Are there any names that you feel might fit a baby or toddler, but you can’t imagine on a resume?
I have the name [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] in mind. I love it, I think it’s beautiful and classic. But it still seems a little cutesy. Could you see [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] as an executive in a [name_u]Fortune[/name_u] 500 company? As a senator? As a surgeon?
I can definitely picture [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] as any of those things that you mentioned- it seems no more cutesy than, say, [name_f]Amy[/name_f], [name_f]Bethany[/name_f] or [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. I actually have a doctor acquaintance named [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], come to think of it!
Like pp said, I wouldn’t worry about [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]. A lot of girl’s names end in “y”: [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], [name_f]Brittney[/name_f], [name_f]Molly[/name_f], [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], etc. I grew up witj girls with all of these names and they all grew up just fine.
Its hard to say what names won’t age well because eventually everyone grows up and then you see an adult with that name. I would say names like [name_f]Queen[/name_f]/[name_f]Queenie[/name_f], [name_f]Princess[/name_f], Sparkle, etc. might not sound right on a lawyer or doctor, but the kids who grow up with friends with these names will see them as grown up names eventually. Not sure if that makes sense.
I think [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] would be fine, but I do have the same feeling (doesn’t age well) towards names like [name_f]Brittney[/name_f] and [name_f]Tiffany[/name_f]. Similar names too. Of course, I know adult ones but it’s still hard to picture if that makes sense. I feel the same about these names too:
[name_m]Caden[/name_m]/[name_u]Jaden[/name_u]/[name_m]Braden[/name_m]/[name_m]Zayden[/name_m]/the like
[name_m]Justin[/name_m]
[name_m]Jaxon[/name_m]/[name_m]Jackson[/name_m]
Any trendy, pop culture name like [name_f]Katniss[/name_f]
Pretty much any celebrity kid name
Word names or titles such as [name_f]Essence[/name_f], [name_f]Queen[/name_f], [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_f]Diamond[/name_f], Sparkle, [name_u]Majesty[/name_u], [name_u]Messiah[/name_u], etc. I know females by these names, most of them college age, and it always makes you do a double take. The ones I talked to told me stories of people teasing them, of being denied jobs/taken seriously, and wishing their parents had named them something more tame.
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] ages perfectly. I see it like [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. It doesn’t seem juvenile to me at all. There is a surgeon where I work named [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]. And she’s hardcore. She’s taken very seriously by everyone. I’ve never thought oh gee her name doesn’t suit her at all. I. Fact I see [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] as a no nonsense kind of name. It’s clearly feminine but not frilly or cutesy.
This topic really grates on me, because often, people will write of names of women in history ([name_f]Nellie[/name_f], [name_f]Arabella[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]) as too cute to wear well on a doctor or surgeon or whatever. Really, has anyone here [name_u]EVER[/name_u] called their doctor by their first name? I don’t even know my doctor’s first name, he could be named Hot for all I know (his surname is Tamale…), but what I’m getting at is, I don’t understand why it’s so important to some to write names off as not aging well. 100 years ago, it’d be hard to not find a woman named [name_f]Minnie[/name_f] or [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], and by the time the first World War came around, many of these women found themselves jobs and actually did end up finding careers. The woman who made it possible for me to be able to voice my own opinion in my country, was named [name_f]Nellie[/name_f]. (The other 4 are not as well known as [name_f]Nellie[/name_f], actually). If it wasn’t for [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] McClung being literally a badass, I wouldnt be able to vote for who I want to run my country, because I’m a woman. And, [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] held a place in office for quite some time after that, in government in Manitoba. So, I guess that makes me ask questions when people start off about [name_f]Minnie[/name_f] or [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] or [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] not aging well,
If, say [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Earheart had been [name_f]Minnie[/name_f] instead, would she be less iconic?
If [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] [name_m]Thatcher[/name_m] had legally been named [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] or [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], would she never have become the PM of [name_f]England[/name_f]?
If a doctor is named [name_f]Elsie[/name_f], just [name_f]Elsie[/name_f], does that make her less qualified to save your life than an [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] or [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]?
If you answered no to these questions, then I think you’ll see that just about any name can age well (apart from obvious ones like [name_u]Baby[/name_u]).
I said earlier [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] is so cool and ages well. But I have to put this out there after reading a pp comments about names in medicine.
As a physician and a woman with a juvenile name, I have to say it does in fact make a difference. No you don’t call your doctor by their first name. Probably. But what about your colleagues? That’s what I find a big issue. Depending on speciality of choice, medical training is nine years. Of which you spend the majority of your time trying to prove your worth to superiors, nurses and to patients. And your also using your first name to introduce yourself to patients for nine years (some residents use Dr. but I find that awkward) I know I wasn’t taken as seriously sometimes because of my name, despite being very professional and taking my role seriously. I had a surgeon once shorten my name and say he was only going to call me that because “obviously you can’t go by ----- name once you grow up” (despite being well into my training and 30 years old).
Whether you believe in it or not judgement is passed based on people’s names in medicine. Im not saying your kid will never be a doctor if you name her [name_f]Posie[/name_f] [name_f]Arabella[/name_f]. Of course not. But based on my personal experience I would hate to be named that as a physician.
Actually, I know a grown up woman named [name_u]Baby[/name_u]. She is a lecturer and also works in the ministry of education in my country. As far as I know she now lives in Prague, pursuing another degree on full scholarship there. Sometimes she makes a joke regarding her own name.
Anyway, I think most names age well. It’s just a matter of taste. I hate names like Addysine and Krystynn or Glitter and [name_f]Princess[/name_f], hence I’m more likely to raise an eyebrow when I see these names. I realise that prejudice does exist and I actually worry about that too. Not because the whole aging well or not, but because many of my favourite names are… uncommon (obscure?) and I know the rest of the world isn’t always as open minded as berries community when it comes to naming. Sometimes I think “does Seraphina sound too girlish and cutesy?” or “can I really imagine a grown up Peregrine in real life or is it just a fantasy/literary name?” of course they can be professors or physicians, but will the prejudice ever make their life more difficult than it is supposed to be?
When my good old lecturer Baby walked into my class, I just thought “oh, so this is Baby. What an interesting name… must be weird to have this name when you’re in your 50s”, but other than that, none of us students ever underestimate her just because of her name, so I’m hopeful.
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] definitely ages well, btw. It’s a lovely name. I say go for it. 
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] is definitely fine and I can see it working all ages! It’s very pretty and one of my Dad’s favourites actually.
While I don’t disagree with @drhenry experiences, I believed those naming attitudes are fairly subjective, and it happens to all people. Someone will find your name cutesty, outdated or even boring in some instance or another. It’s always a good idea to balance out a more nickname-y name with a more formal middle name just in case, however, it’s certainly not essential by any means.
I have a very good friend who is pursuing a career in social work, her first name is [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f], and she has never had a workplace issue. No one has had anything negative to say about her name, other than the “My [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f] lies over the ocean” or “Like [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f] and [name_m]Clyde[/name_m].”
I go exclusively by [name_u]Jess[/name_u], never [name_f]Jessica[/name_f], I’m now well into adulthood and I’m yet to encounter a problem. Part of the reason everyone calls me [name_u]Jess[/name_u] is because [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] was a “mean girl” name when they were at school. I adore long names; but I also love short nickname-y names also and while some people may not like or appreciate them, as long as I wouldn’t be unhappy if it were my name and can put myself in my child’s position, I take no issue.
I honestly cannot think of any names right now that don’t age well. I think it’s more the spelling of names that don’t age well, but it depends on their career path as to whether or not this will be an issue (for example, if they are a doctor, teacher etc and their name is written down a lot). I also think it’s more names that have been mashed together to be cute, such as Lilibella or something ridiculous like that. [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and [name_f]Bella[/name_f] age well, but Lilibella does not because it’s sickly sweet.
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] ages just fine!
I see [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] as a name that ages well. I can easily picture it on an adult professional.
To the person who asked if [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_m]Roosevelt[/name_m] be less renouned and successful were she called something more cutesy - the answer is maybe/probably. Of course there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of professional strong women with “cutesy” names, but it’s a lot less common than women with stronger sounding names (and no, not because their names are more common, the stats look more like a higher percentage of women named [name_f]Laura[/name_f] or [name_f]Maureen[/name_f] are employed in high level jobs than percentage of women named [name_f]Lolly[/name_f] or Mazzy). Of course their are a lot of factors, but the truth is employers and those looking at resumes or applications do consciously or subconciously let your given name impact their choice. If [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Erhardt was called [name_f]Millie[/name_f], it’s very possible she’d have missed out on certain opportunities because of her name.
That said, I personally see names that don’t age well as [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] (probably a combo of its sound and I’ve never heard it on an adult), and nicknames as given names - [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_f]Molly[/name_f], [name_f]Lulu[/name_f], [name_f]Hattie[/name_f], [name_f]Lizzie[/name_f], [name_u]Joey[/name_u], [name_u]Robbie[/name_u], [name_m]Timmy[/name_m], [name_m]Johnny[/name_m], etc.
My name is [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], and if my parents wanted to call me [name_u]Allie[/name_u] or [name_u]Lexie[/name_u] that would be fine, but I don’t think I’d be too pleased if that was the official name I’d need to put on all my paperwork.
I think [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] is so common I can picture her as being almost anything.
The names I find too cutesy are [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_f]Eloise[/name_f] and [name_f]Sadie[/name_f], though perhaps I can see [name_f]Sadie[/name_f] ageing alright.
I know [name_f]Maisie[/name_f] is usually a nickname for [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], but [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] on a young child/teen/young adult is disgusting!
I guess with regards to job applications or higher up careers, any name that is trashy or kr8tive is going to stand out as a big no no to employers. For example, like a poster above mentioned, people named [name_f]Queen[/name_f], [name_f]Diamond[/name_f], [name_u]Ocean[/name_u] and [name_f]Treasure[/name_f] are never going to be taken seriously, as are Kynzli, Jaykob, [name_f]Emersyn[/name_f] or [name_f]Bradlee[/name_f].
I also think this can be very varied depending on where people are from. For example, people are saying in this thread that names such as [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_f]Millie[/name_f], [name_f]Sadie[/name_f], [name_f]Molly[/name_f] being cutesy and immature, and not names that can age well, but that confuses me! I know a lot of Maisies, Millies, Sadies and Mollys whose name is just that and no longer form, and they’re all different ages and have had no problems. This is in [name_f]England[/name_f] though, where these sorts of names are really popular and have been for quite some time.
The only names I don’t think would age very well are made up names like [name_f]Kinsley[/name_f], Taisley, Kaizlee, [name_u]Jayden[/name_u], Raelee, and Zavory (A friend of mine is naming her son this. Pronounced like [name_u]Avery[/name_u] with a Z). However, it hard to me to picture a grandma named [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] or [name_f]Brittany[/name_f], but those are not unusual or made up. They are legit names and I think will grow with the person. Also, I’m normally not a fan of nicknames (jamie or [name_f]Minnie[/name_f]) as given names, but like other people have said, they weren’t uncommon 100 years ago and they aged just fine.
I don’t find popular culture, creative spells, popular, and short-lived trendy names to not age as well. Examples of those names would be:
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]/[name_f]Ashlee[/name_f]/[name_f]Ashleigh[/name_f]/[name_f]Ashlin[/name_f]
[name_f]Jessica[/name_f]/[name_f]Jessyka[/name_f]/[name_f]Jessika[/name_f]
[name_f]Erica[/name_f]/[name_f]Erika[/name_f]
[name_f]Caitlin[/name_f]/[name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f]/[name_f]Caitlyn[/name_f]/[name_f]Katelyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Brittany[/name_f]/[name_f]Brittney[/name_f]/[name_f]Britney[/name_f]
[name_u]Jayden[/name_u]/[name_u]Aiden[/name_u]/[name_m]Caden[/name_m]/[name_m]Zayden[/name_m]
([name_u]Hayden[/name_u] ages fine to me) [name_m]Jaxon[/name_m]/[name_m]Jaxson[/name_m]
([name_m]Jackson[/name_m] ages better for me)
[name_u]Rylan[/name_u]/[name_u]Rylen[/name_u]/[name_m]Ryland[/name_m]
[name_f]Olivia[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]
[name_f]Mia[/name_f]
[name_u]Madison[/name_u]
([name_u]Addison[/name_u] ages better for me)
[name_f]Adelynn[/name_f] ([name_f]Adeline[/name_f] ages fine to me)
[name_u]Alexis[/name_u]
[name_u]Taylor[/name_u]
[name_f]Kayla[/name_f]
[name_f]Kaley[/name_f]/[name_u]Haley[/name_u]/[name_u]Bailey[/name_u]
[name_m]Kyler[/name_m]
[name_u]Tyler[/name_u]
[name_f]Brianna[/name_f]/[name_f]Breanna[/name_f]
[name_m]Austin[/name_m]
[name_f]Debra[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]
[name_f]Martha[/name_f]
[name_f]Ethel[/name_f]
[name_f]Edith[/name_f]
[name_f]Diamond[/name_f]
[name_f]Heaven[/name_f]
[name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]
[name_f]Queen[/name_f]
[name_f]Serenity[/name_f]
[name_u]Love[/name_u]
[name_f]Sunday[/name_f]
[name_f]Star[/name_f]
[name_u]Skye[/name_u]
[name_m]Jett[/name_m]
[name_m]Titan[/name_m]
Stryker
[name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u]
[name_f]Princess[/name_f]
[name_f]Moon[/name_f]
[name_f]Rainbow[/name_f]
[name_f]Snow[/name_f]
I’m sorry if I offend anyone. For me, I find a name ages well when I’ve heard it on both a baby and an adult. Those types of names would be:
[name_f]Amelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_f]Emma[/name_f]
[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f]
[name_f]Diana[/name_f]
[name_f]Francesca[/name_f]
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f]
[name_f]Madeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Rebecca[/name_f]
[name_f]Samantha[/name_f]
[name_u]Michael[/name_u]
[name_m]Matthew[/name_m]
[name_m]Andrew[/name_m]
[name_m]Jacob[/name_m]
[name_m]Daniel[/name_m]
[name_m]Joshua[/name_m]
[name_m]Samuel[/name_m]
[name_m]William[/name_m]
[name_m]John[/name_m]
[name_u]James[/name_u]
My list could go on. I find male names to age better for some reason.
I know I commented yesterday, but seriously I think [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Earnhart being a [name_f]Millie[/name_f]/[name_f]Molly[/name_f] or [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_m]Roosevelt[/name_m] being [name_f]Nellie[/name_f] or any other example you want use, doesn’t change the fact that nobody cared about their names. What they cared about was that they were women trying to go against what was consider acceptable for a woman. The least of their concerns was “Geez… that [name_f]Emme[/name_f] Pankhurst, how could she ever get women the vote with a name like [name_f]Emme[/name_f]?” It was probably more likely that people either thought A) “A woman should remain in the home and that’s that!” or B) “I wonder how I can be a part of something like that.”
Judging people is part of the human condition unfortunately. If employers are denying people jobs based on their names then their integrity is the issue, not the person’s name. However, I don’t believe that the vast majority of employees are denying someone employment based on a name, because otherwise it wouldn’t just be happening to “nickname-y names”; it would easily happen if someone hates the name [name_f]Mildred[/name_f] or [name_m]Montgomery[/name_m] or Kenzzie too.
I agree that in some places it is more of a cultural norm than others. In Australia and the UK, it’s far more normal, and no one considers the child’s name “less of a name” because it ends in -y or -ie. And if it’s someone legal name then it’s not a nickname, it’s simply their name. 80s/90s names are just as legitimate as [name_f]Polly[/name_f] or [name_f]Averie[/name_f] as well. The attitudes of name nerds and the like seem to be one of the biggest issue.
I’ve heard a few people say this about [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], but I’ve never seen it. I know adult [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]'s so definitely think it ages well. If you do think it’s too cutesy you could use it as a nickname for something like [name_f]Lucinda[/name_f], at least then you’ll know for sure she’ll have a ‘professional’ name for her CV.
I actually think the only names that don’t translate well into the professional world are ones that are really modern like [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], [name_u]Riley[/name_u] or [name_u]Winter[/name_u]. I think all the classics like [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] will be absolutely fine.