For the fourth and final part, I almost saved the best till last. In a way, the names below are the most likely to be used today and also the least likely to be used as the current Top 100 holds 30/100 girls names from 1974-1994 and 31/100 for the boys. On one hand, as parents, the task of trying to choose a name for your child is proving so overwhelming that you decide to choose a name you know people won’t have anything to say about. Yes, you knew a number of them growing up, but at least everyone is familiar with the name. So baby Claire is born joining big sister Hannah. A few houses down, your neighbours who are also expecting have exhausted absolutely every name under the sun. Parent number one likes Carly, Dawn, Jodie, Kerry and Nicola because he knows where he is with them. Not at all popular now, just run of the mill names from his childhood. But his reasoning for liking those names are precisely why parent number two dislikes them. She’s heard them all before, a million times over. Carly was the school bully, Dawn is her middle name, she’s got a second cousin called Jodie and her childhood best friends were Kerry and Nicola. Those names are a love/hate situation. The familiarity and nostalgia is either what people are seeking or what they are trying to avoid and that is precisely why I love names from the 70s-90s. I thrive on the nostalgia and think that most of these names should never have gone away. However, I can also understand why the majority of parents today really don’t want to give their child the same name as several of their 80s classmates. The names are simply far too close a generation to have been missed.
So, to round up my little series, there are a lot of names that I think have real big time comeback potential. But, we have to embrace and move with the times knowing that Keith and Debbie will realistically, probably never make it above the Top 500 again, however fabulous I think they are! Would I love my future children to be friends with lots of little Angela’s, Tina’s, Diane’s, Gary’s and Darren’s? Yes, totally! But I also think that the charm and potential in these names are that they will never be as popular as they once were. So, their genius is in when we hear of one of these names being used again and, to bring my posts full circle, that I why I got so excited when I saw Pamela being used! Let’s finish this series off in style and let me know what you would use from the name banks below to name a son and a daughter?
Below the Top 500: 1974-1994 (Boys)
Antony, Ashley
Barry, Brett, Brian
Carl, Colin, Craig
Dale, Darren, Dean, Derek, Duncan
Gareth, Gary, Garry, Gavin, Glen, Glenn, Graham, Gregory
Iain, Ian
Jeremy, Josh, Justin
Karl, Keith, Kenneth
Lee, Leigh
Malcolm, Marc, Martyn, Mathew, Mitchell
Neil, Nigel
Phillip
Raymond, Ricky, Roger, Ross, Russell
Scott, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Stephen, Steven, Stewart, Stuart
Terence, Terry, Tom, Tony, Trevor
Wayne
Below the Top 500: 1974-1994 (Girls)
Abbie, Aimee, Alison, Amanda, Andrea, Angela, Anita, Ann, Anne, Ashleigh
Beth, Bethan, Beverley
Caitlin, Carla, Carly, Carol, Caroline, Chantelle, Charlene, Chelsea, Cheryl, Christine, Clair, Claire, Clare, Courtney
Danielle, Dawn, Debbie, Deborah, Debra, Denise, Diane, Donna
Elaine
Fiona
Gemma, Gillian
Hayley, Heather, Helen
Jacqueline, Jade, Jane, Jayne, Jemma, Jenna, Jenny, Joanne, Jodie, Jordan, Julie
Karen, Kate, Katherine, Kathryn, Katy, Kayleigh, Kelly, Kerry, Kim, Kimberley, Kirsty
Lauren, Leanne, Lesley, Linda, Lindsay, Lindsey, Lisa, Lorraine, Louise, Lyndsey, Lynsey
Marie, Melanie
Natasha, Nichola, Nicola
Patricia, Paula
Rachael, Rebekah, Rhiannon, Ruth
Sally, Samantha, Sandra, Shannon, Sharon, Sian, Sonia, Stacey, Susan, Suzanne
Tanya, Tara, Teresa, Tina, Toni, Tracey, Tracy
Vanessa
Wendy
Feel free to click on the link for the previous part!
I’m one of those people who struggles to like names of their own generation.