Ottilie

[Snowbell99]

What are your thoughts on Ottilie?

I think it's kind of cute and not so popular.

It's painfully trendy. I know two born on the same day a couple of years ago. It's not dreadful, but definitely not a name I like. And while you might think you don't want to use a nickname, she might decide she like Ottie or Tilly, so worth considering. I like Ottoline even less though.

I think this is about the 5th MN post this week on this name...

[quote Purplestar148]@Calandor true..but some date much worse than others! And from what I’ve seen that tends to be the trendy names that have appeared out of no where (and disappeared just as fast).
But I suppose how much does a dated name really matter.[/quote]
That is true for names that have never been used before (modern names) but not really for names that have been around for centuries.

Ottilie didn't really appear out of nowhere, it is an old name. It was used in Germany in the early Middle Ages. It has been used in the UK for a really long time, it is just one of those old lady names that was gone for a long time and then came back (and yes it came back quickly, but it's not comparable to names that have never been used before).

It started being used in the UK in the 16th and 17th centuries. There are records of Ottilies being born in the UK in the late 1800s and early 1900s as well. It was also used in the 80s and 90s, just not as much. E.g. 25 births in 1980. Ottilie Mclaren Wallace was a British sculptor, born in 1875.

I appreciate your concern but you are making it sound like it's Kaiyanahra-Maerielynn or something. Yes, it will date just like most names will but I don't think it will date that horribly. Ava had a similarly quick rise (it's just harder to see because we can't see anything prior to 1996).

I'm not mad keen - but their are loads of them. It's having a super spike in popularity so it will date.

THERE are loads of them.

Yes it’s an old name but it is currently very trendy. But if you really like it just go for it! The fact it is a family name for both sides is really lovely. And I don’t imagine many people will know about the YouTube couple.

Go for it. It has meaning for you and you both like it.

A friend was going to name her dc1 after her grandmother (who sadly passed away while she was pregnant), she had a boy in the end and then when she had a girl as dc3, the name was so popular on the whole granny chic thing round here, that she was put off using it by the "oh it'll date/oh but she'll be one of 4 in her year" people. She has said since she gets a little pang when she does hear someone else call their dd that name that she should have stuck to her original plan.

The year my dc1 was born, the most popular names were apparently Olivia and Jack. There was an Oliwia in his primary class but none with the Olivia spelling in his year, no Jacks in his whole year. He's at a boys school now, no Jack in his class.

Love it

It's very popular at the moment.

I don't like it, but the german pronunciation is nice

It's on a sharp rising curve so could be more popular than you think, and even if not a top 10 name she could be one of several in her peer group

Everyone saying it will date - almost ALL names will date unless they're vanishingly uncommon. And it doesn't matter.

Is it pronounced
Ott-ily or Ott-tee-lee-eh?

I like the second pronunciation.

@user1471604848

Is it pronounced Ott-ily or Ott-tee-lee-eh?

I like the second pronunciation.

I like them both. But Ott-tee-lee-eh would be complicated in an English speaking country.

@margegunderson, some names are only very popular for a short time, then don't get used much. Not much of a problem when you are young but will at some point seem mumsy or middle-aged

An Oliver could be any age, but a Jayden is likely to be a teenager and a Darren is middle-aged

@margegunderson, it does matter because some names were very popular and then became so unfashionable that people find the names ugly

Look at how Karen is looked upon now as an example

I’m not keen on it, I think it has kind of a ‘snotty’ sound and the actual sound of it isn’t too nice. I also think it’s having a big spark in popularity. Obviously it’s a classic but names like Amelia & Olivia are old classics but feel a bit overused/dull to me now because they became so popular so suddenly.

[quote WhoppingBigBackside]@margegunderson, it does matter because some names were very popular and then became so unfashionable that people find the names ugly

Look at how Karen is looked upon now as an example[/quote]
I actually really like the name Karen 😂 obviously I wouldn’t use it now even if I was having more babies but I think it has a nice sound. It also reminds me of the cheeky Karen in outnumbered tv show which I liked the first few series of.

I like Karen too and many of the 'middle-aged' names. I much prefer a lot of them to the vowelly names that seem to be popular now.

The current names often have a long vowel sound in the stressed syllable (e.g. Ameeeeelia, Sopheeeea, El-eye-jah), OH-tis and they seem whiny.

Might just be me

No I agree. When we were choosing a name for my last daughter the one we decided on is a similar type of name and DH said he liked it because it was ‘clean.’ I thought he was a bit barmy but I think he meant solid/not flouncy, just simple. I like names like Karen, Ellen, Joan, Hannah/Anne. I think they’re actually all due a comeback and it will be the frillier names that seem dated.

Does it matter if it's popular? If you like if, use it. Personally it's not for me (don't like the way it sounds) but you clearly do.

[quote WhoppingBigBackside]@margegunderson, some names are only very popular for a short time, then don't get used much. Not much of a problem when you are young but will at some point seem mumsy or middle-aged

An Oliver could be any age, but a Jayden is likely to be a teenager and a Darren is middle-aged[/quote]
Could he? Oliver was really out of fashion in the UK between about 1900 and 1970. It just seems timeless now because we know that it is an old name yet it is still used now. But if you had asked someone in 1930 they would have seen it as a middle aged name. Names that are classic such as Oliver, Laura, Sophia, Ottilie, Audrey etc. always come back after a few decades but are unfashionable in between. Laura doesn't exactly sound fresh to me now and neither does Stephanie but they are classics so in a few decades they will come back.

Jayden is different because it's a new name. Some new names might become classics (I could see it happen with Lyra because the name has a famous literary association) but many modern names never come back. Ottilie is not a modern name.

Anyway, I believe that Karen would still be a perfectly decent name today if it hadn't been for the "you are such a Karen" thing. But no one could have foreseen this back in the 50s. Neither did the parents of girls named Fanny or boys named Richards but nicknamed Dick. You never know which names become words or associations.

It's gone from 0 to very popular so will date badly. Everyone pronounces it wrong (it's not Otterly! It's more like Ott-ee-lyuh'). It's definitely gaining in popularity rapidly with this wrong pronunciation.

I think it will 100% become very overdone very soon (it already is a little overdone to be honest). The new Matilda or Florence.

@Rosieposie101

It's gone from 0 to very popular so will date badly. Everyone pronounces it wrong (it's not Otterly! It's more like Ott-ee-lyuh'). It's definitely gaining in popularity rapidly with this wrong pronunciation.

I mean I would say O-Tilly and I think most people would. Ott-ee-lyuh seems really unnatural and to be honest I can’t even imagine how that would sound? It seems like you’d be really over pronouncing the name.

The dating name thing - does it matter if someone hears the name and automatically pictures a 45 year old woman when the OPs dd is a 45 year old woman?

I have another friend who has a name that was unusual in her birth year but about 20 years later became v popular. Shes mid 40s and said when people hear her name they are expecting a 20-something. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing!

Any name could be hit with that popular name issue later on. Unless you pick a name that has been in the top 50 names for over 4 decades, any name could date to a particular generation.