"Old Lady" names which should never see the light of day ever again

[MrsSchadenfreude]

In my opinion. I give you:

Ethel
Enid
Edna
Doris
Maud(e)
Hilda
Ena
Elsie
Gladys

wiltsmum - I love Judith! Posie - Posy and Humphry are fabulous too!

Are they not the Flumps Posie Parker? :) Having said that I love Mabel.

I have a theory that the current crop of old ladies/men with the name have to be largely no longer with us for the name to be favoured (with a few exceptions).

Violet is an example of this. In my mother's generation many had an old 'Aunty Vi' or similar. I knew old people with the name so it began to sound romantic and whimsical to me. Violet is an ugly name to my mother's ear but not to mine.

Barbaras, Glorias, Gladys and Vera are still with us, getting a bit long in the tooth in some cases but still here, thus not popular names. Joan too, but they are thinning out hence I think Joan will become popular ahead of Barbara.

While not being an old lady name (yet) I'd be interested to see when/if Susan ever makes a come back. For some reason there were a enourmous number of us born in the late 50s, but I don't know any baby Susans

If I was having another girl which I?m not meant to be then I would love a lot of these names

We had Grace down for a 3rd DD

Also love

Blanche
Olive
Beatrice
Elsie
Ivy
Felicity
Nancy
Evadne

A rose by any other name smells just as sweet.

But I cant remember who said it

shakespeare i think

Gabby, did you ever explain why you started that really odd thread in breast & bottle feeding?

Ethel
Mildred
Joyce
Phyllis

Phyllis is quite cool I think.

Oooh I don't know about flumps! I loved Pootle!

We're not having anymore anyway, I have four and all were sections, plus I don't have enough time as it is!

Love

the dog called trevor and rabbit called andrew:o

A bulldog in the park yesterday called Brian!

wiltsmum..well, apparently my name dates me to about the 1920s so I wouldn't worry!

My name has been mentioned as one which will never make a comeback and it's 1960's but you never know. My DD has said it will be her DD's middle name and it may be popular again by that time.

Some of the popular old ladies names are quite pretty once you get used to the idea.

My friend was an Edith (Edie) around all the Alisons, Caroles, Kathryns and Jacqulines and she absolutely hated it.

Oh Brian the dog is fab aswell:o

You are very brave having 4 sections btw, I had 3 and it almost finished me off!

my nan is sybil and i have never heard it apart from on my nan but my other nan was nelly and i never knew until recently her name was actually elenor (spelt wrong i know)

sybil

whoops missed your post tegan! my old next door neighbour was sybil, she was lovely:) just dont think it will be back!!! hoever i may be wrong:)

I know a couple of little Maud(e)s.

Thing is, I bet people were saying the same 20-30 years ago about

Alice
Phoebe
Eleanor
Matilda
Sophia
etc.

all very popular names now for girls in primary school.

I'll find it odd when all the boys' names from my class at school - John, Simon, Peter, Stephen, Paul, David, Richard, Wayne, Gary, Darren, Kevin, etc. - are all old men's names. Because almost nobody under 20 has these names now.

Surely, it is each to his own? If we all used/had the same popular names there would be confusion and it would certainly be dull.
A name, once associated with a person - young or old - becomes synonymous with that person.
And as for

"I mean, do they conjure up a glamorous, beautiful or strong person? No. An old lady with wrinkly tights who smells of wee."

, you might well be there yourself one day - a little more respect for the elderly please!!!!

Oh, I think Olive, Elsie, Flossie and Agnes are very much 'in'. I am pitching for a comeback for Daphne, as well. Can't stand:

Ethel
Edna
Enid (but luuurve Edith)
Gertrude
Doris
Hilda
Gladys
Doreen
Beryl
Marjorie

On current form, the ones making a comeback when our children have children will be the names of the current late-middle-aged/early older generation. So - expect a lot of little Maureens, Doreens, Helens, Reginalds, Brians, Bettys, etc!

irrelevent i know but when i was pg with dd2 now 6 dh wanted to call her if a boy stanley. but we had a girl called sidney instead

I agree with Ruby, that's a really sweet girl's name and I know a couple of Ruby girls (both babies and twenty-somethings) who it suits to a T.

Vera, Norma, Nora, Hilda, Marjorie and Margaret are too old-fashioned these days...

But, I kinda like Olive (if you can separate the name from popeye in your head, that is?!)

Joyce - I love that name.

I wanted to call my first daughter 'Joyce' but was out voted. Then I wanted to call my second daughter Joyce, but my first daughter pleaded for his little sister to be called Evie. So I relented.

I fear the name 'Joyce' will never be revived. As I said, I love the name but many others hate it. When I first drew my name list for my first daughter, someone said, "where did you get your inspiration from? The old folks home?"