What's more classic and timeless, Emily or Sarah?

[hcarter8]

Me and my husband are struggling to decide on a name, even though some may say it’s a boring bland name I like the name Sarah, I just think it’s a good old no nonsense name that is relatively timeless.

My husband likes Emily but I’m not sure even though I do think its pretty and I don't know if people like it as much these days but i vividly remember it being so popular 20 years ago i remember so many people naming their daughters Emily in the 00s it was crazy to me how popular it became in such a short amount of time.

I looked at the statistics out if curiosity on the ons website and even though sarah was quite a popular name here in the UK in the 70s/80s I’ve never actually met one which is quite odd, I prefer Sarah because it has never left the top 100 names from 1904 to 2017 and it's only just left in the last few years which would make it a genuinely timeless name. Whereas Emily actually left the top 100 in 1914 and was unheard of for a good 50 odd years until 1973 when it re entered the top 100 and slowly rose, eventually hit the number 2 spot in in the 90s and was number 1 in 2003 and 2004, so I’d expect most Emily’s these days to be in the age range of 15-30 years old.

I was given a very popular 80s name that has dated badly because of its once mega popularity at a certain time so I’m making a point not to do the same to my daughter but me and my husband are struggling to compromise.

Thoughts? What seems more dated?

I much prefer Emily.

Both are great names. I prefer the name Sarah. I thought it had become quite old-fashioned about 20 years ago, so is due a revival. It was super-popular in 1960s and 70s and may become so again. Like Claire.

I'm a Sarah. I'd rather be Sarah than Emily. Emily feels quite young and girly.
But neither are bad!

Well thank you very much 🫡

Love, Sarah

I prefer Sarah to Emily. I’d choose Charlotte if I wanted a timeless name though!

I prefer Sarah to Emily. Me too. Emily seems a bit wet. I couldn't see why Sarah was so popular for so long though. It's nice but there were plenty of other names that could have been used, and most of the Sarahs I know are Sarah Jane.

You've never met a Sarah?!

😮

But I agree, it's the more timeless of the two. I also think it's more beautiful. And it will stand out more for a little girl born today, much more than Emily which has more recent popularity and also lots of popular sound-a-like names like Amelia.

I find it fascinating that if you were an 80s child you never met a Sarah. Every second girl in the 80s was called Sarah! The rest were called Claire and most had Louise somewhere in their name.

Sarah is lovely, it's a popular name in my age group (I'm early 50s) but less common in younger people. It's pretty without being fussy.

I particularly dislike the name Emily - it's wet and a bit prissy. Emma's much nicer.

I love the name Sarah - so many people my age are called it but hardly any children are. I would love to use it for a little girl now

Lucy is another underused classic at the mo!

Lucy was very popular about 20 yrs ago.

I’m enjoying @BoleynMemories13’s list of classics, which includes my name, all my sisters, my daughter and both my neighbour’s daughters!

Sarah and Emily are both as classic as each other really, but I agree Sarah would be more unusual now. It also feels a bit stronger to me, though Emily’s possibly prettier.

I've never met a child Sarah - and I've taught supply so I've met a lot of kids!

I prefer Emily. My dd is Charlotte and to me that's a timeless and beautiful name.

I wouldn't say either were a timeless classic. Both have been in and out of fashion.
Really names like Elizabeth, Katherine, Rebecca, Samantha are timeless classics imo.

I went to school with loads of Sarah’s. Just so many. It feels dull and unimaginative.

Emily isn’t my cup of tea either, to be fair. I’ve known far fewer of them overall.

Samantha?

Sarah is a lovely name and less everywhere than Emily. I’d go for that.

Why on earth is Rebecca any more timeless than Sarah? Both biblical names. And Samantha, really? (even though I quite like it). But it's all very subjective of course.

Ultimately most names, classic or not, have waves of popularity so people date them to particular decades. The only name I can think of where it could belong to someone of any age is Anna.

OK then!

I mean for example Katherine, yes very much a classic and has been a well known name in the UK for hundreds of years. Yet currently I can see it is not fashionable (probably because so many were born in the 1960s, at least one in every class). Right here on the baby names board you see posters rushing to assure other posters that 'you don't have to use Catherine, just Kate or Katie is fine' (and much more up to date, by implication). I still like Catherine/Katherine personally.

The same thing with Sarah, its extreme popularity in the 1960s /70s (and 80s?), leads some people to class it as bland and boring. And just because they are aware that a lot of older women are named Sarah, that seems to blind them to the good things about this classic name.

@Pemba, I think it's because there are so many variations of it. I went to school in Wales and there were a few Catherine, Catrin, Cathryn, Kathryn, Karen, Caren and Katrina. I don't recall there being a Katherine, Katharine or Kathleen. Katherine, Kate, Cat and Katie came afterwards, then there were lots of Caitlin and Katelyns

Sarah was my top choice for a girl's name (I never had a girl) and probably still would be. I think it's lovely. I also think it's probably more timeless than Emily, which would have been considered horribly old-fashioned for quite a lot of the 20th century, and then sort of fashionably old-fashioned in the 60s and 70s. I do really like Emily too, but Sarah definitely has the edge for me.

Sarah

Whilst I technically think both are timeless. I think it’s too soon for a Sarah revival.

I would assume Sarah was the mum.