At what point is it actually cruel to give your child an old woman/ man name

[Amandalockwood1007]

A lot of names are coming back from the 20s/30s and some of them are okay for 2022 like Alice, Elsie. But certain names sound so terrible to saddle a child with in this generation for example Edith, mary, iris, Maude etc. I just can’t help but feel awful for the children who will probably be bullied for having “old people names” when does it become mean to give a child a name with an time stamp on it from the 1800s🙄

There are far worse names that a child could be saddled with. A colleague just gave her newborn baby an Irish name that has about 7 vowels and is completely unpronounceable. The child will spend her life spelling out her name and telling people how to pronounce it. Much crueller IMO.

@sweetbellyhigh

Of you check births and deaths lists, the names in both tend to be the same.

Thats quite interesting, - off to look in the obituaries to check my own names not listed too many times :)

@Amandalockwood1007

Yes but it’s not offensive for someone to say to a child “your names American” they would probably like it. if someone was to say “your name sounds like an old woman” that would make them feel weird and left out think its mean *@Itsnotdeep*

Classic example of ageism. Why is being associated with being old a problem?

@Glassisalwaysgreener

There are far worse names that a child could be saddled with. A colleague just gave her newborn baby an Irish name that has about 7 vowels and is completely unpronounceable. The child will spend her life spelling out her name and telling people how to pronounce it. Much crueller IMO.

My DS is marrying his lovely Irish fiancée this year, and my DS has already prepared me for not understanding what her side say as they speak very fast and with a strong accent, I do wonder if I may one day, have grandchildren whose names I cant spell or pronounce too :)

Posted upthread but just remembered I know a little Marigold and an Ernie too! And so many little boys called Fred/Freddie.

A kid and their classmates aren't going to know that it's a name from previous generations - your projecting your own feeling onto them. They won't care a joy.

Old fashioned names like the ones you mentioned have been popular for ages.
Love the names like Maud, Mary, Edith.
If I ever have a girl I’m using the old lady name ‘Marigold’ even though I’m sure you will hate it OP
I personally dislike American type names like Jaxon, Taylor, Riley etc.

@MiddleEasternMummy

It is totally a question of different peoples taste . Personally these names aren't so bad at least they are actually names whatever era they are from . I can't stand made up silly names with ludicrous spellings where the child is literally going to be asked how to pronounce and spell their name for the rest of their lives . Also just to add anyone planning to name their child with a ridiculous spelling please it's not cool it's cruel ffs .

What do you think of the spelling 'Mazie' - for the name Maisie??

I had a great aunt Audrey.

I thought the name was very old fashioned - but I love that name now.

I have a very young relative called Mabel - I think it's a beautiful name and it really suits her.

Better than Troy, Trey and Matrix - who were all in one class, one particular year. Apart from calling the register, I couldn't bring myself to say the name Matrix during general class time. I just used to begin talking to him. I always wondered if he knew.

@Icantrememberthenameoftheartis

Posted upthread but just remembered I know a little Marigold and an Ernie too! And so many little boys called Fred/Freddie.

Marigold is cute, is it a name though I though it was a make of washing up glove. but I think its rather sweet how you said that you know a little Marigold

Ernie is making a comeback, Maybe because Kat Slater on Eastenders has twins called Bert and Ernie. Also weren't they on sesame street or am i think of the muppet show, Waldoff and Statler

I was born in the mid-sixties. Most of the girls had names like Helen, Fiona, Susan/Susannah, Sarah, Nicola, Julie, Joanne, Jane, Caroline, Rachel, Sharon and Tracy. For boys, Paul, Mark, Peter, David, Stephen, Richard, Kevin, Gary were popular. There were five Andrews in my class. Sharon, Tracy, Gary and Kevin were the Harper, Chardonnay, Riley and Jaxon of their day. They are probably due a comeback in another fifty years or so. As with everything else, names go in and out of fashion. My daughter, who is in her twenties thinks Paul is particularly old fashioned.

@ufucoffee

Much kinder than giving your child a name that is spelt in a way they are going to have to spell it out every time they give it for the rest of their life.

This ^ 100%

@Violinist64

I was born in the mid-sixties. Most of the girls had names like Helen, Fiona, Susan/Susannah, Sarah, Nicola, Julie, Joanne, Jane, Caroline, Rachel, Sharon and Tracy. For boys, Paul, Mark, Peter, David, Stephen, Richard, Kevin, Gary were popular. There were five Andrews in my class. Sharon, Tracy, Gary and Kevin were the Harper, Chardonnay, Riley and Jaxon of their day. They are probably due a comeback in another fifty years or so. As with everything else, names go in and out of fashion. My daughter, who is in her twenties thinks Paul is particularly old fashioned.

That could be my class (born 1965) my name isn't listed there though :) makes me wonder if my own name wasnt typical of the year.

Edith and Elsie, Wilfred and Alfred are super common among school age children. In 1997 my friend (aged 18) said she would like to name her future daughter Lily. We all laughed at the "old lady name". By the time she had a daughter in 2012, Lily was so popular she decided against it as it was too boring. Names go in cycles and you're much more likely to hear those baby names you think are old fashioned than names from the 70s and 80s. Names like Gary, Karen, Sarah, Alan are super common among a certain age group but very rare in babies and small children. They'll probably come back round eventually!

@freelions

Name use goes in cycle so any name will always be labelled as an 'old lady/old man' name when it first returns to use after a few decades of being unfashionable

Charlotte and Emily were thought terribly old fashioned when they first returned in the 70s/80s but are now viewed as young people names again

There are only a few which I would class as cruel such as Fanny

No they really weren't, I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, Charlotte and Emily were always classic names, they just grew more popular in later decades.

Surely it's much much worse to give a child a ridiculous try-hard name which is a complete fad? The names you mention will come back round in cycles over the years.

Old person names are only old person makes to a certain generation. The next generation will probably think Sophie and Olivia are old lady names!

High schools these day are full of Hectors and Stanleys and Eric's and Ralph's and Ediths Alices and Ruby's. They are no longer old people names.

Old people now are called Yvonne and Joyce and Susan, Anne, Janet, Clive, Brian, etc.

Give it 10 years and who know? Maybe they'll be lots of children cruelly named Clive!

I am wondering whether OP ever bullied someone because of their name because what a strange thing to think of.

Does that mean popular Mabel should change her name?

*popstar not popular

"Iris" is a lovely name.

im living for the day we have tracey, debbie and sharons running around again

@Amandalockwood1007

A lot of names are coming back from the 20s/30s and some of them are okay for 2022 like Alice, Elsie. But certain names sound so terrible to saddle a child with in this generation for example Edith, mary, iris, Maude etc. I just can’t help but feel awful for the children who will probably be bullied for having “old people names” when does it become mean to give a child a name with an time stamp on it from the 1800s🙄

What a horrid judgy post. I know X2 Edith's who are known as Edie. Mary is a classically beautiful name IMO. As with modern names, it's all about taste, preference and association.

And why would a child be bullied by another child for their "old fashioned name" unless an adult had told them that it was old fashioned. No child would have a clue.

Sad.

im quite liking thse types of names now

in despicable me the girls are called margot agnes and edith i think theyre quite sweet

I've always loved Mary. I'd love Susan and Susie to come back.

@Gingerbreadrules

Edith and Elsie, Wilfred and Alfred are super common among school age children. In 1997 my friend (aged 18) said she would like to name her future daughter Lily. We all laughed at the "old lady name". By the time she had a daughter in 2012, Lily was so popular she decided against it as it was too boring. Names go in cycles and you're much more likely to hear those baby names you think are old fashioned than names from the 70s and 80s. Names like Gary, Karen, Sarah, Alan are super common among a certain age group but very rare in babies and small children. They'll probably come back round eventually!

Lily was the 75th most popular name in 1997! Hardly laughable. In fact that would have been too popular for me to use at the time she first mentioned it. But most people (especially 18 year olds) don't meet a lot of school age children and aren't interested in name trends, which leads to people picking an 'unusual' name like Luna and then wondering why there are so many others.