Respondents: 186 (This poll is closed)
Best to Worst
[name]Matilda[/name] - I love love love this name. It’s so sweet.
[name]Maude[/name] - this has been a long time favorite. The only strike against it is lack of nickname.
[name]Gertrude[/name] - I’m so surprised that I’m starting to like this name a lot. It makes me think of ET. [name]Gertie[/name] or [name]Trudy[/name] are cute nicknames.
[name]Agnes[/name] - I like this one, but I don’t love it. Prefer [name]Agatha[/name].
[name]Martha[/name] - I don’t mind this name at all. But it’s not my favorite.
[name]Norma[/name] - love [name]Nora[/name], can’t bring myself to like [name]Norma[/name].
[name]Thelma[/name] - another one I just don’t love the sound of.
[name]Hilda[/name] - I don’t know why but I just don’t like this name.
[name]Irene[/name] - it just sounds harsh to my ear.
[name]Bertha[/name] - this was my great-grandma’s name but it just makes me cringe.
This is how I would rate them:
1.[name]Matilda[/name]
2.[name]Hilda[/name]
3.[name]Irene[/name]
4.[name]Maude[/name]
5.[name]Martha[/name]
6.[name]Thelma[/name]
7.[name]Norma[/name]
8.[name]Bertha[/name]
9.[name]Gertrude[/name]
10.[name]Agnes[/name]
I actually really like [name]Agnes[/name], [name]Martha[/name], [name]Maude[/name], and [name]Matilda[/name] (which I don’t really see as ‘old lady’ now).
Best to Worst
1.[name]Matilda[/name]
2.[name]Martha[/name]
3. [name]Irene[/name]
4. [name]Agnes[/name]
5. [name]Hilda[/name]
6. [name]Norma[/name]
7. [name]Thelma[/name]
8. [name]Maude[/name]
9. [name]Gertrude[/name]
10. [name]Bertha[/name]
FYI [name]Maude[/name] is a nn for [name]Matilda[/name].
[name]Matilda[/name]
[name]Norma[/name]
[name]Hilda[/name]
[name]Agnes[/name] - I think the historical pronunciation was [name]Annis[/name], which I could see as popular nowdays.
[name]Irene[/name]
[name]Martha[/name]
[name]Thelma[/name]
[name]Gertrude[/name]
[name]Maude[/name]
[name]Bertha[/name]
Thank you, ladies, for your responses. I was really curious about rankings on these names. Anyone else have opinions to share?
I actually don’t like any of them. They all seem a little bit (but not terribly) old-ladyish to me, which in some cases I can deal with. The reason I don’t like them is that, with the exception of [name]Irene[/name] and [name]Maude[/name], they’re all very clunky and I prefer graceful names. They’re all very consonant-heavy, and I think that makes them sound awkward. In my mind, names like [name]Norma[/name] are combat boots clunking up stairs whereas more vowel-y names, even “old lady” ones like [name]Eleanor[/name], are more like ballet shoes dancing around.
[name]Matilda[/name] gets a lot of love on nameberry but I don’t really like it because of the clunky thing. It also sounds kind of pretentious to me, like “Oh look, I’m so unique, my daughter’s name is [name]Matilda[/name].” I know people do genuinely like it, but that’s just how it seems to me, possibly because the only mother of a [name]Matilda[/name] I actually know was VERY much like that.
From best to worst, but I really only like the name [name]Matilda[/name].
[name]Matilda[/name]
[name]Agnes[/name]
[name]Gertrude[/name]
[name]Maude[/name]
[name]Martha[/name]
[name]Irene[/name]
[name]Thelma[/name]
[name]Hilda[/name]
[name]Norma[/name]
[name]Bertha[/name]
This is how I’d rank, best to worst, the only one I like being [name]Matilda[/name].
best to worst
Best to Worst
I don’t think I can ‘rank’ them, but I really like: [name]Gertrude[/name], [name]Irene[/name], [name]Martha[/name] and [name]Matilda[/name]
I do not care for [name]Norma[/name] or [name]Thelma[/name] at all (actually, I can’t think of a name ending in -ma that I do particularly like)
I’m on the fence about [name]Agnes[/name], [name]Hilda[/name] and [name]Maude[/name].
I actually kind of like [name]Bertha[/name], but I wouldn’t burden a child with it.
I actually like these first three:
The rest are just ordered in which I hate least:
4. [name]Maude[/name]
5. [name]Hilda[/name]
6. [name]Norma[/name]
7. [name]Agnes[/name]
8. [name]Thelma[/name]
9. [name]Bertha[/name]
10.[name]Gertrude[/name]
Ones I actually like:
The rest:
5. [name]Maude[/name]- Only because of [name]Harold[/name] & [name]Maude[/name]
6. [name]Thelma[/name]- It’s like a worse [name]Thalia[/name] imo.
7. [name]Irene[/name]
8. [name]Agnes[/name]- [name]Aggie[/name]? Yuck!
9. [name]Norma[/name]
10. [name]Bertha[/name]- ick.
Heres how I would rate them …
1.[name]Matilda[/name] - This name is sweet and spunky, but it still sounds a bit frumpy for me.
2.[name]Irene[/name] - This is a family name, so I am a little biased, but I’m definitely not in love with it.
4.[name]Martha[/name] - This name reminds me of the less than pleasant [name]Martha[/name] [name]Stewart[/name], but I’d take it over [name]Bertha[/name] any day!
5.[name]Thelma[/name] - As awful as it sounds, I find [name]Thelma[/name] sort of sweet. That being said, it sounds like [name]Selma[/name] with a lithp, and all I can picture is an old granny knitting mustard coloured sweaters.
6.[name]Hilda[/name] - I really, really don’t like this name. All I can think of is an [name]Opera[/name] singing Viking. Although, I did know a teenager with this name.
7.[name]Norma[/name] - This name sounds like enormous. Enough said.
8.[name]Bertha[/name] - Large, obese woman milking a cow.
9.[name]Agnes[/name] - It’s just… bad. Very, very bad.