Is our list too boring?

[hazeleyes94]

I showed our list to a friend, and she told us to pick whatever we love but gently let us know that she considered the names to be a bit out of fashion and too popular in the past...

I'd love some comments on:

Chloe
Sophie
Emma
Sarah
Sarah-Jane
Annabelle
Eva
Jolie
Zoey
Hannah

Would be helpful if you could comment on all of them or some if you don't have time.

Are they too boring? We like how classic and grounded they feel. Zoey is the exception but I grew up watching films featuring Zoey Deutch so it looks nice to me.

With the exception of Jolie, I think they are lovely names - so much nicer than some of the daft trendy names that may people choose nowadays. I prefer the usual spelling of Zoe.

I think you need to take a few steps back, maybe you and your friend have different ideas of what makes a good name. Does it have to be interesting? What does that even mean? Being unusual for the sake of it?

I really like Sarah, due a come back. Not sure how to say Jolie - save as joely?

From your list I'd go with Sarah or Zoe. I like Sadie too.

Draw up a list with these names:
Amelia
Sophia
Olivia
Freya
Isla
Mia
Lily-Rose
Evie-Grace
Ellie-May
Isabella
Your friend will probably think it's wildly exciting.

Jolie gets said as Joe Lee, not as the french word for pretty (zholl-ee). Not a fan.

They are all quite classic names, quite 80s/90s.

Chloe - I like this name.

Sophie - Not fussed on this name, it’s a bit boring.

Emma - A good classic name. probably my favourite on your list.

Sarah - Really don’t like the name. Hate it more when it’s shortened to ‘Sar/e’

Sarah- Jane - strongly dislike both names, so really don’t like them together.

Annabelle - It’s ok. Likely to be shortened to Anna or Belle, which are both nice.

Eva - I don’t like any of the Eve/Eva/Evie style names. Overdone IMO, although I haven’t heard many Eva’s.

Jolie - Angelina’s surname? I don’t like this as a name.

Zoey - never liked this name.

Hannah - it’s ok, but all Hannah’s I know get called just ‘Han’ and I really don’t like that.

Not boring but classic.
Lovely names

I love Sophie, Emma and Zoey but without the y

Chloe - pretty, don’t know any under 20
Sophie - lovely, very popular

Emma - classic, stylish
Sarah - classic, stylish
Sarah-Jane - I don't usually like double barrelled names but this is classy
Annabelle - doll's name, frilly

Eva - elegant and simple
Jolie - Angelina! Also difficult for a plain child to carry off. A no from me.

Zoey - ok, prefer the Zoe spelling
Hannah - classic

most of these would be lovely

Honestly only Eva is overdone right now

I like Emma or Zoe (the extra y will be a pain for her), the rest are all perfectly nice other than Jolie which is odd (and adds rather a lot of pressure for her) and Sarah Jane - hyphens are never good.

Why do names hsve to be fashionable? I like all the names apart from Sarah-Jane. Sometimes I think it's best to wait until the child is born before deciding on a name, because sometimes u have ond in mind and think to yourself that it does not suit said child. 🙂

Oops, and I would say no to Jolie too. How would you pronounce it? No it means pretty in French.

@BCBird , they don't have to be fashionable, but if you use one that's dropping in popularity, you'll be one of several Chloes in the workplace, with the others being about 20 yrs older than you.

I had a granny name and got comments like 'That's my nan's name' as a kid (it made me feel like the odd one out). My name was not on souvenirs (I didn't mind).

If you think about it some names date someone to approximately a decade. How old would you expect a Debbie, Julie and Tracey to be, or a Darren, Paul or Nigel?
How about Margaret, Barbara and Christine, or Alan, Graham and Colin?

Beautiful names, I especially love Emma, Sarah & Eva. My children’s names are definitely too boring for my best friend’s tastes and, equally, her son’s name is too out there for me so don’t worry about her opinion too much. If it’s right for you & your partner, that’s all that matters.

They're all lovely choices

Emma - Very big in the '80s and '90s and on a downward trend here, but currently popular for babies in the US (where it wasn't so popular in the '80s.)

Emma has bobbed around the 50 mark in the UK top 100 for at least 9 years as i always check. No. 48 currently. 1.5k born the year my daughter was born but Ive never met another a similar age and DDis the only one in her 2 form entry primary. Its a great choice if you have a complicated surname. I have never had to correct spelling or pronunciation. Very popular in scandinavia and france.

There was a fun thread on here a few years back about how boring it is.

All good , except Jolie and I’d spell Zoe not Zoey

I'm an Emma , ( cough ) from the 1960s when my mum was told off by the midwife for calling her baby a nasty old fashioned name , it’s a lovely name

Ignore your friend , and let her call her baby what she likes and you name your baby your way

I like them all except Chloe and Jolie.

Sarah and Jane are both good, classic names but better as stand-alone names.

Eva I liked, but it's become so oft-used recently.

The rest are great.

Lots of those names are very popular so they clearly aren’t universally considered boring!!

I dislike Zoey and Jolie a lot, though like Zoe spelt traditionally.

I have a Chloe so I'm biased 😅 but it's a pretty name and not overused

It's v personal so definitely go with what you like and has a special meaning for you.

I like Annabelle the best.

Just to give you more ideas with similar vibe:

Martha
Clara
Sylvia
Josephine

Very much dislike Sarah-Jane but besides that they’re all nice and classic.

I think Sophie, Sarah and Sarah-Jane are painfully boring names. I don’t really like them.

Emma and Hannah are a little boring too, but has more of a classic feel. They’re nice names, they’re just not very exciting and have been very overdone by the past couple of generations.

I think Chloe, Zoey, Eva and Annabelle are very beautiful names. They’re popular, but their sound is so pretty.

Jolie I’d say is an uncommon name and not boring. I quite like it, unless it’s a typo for Julie, which I hate. Love Julia though, as it feels fresher and lighter.

For me the only one that sounds dated is Sarah Jane. Possibly because as a mid 80s baby I grew up with many Sarah janes.

Love Emma but i’m biased as I have a beautiful 18 year old Emma

Its timeless and classic ❤️

Biased but my 9yo is Eva and since we had her, despite how high on the popularity charts it is, we’ve only ever met 1 other girl called Eva.

It’s timeless and her name gets a lot of compliments amongst the mass of Evie & Ava.
I think it’s beautiful & elegant. My great grandmother, born 1902, was called Eva so it’s not a “new, fashionable” name.