I understand that a lot of these seem dated to most people. But does every child have to have a cutesy name these days? I find an infant [name_u]Wallace[/name_u] much more plausible than a McKayleigh in a nursing home.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] had to rant a little and share!
I see where you’re coming from, but I also think there’s a difference between not liking dated names and advocating that every child be named McKayleigh. I’m definitely in the minority on nameberry, but I think the popular image of a name (i.e., [name_f]Mildred[/name_f] as “old” or [name_m]Marvin[/name_m] as “nerdy”) is something to consider. Certainly not the only factor, but definitely a consideration. Your name is the first thing someone learns about you, so the association they have with the name will be among their first thoughts when meeting you. Of course everyone should choose a name they love, but I think an awareness of popular, non-name nerd perception of names is a good thing to have.
That said, I agree with you that most of these names would be totally fine to use today. Some ([name_f]Pearl[/name_f]) are actually quite stylish in certain circles, while others (like [name_f]Beverly[/name_f]) may be poised for a revival. [name_m]Reading[/name_m] comments restored my faith in the public’s taste.
As a side note, my middle name is actually on this list!
I agree with you! I certainly don’t care for the name [name_f]Mildred[/name_f], but I’m sure a tiny [name_f]Mildred[/name_f] could absolutely rock it. My 13 year old sister has a friend named [name_f]Edith[/name_f] and I find it darling.
No name should ever be too “old”. I think that is what bothers me most about the list. [name_m]Marvin[/name_m] and [name_f]Ethel[/name_f] were once in diapers too!
I don’t like cutesy but a number of these names are themselves “old cutesy.” I don’t like McKenzie or Bellamy, why would I like Beverly? I don’t like nickname-names so count me out on Greta or Jerry. They were the trendy names of their day. Automatically good? Do we want our grandkids bemoaning that nobody’s named Maddisyn anymore?
I mean I think it’s helpful to remember that today’s Mason is tomorrow’s Marvin, and no name is fresh or interesting forever so it needs something else to ground it, but I don’t think every one of these names are inherently good names just because they’re not on trend?
I don’t see anything wrong with this list? Lol. It’s actually really lovely to read an entire list made up of legitimate names for once. I may not like some of them myself but to me they’re a thousand times better than ‘insert random word/place/surname/illiterate spelling here’.
Haha, I actually like quite a few on that list. I think [name_f]Greta[/name_f] and [name_f]Ethel[/name_f] are really nice and I like [name_m]Bernard[/name_m] too!
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f] was my college girlfriend’s name. Because her name was so rare and pretty I was able to recognize her name years after meeting her and finally ask her out. Her sister was named [name_f]Naomi[/name_f], which is also very pretty.
Yeah, a lot of those names fit into the ‘vintage’ category but I think those sorts of names are coming back in style. I know a [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] and a [name_u]Gary[/name_u] who are my age (early 20s) and there’s celebs who have got babies named [name_f]Ethel[/name_f] and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]. I don’t massively care for a lot of those names, though I can see where they might start to appeal to certain people - [name_f]Mildred[/name_f] could nickname to [name_f]Milly[/name_f], [name_f]Edna[/name_f] could be a middle name honouring a [name_u]Dean[/name_u], for example.
