Is Charlotte more timeless than Emily?

[hcarter8]

Me and dh are trying to choose between Charlotte and Emily, although I prefer Charlotte.
Both are old names but for some reason Emily is starting to feel dated to me in 2024, Although Charlotte is a very popular name, it has never been a number one name like Emily but has always been around so it makes it feel slightly more timeless.

I'm aware Emily is an old name that has been in use from the 1800s (Emily Brontë and Dickinson) but it had a phase of big popularity about 20 years ago according to statistics. Online it says it was number one in the US/UK and Australia in the 90s/00s.

On the nameberry website they've called it number 1 name among Gen Z here nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-emily# which means it's bound to date if it's already got the title of the top name for a generation.

Would you class Emily as feeling slightly "dated" now? Is Charlotte more timeless?

Apart from Elizabeth, there is no such thing as a popular , yet truly timeless name for girls in the UK as most have dipped out of the top 100 at some point (although Maria comes close).

Your choice would be either to pick a name that has never been very popular but still has a long history of use (Claudia, Serena, Antonia, Juliet etc type of name) so feels timeless in that respect- or to go for something that just “feels classic” even if it technically isn’t timeless. Emily and Charlotte fall into this latter category - along with names like Anna, Julia, Eleanor, Harriet etc. And personally I’ve met Emily’s and Charlotte’s of varying ages so they are pretty much equal in that respect imo (whatever the statistics say I think it would be hard to be definitive about an Emily or Charlotte’s age).

Maybe you feel Charlotte is more timeless since there’s been a Queen Charlotte but not an Emily? Royal names often seem to be thought of as more classic for some reason imo. I like them both btw - both very classic and suit all ages- but if forced to pick, I’d go for Charlotte.

It's like Jane Eyre versus Wuthering Heights. On that basis I may be contrary and go for Anne instead. Apparently they had two older sisters who died from poor health, Maria, after their mother and Elizabeth.

Not sure if that helps though.

Both are timeless I think anyway. I have an Emily love her name named her after my Grandma and my great grandma so very timeless. I don't know any little Charlotte's only know friend in their mid 30's now.

Both are timeless but I think Charlotte has a different ring to Emily. These are the connotations I get from both:

Charlotte = strong, noble, classy,
Emily = intelligent, crafty, interesting

Equally timeless although I agree thst Emily is more popular right now.

I think I prefer Charlotte. Carlotta is the Latin version? I like that too.