What age range are you?

[MummyToBe2001]

Hi!

I was just wondering what the average age of the posters are on MN baby name forum. I’m curious because I see a lot of “Susan, Jenny, David, John” name suggestions that feel very 70s to me.

I am just curious how many of us are in our 20s-30s because I feel like I’m one of the few!

It's ultra-trendy people trying to be the first to claim names that are bound to come back into fashion I reckon. Ethel, Archie, Olive etc are getting a bit too twee so they're moving on to the generation that came after that. Victoria Coren and David Mitchell have a daughter called Barbara!

Why have you put everyone over 50 in the same group? That puts four or more decades together.

Because to me (23), 50+ all kind of blend into one age

Some of the names put forward are bizarre. I’ve just seen Joanne suggested on another thread.

Well that’s a bit daft, there’s a huge difference between a 50 year old and a 70 year old.

LMFAO! 😂

Imagine someone saying that everyone from a newborn baby to 49 years old, all blend into one age. 😆

Daftest comment of the week on Mumsnet. Have a medal! 🏅 😆

I mean there’s big life changes between 1 months and 49 🤣

If you’re 50 or over you’re no longer having children (I should hope) - so in terms of your opinion on a baby name forum, it’s all irrelevant is what I mean.

50+ are all in the same category to me in the sense they’re too old to be child bearing and probably out of touch of modern baby naming trends (the whole point of the post)

I am trying to figure out who is suggesting out of touch names - and anyone over 50 is a likely contender.

Or you could just engage your own brain and decide which names you actually like yourself? It doesn't have to match up with what other 23 year olds think.

I think people over childbearing age can have an opinion on names. After all, you’re not simply naming a baby, you’re naming a person who will become an adult.

You seem quite immature for 23.

I think I’ve offended all the over 50s 🤣😭

Not over 50 and not offended. Did manage to choose my own baby names without worrying about whether they were suggestions from 'over 50s'.

Perhaps, however I’m not one of them. I’m in my 30’s and pregnant.

Simply find you quite juvenile.

What types of names do you like op?

I don’t think those names in your op are due a comeback yet and I don’t know anyone who has recommended them or used them!

Not me - I'm 71 and enjoyed ticking a box for the 50+ 😎

I'm 67 and ticked 50 plus, Susan, David and John were very popular late 50s, early 60s names, DBs middle name is John, They were very common names at school. I may have skewed the vote though because I'm not generally on the baby name forum, it came up in active.

They won't when you're 50.

50+ are all in the same category to me in the sense they’re too old to be child bearing and probably out of touch of modern baby naming trends (the whole point of the post)

Older posters will have seen trends come and go, and are more likely to predict if a name that is fresh and appealing now might be an unfortunate label for your child in 10, 20 or 30 years' time.

You sound immature, @MummyToBe2001 . Call your baby what you like, but David and Susan are both nice names that fell out of popularity because they were overused, not because they weren't good names.

A friend has a teenage Robert. It's a classic, and a refreshing change from all the Jacks, Harrys and -ies.

I'm in my 30s. Personally I don't think age is the issue. From the threads I've read/been on people just have a huge range of opinions & style preferences with names.

The names you have listed are 50s/60s names and people born in that era didn't choose them for their own children.

Elis is the most popular name in most Welsh regions. You'd probably not meet another one outside Wales.

@Tooearlytothink , the ONS page used to show the popularity by the age of the mother. There was a difference, with older mothers tending to prefer more traditional names like Jack and Oliver.

@MummyToBe2001 David is the most popular name in Hackney!

A lot of 50 plus women still have kids in school, and they’ll also be a bunch of grandmothers doing nursery pickup, so not necessarily out of touch. Also don’t forget there are women from overseas posting and popular names seem to peak at different times.

I’ve just turned 30 and I like Jenny, David, John type names a lot more than Hunter, Sawyer, Mason or Lily-Rose, Teddy, Freddie, Alfie, Riley-Jay etc type names.

Perhaps you’re out of touch as you’re a fair bit younger than the average age for a first baby (just over 29) so not many in your circle? Someone I know recently had a baby John.

40’s but have a toddler not yet in nursery so go to a lot of different toddler/baby groups and see a wide variety of names (plus have always had an interest in names myself).

Susan (instead of more timeless Susanna) wouldn’t likely be a name I’d suggest due to its 50’s/60’s popularity - but John and David would be. I love classic and timeless names and David has always stayed in the Top 100 popular boys names and John was still Top 150 until last year (so they are hardly middle aged/1970’s style only). Timeless and/or classic names are great as they often defy social expectations like age or background, unlike more currently trendy choices.

(Jenny is a tricky one as Jennifer could be seen as a bit dated now due to its 70’s popularity- but Jenny as a nickname-style given name follows current trends and is kind of hipster cool now just like similar Penny).

I am in my mid-thirties, and I probably miss the mark with my comments and name ideas sometimes, since I'm not from the UK originally, and English is not my first language.
But I love to discuss names, and I think there are very interesting discussions here! In threads I will write which names I prefer from the OP's list. I will write longer comments when the names are from my country of origin, since I know more about that.

OP are you aware that names that might seem cool now will be the equivalent of Gary, Sharon etc in 40 years because they're currently in fashion but will also fall out of fashion pretty quickly?