If I lack courage and do not use a day or month name I have two normal back ups, [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] and [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] are they to 70s as some people close to me suggested?
I do think of these names as being quite dated. They are not terrible though, and still very usable!
I prefer [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] to [name_u]Kelly[/name_u]. Nothing wrong with either of them though 
[name_m]Both[/name_m] are perfectly usable.
I actually have always liked both names Are they dated? Maybe, but then again, so is [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] and she’s still getting usage, same with [name_f]Melanie[/name_f], [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f], [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f], [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], etc. Dated doesn’t necessarily mean unusable I think I slightly prefer [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] though, as it’s more unusual for me. I’ve never met a [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] outside of the internet (however I met a few from [name_f]England[/name_f]), but I went to school with 2 [name_u]Kelly[/name_u]'s (as did my mum).
One [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] I knew was actually Kellianne. Maybe you’d like that if you feel that [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] is too dated?
The female [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] I know is sensible and level-headed. I do slightly prefer it on boys but it’s not unusable on girls. I think of the song ‘[name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_u]Green[/name_u]’ by [name_f]Joni[/name_f] [name_m]Mitchell[/name_m], which is a rather sad song she wrote to the daughter [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] she had to give up for adoption, but it’s pretty and the imagery in the song is poetic and make it clear she chose it as a colour name, which is rather interesting to me.
I like [name_f]Kirsten[/name_f] more than [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f]. It also doesn’t help that the [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] I know is an idiot.
I kind of love the name [name_f]Kelila[/name_f]/[name_f]Kelilah[/name_f] (ke-lee-la) and you could easily NN it to [name_u]Kelly[/name_u], but it might be too odd?
I vastly prefer [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] to [name_u]Kelly[/name_u], but I think both are usable.
I actually really love [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f]. It’s so adorably Irish-sounding and I always think of [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] MacColl. I love [name_f]Chrissie[/name_f]/[name_f]Kristi[/name_f] too.
But I have a soft spot for most dated sounding names; they feel nostalgic to me.
I’d go with [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f], but it does feel dated to me. [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] works much better on a boy.
Sorry, but they are very dated to me. I actually do know a little [name_u]Kelly[/name_u]. I prefer it highly over [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f].
Thank you all for your replies, [name_f]Kirsten[/name_f] is going onto my ever increasing list.
Good choice!
[name_m]Both[/name_m] are dated but that doesn’t mean they’re horrible. Although they’re not my style, I don’t think they’re the worst names on the planet. I would choose [name_f]Kirstie[/name_f] (this spelling) to [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] because I think it’s more uncommon.
I find [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] sugery and twee. I dont like it at all.
[name_u]Kelly[/name_u] is a different matter. I think it can be rather chic.
[name_u]Kelly[/name_u]! [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f] is good, but it’s not great. 