I’ve been thinking about the 100 years rule in terms of my own family. In my grandma’s family there were 6 girls (including herself) all born approximately between 1915-1925 (so about 100 years). Their names range from timelessly classic to sounding-fresh-again-current-favourites to names that even nameberry can’t see coming back!
[name]Lily[/name] - died in childhood, but her name is uber popular now!
[name]Ada[/name] - my grandma’s name, I quite like it, though she HATES it
[name]Thelma[/name] - probably my least-favourite of the sibset
[name]Gladys[/name] - I go from thinking this is interesting and COULD see a revival, to thinking that it is irreversibly hideous.
[name]Emily[/name] - timeless classic, of course
[name]Myrtle[/name] - she hasn’t gone by this name since her teens. Everyone calls her “Boots”…or [name]Sherry[/name]!
100 year rule was spot on in some cases, but I can’t see [name]Thelma[/name] coming back, can you??
Super Greek family. [name]Aphrodite[/name] went by Aphro. [name]Anastasia[/name] was reused for a grandchild ([name]Ana[/name]) and [name]Connie[/name] was used (all by itself) for another.
[name]Genevieve[/name](coming back and Grandma)
[name]Doris[/name]
[name]Inez[/name](Dads Grandma)
Great Aunts On mom and dads side:
[name]Gertrude[/name]
[name]Sylvia[/name]
[name]Lydia[/name]
[name]Dorothy[/name]
[name]Edith[/name]
[name]Agatha[/name]
I poste in another forum, but I’m always interested in my -and other peoples- family names.
My Grandma’s Sisters (born between 1920 and 1935)-
[name]Kathleen[/name]
[name]Pauline[/name]
[name]Margaret[/name]
[name]Lillian[/name]- died in childhood during an apendectamy
[name]Theresa[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Matilda[/name]
[name]Genevieve[/name] nn [name]Genny[/name]
[name]Cecilia[/name] nn [name]Celia[/name]
[name]Virginia[/name] nn [name]Ginny[/name]
My Grannie had only one brother, who was named [name]Barney[/name], but he went by Dook his entire life. For some reason I thought she had sisters, but she doesn’t.
Anyway, I love all of those names!
My grandmothers’ sisters:
[name]Lillian[/name] (that seems to be popular for great-aunts)
[name]Rebecca[/name]
[name]Edith[/name] ([name]Edie[/name])
[name]Nancy[/name]
[name]Sarah[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] ([name]Sallie[/name])
I have a grandma named [name]Patricia[/name] who has a sister named [name]Marilyn[/name]. I have heard [name]Patricia[/name] on someone my age, but not anyone younger. I can maybe see these coming back, but it might be a bit longer. Her sisters in law are [name]Thelma[/name] and [name]Mary[/name]. [name]Mary[/name] is a pretty common name throughout the ages. [name]Thelma[/name] is one of those names I just don’t know about. It’s kinda similar to some names I’ve seen mentioned, but I don’t know if it has that special something to make a big comeback.
My other grandma is [name]Barbara[/name] who has a twin sister named [name]Betty[/name]. I think [name]Barbara[/name] still needs time if it’s going to come back. But I think [name]Betty[/name] could come back. It has kind of a spunky yet retro feel. My great aunt, although a bit quiet and slow now from MS, is funny and a really sweet person. I think I’m more like her than my grandma (who is awesome too, just more reserved I guess). The other [name]Betty[/name] I know is great too. I work with her and though she’s definitely the oldest in my department (I think late 60s?), she gets along great with everyone. I think the positive associations I have make me feel like this is a name that could come back. [name]Betty[/name] at work was discussing one day that [name]Betty[/name] is a “dying name” and the younger people that go by it are actually [name]Elizabeth[/name] or something else, nn [name]Betty[/name]. It was an interesting topic!
OP - [name]Emily[/name] is definitely a timeless classic. That was my grandma’s aunt’s name. If I remember right, she was born about 100-110 years ago. I also know lots of Emilys my age, and it’s still pretty popular. [name]Lily[/name] is definitely making a comeback right now! I could see [name]Ada[/name] coming back with its similarity to [name]Ava[/name]. [name]Gladys[/name] is… I dunno. TBH I don’t think it’s pretty. [name]Myrtle[/name] is odd to me. Kind of an ultimate “old lady” name for me… one of those weird names people used at that time and don’t anymore. I don’t think those last two will make a comeback but who knows!
My grandma is [name]Caroline[/name], her sisters are [name]Susan[/name] and [name]Enid[/name]. I love her name… don’t mind [name]Susan[/name], but while I love my great aunt [name]Enid[/name] I wouldn’t name anyone after her.
Other grandma is [name]Elizabeth[/name], and I definitely know one of her sisters is [name]Victoria[/name]. I think she has three others as well, [name]Julie[/name], [name]Ollie[/name] (probably short for [name]Olive[/name]) and either [name]Colette[/name] or [name]Colleen[/name] (don’t remember, but it’s definitely one of the two and she goes by [name]Cole[/name]).
My maternal grandmother had no sisters, just a brother, [name]Frank[/name]. However, her name was [name]Gerd[/name] (very popular in Norway in the 1920’s) and her great-aunts all had names out of fashion now in Norway: Berentine, [name]Gudrun[/name], [name]Sofie[/name]-[name]Katarine[/name] (her mother), [name]Anna[/name], and [name]Solveig[/name].
My maternal grandfather had one sister, [name]Eleanor[/name].
My paternal grandmother had no sisters but two brothers, [name]Louis[/name] and [name]Waldo[/name].
My paternal grandfather had two sisters, [name]Margaret[/name] and [name]Mildred[/name].
I love most of my family names except [name]Frank[/name] (I prefer [name]Francis[/name]) and [name]Gudrun[/name]. I especially love [name]Mildred[/name], but I don’t think that will ever make a comeback, which is too bad – it’s a great [name]Saxon[/name] name. Oh, and I would so name another daughter [name]Enid[/name]. [name]Love[/name] that name.
My grandparents were all born in the 1930s, but my paternal grandparents especially had quite large families, so my great-aunts range from the 1920s to the 1950s. And they are:
[name]Adele[/name]
[name]Becky[/name]
[name]Betty[/name]
[name]Cathy[/name]
[name]Erma[/name]
[name]Geraldine[/name] (actually, 2 Geraldines on different sides)
[name]Lois[/name]
Marilene
[name]Sharon[/name]
[name]Shelba[/name]
I see Thelma as being so tied to Thelma and Louise that I just can’t see it making a comeback soon.
My grandmas and their sisters had some pretty interesting names:
[name]Delma[/name] - (dad’s mom - all of her siblings had D names)
Donis
[name]Delpha[/name] - (I think she was called [name]Delphie[/name] most of the time)
I love [name]Lucretia[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Iris[/name], [name]Adeline[/name] and [name]Sylvia[/name]. I wish [name]Lucretia[/name] was a little more usable. It’ll have to be a middle name I suppose!
All very traditional [name]German[/name] names (except [name]Emmi[/name]) and sound just horendous in English but have a nice sense of nostalgia in [name]German[/name].
[name]Johannes[/name], [name]Hans[/name] and [name]Alexander[/name]
Except for [name]Hans[/name] the other two have never gone out of popularity.
Super Greek family. [name]Aphrodite[/name] went by Aphro. [name]Anastasia[/name] was reused for a grandchild ([name]Ana[/name]) and [name]Connie[/name] was used (all by itself) for another.