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).

Plenty called Noah, Jude, Joshua, Jacob, Samuel, Benjamin, Ezra and Thomas though - and they’ve been used pretty consistently for the last 40 odd years.

There weren’t any Noahs, Judes and Ezras in the seventies and eighties. They came out of nowhere to become very trendy in the late nineties and noughties.

I can remember a cousin choosing Jacob for her ds in the mid eighties and it was regarded as very out there at the time. She was at the start of the curve for that name.

There weren’t any Noahs, Judes and Ezras in the seventies and eighties

There were. My son (born 1975) has friends with those names which is why I mentioned them. He knows a Seth and a Moses too.

I'm in my 40s and I know tons of Emmas my age. But it seems popular as a children's name too. Whereas common names of my generation like Karen and Sarah are rare in kids at the moment

You only need to look on here to see that what some PPs is true to a degree, and that its cyclical, like fashion isn't it?

My DD is 11 and she was at the tail end of all the names like Elsie, Mabel, Walter, Bert etc. And slightly 'younger' names like Audrey, Janet, Malcolm, Peter etc were at that time, generally considered a bit unfashionable. Yet now when I see name threads popping up they are often about this era of names. Of course there are people who go against the trend, and also classic names which date less.

I'm from the Joanne, Lisa, Michelle, Karen era, it'll be interesting to see when they start to make a bigger comeback!

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.

Sorry OP but I think you're wrong and your post demonstrates probably a quite limited knowledge of people - it might be an age thing or a class thing, I don't know.

I'm in my early 60s and was at school with various girls with those names (one was the daughter of a duke, but we didn't add the "Lady" bit to her name). They're classic English names, but I suspect "classic" for upper-middle class people, who - in my experience - don't really worry about whether a name is "popular" or not. My names are family names which the eldest daughter has had in my family for about 300 years, and the men in my family obviously have similar names. There's always a James and a George in each generation, for example.

Oh, and I don't actually ^know" any Karens, Amandas or Sues ...

I think this is a class thing, basically.

Shortbacknsides: op isn't wrong though , you belong to a very small group.

@ShortBacknSides

Oh, and I don't actually ^know" any Karens, Amandas or Sues ...

I think this is a class thing, basically.

When you yell ‘Briggs!’ in the morning and the house maid comes running with your post and freshly ironed Times, she might be an Amanda. One can’t be expected to be on first name terms with the staff!

😄

@ShortBacknSides

Oh, and I don't actually ^know" any Karens, Amandas or Sues ...

I think this is a class thing, basically.

How classy.

I'm mid 40's and know lots of Emma's my age. There were loads of Emma's at school, along with all the Sarah's, Claire's, etc

Going by the theory that the next generation will be named after their Great Grandparents, then this will be people who are in their 60's/70's now. Women I know in this age group are called -
Carol
Linda
Deborah
Jenny
Jane
Barbara
Jean
Christine
Margaret

A quick search on UK 70s names brought up a site showing Emma in at number 4 from nowhere.
I met a girl Emma born 1968 when in my teens(yes she was posh though it's all relative!)

Likewise young adult Noah's and Seth's had early adopter parents.
Sam and Joseph seemed a weird throwback in 1980 but went viral shortly afterwards.

My mum’s 83, just thinking of her friends’ names - Olivia, Helen, Ruth, Margaret, Tanya, Dinah, Lindy, Henrietta, Rosemary, Evelyn.

Sam and Joseph seemed a weird throwback in 1980 but went viral shortly afterwards

I really do seem to be part of a pioneering tribe! I have friends who used those names in 1975 and 1977 respectively.

Well at that point I was far from having children so wasn't paying attention!

Names circulate and take a while to catch on into really popular use. And I guess it took longer in the past. We have a lot more exposure to influences outside of our direct acquaintance.

My mum is also 83 and her friends are June, Maureen, Rose, Dulcie, Gaynor, Jean, Barbara. I can see a few of them coming back.

Girls in my class were Alison, Beverly, Linda, Diane, Karen, Denise, Lynne, Janet. No Emmas in the whole year.

Patricia is another one I'd forgotten.

I do think Marjorie / Margery is a nice name

I was born in the mid 60's. Was at school with loads of Karens, Alisons,Tracys, Susans, Annes, and Julie's, with a sprinkling of Wendys, Jackies, Sandras, Lindas, Catherines, Stephanies, and Beverlys.
My Mum is in her 80s, and grew up with loads of Margarets, Annes, Patricias and Valeries.

I'm mid 50s. At school my best friend was Emma. Other female friends:
Sharon
Alexandra (Alex)
Tara
Fiona
Anna
Elizabeth (Liz)
Rachel
Georgia
Jemma (with a J)
Sally
Helen
Lucy
Suzanne
Madeleine
Karen
Julia
Hayley
Amanda
Tracey
Alison (so many Alisons!)

I forgot:
Debbie
Lesley
Jackie
Melanie
Kim

My husbands grandmother was called Emma and apparently it was co side red really old fashioned and awful and worse than Doris!

My mum is in her 80s. Her friends:
Molly
Lesley
Anne
Pat
Pam
Val
Margaret
Marjorie
Hazel
Theresa
Jean
Joan
Barbara
Norah
Alice
Daphne
Connie
Judith
Ellen

I was born in the 1984 and went to school with a Sharon, Annette and Jacqueline. They didn't seem to fit into that generation.

• Going by the theory that the next generation will be named after their Great Grandparents, then this will be people who are in their 60's/70's now. Women I know in this age group are called - Carol Linda Deborah Jenny Jane Barbara Jean Christine Margaret*

I've said for ages that Valerie, Angela and Celia are all due a revival....