Eden

[Shasha17]

Met a little Eden and I've never met one before! I thought it was such a cute name and am considering adding it to my list, but I just mentioned this on a video call with two close friends and one said the name is too religious (which is a positive for me as I love biblical and saint names, so I didn't mind this point!). My other friend said she thought it was 'chavvy' and would sound silly compared with my other children's names which are all biblical, but she said it sounds especially bad with Tabitha, my daughter's name

I find it odd that Eden would be considered 'chavvy' as other biblical place names (like Lydia and Magdalene/Magdalena) aren't thought of like this at all. So what do you think - is she right? Do you think 'biblical/Christian' when you hear Eden or 'chavvy'?

And I'm sorry to say 'chavvy'. I know it's a horrid word. But I don't know how to word my question without including this word as it's a direct quote and I don't know what a socially acceptable synonym would be.

I find it odd that Eden would be considered 'chavvy'
I don't.

Magdalene isn't a place name, and neither is Lydia.
Bethany is.

Place names tend to be a bit downmarket.

Eden is a chain of bookmakers

@KirstenBlest

I find it odd that Eden would be considered 'chavvy' I don't.

I don't understand your comment. I don't live in the UK and haven't for a long time - I'm not entirely sure what makes something 'chavvy'. When I left, the word wasn't really a 'thing'. Nor have I ever met another Eden. Your comment had confused me even more - are you just saying that you personally don't consider it odd for a biblical place name to be considered chavvy? Or are you saying that Lydia, Magdalena AND Eden can all be considered chavvy? Or that Eden is universally chavvy? I really don't understand what you're trying to suggest?

@KirstenBlest

Magdalene isn't a place name, and neither is Lydia. Bethany is.

Place names tend to be a bit downmarket.

Eden is a chain of bookmakers

Yes, they both are. Magdalene means 'from Magdala'. Lydia is a biblical place.

I know a boy Eden, never thought it was ‘chavvy’.

Lydia is a woman in the bible, but also a place.

I love the name Eden. It was on my name list.

@KirstenBlest

I find it odd that Eden would be considered 'chavvy' I don't.

How nice. I think it's a pretty name.

It’s a lovely name, I don’t see it as either biblical or chavvy.
Why on earth does it sound bad with Tabitha?! Your friend has an odd way of thinking. Your kids are separate, individual people and aren’t going to go through life as a unit.

My daughter is called Eden. We always get compliments about how pretty her name is. I don't think it is 'chavvy' in the slightest and haven't heard of a bookmakers chain called Eden.

It is a beautiful name. I don't regret naming her it one bit 

Oh! I didn't realise it's a boy's name too! I'm glad someone else likes it I think it's pretty too

Were they a boy or a girl, OP?

I've only met one Eden, who was a little girl, but I've seen it suggested a few times on MN as a boys name.

That's so pretty!

I'm glad you acknowledge that 'Chavvy' is a horrible word. It is.

Eden, never heard it as a name before. My only thought is that the child might go through life with people mishearing their name as 'Aidan' (if they are a boy).

I agree with you OP, I don't know where this 'chavvy' connotation has come from, but it definitely exists. When I saw this thread titled Eden I thought - I don't mind it, but I think it will get shot down for being low brow, but I can't think for the life of me why! I know there was a little girl who made multiple appearances Toddlers and Tiaras called Eden, but I doubt that alone would have had such an impact (especially in the UK).

I think the place name thing has too many exceptions to be classed as a rule that it equals downmarket - India is the first place name that springs to mind and I view that as more middle class than anything. Adelaide, Alexandria, and Florance are also places.

Love the name Eden!
It was in the top 3 on my list for my daughter, we went with Maia but will definitely be using Eden if we had another.

I like it, I met one at a baby class (she'd be 3 now) and the family were far from chavvy.

I do think it's trendy, and there are a lot of Evies, Edies etc around and it might get lumped in with them a bit (maybe that's what your friend meant?) but it is a lovely name.

India is the first place name that springs to mind and I view that as more middle class than anything. Adelaide, Alexandria, and Florance are also places.

Some of those are places named after people. Florence is not from the place name.
India, Jordan, Brooklyn etc seem downmarket.

People IRL usually say 'What a lovely name' even if they think it's naff or boring

Eden is a posh middle class name to me? Shocked at this lol

Eden is a beautiful name. I find it slightly old fashioned in a lovely way.

I like it!

I love it and would have joyfully used it for a girl. It's lovely with Tabitha.

I don’t know what chavvy means. If you do care about it where will you be living as maybe there is an equivalent group of names that are perfectly good, but a certain group regard as beneath them. I see that unfortunately you may need to take notice of that, as even if it is unfair these can be people that are influential. Hopefully that is getting lower with things like nam less job applications.

I have heard the name before, but never met anyone named it.
To me it sounds like a girls name and I associate it as a middle class sounding name. I don’t think it sounds chavvy at all. I think of it as the garden of Eden, so I think of it the same as I would for the names Eve or Evie. It’s lovely. It has a modern feel to it.

I know a teenager called Eden. Her family are Israeli, and the name is popular in Israel. In Hebrew it means "pleasure, delight", hence the Garden of Eden.

In general I think novel names tend to be regarded as less sophisticated. The word chav is the Romany word for "child", and chav styles are generally childlike. Having children young is closely associated with poverty and limited education, and so teenage parents' choices of names may well be childlike, fresh and innovative, but also may lack awareness of subtle semantic overtones and complicated historical or literary references which older more experienced parents would be more likely to pick up on.

For me, the name Eden is imbued with so many subtle concepts that I'd personally avoid it, although I totally get why other people would think it's simply a lovely thought.