Is Emily dated compared to Alice?

[Sophcas7]

would appreciate your opinions, I’m trying to decide on a name. I like classic names but struggling to choose between these two, I love Alice it’s the ultimate old timey chic vibe and that’s never been too popular at a specific time so I think it’s beautiful. My husband likes Emily which I don’t mind but it’s not my favourite because its popularity spike in the 90s/00s puts me off slightly and I think it makes it sound dated now. I imagine majority Emily’s are ages 18-30 these days, it’s technically a lovely old name but certainly not in the same classic and timeless way as Alice imo. Emily seems slightly time stamped to me now.

I may be overthinking this but I don’t want to give my child a name that was too popular at a certain time because I have a terribly dated 80s name and I’ve always disliked it😬

I would say Alice is just slightly more unusual and consistent and Emily whereas Emily has had peaks of popularity depending whether a bit of subtle frill and more variants such as all these nice soft 'e' names have been in.

I feel the same about Lucy. Great but a bit too gentle for me. I think all are truly great classics but Alice edges it on the elegance and simplicity front. It's just that bit cooler and smarter.

Look, if Roy Chubby Brown can't ruin a name, nothing can.

They are both classics.

Emily is a classic in my opinion, and actually in my kids' schools there are far more Alices (multiple per class) than Emily. I do love both though, I've always loved Alice.

Both classic names. Alices and Emilies are all ages. I like both equally. Neither is dated. They don't date really.

Thanks for your thoughts. I’ve just looked on the ONS and Emily is number 28 so definitely not at the height of popularity it was 20 years ago but certainly not uncommon.

Babies called Alice in England & Wales since 1996
Babies called Emily in England & Wales since 1996

Thank you for this link. seeing it this way shows Alice has been slightly more consistently popular. It seems like Emily had a big moment in the late 90s-2000s and is falling out of favour. Emily is still a lovely classic of course but maybe not so much timeless?

Both classic and quite similar IMO.

Emily is more common at its peaks so dates, whereas Alice is at a lower but more constant level. Emily was considered very dated in the 50s and 60s, for example, because of its earlier popularity.

Emily is timeless I’ve known Emilys in every generation including my mum who would have been 100 if she was still alive and small babies

@Sophcas7 ,I think that Amelia, Amelie an Emilia might have caused the use of Emily to drop.

I prefer Alice, but both are classics.

Alice just doesn’t seem like a name that translates to adulthood to me.

As an adult Alice, I can confirm that I absolutely did not translate well into adulthood 😂😂

I know a lot of adult Emilys of a similar age, but the Alice’s I know are all different ages, so Alice feels more timeless and less dated to me.

I prefer Emily. Alice just makes me think of Alice in Wonderland! I might also be area dependent - Emily hasn’t been super popular where we are and I can’t say I know an Alice, but Amelia, Maya and Sophia are very common!

They’re about equal, but at a push, I prefer Alice.

@Dominoeffecter , A neighbour's daughter when I was growing up was called Alice, as was my aunt. It's fine for an adult.

Emily was indeed incredibly popular in the 90s and 00s, but it's certainly not dated as still well used now (as was before the spike). It's definitely in the timeless category, as is Alice.

I'm not sure you need to pit them against each other in terms of which is most timeless, as they both fit your brief. However, I agree with your point that Alice's popularity is more spread across the generations.

Out of the two, I prefer Alice. I'm not a big fan of y/ie names. I much prefer Emma to Emily.

If you use one now and happen to have another daughter in the future, Alice and Emily make great names for sisters! Very much the same naming style. Two timeless classics.

Tbh both are lovely names. I err more towards Emily as a Brontë fan and she was the most kick ass of the sisters! Alice is pretty, but imo I think out the two Emily sounds like it would transition better into adulthood- for me! Don’t come at me grown up Alice’s 😅. I just think Emily is a an elegant graceful name whilst Alice is more ‘obvious’ and more saturation exists there as it were.

Both names have vibes of much earlier generations as well as being popular in more recent times.
Emily however became very popular and I think much more so than Alice.
Therefore if I had to choose I would choose Alice because it's such a sweet and pretty name, definitely with an old-time feel to it, but not overused as Emily has been in the last 50 years or so.

Alice is my all time favourite but I had 3 sons.
They are both classic names but Alice is timeless Between 2 of my sons, there are 4 friends and an ex called Emily

Both beautiful - you can’t go wrong with either of those names!

I find these banes very similar.
So similar that I can’t chose between them.
I always think you have to be careful with names beginning with the letter A. Make sure it goes with your surname so you don’t end up with A noun.
For example A Box.

Both are classics but yes I think Emily comes with more of a time stamp than Alice.

Both are classic and timeless but I personally prefer Emily. I think it stands up to adulthood better. I've also known Alice to be shortened to Ali, which I really don't like.