As many people may know, Stephanie has long been on and off of my list. For a while, it was the name most people seemed to associate with me. I still adore the name, and it’s come back into my radar again.
During quarantine I’ve been watching a lot of 80’s brat pack movies and such and have grown to love that aesthetic again - my personal aesthetic is somewhere between the divalicious 00s, the bright, colourful 80s, and the fun, playful 90s, and I’m trying to branch myself out and stop forcing myself into one sort of “box”.
We seem to like names that are feminine, playful, and have an edge of sass to them - they feel sweet, yet full of attitude. Other names on our list include Khloe, Valerie, Jasmine, Alexis, Natalie, Nicole, Christina, Amber, Jessica, Chelsea, Kelsey, Carly, etc. (view our girls’ list here )
Stephanie feels perfectly in line with that for me, and I love how it sounds with S/O’s surname, however, I feel a bit apprehensive, because I know Stephanie is viewed as “dated”.
I think it’s a pretty name, but I would say it’s a bit on the dated side. [name_f]My[/name_f] concern would be that it might seem even more dated as time goes on. I think the problem with dated names is that they can become something of a middle-aged stereotype (think of names like [name_f]Karen[/name_f], [name_f]Sharon[/name_f], [name_f]Janet[/name_f] etc - those names would be no fun for a girl to have today). However, this is just my personal opinion and there’s nothing “wrong” with the name.
[name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] does feel very dated – but I think it works really well with your other names and gives me the same feminine/attitude-ey energy that [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] or [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] have. I agree that there’s always the danger of it dating even further and becoming hardly usable – but looking at now, I think it could actually work. I was pleasantly surprised to find [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] in the US popularity data! Since watching a show with a young [name_u]Steph[/name_u], I can picture a little [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] much better than ever before.
I’m a little biased since this is my name. Lol I do think it’s pretty tied to the 80s but it’s still a nice name. I think it could be updated a bit with the nicknames [name_f]Effie[/name_f] or [name_f]Annie[/name_f]. I was always called [name_f]Steffi[/name_f] growing up.
The positives are my name was never misspelled and I’ve always thought it has a cool meaning.
So yes, it’s dated, but it goes well with the rest of your list and I think it’s still usable if you don’t mind surprising a few people.
You say dated, I say the sweet spot where everyone knows your name but you still never have to share it. What I’m saying is, I’m biased. And I think you should totally put [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] on your list.
It’s dated yes, but is that really a negative thing? To me that just means very few other kids will share her name. And actually I know quite a few little Brenda’s and a [name_f]Marjorie[/name_f], [name_f]Norma[/name_f] and [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] all under the age of 5 and nobody ever mentions anything about them being dated
[name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] is one of my alltime favourites !! It’s so friendly and open and oh my i just love it so much.
I don’t find it anymore dated than [name_f]Heather[/name_f] or others of that like personally !
If you love it, go for it! We can be [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] fans together
plus, the eighties are so cool, so I think being dated to the eighties makes it even better !
[name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] does feel dated but name trends are interesting. For example, my aunt was nervous if naming my cousin [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] (Bella) was too dated. Well…obviously that trend boomed.
