Dated and not-so-dated names

General Name Discussion
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Hello, lovely Berries!

A comment of mine on a recent thread really got me thinking about names that different Berries will consider dated or not dated, depending on the culture they’re surrounded by. In that thread, I said something about Ivo being dated where I live (Croatia), where it’s a nickname for Ivan now reserved for our grandfathers, and other commenters were surprised as many would consider it to be hipster right now, what with it being featured in a recent blog post, 50 Names Parents Will Go Gaga Over in 2022.

So, it got me thinking: what other names are popular on NB but dated over here, and vice versa? What names are currently being used for babies and kids in Croatia, but many NB users would consider dated, or vintage at best?

Without further ado, here are all of the ones I could think of! (Might also add some later if any more come to mind)

Names I’d consider to be dated in Croatia

Ivo (prn. EE-vo)

Milan (prn. MEE-lahn)

Mara - a very popular diminutive of Marija around the middle of the last century

Mira

Sylvia (spelled Silvija in Croatia)

Tatiana (spelled Tatjana in Croatia, prn. TA-tia-na)

Vera (prn. VEH-ra)

Vesna - not super-duper popular around NB but I see it pop up from time to time; probably had more teachers named Vesna than any other name

Names which many Berries consider to be dated/vintage, but are usually borne by kids and younger people in Croatia

Barbara (prn. BAR-bah-rah) - does not rank within the Top 50, but I know three under the age of 22, and they’re the only Barbara’s I know

Bruno - currently ranks at n.32 nation-wide; I lost count of how many I’ve come across

Dora - currently ranks at n.11 nation-wide; this one really deserves way more love than it gets on the forums, it’s a name which has been in use for at least 150 years over here

Doris - currently n.39

Karla (Croatian spelling of Carla) - currently n.27

Laura (prn. LAH-oo-rah) - currently n.19

Leon (prn. LEH-on) - currently n.15

Leona (prn. leh-OH-na) - currently n.26

Marta - currently n.6

Paula (prn. PAH-oo-lah)

Petra - currently n.9

Rita - currently n.7!

Since I know NB has so many users around the globe, I’m really interested in seeing which names you consider to be dated and which not, both on this list and some names from your area as well! (@lumianim I’m interested in hearing your thoughts as well, and @eattacosforbreakfast I thought you might enjoy this since that original comment was on a thread of yours :slight_smile: )

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This is so interesting! I’m always fascinated by the impression or associations names have in different parts of the world.

For me, a lot of the vintage names popular in the UK still feel very dated to me as a US berry. I can barely picture a young [name_u]Stanley[/name_u] or [name_m]Chester[/name_m]!

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[name_m]German[/name_m] parents are obsessed with M & L names that can fit as many vowels as you can, so names like [name_u]Milan[/name_u], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Mira[/name_f], etc. are all quite current in [name_u]Germany[/name_u]. [name_m]Leon[/name_m], [name_f]Leona[/name_f], [name_f]Laura[/name_f], [name_f]Marta[/name_f] are also still relatively popular even if some of them have been so for ages (Laura & [name_m]Leon[/name_m], for example). [name_m]Bruno[/name_m] is also quite popular right now. Karla/Carla too.

[name_f]Doris[/name_f] is super dated and [name_f]Dora[/name_f] isn’t popular either; [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] never made the jump from being an Eastern European name to being a [name_m]German[/name_m] name (while quite a few diminutives did, [name_f]Anja[/name_f] and [name_f]Katja[/name_f], for example, however, they’re mum names now for the most part).

[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] and [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] are also very much 1960s names, [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] may be even older. [name_f]Vera[/name_f] is also dated but more so 1980s/90s dated.

A few other names that are dated in [name_u]Germany[/name_u] but popular on NB…

[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] - 60+ year olds are named [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] in [name_u]Germany[/name_u], it can be pronounced as ing-greed or ing-grid.

[name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] (not so often seen on here nowadays) - is your 50+ year old dad

[name_f]Edith[/name_f] - same as [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], pronounced E-dit or E-deet (long [name_m]German[/name_m] E)

[name_f]Agnes[/name_f] & [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] - not as popular as [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] in [name_u]Germany[/name_u] but I’d view both as rather dated

[name_m]Thomas[/name_m], [name_m]Georg[/name_m] - both are dated in Germany; however, the [name_m]German[/name_m] version(s) of [name_u]John[/name_u], [name_m]Johann[/name_m], [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] and [name_m]Jon[/name_m] (similar to “yoan”) are popular as is [name_m]Jacob[/name_m].

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seconding what @OpheliaFlora said and adding [name_f]Sabine[/name_f] + [name_f]Petra[/name_f]. I don’t see [name_f]Petra[/name_f] on here that much but [name_f]Sabine[/name_f] always puts me off a little because it’s 100% 60s here.

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@EagleEyes it’s always fascinating to look at the top UK names, because a lot of them end up “crossing the pond” a few years later! I can also only imagine [name_u]Stanley[/name_u] and [name_m]Chester[/name_m] on elderly men, but who knows what will hapen in 5 years’ time? They might also be revived!

@OpheliaFlora that’s interesting about [name_f]Anja[/name_f] and [name_f]Katja[/name_f], as most I know are around my age (early twenties; these two definitely had their peak at the turn of the century here)! Also, that’s really interesting about [name_f]Astrid[/name_f], as it always sounded very youthful and cheerful to me. Wasn’t [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] also well-used in [name_u]Germany[/name_u] some 50 years ago (or did I just imagine that because I watched DarK?).

@Wandarine oh, can’t believe I forgot [name_f]Petra[/name_f]! I think every fifth girl I know is named [name_f]Petra[/name_f], and it’s currently n.9 nation-wide! Also, she seems very young to me because I only knows girls my age and younger named [name_f]Petra[/name_f], with the “oldest” exception being a 30-year old.

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[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] is a lot more popular nowadays than it was fifty years ago, it’s one of those hundred-year names here, I had a great-grandmother names [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], for example but none of my grandparents or parents have Charlottes as friends.
[name_f]Lotte[/name_f] and [name_f]Lotta[/name_f] are also relatively popular as are [name_f]Carlotta[/name_f] (though I feel that was more popular in the early 2000s - still not dated though) and [name_m]Karl[/name_m] / [name_m]Carl[/name_m] for boys.

As far as Dark character names go, I always thought [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] were way too young sounding for the characters, they gained popularity in the 1990s/2000s.
[name_f]Claudia[/name_f] and [name_f]Regina[/name_f] feel very natural in turn, as does [name_m]Ulrich[/name_m] and all the children’s names!

@Wandarine yes [name_f]Petra[/name_f] is also very 1960s to me! I also feel like [name_m]German[/name_m] has a lot less truly classic names than [name_f]English[/name_f], especially for boys!

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Agreed, Charlotte was technically born in the 2030s though. Martha feels out of time to me too, although I just checked and apparently it was somewhere in the 200s (assuming the character was born in 2002).

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Interesting, I know (of) a couple Marthas in that age range and I feel like it’s only been getting more popular since (similar to Frida). [name_m]Magnus[/name_m] has felt a little dated to me only because it’s so similar to [name_m]Marcus[/name_m] but at the same time it feels rather chic Scandinavian so it works?

(But technically [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] should only be popular in 2100 again :sweat_smile:)

Another name that feels dated in [name_m]German[/name_m] but is mentioned on here quite a bit is [name_m]Matthias[/name_m], and the ultimate dated [name_m]German[/name_m] but NB favourite name has to be Sasha/Sacha/Sasha acatually!

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Sasha’s a weird one here in Croatia, because I know a few male Saša’s who are in their 40’s, but I also know a 20 year old girl, so I’d say it’s not necessarily dated. I also know a fairly equal amount of both male and female Vanja’s. Also, Klaudija (Claudia) was never common here, but the only two I know are twenty, so wouldn’t consider that dated either!

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That’s so interesting that some of those names are dated in Croatia, I like a lot of those names (especially [name_u]Milan[/name_u], [name_f]Vesna[/name_f], and [name_f]Vera[/name_f] - but I’m biased since those are my relatives names :DD ) They’re all really great names and I’d love to see some of them come back (I don’t know what the most popular name in Croatia is, but [name_u]Luka[/name_u] & [name_f]Sofija[/name_f] are one of the most popular names in Serbia. Too overused imo lol)

The most popular Serbian names people give their kids here (where I live) in the states are…
[name_u]Milan[/name_u]
[name_f]Milena[/name_f]
[name_f]Mia[/name_f]
[name_m]Jovan[/name_m] (super popular here for serbs)
[name_m]Marko[/name_m]
[name_u]Luka[/name_u]
[name_m]Stefan[/name_m]
[name_f]Jelena[/name_f] (also super popular here for Serbs)
[name_f]Nina[/name_f]
[name_m]Vuk[/name_m] (I’m biased but I also love this name so I see why so many kids are named [name_m]Vuk[/name_m] here :joy:)
[name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f]
[name_m]Aleksander[/name_m]
[name_f]Sara[/name_f]
[name_m]Petar[/name_m]
[name_f]Katarina[/name_f]
[name_f]Sofija[/name_f]

Some names considered dated in Serbia but are used with Serbian kids here (I was surprised seeing some of them, since some are really old Serbian/Slavic names that are mostly found with older people in Serbia. A lot of Serbs I know living here give their kids older, more “traditional” names, while parents in Serbia are giving their kids more “trendy ish” names, which is interesting to me :joy:

  • Žarko (I love this name, but it’s pretty dated and an old name in Serbia. This was my great great great grandpas name. Surprisingly, I know a Serbian boy with this name, it suits him well. It’s always surprising to me when Serbs here give their kids born in the states old, traditional Serbian names :joy:)
  • Desanka (know a young girl with this name too)
  • Momčilo (lots of them actually that are young)
  • Draža (I wouldn’t say it’s dated in Serbia, but rather old and not heard frequently. It’s one of my favorite names though.)
  • Sava (not super dated either, but not heard a lot)
  • [name_f]Svetlana[/name_f] (popular name with older serbs, but there’s a decent amount of younger people with this name here)
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All these examples also seem dated from my Dutch perspective.

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How interesting!! I’d love to meet a Doris, a Dora or a Bruno!!

I’m in the UK and still find Stanley surprising- also Reggie, Ronnie and Vinnie on little boys! Not a bad thing, I just don’t expect them to be popular!!

On the flip side, where the US is more likely to go with the full name over the nickname, i find the popularity of Charles over Charlie surprising! Also Ezekiel, Ian, David and Natalie!

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Oh, [name_u]Sascha[/name_u] was never popular for girls in [name_u]Germany[/name_u] (probably because Germans are not really used to unisex names and it was really popular for boys 40 years ago) but I’d definitely expect a female [name_m]German[/name_m] [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] (I wouldn’t expect the same spelling as was popular for boys for some reason) to be much younger than a male [name_u]Sascha[/name_u] here as well, and it probably not being her full name either.

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That’s interesting. Thanks for posting! Always nice to see different cultures’ perspectives on names.

For me, Irish names in America are a similar story. The Irish names that are trendy now in the US tend to be those that were most popular in Ireland several decades ago (e.g. Declan, Kieran, Maeve). I think by the time that non-Irish people get to hear these names (e.g. through celebrities and pop culture), they’re already dated in Ireland.

Also, Bridget and Bernadette are fairly popular on Nameberry, but in Ireland those are definitely in the granny name category.

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@lumianim yep, Luka is so overused at this point. The most popular names here are Luka and Mia, and while I love Luka for its history and versatility, I feel like every fourth boy I know aged 20 and under is named Luka! Time to retire it for a while.

This is also a really interesting point. I guess people who live outside of their culture would want their kids to be connected to their heritage, thus giving them more traiditional names, while people who live within the area where that culture is dominant (e.g., Serbs in Serbia) strive for more modern, international names for a variety of reasons. But I’d definitely want a few names to come back around - who wouldn’t want to meet a kid named Krševan? (Also, love Sava!)

@choupette I think you raise a very good point about certain names being dated by the time they reach some wider recognition. Another good example I forgot to mention is Paula. I know Berries generally consider it to be a very dated name, but it’s only been in use the past twenty years over here, so I associate it with younger people. By the time that name reached us at the turn of the century, it was already dated in the States, I presume. It’s the same thing vice versa, with Milan considered a dad or a grandad name over here, and being very stylish in the States.

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