Musty Names on the Verge of Cool

What are your favorite musty, old-fashioned names that you think might be super cool within the next five years in Manhattan and [name]West[/name] L.A? Or how about in [name]London[/name], [name]Paris[/name], [name]Milan[/name], and/or [name]Berlin[/name]? See how well you can predict trends and if any of our ideas are the same…

Well, the ones I think are definitely going to be hit in the next 10 years are [name]Beatrix[/name], [name]Clementine[/name], [name]Cecily[/name], possibly [name]Josephine[/name], [name]Violet[/name], [name]Alice[/name].

Ones I think are cool now, and probably won’t get hiot for another 20 or so years: [name]Jemima[/name], [name]Zelda[/name], [name]Elspeth[/name], [name]Edith[/name].

Now boys, those are harder, because boys don’t cycle as fast as the girls: Maybe [name]Wayne[/name] will come back in about 20 years, he’s never been off the charts, suprisingly. Maybe back in the top 100 in 20 years. I think [name]George[/name] & [name]Arthur[/name] might get a bit more popular than they are now ([name]George[/name] is in the mid 100’s, [name]Arthur[/name]'s in the mid 300’s) I’m hoping to see things like [name]Cosmo[/name], [name]Rufus[/name], [name]Rupert[/name], [name]Alasdair[/name], [name]Barnaby[/name] & [name]Linus[/name] get a bit more popular again, none of those are on the charts nor have they been for a while. [name]Rufus[/name] is the latest one, Off the charts since 1988.

I don’t know enough about what’s happening in Europe to predict trends there. But I will try to predict what names will hit the Hipster List here:
Girls
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Hollis[/name]
[name]Honor[/name] (may already be hipster, will be pretty popular, I think. I like it!)
[name]Kay[/name]
[name]Maxine[/name]
[name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Blythe[/name]
[name]Viola[/name]
[name]Maude[/name] (I think it already has hit)
[name]Minerva[/name]
[name]Hester[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Rosemary[/name]
[name]Sawyer[/name] (will be popular, not necessarily hipster, has a lovely sound)
[name]Delphine[/name]
[name]Ginger[/name] (can’t wait for this to hit. So cute!)

Boys
[name]Willis[/name]
[name]Chester[/name]
[name]Ansel[/name]
[name]Cormac[/name]
[name]Truman[/name]
[name]Rupert[/name]
[name]Bernard[/name]
[name]Rasmus[/name]
[name]Warren[/name]
[name]Otis[/name]
[name]Clyde[/name]
[name]Martin[/name]
[name]Ralph[/name]
[name]Victor[/name]
[name]Vincent[/name]

I think [name]Clyde[/name] is the very definition of musty-verging-on-cool. Which just means I’ve been thinking about the name lately. It’s got definitely hipster potential.

I wonder if names like [name]Judy[/name] and [name]Betty[/name], [name]Earl[/name] and [name]Lou[/name] will be the next hipster trend? I could definitely see these names popping up in [name]Brooklyn[/name] and [name]Portland[/name] soon.

I could see [name]Betty[/name] and [name]Earl[/name] making a comeback. [name]Lou[/name] is actually top 10 in [name]France[/name] for girls. But I do wonder if some names are gone forever-- [name]Patsy[/name]? [name]Gene[/name]?

Yes, I think some might be gone forever. I for one hope that [name]Gary[/name] and [name]Doris[/name] never return! But who knows? [name]Gary[/name] could sound totally hip to our grandkids one day.

Awww, olivegreen! I like [name]Gary[/name]! I find him breezy and fresh, but then, I also like [name]Dennis[/name] and [name]Wayne[/name] (but couldn’t use [name]Wayne[/name], it was my Pop’s hated name) Maybe my grandkids will use it!

What a great topic! The names that popped into mind were already mentioned by [name]Lola[/name] and [name]Susan[/name] (namely, [name]Beatrix[/name], [name]Josephine[/name], [name]Violet[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Clementine[/name], [name]Helen[/name], [name]Hollis[/name], and [name]Honor[/name]), and I’m now wondering about [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Louisa[/name], [name]Gemma[/name], [name]Elodie[/name], [name]Mirabelle[/name], and [name]Veronica[/name].

The one name I can’t ever imagine seeing the light of day, however, would be [name]Hester[/name]! AAHH!! [name]Hester[/name] Prynne of the [name]Scarlet[/name] Letter will never be forgotten, and I don’t think any little Hesters will ever be running around, thanks to associations with the character.

Boys:
[name]Asher[/name]-On the move now
[name]Abraham[/name]
[name]Eben[/name]
[name]Emory[/name]/[name]Emmett[/name]
[name]Larkin[/name]-Could be swept along with the Irish wave of [name]Declan[/name] et. al.
[name]Malachi[/name]
[name]Abner[/name]-This one could be wishful thinking but it is a cool name.
[name]Quentin[/name]

Girls:
[name]Ivy[/name]-This one is already moving up I think
[name]Meredith[/name]
[name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Ada[/name]-As an alternate to all the [name]Ava[/name]/[name]Eva[/name]'s out there now.
[name]Merle[/name]
[name]Clementine[/name]
[name]Audra[/name]/[name]Audrey[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Dorothy[/name]/[name]Dorothea[/name]
[name]Georgia[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Hermione[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Vida[/name]
[name]Lucinda[/name]
[name]Judith[/name]
[name]Stanley[/name]-If [name]Sydney[/name] & [name]Ashley[/name] can make the jump, why not?