Will the name Cleo date?

[Betweentheacts1]

considering Cleo for dd2. It’s currently at 180 in the name charts (277 last year). I’ve not met any irl. Do you think it will date? It’s Not really a classic though not modern either (earliest cleo in the uk is from 1649 apparently). I don’t mind the popularity issue too much but would hate for it to be a name that, in 20 years time, just makes everyone think of the early 2020s… hoping it’s maybe not popular enough for that?

I don't think it'll date. As you say, it's not popular enough for that. It's a lovely name.

Clio would be even less likely to date, I would think

All names date. Unavoidable. But it's irrelevant.

It's a nice name. I went to uni with one. Her full name was Cleopatra. She was a bit of a queen bee. Always in charge of something.

Nice enough girl though.

I don’t think it will date. It doesn’t seem particularly “on trend” at the moment (which is a good thing).
I really like it.

I love Cleo. Reminds me a bit of Chloe which is quite popular but manages to be timeless nonetheless.

Cleopatra is a bit ott in my opinion and I wouldn’t use it unless you’re in Greece or in another country where it’s more common to use it and other mythological women’s names or goddesses names are popular.

Possibly. It’s a name ending in a O, lots of vowels, fits in with ancient mythology which is another name trend. 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 dire warning.

I think most names date to some extent - especially girls. The only girls name to appear in every year’s name data since 1904 from England and Wales is Elizabeth. 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. If you look at the historical data, names which are popular in the 60s aren’t popular now. As a whole list they just aren’t appealing for babies today. And in two generations time, the most popular names today won’t be appealing as trends will have moved on. And even names out of the most popular names (such as Cleo) share characteristics with other popular names so it still sounds like a 2020 era name.

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, but no one can predict the future.

I like it, I can imagine calling both an adult and a child it. Also, it doesn't shorted to much, other than Clee

I think it's a beautiful name op

Ah I wanted to call DD Clio 15 years ago but sadly was vetoed by DH. Still
love it now ❤️

Or Greek spelling Kleio

I suspect it will date somewhat as it's Cleo when there are a lot of Leo's and Arlos and Theos. But then again does it really matter? Some of the names people cringe about now and say are super dated I thought were massively cool and glamorous when I was in school. So we grow up with the names of our generation so they aren't going to be dated for us. Whereas my name that ive never met many others of is massively popular now and the chosen name of babies and toddlers! Which is better? I'm not sure it's brilliant to have a toddler name when you're a different generation either. If you like the name it being of its generation is surely fine and probably nice for your dd if anything.

It's a beautiful amazing name. One of my favourites

it's no where near popular enough to date. I've never met one and have looked at official statistics so this isn't just anecdotal

Thanks all for the lovely comments!

@MadameDragon agree re clio (and personally prefer that spelling/name) but dh is really worried about the car thing plus everyone assuming cleo and misspelling her name…

DS's best friend is called Cleo, and I absolutely love the name!

@toastofthetown yes that all makes sense.

It might date a little but does it really matter? If you want a timeless girls' names you're limited to a very small number of 'classic' names like Katherine or Anna. Names generally only age badly if they've burst on the scene as brand new names.

I don't think it will date. Number 180 on the list is really not that popular. The only names we strongly associate with the 1970s or 1980s are those that were very popular back then. Not the names that were way down on the list and especially not those that were below the top 100. Nobody is going to look at Sara (number 82 in 1964) and say, "That is such an 60s name!". There are very few truly "timeless" girl's names anyway, unless you want to choose Elizabeth.

If it stays at its current popularity then no I don't think it will date. It's not an overused name at all nor is it extremely unusual.

Your main risk for it dating is if it got a sudden surge of popularity - perhaps a film character or celeb with the name which causes it to come on trend.

However, you can't really predict that so if you like it go for it.

It's a great name and has never been overly popular. You can't predict what will happen with name trends in future, so go for it.

As pp said, if you want a truly timeless English name, your only real choices are Elizabeth and
C/Katherine.

I think Clio is better, unless you want to go for Cleopatra nn Cleo.

I don’t think it will get popular enough to
date, but if you want to be sure pick something more unusual. It’s a great name though.