Names from a 1928 Fashion Reel

As I was purusing retronaut this evening, I stumbled upon an old video talking about trends in fashion. There were title cards describing the clothes and stating the name of the model before going on to a color clip on the outfit. I thought it was pretty neat- especially the fact that it was in color- and I was intrigued by the names. Name nerd that I am, I wrote them down.

[name]Corliss[/name]
[name]Edna[/name]
[name]Laura[/name]
[name]Ruth[/name]*
[name]Jeanette[/name]
[name]Barbara[/name]
[name]Raquel[/name]

*More than one

So- what do you think of the names? Are they too out to be back in, or are they ready to be made fresh again? And what about [name]Corliss[/name]? Anybody ever heard of that before?

  • [name]Athena[/name]

I’ve heard of [name]Corliss[/name] before, but only on here. I really like how quirky it is and the meaning is wonderful too.
[name]Edna[/name] is a very strong sounding name to me but I don’t know how I feel about it. All I can think of is an old lady or Dame [name]Edna[/name] (haha).
[name]Laura[/name]'s a classic, pretty but can be boring.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Ruth[/name], another strong sounding name.
[name]Jeanette[/name] is okay, sounds dated.
[name]Barbara[/name] is waaaay too dated to be back in the game. I prefer [name]Jeanette[/name] over it.
I like [name]Raquel[/name], sounds mysterious and slightly exotic.
Overall I can see [name]Corliss[/name], [name]Laura[/name] and [name]Raquel[/name] coming back in. [name]Edna[/name] for the bold parents :wink: but [name]Jeanette[/name] and [name]Barbara[/name], no.

Interesting list! I’ve only heard [name]Corliss[/name] as a boy’s name-- it’s okay, but I like [name]Cordelia[/name] better! My own sentiments about the rest of the list are pretty much in line with compassrose’s comments. [name]Laura[/name] and [name]Ruth[/name] are my favorites from the list, and I would pick [name]Barbara[/name] over [name]Jeanette[/name], but for family reasons.

I love [name]Edna[/name]. [name]Jeanette[/name] is cute & spunky. I’ve always liked [name]Raquel[/name]. [name]Corliss[/name] & [name]Laura[/name] could totally be in the birth announcements right now! [name]Barbara[/name] is still in the old-in-a-not-so-good way category for me. I just think of [name]Bush[/name]. But it does have a lot of cute nickname options and I would be charmed to meet a young girl named [name]Bunny[/name], [name]Barbie[/name], [name]Bar[/name] or [name]Babs[/name]. [name]Ruth[/name] seems to be on the climb but it’s really not for me. It feels like a muffled sound.

I like [name]Raquel[/name] the best, and [name]Ruth[/name] a good bit. I do picture [name]Raquel[/name] as a bit stronger and more bombshell a name, and [name]Ruth[/name] a bit sweeter and more gingham dress sort of thing.

I liked [name]Ruth[/name] in [name]Fried[/name] [name]Green[/name] Tomatoes.

My grandmother (born in the '30s) legal name was [name]Ruth[/name], which was picked because it started with an R. Her religious name was [name]Rachel[/name]. My sister and I have been talking about it and she asked if she could take [name]Ruth[/name] and I could use a [name]Rachel[/name] variant and we could both have daughters named after our grandmother but not with the same name. I was thinking of using [name]Raquel[/name], actually. Interesting to see them together.

[name]Laura[/name] never really went out in my opinion. I have never been a fan of [name]Ruth[/name] - It’s so short and I am reminded of ruthless and tooth. Crazy me but it does.

I have not had a good experience with Ednas and I’m not sure how most little girls would feel about that name.

[name]Corliss[/name] is interesting because the 20 and 30s loved names that ended in the “is” sound. [name]Delores[/name], [name]Phylis[/name] and a few others. However I have never heard of it. I like [name]Cordelia[/name] more.

[name]Jeanette[/name] is mid century. But it is spunky and a bit sassy.

I’ve always liked [name]Ruth[/name]. I imagine a strong, elegant lady.