Okay. First I’ll say I’m grateful that we don’t all have the same taste. Otherwise, things would be boring.
That said, I greatly dislike almost an entire popular girls’ name category. The names seem flowery, ultra-feminine, old-ladyish, and/or exceedingly long.
A few names I might put in this category are names I actually like, such as [name_f]Eleanore[/name_f] and [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f].
However, more often I come across names I cannot abide. Examples include:
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]
[name_f]Winifred[/name_f]
[name_f]Frances[/name_f]
[name_u]June[/name_u]
Talulah
[name_f]Lucille[/name_f]
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f]
[name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f]
[name_f]Seraphina[/name_f]
There are many more examples but I think you can get the idea. Now I am not posting this just to rant about a trend I dislike. I’m actually wondering where it’s coming from and why so many people are favoring this variety of names.
No offense if your name or your favorite name is on this list. You may hate all my favorites and that is okay.
I like several of the names you listed, especially [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] and [name_u]June[/name_u]. It’s very hard to explain, but they are names that leap out at me…probably much like [name_m]Adam[/name_m], [name_u]Aspen[/name_u], [name_m]Bennett[/name_m] and [name_u]Bay[/name_u] (from your signature) do for you. I find “older” names to be more concrete, substantial, timeless, and beautiful than something more currently trendy, like [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] or [name_f]Adalyn[/name_f]. I’m sorry that I can’t really give you a satisfying response, but there’s my two cents
Old-lady names - Names have what we call, in naming circles, a 100 year rule; you can google it. A name usually is popular, then gets dated and falls out of use, then comes back. This cycle takes about 100 years, although there are discussions that this cycle may be speeding up. Old ladyish names are popular because they fit this pattern and/or are viewed as vintage, and because they can be cute on a baby, in a clunky way, and I suppose as they’re tried and tested you know the kid will grow into it. One person’s “vintage” is another person’s “old-lady”. It can vary across generations too; I assume you must be a lot older than me because the older someone is, the more liable they are to think of certain names as old-lady.
Flowery names, ultra-feminine names, and long names were used a lot by the Victorians, so they fall under that same rule. Now we have access to the Internet, the repertoire is considerably expanded and we have access to more flower names, more feminine names and more long names. [name_m]Way[/name_m] back someone may have only heard of the name [name_f]Sophia[/name_f]. Now they have access to [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f], [name_f]Sophronia[/name_f], [name_f]Sapphira[/name_f] and [name_f]Sappho[/name_f]. [name_m]Way[/name_m] back someone may have only heard of [name_f]Rose[/name_f], now they have [name_f]Lilac[/name_f] and [name_f]Azalea[/name_f] to consider.
I guess for me, I like these sorts of vintage names because they portray a certain image and personality that appeals to me. It’s hard to explain, but for example Talulah/[name_f]Tallulah[/name_f] is fun, and energetic, [name_f]Frances[/name_f] is intelligent and well spoken, [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f] reminds me of a girl with long, rich, cascading hair in a night dress in an old abandoned mansion. I can actually imagine a little girl or woman with these names. So in my mind there’s more to a name than just being long or short, frilly or simple.
It sounds really weird, but I love the history of vintage names, the fact they’re from another time makes them really interesting imo. There are quite a few that I like because of historical figures or characters like [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] Pankhurst, [name_f]Ada[/name_f] Lovelace, [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f] [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] [name_m]Franklin[/name_m], [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_m]Potter[/name_m], the list goes on. And there are also some that I just like saying and sound good to me too haha.
These are all great answers! I appreciate all of your insight. I hadn’t thought about the names being Victorian, which I guess is what I should call them (to stay objective, rather than “flowery” or “old-ladyish”).
I find them refreshing with so many parents going for unisex names, which I don’t have an issue with if they are actually unisex, and boy’s names for girls. That’s the trend I don’t understand.
I love the explanation of the 100 year rule. For me, I love all things 19th century. Many of my favorite names are associated with characters from novels or my ancestors. These names to me are delicate, sweet, quirky and have lots of character. I also kind of like the reaction you have to them. My mom got the same reaction from people when she named me [name_f]Emily[/name_f]–my grandma (named [name_f]Mildred[/name_f]!) said it was an “old lady name” and yet it shot to the #1 spot for nearly a decade in the 90s. My mom was ahead of a trend! I’ve been into names for the past 10+ years and it’s been interesting watching how my favorites have become more popular (like [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] has shot up 100 points, or [name_f]Violet[/name_f] has shot up 300+ points!). My future daughter [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] will probably be naming her daughter [name_f]Sherry[/name_f] or [name_f]Debbie[/name_f]
The thing is, vintage names aren’t a current trend at all. Vintage names have always been stylish, and they always will be stylish. The thing that changes is the names that are perceived as vintage.
Have you ever noticed that the names in [name_m]Little[/name_m] Women seem surprisingly, well, ordinary? They don’t feel very Victorian, and almost have more of a whiff of the 1970s than the 1870s. Data supports this, too: [name_f]Amy[/name_f] was the second most popular name from 1973 to 6, and stayed popular well into the eighties and nineties. [name_f]Beth[/name_f] was the [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] nickname of the era, and there were lots of little Megs and [name_m]Jos[/name_m] around as well, although usually Megans and [name_m]Joannes[/name_m] rather than Margarets and Josephines. [name_m]Little[/name_m] Women was published by 1869, and features the names of that era. By the turn of the century they had much the same feel as they have today, being seen as normal and unexciting, by the 1930s they were old ladies.
Thirty years on from that, in the 1960s, however, these names seemed fresh again. A bit old-fashioned perhaps, but in the most adorable way. The nursing home was no longer the first association – it was easy to imagine a new generation of little Amys and Megs, in cute little old-fashioned bonnets. They were vintage. And so the names began to creep in popularity again, becoming common in the next few decades.
What I’m getting at is that vintage names aren’t a trend, they’re a style phenomenon. A name is “vintage” when it is in the sweet spot between old-fashioned and new again, when it feels quaint in an endearing way. A way easy to picture on your own babies again, but still controversial among the others who favour newer names instead.
Also, style does move on, so not every name popular a century before becomes “vintage”. They have to fit today’s parent’s criteria. [name_f]Mia[/name_f] and [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] fit today’s average parent’s ideal of a name, so [name_f]Ada[/name_f] and [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] probably will too – but Ermyntrude, stylish in the Victorians’ eyes, won’t.
I agree and can not add to much more to what PPs have said so I will just post about my personal reasons and hope it helps.
I like most if not all the names on the list you provided. I like names that I feel a connection to or that evoke imagery that I love. I will list the names I love that I plan to use from your list below and why I love them.
[name_f]Sylvia[/name_f] - [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] has not got a strong personal meaning except it starts with ‘S’ like my mothers name and the meaning “from the forest” I love forests and my wedding will be in a small forest.
[name_u]June[/name_u] - [name_u]June[/name_u] is an [name_f]Honor[/name_f] name for my Grandmothers middle name and Grandpa who is born in [name_u]June[/name_u]. I love [name_f]Juno[/name_f] slightly more but the combo I would want it in would not allow for this.
Talulah - [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f] is my favorite water name and I want a water name as both myself and partner are Cancerians. Having a name with a strong [name_f]Lu[/name_f] sound also honors a friend I have known since I was about 8.
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] - This name feels familiar to [name_f]Coraline[/name_f] which is one of my favourite books and the first movie I saw with my partner(DVD movie). I also love it’s meaning of the sea/ocean.
[name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f] - A name suggested by my partner and I love the [name_m]German[/name_m] roots of this name as I am half [name_m]German[/name_m]. I love the sound and look of the name.
I think everyone has different favourites due to lifestyle, family traditions and heritage.
I am not sure if everyone has the same opinion as me where names that I want to use on a child need some sort of meaning to me and when I run out of those sorts of names I have a lot of names I like due to heritage, looks and sound.
Most of these are names that have been popular in the early 1900s, if you look at the top 10 in later decades, they are full of names that most people would still perceive as dated, these are names of grandparents or parents, aunts, uncles, family friends; we associate them with older people/people born in a certain decade. However, many of those born between 1900 and 1920 have already passed away; we stop associating them with elderly people as we don’t hear them anymore.
Back in the day, it was also quite important to be clasically feminine, so names of that style were popular, when the 20s-30s came along, femininity was somewhat re-defined, shorter & harder names gained popularity, these names lasted well into the 1950s which is why we tend to still see them as dated ([name_f]Phyllis[/name_f], [name_f]Lois[/name_f], [name_f]Gladys[/name_f], [name_f]Shirley[/name_f], etc.).
[Classic femininity still remained in style, though, and so did classic feminine names such as [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] or [name_f]Alice[/name_f] that had been in use for centuries]
I personally am a big fan of this style as I like names that have a history, names with a meaning and a story, names that are feminine yet strong. I’m not a fan of random words or unisex names, certain words are established names but names like [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] or [name_u]Winter[/name_u], I find very confusing in everyday conversation, while unisex names are often just boys’ names given to girls, which isn’t fair to either gender.
