What are names that used to be reserved for the upper class but are now widely used by everyone

[hcarter8]

I remember reading the freakonomics books years ago about how a lot of names start of posh and eventually filter down throughout the years and become very common place names. Olivia is a prime example for me i grew up in the 80s and Olivia back then was looked at as an upper class old woman's name that only "posh" people would've chosen, 30 years later it has became quite commonplace and number 1 name. Emily is another past number 1 name that springs to mind also wasn't used commonly until the 90s/00s when it hit its peak and began being used by all lower/working/upper class people.

A lot of the newer names that are being used now like Arabella, Ophelia, Isabella would've of been mega posh 20 years ago but have now made their way into the mainstream.

Charlotte was definitely posh-only if you go back far enough; it came over to England from France in the Restoration period and for a long time it was used mainly by the aristocracy.

During the 19th century, a lot of Old Testament names went the other way, from mercantile to posh or at least “acceptable among posh people for the first time.” It would have been unusual for a 17th or 18th century rich family to have called their daughter Rebecca or Rachel or their son Luke or Matthew, as these names were associated with Low Church working class and lower-middle-class families; generally, Biblical names were not used all that much by the upper classes other than Mary, Anne, Jane, John, James and one or two others. In the 19th century, as wealthy semi-secularized Jewish families emerged (like the Rothschilds), Old Testament names started to sound more acceptable to the upper classes.

(I did recently come across a late 17th century peer’s daughter called Rachel and of course there was Sarah Churchill, later Duchess of Marlborough, but these names are quite striking because they are quite rare).

Those are posh. My aunt called her sons Rupert and Zachary as they wanted to be posh.

Super posh people I know (they’re older than me) were called Elizabeth, Christopher, Janet. And one called DD Rebecca. Another posh girl I was at school with (private) was called Victoria. This was in the 80s though where definitely Toby, Oliver and other names were considered “posh”.

DM private tutored a posh couple (the DM was German) who called her DD Imogen which I thought was posh. I knew of someone who called their DD Hermione too (slightly older than me).

You and I must live in a similar party of Scotland! 100% agree. In fact one of my kids is in your posh list😂 There is no way the likes of Hamish and Flora are chav names where I am.

To answer the op, no names are 'reserved' for the 'upper classes' today!

My child has a name that's on some of your 'posh/upper class' list, but we are not remotely posh and our kids go to the local state primary.

Alice was a maids name.

Plus the upper classes would name their children a long name that could be shortened. Eg Frederick to Fred, Edward to Ed.
However now these shortened names are the given name for the masses like Eddie not Edward. Lottie not Charlotte.

I remember a very posh sounding girl in uni called Henrietta. Henry for short. Has that grown in popularity yet?

@KeeeeeepDancing , there were more than one princess called Alice.

My grandfather who was mix of direct German (mum) and dual national French English (dad) snd born and brought up in upper class German household with nanny etc and haute German. He was called Francis (Frank for short), his brother was Frederick (Fred for short) and older half brother George. All family first names though.

names.darkgreener.com/#henrietta

It's grown in popularity a bit but it fell last year. It's far off the top 100 anyway.

I'm not aware of any names that were the exclusive domain of the aristocracy until recently. There weren't any laws that prevented commoners from using longer or fancier names (at least not in Britain).

Look at gravestones and genealogical records and you'll find that ordinary people in the past had a wide variety of names.

'Reserved' for the 'upper classes'?!

Only in the UK is that even a concept....

I don’t think the op means names literally reserved for the upper class, lol. Just names that seemed ridiculous posh and only the ‘upper class’ would use.

Agree with this.
The divisions within society were far more complex than mere class. Non-conformist, Jewish, and Catholic Britons had their own class structures and naming traditions, and then the social, ethnic, and geographical structures of Scotland added even more nuance. Ireland was another kettle of fish again (both before and after independence, and within NI names have a sectarian significance too).

I also agree with @Barmecide that the American culture described by Levitt, et al, does not map onto British class-based culture.

That's still an exceptionally British concept.

Any time you hear the word 'posh', you know you're dealing with someone whose world view is formed by a first-hand experience of English (not always wider British) culture.

Yes I’m sure it is, but this is the point of the thread. Like my grandma laughing at the idea of using the name Toby, ‘how posh’. Yet it’s a very normal name now. I don’t think there are any names that this applies to now, but may be wrong.

Quentin. I’ve heard that name suggested a few times on here. The name was up there with Tarquin and other very odd names a few years back (apologies to any Quentin’s and Tarquins).

Dorothea, Lucinda, Ottilie seem to be appearing more.

Hugo

Yes, Hugo and Quentin have become more 'mainstream' in recent years. As has Sebastian

Thankfully Tarquin doesn't show up on the ONS lists at all - it's not very nice imo

I remember a very posh sounding girl in uni called Henrietta. Henry for short. Has that grown in popularity yet?

I know a Henrietta but I think she's about 50. She is rather posh though. People sometimes call her Hen (I'm not sure whether she likes that or not). I've never met a little one, though I've heard of one, who I think may be in her early teens now. She was definitely very specifically named after a significant Henry in her family, not just a case of "ooh Henrietta is a nice name."

PS - whoever mentioned Toby, that's a good one, which I forgot to put on my list. Not only did I think of Toby as sounding a bit posh when I was younger, I would also have described it as one of those names that is cute for a little boy but maybe a bit too cute for an adult. But as the Tobys of my sons' generation grow up and get responsible jobs, I think it is becoming normalised. And of course there's Toby Jones (who is almost exactly the same age as me) as a very positive role model.

Hugo and Quentin have become more 'mainstream' in recent years. As has Sebastian
Sebastian probably because of S. Vettel. Hugo because -o names are trendy.

Thankfully Tarquin doesn't show up on the ONS lists at all
Yet Quinn is much loved on MN.

The Henrietta I knew would be mid 40s by now, too.

Hugo springs to mind