'Dated' names

[ConstanceL]

I often see on threads that people say don't use such and such name as it won't date well. But does it really matter if names are of their time? My (real) name was popular in the 80s, but not any more. But when I was little it was a popular name for little girls, and now I am heading towards middle age it is a name that many late 30s women have.

We are thinking about names for our next DC and I really like the name Aurelia, but I searched threads and a few people said 'it won't date well'. So I guess my question is, does that really matter? I've never had a problem with my 'dated' name - has anyone else?

I have a very dated 80s name and absolutely hate it.

My name is extremely dated, it was apparently slightly popular in 1939. I was born in the early seventies I have always hated it, I still envy people with nice names of their generation instead of their parents.

I have a very dated ‘60s name and hate it. It sometimes gets mentioned on here with people wincing at it. It marks my age, and possibly my background, to anyone - a bit of a disadvantage if you’re a woman of a certain age applying for jobs, for example.

Oh that's interesting that you guys hate your dated names, I guess my one is not so tied to a particular decade in that it peaked in the 80s, but was used in the decades before and according to Darkgreener is still occasionally used now, but not frequently.

Will all the Olivia/Ava/Alfies etc hate their names in the future I wonder.

I don’t think you can actively avoid giving a dated name to be honest. I have a very obviously 80s name as do most of my friends, it doesn’t have a massive impact on my life and if I’d had a more distinctive name at school probably would have regretted it then as well! I have a friend with a DC born 2008 was named Isis and for a while they decided to use the child’s middle name due to all the news stories. You can’t control how a name will age really.

Just pick something you like. I remember being told when naming my puppy to imagine shouting out for them across a field and in a bizarre way the same could apply to DC, imagine calling them across the playground and decide if their name would make you embarrassed for them or not!

I think being dated to your own generation is far better than being dated to the generation before. However, personally I'd rather my name hadn't fallen completely out of fashion to the point that people know my age before speaking to me.
For what it's worth, I don't think Aurelia will date badly, it's quite unusual and I can't see it rocketing in popularity like Evie/Isla etc. It will fit nicely with her peers names but always be slightly unusual.

I don’t think Aurelia will date badly. It’s not in the same league as most of the very popular names.

My sister (born mid 90s) has a friend called Aurelie (pn Or-ray-lee) and I always thought it was absolutely beautiful

I think it's a beautiful name. I think names that date are ones that are super popular for a decade or so then fall of the radar so become very specific to a time frame.

I have a dated name and laugh to DH when one occasionally pops up on the telly (always a bit younger than me.)
It's also not a "posh" name so it's never a news reporter, politician or a doctor!
My own sister often adapts it to sound a bit less downmarket.😂

Snowiscold we may share the same name!

I used to dislike it a bit but I really don't care anymore.

There are a wider selection of names used nowadays so I don't see it as much of an issue.

Personally I don’t think a dated name is a bad thing, though I often comment if I think a name is dated or is likely to date. That’s just an extra piece of information that might be useful to parents rather than a die warning.

I think most names date to some extent. The only girls name to appear in every year’s name data since 1904 from England and Wales is Elizabeth. If you look at the historical data, names which are popular in the 60s aren’t popular now. And even names out of the most popular names (such as Aurelia) share characteristics with other popular names so it still sounds like a 2020 era name (vowel heavy, liquid consonants).

Names have fashions as much as any other thing and just like you can look at a house or clothes and point them to an era, the same is true for names. Unless you either go for Elizabeth or choose something totally out there (while making sure it doesn’t fit into a current trend/sound) then dating is pretty unavoidable.

Some names date better than others though - and think that comes down to classic vs modern names and classism. Tracey and Jane are both names very popular in the 1960s, in very low use now but if I started a thread about each of them there would be very different reaction to them. We can’t know what this generation’s Tracey will be until several years in the future, but most people want to avoid that. In general names which shoot up the ranking very quickly and fall down just as quickly are likelier to date ‘badly’ and the Dark Greener website is great for visualising that if it’s important.

And sorry for making this post way too long!

It's an interesting question. My name was very out there when I was cashed it in the 70s and then became reasonably popular at the end of the nineties. I think now it would sound dated but to me I've quite liked being the only one I knew. I doubt Aurelia will be like Ava or Alfie - I disagree with you on Olivia as I know ones my age, my daughter's age and in between. I think it is more classic.

I don't think Aurelia will date badly because I think it's too unusual. Choose a nice name and it will always be nice.

I think there's a few things here. Some people find it annoying to have a name that's very of its time, and some don't. (Just like some people love having an unusual name and some don't)

But most people would feel a bit annoyed about having a name that makes them sound 15-20 years older than they are. So saying "this name peaked sharply c.2000 can be useful info".

Also,. completely agree with @toastofthetown about general trends. Me and almost all my female friends have names ending in consonant sounds (Danielle, Katherine, Liz, Jennifer, Louise, Claire etc). At my daughter's nursery, almost all the girls have two-syllable names ending in -a with lots of L sounds, even when the names themselves are more unusual (Thea, Zena, Zelda, Clara, Flora). Or they end in -y or -ie. I know far fewer people my age with names fitting these patterns, though obviously they existed (Lisa, Emma, Gemma, etc).

So even if people don't have a popular name, it often fits with a much more general pattern. And why not. Nothing wrong with that.

I've got a very dated 60s name, think it was most popular for the year and I hate it as well.

I'm an 80's baby with an 80's baby first and middle name and I love my name.
It's still popular in the US but I haven't come across a UK baby that isn't around my age with my name. 90% who have my first name also have my middle name 😂 I've never been disappointed with it.

Aurelia is top of our list for our baby girl due in April, I've liked it for 10 years but not been able to conceive until now.

I think about names less in terms of their place in time, more in terms of what "group" it places them in, in future. Because like it or not, people will judge them on their names. I'm not saying you shouldn't just go with it anyway - some kids make a name. Some people are just bumholes and shouldn't have their opinions attended to... but it's in all of us to judge. However, kids also tend to take ownership of their names, other kids create nicknames for them... you have limited control. I often wished for a less mainstream name (I was born in the 80s and my name isn't one of the absolute most popular, but there was another in my year group) but then again, I kind of like it because I know who my parents had in mind when they chose it, and they chose it for me. If it's chosen with love, maybe it doesn't matter. I also think the widening name pool reflects a lot of people's name desires growing up (eg wishing for a more elaborate, less well known name) - but then I've known people with unusual names go on to pick the same for their kids, so maybe that's not true. I'd love to see data on popularity of parents' names in relation to the popularity or out-there-ness of the names they chose for their children.

Names have been in and out of fashion for hundreds of years!

My hobby is historical research, mostly 1200s, 1300s. Reading legal documents you see the same names over and over...Henry, Robert, Margaret, Alice etc. The other day I came across two brothers called Roger and "Reginild". My instant thought was 1940s, 1950s

I have a very 70s name, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest that it is now considered dated. It is of its time, and is not unusual among my peers. I really don't care that it will eventually be an "old ladies name".

Styles of names come in and out of fashion. I've seen my name discussed on this board, and it has been declared bland and boring. Yet a few weeks ago I was chatting to a lady of my mother's generation who commented that she had always thought my name was "so pretty".

I think what is harder is having a name that is not quite of its generation. I was at school with an Amelia. She hated her name as it was so old fashioned, and went by the name of Amy. Now Amelias are ten a penny!

Aurelia is a lovely name

Mine is a v plain, dated 1960s name. I quite resent the fact my parents showed so little imagination.
I think of Donna, Sharon and Tracey being similarly dated.
I'd have liked a Shakespearean name - Cordelia, Rosamund....

Think about it... there are people out there currently who want to and do name their daughters Maude and Nancy. You're safe as houses with beautiful Aurelia.

A lot of names have been around for a long time, but have spikes of popularity and then get associated with a particular generation and date quickly.

For instance Susan is a perfectly good classic name (variations in many languages) that's been around for centuries - but it then was top-ten in the 1940s/50s/60s - it would seem dated now because it's so strongly associated with an older generation. Only 13 Susans in 2020.

People often like to name their children after grandparents/great-grandparents too, so names come around in cycles.

This bothers some people but not others. Aurelia will date...it's popular now but won't be in twenty years times. Everyone will be able to guess what era she was born in.

My name is dated to its generation but I like it. Actually, I love the names from my generation and think they are much nicer than current fashion! So no qualms here about using a dated name from the 60s, 70s or 80s.