Why is Archie so hated on MN?

[Easelsweetie1788]

When in reality it is actually a very well liked name or is it the fact that popular used names are disliked on MN?

the only Archie I know is a very sweet little boy so no bad connotations for myself. I am
tryjng to persuade DH to let me use Archie if you have not already guessed

They won’t be thought of like that once they’re all grown up and it’s normal.

You sound like a right snob.

I don't like it as to me, it's an old man name, specifically an old stinky farmer!

It’s just a preference.

I prefer strong names for both sexes.

Archie is in the same box as Millie, Maisy, Evie, Albie or Ollie for me- just a bit insipid sounding.

Those names are all very popular though, so my opinion is in the minority!

@Maxorias the popularity of Archie is from years before Prince Archie.
All the Archie's I know are aged between 15 - 20 ish.

I really dislike the word chavvy and do not agree with names being called chavvy.
Archie sounds like many people do like it but just have a preference for a more formal name on the BC which is fine although to me Archie is a formal name in its own right

To me it’s the name of a cockroach.

@Easelsweetie1788 I hate the word "chavvy" too.
It's a horrible rude word. I wish Mumsnet would ban it.

That's random......😂

Literally half the boys I know under the age of about 10 are called Archie, Albie, Alfie or Arlo

Yeah I don't dislike Archie in and of itself (though I always wonder whether people would have even considered it without the royal reference)

Of course they would. It belongs in the whole Alfie, Molly, Ellie, Ollie, Maisie trend of the past 15 years. Old people names that have made a comeback because people thought it made them a step up from “modern” names.

I just think of Archie Battersbee when I hear it

I don’t like the sound it makes nor the people I know who used it, tenuous connections colour our opinions and all that. Plus Archie raped Stacey on Eastenders. All silly I know.

MN has a thing about ‘nickname’ names and needing to have something full ‘on the BC’ but names evolve and change and there are plenty of names considered proper and full on here that were originally nicknames. It’s very common for nicknames to become names in their own right over time and I doubt anyone will assume Archie is short for something.

I like it. It does have a bit of a cockney cheeky chappy kind of vibe, but that’s quite cute in my opinion.

Four Archies in my youngest DC class. Also three Arlo and two Alfie’s and Milo. Causes a lot of confusion

It’s just incredibly common where I am. It’s fine, but I doubt he’d be the only one in his class.
Literally every other baby I meet is Archie, Arthur, Albie, or Arlo. (Used to get a lot of Alfie’s too but it seems to have died out a bit)
The rest are mostly called Oscar. It just gets a bit boring!

Because it has three major things going against it that Mumsnet usually hates in names - it’s popular (worry about there being two in a class), trendy (could well date, potentially “downmarket”) and blends into other similar popular names (Alfie, Albie etc so possibly confusing/annoying for teachers or other parents).

It’s not just Archie/Alfie/Albie, many people on here suggest not using the girls Ev- names (Evie/Eva/Evelyn/Ava etc) for example for generally the same reasons.

Personally popularity doesn’t worry me at all and I’m not that fussed about the names blending into each other (as that would discount about a third of the top 100 names, especially for girls!) - but I’m very wary of the trendy factor. Nobody wants their kids name to be the Karen or Kevin etc of 40 years time and unlike other top names that have stayed popular for a while now (like Jack, Oliver etc); Archie hasn’t been popular long enough to know how it will go - it might fade suddenly.

I generally dislike names that are obscure and then suddenly become ubiquitous. I used to like Amelia many years ago but it's everywhere now. I think it will become unfashionable quickly and disappear for another 80-100 years. Like many other names which don't endure, it will be seen as dated and associated with boys/men of a particular age because of its popularity in the 2010s/2020s.

I also don't agree that it is a name in its own right. Archibald is not great and Archer sounds like a surname or an American name to me (which is fine if you are American of course, but weird in the UK).

Years ago there was a programme called ‘ Monaco of the Glen’. The lead character was called Archie, and Archie became popular then.

Archie is okay. There's nothing wrong with it.

I know someone with an Archer...think that's better.

Archer is definitely better. I do think most Archie’s will end up as Arch, which is not too bad.

Re Prince Harry’s boy, I do think Archie was an unwise choice for a boy who was always going to end up spending at least a fair bit of time in the States and who had an outsize chance of having red hair, which indeed he does appear to have. He might get a bit sick of people asking him if he prefers Betty or Veronica😂

(Also, names with a cute nicknames sound ending in -ie and -y are not at all popular in the States. It’s very very British trend. Personally, for me that would be a reason to avoid these names - they do not work internationally at all. Although like I said, going by Alf or Arch is, I suppose, an option.)

The only archie I know is a late teen and a bit of a nightmare, he has a lovely group of friends yet he always seems to try and antagonise them all. I didnt realise their was a negativity surrounding the name but he definitely lives up to it.

I agree - and it’s ridiculous to say it’s chavvy anyway as it’s popular everywhere. My DC are at boarding school and there are plenty of Archies.