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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

'Dated' names

189 replies

ConstanceL · 20/01/2022 14:11

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?

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Original poster
ConstanceL · 21/01/2022 09:23

@Comedycook

I think Aurelia is fine but cannot imagine using it in day to day life...as in yelling up the stairs "Aurelia, your dinners ready". There's no way to shorten it and it just seems like such a mouthful to use in day to day conversation
Nicknames could be Ray, Auri, or Lia I guess.

I just re-read one of the threads about this name from September last year and I recognised your name as being one of the posters who commented and said 'It will also date dreadfully' but then suggested Alanna as an alternative, which I think it a very 80s name - just shows that one persons dated name is another person's suggestion 😂

Anyway I guess I started this thread not so much to get opinions on Aurelia, but to see people's thoughts on the concept of dated names. I think some names definitely age better than others, and external factors can make a name seem 'worse' like the iconic main characters of Birds of a Feather being called Sharon and Tracey pretty much killed off those names for future generations.

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RedWingBoots · 21/01/2022 09:26

One thing to look at when choosing a name is if you live in a diverse city or large town is to be aware of how well the name is known and how common it is internationally.

I gave my DD a name which while the popularity of the name has increased since the late 90s in the UK, there are only about 200-30 girls a year given that name with it is different spellings. However it is well-known in other English speaking countries and in Europe as it is a name that has been round for centuries.

When DD was a baby we bumped into various Europeans who cooed over her. When we told them her name they didn't bat an eyelid and pronounced it like they would in their own countries.

So while many on here have said certain names like Hannah and Chloe are dated, if you live in a city/large town in a diverse community you will hear woman and girls of various ages called those names.

Kitkat151 · 21/01/2022 09:27

I work with young families....most of the Mums are 80s babies .....many are called Jennifer or Clare ( or a different spelling of Clare) ..... Aurelia will be a dated name IMO ...lit doesn’t have to be a bad thing though....my own name and those of my 3 children are all classic names....there are a few in every generation and we will never have our names spelled wrong..... this is only my preference though

KirstenBlest · 21/01/2022 10:22

Aurora seems very trendy - #64 in England & Wales. Aurelia is similar and on an upward steep curve.

Aurora has too many Rs in it for my taste, and Aurelia has two pronunciations.
Aurelie makes me think of Orally.

FreshHeaven · 21/01/2022 10:24

Sharon and Tracey had already been paired together: the writers of Birds of a Feather were acknowledging the joke.

FreshHeaven · 21/01/2022 10:25

There's only one Dorian though!

SalsaLove · 21/01/2022 11:11

I’m a Marianne. I hated it for years but I’m fine with it now. I figure it could’ve been worse. My cousin got stuck with Sheila.

Allsorts1 · 21/01/2022 11:20

I think it’s fine to be called a name that is popular when you are a baby, as then as you say you just move up through the years with a popular name. I think the issue people have is when you’re named a name that was recently popular but not popular now - as then your name is always associated with people slightly older than you and sounds weird?

Agree that a one off isolated burst of popularity in a name shouldn’t really “date” it. It’s more like someone calling their baby Susan today. It’s just not quite old enough for people to not associate it with someone’s mum that they knew.

Allsorts1 · 21/01/2022 11:24

Actually I disagree with my own point after reading some more comments!

A one off burst of popularity in a made up/previously unused name does tend to date it (see Sheila, Tracey).

Better to stick with a name that’s part of a life cycle of names and has ebbed and flowed throughout history if you’re keen to avoid a dated name (Elizabeth comes to mind). Something that has stood the test of time across cultures!

Otherwise, YOLO and just call your baby what you want. Grin

wingsofabird · 21/01/2022 11:57

Don't forget that this is a name forum with people who are interested in names. We aren't really representative of the population at large. A lot of people don't care that much about their names or if dated

Glitterygreen · 21/01/2022 12:04

@SalsaLove

I’m a Marianne. I hated it for years but I’m fine with it now. I figure it could’ve been worse. My cousin got stuck with Sheila.
I love Marianne :) Has always been one of my favourites.
Glitterygreen · 21/01/2022 12:05

I am 33 and the only names that really stood out amongst peers I knew were Ian, Sheila and Esther. They all seemed too old when we were teens/early 20s, but it doesn't really notice now.

Bettybantz · 21/01/2022 12:15

Agree, names a generation up are most dated. It’s ok if your name shows your age to an extent.

I’m one of the Emma/Sarah/Rachel/Helens of the 70s and 80s but since don’t feel our names have dated badly. They are less popular now but not jarring.

RedWingBoots · 21/01/2022 12:46

@SalsaLove you are obviously a chic French woman whose age no-one can work out.

KirstenBlest · 21/01/2022 12:59

@Bettybantz, the names you list are classic names. Other names popular at that time like Leeanne, Danielle, Michelle and Joanne don't sound as nice now as they might have done then.

ValerieCupcake · 21/01/2022 13:17

@germsandcoffee

I think my name was boring when my parents named me and boring now almost 50 years later 🤣 Lisa
A work colleague called her baby Lisa, born in 2016.
ValerieCupcake · 21/01/2022 13:21

@interferingma

I know a 22 year old Walter. His sister is Mary.
When I was 20 I had a boyfriend called Walter. I was asked by my dad if he had been on Bonanza. I didn't know what that meant but it was to do with his surname.

I know a Cornelius too.

SalsaLove · 21/01/2022 13:55

[quote RedWingBoots]@SalsaLove you are obviously a chic French woman whose age no-one can work out.[/quote]
Until I mention that my first concert was Duran Duran 😆

Sindel · 21/01/2022 15:25

I wouldn't worry about a name being dated tbh All name s come back into fashion at some point and all become unfashionable at some point. No matter what name you pick it's highly likely that there will come a time in LOs life where its fashionable and then a time where its not.

Only thing I'm not a huge fan of is names that are cutesy for a baby but ridiculous for an adult. Think Jamie Oliver naming his son Buddy Bear Hmm good thing he's the son of a celebrity and will never have to work because imagine job interviews with that name Blush

RedWingBoots · 21/01/2022 16:01

@SalsaLove gosh didn't know you were so young. They were on tour in the UK in 2016. Wink

Farrandau · 21/01/2022 16:11

You can guess my age to within about four years by my name, and it was incredibly overused in a time and place that had a far smaller 'naming pool' than now, which meant that I shared it with large numbers of my cohort, and a good chunk of the rest of us were called a very similar name (same first syllable of two) that people often confuse with it. That was weirdly depressing and felt very generic.

It is, however, definitely true that a 'dated name' is only a name that hasn't had long enough to cycle back into fashion yet -- it's always interesting to see the often ill-disguised horror of grandparents at the names their grandchildren are given, because, being a generation older, they are at a different point in the naming cycle, and more likely to remember people of their parents and grandparents' generation called by those names.

I admit that I will be secretly aghast when the cycle turns and babies are being called Bernard, Nigel, Gary etc.

SalsaLove · 21/01/2022 16:14

[quote RedWingBoots]@SalsaLove gosh didn't know you were so young. They were on tour in the UK in 2016. Wink[/quote]
Oh wow. I saw them in the 80s and thought I stood a chance with Simon LeBon. Still can’t believe he married that gorgeous model instead of impossibly chic me. 🤷‍♀️

FayCarew · 21/01/2022 16:17

All name s come back into fashion at some point and all become unfashionable at some point.

Do they? If you look at the list of top names since 1904 there are quite a few that might not come back any time soon

RedWingBoots · 21/01/2022 16:22

@SalsaLove pop groups/artists around in the 80s and 90s realise they can only make money from come back tours, then if they are successful start doing proper touring. I've been to some concerts and I'm surprised at the number of teens to 30-somethings who are also there.

Then again my 3 year old said recently her favourite artist is someone who is about 70. Shock

Wotagain · 21/01/2022 16:24

Aurelia = or ray liah
I’m glad you clarified that as to my mind it kept thinking Oral ear