Charlene

[Snowbell99]

What about Charlene?

Or the French spelling Charline? I think it looks a bit nicer.

I like them both better than Charlotte. But everyone seems to much prefer Charlotte.

Any idea why?

I think Aisling is lovely

@Snowbell99

Oh, a bit sad that many people dislike it :(

Is -een dated in general to you?

Would Aideen (AY-deen) and Aisling (ASH-leen) sound dated to you too?

Aideen is an anglicisation of Éadaoin, Irish.

No I am not in Ireland at the moment but moving there is a possibility because of my employer.

I pretty universally don't like the -een sound, though Aisling is my favourite name that you've suggested. The fact that people think Charlene is dated doesn't mean it's a bad name, just that people would probably expect a Charlene to be born in the 80s. At the moment the trend is far more for names ending in -a than ending in consonant sounds. And Charlene fits in more with Christine, Jacqueline etc. than names which are popular today. They aren't condemned forever, just out of vogue at the moment. And just because I don't like it (or other posters) it doesn't mean you shouldn't use it if you love it. Some names I love aren't popular on here either

Yes I think the eeen sound is dated.

Aideen is just frumpy. Just reminds me of names that shouldn’t reappear like Maureen or Doreen or Eileen.

I've only ever met one Charlene, who I guess would be at least in her late 60s by now. That's not enough data to tie it to a particular era, but she's still the first person I think of when I hear the name, so for me personally it sounds a bit surprising for a baby. I prefer Charlotte anyway, as it is one of my all-time favourite names.

@GeneLovesJezebel

I can’t say or think it without putting an Australian accent on.

Me neither

I've been to Paradise - wasn't that sung by Charlene in the 80s

The girl next door to me growing up was Charlene
She was nice so I think the name is fine as that is the only association I have with the name 👍

OP I know a Charla.... pretty!

@woodhill

I've been to Paradise - wasn't that sung by Charlene in the 80s

But I've never been to me

Hmmm if the girl on that show was Lenny did she say shar-LENN?
Just wondering.

@CloudPop

Lol

Charlotte is classic, Charlene isn't.

Aisling is pronounced Ashling isn’t it?

I don’t usually worry about names being ‘dated’ by I’ll make an exception for Charlene! It is very heavily dated to the Kylie period in Neighbours. It’s an ok name though

Charlotte is beautiful.

Oh golly, it's a very undistinguished name from the 80s - and will be forever Neighbours.

I would not do that. Caroline is great though.

Aislinn not dated at all, terrific name - I'd go for that.

I quite like Eadaoin too, but would use the Aedín spelling - it's a bit less of a spelling nightmare than Eadaoin, but much nicer than Aideen which has depressing Maureen/Charlene vibes

What about Josephine? If you like the -een sound. Josie is cute

Charlene is very dated and even at the time spoke volumes about your social class. (Which is a shame really because I think it's actually quite a nice name.)

Charlotte is definitely much more of a classic and a much safer option, but that might not be what you are looking for in a name.

If you like the "een" sound, there are lots of other names. I like Marlene, although it can be pronounced both Marleen and Mar-lay-na (which I also think is nice).

Otherwise, some names with the "ine" ending are pronounced this way, including French names such as Delphine and Sandrine.

Charlene sounds very footballers wives / Royle family / Benidorm to me

And Dallas - actress Charlene Tilton playing Lucy Ewing in the 80s