After some contemplation, I’m suddenly second guessing everything on my list. I feel as though like, my sister is right when she says that there are very few (and perhaps not any at all) men who would actually be completely willing to have a daughter named [name_f]Olive[/name_f], or [name_f]Agnes[/name_f], or [name_f]Florence[/name_f], or [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]…or just about everything else on my list.
Wow, I like all these names!
[name_f]My[/name_f] absolute favorites:
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]
[name_f]Olive[/name_f]
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]
[name_f]Flora[/name_f]
[name_f]Elsie[/name_f]
[name_f]Betsy[/name_f]
[name_f]Marnie[/name_f]
I think these are all usable. [name_f]My[/name_f] favorites are:
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Maude[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucille[/name_f]
First off: I feel you. [name_f]My[/name_f] family is not too keen on my names (they’re in my signature) either, often commenting that they’re too vintage or too outlandish. But you know what? Unless your sister has a magical crystal ball she’s not telling you about, she can’t know what your future hubby is going to like name-wise. The fact that there are children today named [name_f]Olive[/name_f] and [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] and [name_f]Florence[/name_f] is proof that guys out there do exist with your name taste. [name_m]Just[/name_m] a matter of finding him. You keep your list, and I’ll keep mine, and we’ll show 'em all.
I think I saw a previous post where your you talked about how your sister wasn’t loving your names? If you’re really looking for a solution to that, try nicknames, but know that once she associates the name with her beautiful little niece, she will grow to love it and see how it suits her, just like her momma said it would.
For the record: I love [name_f]Nora[/name_f] and [name_f]Vera[/name_f]!
The only name I don’t care for on your list is [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] (unless you pronounce it the [name_m]French[/name_m] way, it doesn’t have an attractive sound in English). The rest of the names are not “too vintage” for my taste (my faves are [name_f]Lucille[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], [name_f]Polly[/name_f], [name_f]Florence[/name_f] and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]). I love vintage names but maybe your sister doesn’t and so that’s why she’s discouraging you and making you doubt yourself. Did you ever think that she knows you’re easily swayed and that’s why she’s says the things she does? You obviously have a different style than she does and that’s fine. We’re all different and that sometimes includes having a different name style from other people (stangers, friends and family). I’m hoping you’ll meet a man in the future who will share your love for vintage names. There are names that I would consider to be “too vintage”: [name_f]Bertha[/name_f], [name_f]Gertrude[/name_f], [name_f]Myrtle[/name_f] and [name_f]Beulah[/name_f] are four that popped into my head. I would NEVER advise anyone to choose them.
Yeah, I have issues with my sister and names a lot, haha. She claimed [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] - which vetoed [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] and [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] from my list, and she liked it when I had more mythological names on my list (she loves mythology, especially Greek), but she really hates the old lady name tred. You do have a point though, I checked out usage and [name_f]Olive[/name_f] ranks fairly high in the US, [name_f]Florence[/name_f] is top 50 in the UK and [name_f]Canada[/name_f], so maybe there is hope, haha.
I like the idea of using nicknames, I already told her that [name_f]Eugenie[/name_f] would likely be [name_f]Jennie[/name_f], and [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] would be [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], she was fine with those.
Thank you! I really love most of the names in your signature - [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f] [name_f]Lily[/name_f] is so beautiful!
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f] is one that I feel like I should use because a) I love [name_f]Aggie[/name_f] as a nickname, and b) it’s a family name for me, haha, but I could go without using it just fine. [name_f]Mikayla[/name_f] (my sister) seems to like the recognizable vintage ones - [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], etc, or the more eccentric/mythological names - [name_f]Athena[/name_f], [name_f]Octavia[/name_f], [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], etc. There’s no medium ground for her, haha. She’s ok with some vintage names that I like, like [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] and [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], but most of them are not. It could very well be because she knows I’m easily swayed, haha. She’s also very stubborn and set in her ways - she spent the better part of 3 months trying to talk me out of liking [name_f]Millie[/name_f] because of how much she hates it, but I stood my ground on that one. I hope I do too, haha, I think my sister’s words were getting to me, because secretly, I’ve always been kind of worried that my whole name list will have to be thrown out the window once I get married/start seriously talking about having kids.
I definitely agree with you on [name_f]Bertha[/name_f], [name_f]Gertrude[/name_f], [name_f]Myrtle[/name_f] and [name_f]Beulah[/name_f]. When I hear [name_f]Beulah[/name_f], I just remember [name_m]Ben[/name_m] [name_m]Stein[/name_m] calling ‘[name_m]Bueller[/name_m]…[name_m]Bueller[/name_m]…[name_m]Bueller[/name_m]…’ in [name_m]Ferris[/name_m] [name_m]Bueller[/name_m]'s [name_u]Day[/name_u] Off, haha!
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]–I don’t get the appeal of this name, it sounds hideous to me, but I don’t think it would be any harder to sell to a man than to a woman. I just think it would be hard to sell at all.
[name_f]Olive[/name_f]–I think it’s similar enough to [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], which a lot of men like, that it might work. I prefer [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] myself, but don’t necessarily think this is too hard of a sell.
[name_f]Florence[/name_f]–[name_f]Florence[/name_f] [name_m]Welch[/name_m] makes this feel much more wearable.
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]–I think there are a lot of guys who would like [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]. I know a baby [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] and it was her dad’s top name, he actually had to sell her mom on it.
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]–Same as [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], but even more so because it’s more common. Doesn’t even feel very “vintage” to me.
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]–This is my favorite name on your list, I adore it. I don’t think men will flock away from this one either.
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]–I don’t see many guys liking this one.
[name_f]Flora[/name_f]–Same as [name_f]Mabel[/name_f].
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]–I don’t think this is a problem, many guys would like this one.
[name_f]Elsie[/name_f]–I think guys tend to like cute nicknames a lot, like I know a lot of Ellies whose dads pushed for that. [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] is quite similar and I think many guys would be cool with it.
[name_f]Betsy[/name_f]–Same as [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]. (I love [name_f]Betsy[/name_f], btw)
[name_f]Edie[/name_f] (EE-dee)–a harder sell than [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] or [name_f]Betsy[/name_f], but not ridiculous.
[name_f]Sally[/name_f]–[name_f]Sadie[/name_f] would be more popular, but I don’t think this is ridiculous.
[name_f]Marnie[/name_f]–Same as [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] or [name_f]Betsy[/name_f].
[name_f]Vera[/name_f]–I actually think a lot of guys would love this one.
[name_f]Polly[/name_f]–I think this would be a hard sell on most people, much like [name_f]Agnes[/name_f].
[name_f]Ramona[/name_f]–It has a similar feel to [name_f]Vera[/name_f]–exotic, good balance of vowels and consonants, strong-sounding. Feels like a modern answer to [name_f]Veronica[/name_f], which I know was popular with an earlier generation of dads.
[name_f]Eugenie[/name_f] (You-jen-ee)–Similar to [name_f]Polly[/name_f] and [name_f]Agnes[/name_f].
[name_f]Maude[/name_f]–I love [name_f]Maude[/name_f], but I think a lot of guys wouldn’t. It does have the benefit of being short, and a lot of men like shorter names.
[name_f]Delia[/name_f]–I think this would appeal to guys.
[name_f]Lucille[/name_f]–most men would probably prefer [name_f]Lucy[/name_f].
In short, there are plenty of names here that I think a lot of guys would like. It all depends on the man you end up with. You could have a man who likes [name_f]Florence[/name_f] or a man who’s pushing for [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u], just like how most of the people on here are women and we all have a wide variety of name loves.
I do like a good number of the names on your list, but some are a little too old for me, or just don’t fit my taste- I’ve gone through your list and commented what I think of each one, since I found that very helpful when several Berries did it for me. I hope I don’t come across too harsh in any way
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]- def too old, don’t like the sound.
[name_f]Olive[/name_f]- Cute. I like it, especially as an alternative to [name_f]Olivia[/name_f].
[name_f]Florence[/name_f]- [name_u]Love[/name_u] love love. It’s on my list
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]- Sweet, I like it, especially in middle place.
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]- I used to dislike it, but it’s growing on me… I prefer [name_f]Cora[/name_f], though, or a longer version like [name_f]Leonora[/name_f], which is on my list.
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]- [name_u]Love[/name_u] the way it looks on paper, but I think the “-ise” might sound a bit unmelodious when said out loud. I like it quite a bit, though.
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]- Too old for me. I prefer [name_f]Maeve[/name_f].
[name_f]Flora[/name_f]- I like it, the same way I like [name_f]Nora[/name_f]/[name_f]Cora[/name_f]- maybe more as a nickname for [name_f]Florence[/name_f].
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]- Doesn’t do it for me.
[name_f]Elsie[/name_f]- Definitely cute, I like [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] a lot so this works for me. But my name’s [name_f]Elise[/name_f], and sometimes people call me [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] by accident, which can be annoying.
[name_f]Betsy[/name_f]- I have a great-aunt named [name_f]Betsy[/name_f], and while I adore her, it seems too old to me for that reason.
[name_f]Edie[/name_f] (EE-dee)- Not my style, but it’s cute.
[name_f]Sally[/name_f]- Hm. It’s growing on me, rather surprisingly.
[name_f]Marnie[/name_f]- I prefer [name_u]Marley[/name_u].
[name_f]Vera[/name_f]- Dislike. Sounds too sharp.
[name_f]Polly[/name_f]- Meh. Reminds me of a parrot
[name_f]Ramona[/name_f]- This name will forever be [name_f]Ramona[/name_f] [name_m]Quimby[/name_m] to me, though it does have a pleasing sound.
[name_f]Eugenie[/name_f] (You-jen-ee)- Nms, but I actually like it.
[name_f]Maude[/name_f]- I love the way it looks. Middle place, maybe?
[name_f]Delia[/name_f]- Definitely not too old, but it’s not my style.
[name_f]Lucille[/name_f]- Prefer [name_f]Lucy[/name_f].
It’s entirely possible to find a man who shares your taste in names! [name_f]My[/name_f] DH loves 90% of the names on my list and often suggests other names I hadn’t even thought of which are great too! (We have lots of other stuff in common too). So there’s no need to despair! You may be one of the lucky ones too
These are the only one’s I would consider too vintage. The other ones are fine.
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]
[name_f]Florence[/name_f]
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]
[name_f]Sally[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenia[/name_f] ( I know a couple guys with the middle name [name_m]Eugene[/name_m] and they all hate it.)
[name_f]Maude[/name_f]
Very usuable
[name_f]Olive[/name_f] - so many girls are named [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] so why not [name_f]Olive[/name_f]?
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_f]Louise[/name_f]
[name_f]Flora[/name_f] - I know a couple of little girls with this name and people don’t find their name strange
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]
[name_f]Marnie[/name_f] - I’m so glad someone else likes this name! It’s on my guilty pleasure list
[name_f]Ramona[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucille[/name_f] -nn [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] is very popular so why not
NMS but definitely usable
[name_f]Florence[/name_f] - I know a newborn baby with this name, definitely usable!
[name_f]Elsie[/name_f]
[name_f]Betsy[/name_f] - very cutesie but maybe as a nn for [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]
[name_f]Edie[/name_f] - very cute
[name_f]Sally[/name_f]
[name_f]Polly[/name_f]
[name_f]Delia[/name_f]
Too vintage for my taste
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Vera[/name_f]
[name_f]Eugenie[/name_f] (You-jen-ee)
[name_f]Maude[/name_f]
I completely understand about the future husband thing. I love collecting exciting and unusual names and dream of being able to use them on an actual child one day but I think there are much fewer men than women who are name nerds and I am unlikely to find someone who appreciates the names on my list as much as I do. There’s always hope though, and if not, the more out there ones could be middles?
Personally, I like most of these names and find all of them usable. Like a PP said, the names a man likes varies widely from man to man. I wouldn’t worry about that until you’re trying to name an actual baby. And I know some men who were happy to let their partners take the lead on naming or even choose the name by themselves anyways- maybe your future partner will be like that! (I admit I kind of hope mine will be, if I ever get married and have kids.)
The thing about no men wanting to give their daughters old-fashion names…that’s not true at all. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband loves old-fashioned names. [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] is one of his favorites. He wanted our daughter’s middle name to be [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] more than I did. I just wanted to honor my grandma and she has no middle name and a weird maiden name, but he really talked me into it because he just loves the name! There are certainly plenty of men who don’t like old-fashioned names, just like there are lots of women who don’t either, but there are also plenty who do. Actually, most of my friends who have children have daughters, and most of those daughters have old-fashioned first or middle names: [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f], [name_f]Magdalena[/name_f], [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], [name_f]Louise[/name_f], etc.
Unless you are planning to have a baby with your sister, I would not worry about what she thinks of the names you like. And this is perhaps going off on a tangent, but I hate how people assume that all men like the same things. Men have just as varied tastes in names and everything else as women do. I never could have guessed, for instance, that my husband’s favorite girl’s name would be [name_f]Esmerelda[/name_f]. There is just no way of knowing.
The names on your list are lovely and perfectly usable. Honestly, though, I would not even worry about what your hypothetical future spouse may or may not like right now. [name_m]Just[/name_m] enjoy collecting beautiful names without any anxiety for the future.
I think all are usable, but a lot of people might not like some like [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] or [name_f]Louise[/name_f] because of their harsh, ‘unattractive’ sound.
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorites are:
[name_f]Olive[/name_f]
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_f]Mabel[/name_f]
[name_f]Flora[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]
[name_f]Elsie[/name_f]
[name_f]Polly[/name_f]
[name_f]Ramona[/name_f]
[name_f]Delia[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucille[/name_f]
All the ones in bold, I think, have a greater appeal than just “vintage”. I think with the right approach lots of people could see the appeal in those, whereas the rest are more pidgeon-holed as “old sounding”.
Lots of the names on your list are definitely too vintage for my taste, and I think lots of guys might feel the same.
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f], for example, doesn’t have the same appealing sound that rolling [name_f]Ramona[/name_f] has. Plus is would have the nickname [name_f]Mona[/name_f] which has a more modern sound than [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] nn [name_f]Aggie[/name_f].
In terms of “vintage” being a name style, yes, I do believe there’s a line… but the line is different for everyone. I personally really like old names, but my friends wouldn’t touch them wit ha 10 foot pole. It all depends.
Personally, I think all the names on your list are usable in the broad sense (not all are ones I would personally use, but I don’t think they’d be too much of a hassle. They blend in well with the other vintage names that are gaining popularity).
The ones I think are a little too flighty: [name_f]Betsy[/name_f] as a given name, [name_f]Marnie[/name_f] ([name_f]Marla[/name_f] nn [name_f]Marnie[/name_f] is cute though)
Ones I wouldn’t hesitate to use: [name_f]Florence[/name_f], [name_f]Nora[/name_f], [name_f]Louise[/name_f], [name_f]Flora[/name_f] ([name_u]LOVE[/name_u]!), [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] (on my list as a nn to [name_f]Eloise[/name_f]), [name_f]Edie[/name_f] (had this as a nn to [name_f]Evadne[/name_f]. [name_u]Love[/name_u] it), [name_f]Polly[/name_f] (cute!), [name_f]Ramona[/name_f], [name_f]Eugenie[/name_f] (I say you-jeen-ee though), [name_f]Maude[/name_f], [name_f]Delia[/name_f]
Objectively speaking, the most usable names on your list right now, ( from what I have seen on Nberry and current stats) are:
[name_f]Florence[/name_f], [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f], [name_f]Vera[/name_f], [name_f]Nora[/name_f], [name_f]Elsie[/name_f], [name_f]Betsy[/name_f], [name_f]Edie[/name_f], [name_f]Sally[/name_f], [name_f]Delia[/name_f], and [name_f]Lucille[/name_f]
The other ones seem like they may not be ready for their comeback, or [name_f]Marnie[/name_f], which could probably work.
The others I would reserve for the middle spot. Again, I could be off base in regards to what is modern vintage and what is antique/ vintage yet not ready for a comeback.
I love [name_f]Marjorie[/name_f], [name_f]Beverly[/name_f], [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], [name_f]Belle[/name_f], but I have to be realistic. I think [name_f]Marjorie[/name_f] is more prepared for use in 2014 than her pal [name_f]Beverly[/name_f] or [name_f]Belle[/name_f]. I am really just guessing based on what I have read and what popularity rankings have shown.
[name_u]Love[/name_u] the additions of [name_f]Ramona[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] and [name_f]Delia[/name_f] to your list!
I think they’re all 100% usable - lots of them just feel trendy. But I just think that people should use whatever they like. Some really really dated names have made an appearance on my list in the past year or so ([name_f]Tammy[/name_f], [name_f]Jill[/name_f], [name_f]Belinda[/name_f], [name_f]Susie[/name_f], [name_f]Blanche[/name_f], [name_f]Pamela[/name_f]) plus some of the clunkier vintage names ([name_f]Geraldine[/name_f], [name_f]Alberta[/name_f], [name_u]Fran[/name_u], [name_f]Betty[/name_f]).
I just don’t really care what people think, I guess. As for what my children’s father wants? Eh, I guess I can adapt - I appreciate most names even if I don’t love them. But I’ve been planning this since I was 10. It’s my choice when it comes down to it!
