible names I think.

FIL (70) has friends called Bob, Bill, Tim, Geoff, Alan, Derek, Graham, Adrian, Peter.

I love that 40s to 70s is one age group and that it's unusual to meet an Emma in her early 50s.

My daughter is the fifth generation of Isabel/Isabella in our family. Back to her great great grandmother, born in the 1840,s. That is a name that has kept going!

Strange I had no idea Emma was popular with those age groups. My parents are late 50s/early 60s and I don’t know if anyone they know/friends being called Emma and have always thought of it as similar to chloe, Megan, Sophie-names that are very common in my generation and less common in older people ( although I suppose all of these are quite timeless and I associate them with my age just because I know more people my age and not many older people)

Jane Austen's book Emma was published in 1815 so it's hardly a new name. There was also a Queen Emma in 1002. Very popular in Victorian times (along with Amy).

There was an Amy in Little Women published in 1868 and it was also very popular in the 70's.

Isobel is also a very old name from the Middle Ages with lots of variations in different languages/countries.

In the wiki entry for the name Emma it says it came back into fashion in the 60s (I bet Diana Rigg's Emma Peel was an influence!) and was the fourth most popular girls' name in 1974.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_(given_name)#:~:text=It%20began%20gaining%20popularity%20in,2009%20it%20ranked%20at%2041st.

Wasn't Catherine of Aragon a mother an Isabella?

Older names I think may come back in the next 20/30 years:

Margaret
Richard
Anne
Louisa
Victoria
Michael
Samantha
Peter
Neil
John
Stanley
Ruth
Helen
Matthew
Joan
Lesley

I know so many Sophies my age that they are all Sophie M, Sophie H, Sophie P etc. Plus 2 Sophias (Soph ee a) and 2 Sophias (Soph eye a).

Claire
Sally
Louise
Gemma
Caroline
Marian

A 50. Popular at school, Tania/Tanya, Donna, Sharon, Tracey, Lisa, Michelle, Karen, Joanne, Jill.

I was thinking this too, I really like the name Rose nn Rosie but worried that this will be dated once DD is an adult. Don’t want to give her the equivalent of a 25 year old now being called Shirley/Sharon etc.

The popular names at my schools were Emma, Emily, Sophie, Kate/Katy, Anna/Annabel, Becky, Joanna, Isabel, Helena, Natasha, Amy, Rachel, Polly, Alex.