What do you think of the name [name]Winifred[/name]?
Meaning is very important to me, and I love the meaning of [name]Winifred[/name]. But I see the popularity of the name took a nose-dive in the early part of the last century. On the one hand, this is great, as I prefer less common names. But perhaps everyone else is seeing something about this name that I should clue into, too?
Should [name]Winifred[/name] be classified with some of those other names that people tend to mention as terribly outdated, fusty and all-in-all poor choices: names like [name]Maud[/name], [name]Harriet[/name], and [name]Mildred[/name]? Or is it really as charming as I think it is?
Also, is it cruel to saddle a girl with a name that contains the name “[name]Fred[/name]”? We could use the nn [name]Winnie[/name], which gets rid of the [name]Fred[/name] part until if and when she wants it back, but then we have the [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh associations.
well, it’s not my favorite name, but I like it alright. However, I know many people love the nickname “[name]Winne[/name]”, and when I say [name]Winifred[/name], I don’t really pronounce the “fred” part as “[name]Fred[/name]”, I say it more as “frid”, so I don’t really think of a “fred”!
Personally I have never been a [name]Winifred[/name] fan. It’s a decent name, I’ve just never likes the sound or the nn [name]Winnie[/name]. I do catgorize it with [name]Mildred[/name], but the old fusty names are manking a come back. I could just never picture myself having to carry [name]Winifred[/name] as a name, though if you live in a very trendy area, it might be okay.
It’s not my favorite name but I could see the right little girl pulling it off. I don’t think it’s as musty as [name]Maude[/name] and [name]Mildred[/name]. [name]Winn[/name] would be a cute nickname too, I think. I agree with pp that I say more frid than fred, so I don’t have a problem with that. It is a beautiful meaning. behindthename site has a search by meaning feature; I don’t know what is similar in meaning.
Edited to add that it’s kind of growing on me as I consider it more. It seems quite like my own DD [name]Gwendolyn[/name] in style and I’ve never had a regret with her name!
Reminds me of a character in [name]Noel[/name] [name]Street[/name]'s “Ballet Shoes.” If memory serves me correctly, she was kind of a pitiful thing. For me, that name has a nerdy connotation.
Awe, I really love [name]Winifred[/name], and I associate it with [name]Winnie[/name] from The Wonder Years. That said, poo jokes may arise due to [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh, but I still think it’s a great name.
If you’re not sure about it up front, what about in the middle? I think that the offbeat [name]Winifred[/name] sounds great with names like:
I think [name]Fred[/name] is an unattractive name so it would not be on my list. I think [name]Win[/name] is a lovely nn and [name]Winsome[/name] much, much nicer than [name]Winfred[/name].
However, there are some beautiful names that mean blessed that I would definitely put at the top of my list and they are:
All the names you mentioned are too musty for me with the exception of [name]Harriet[/name] but I would put her in the middle name spot. I love [name]Harry[/name] for a son though.
One more not used for a long time and yet very lovely is [name]Ethel[/name] and it means ‘noble’ which I think is a great meaning and the possible nn of [name]Elle[/name] which is a favourite of mine
I really like [name]Winifred[/name]. The nn [name]Winnie[/name] is adorable, and it makes me think of Wonder Years and [name]Tuck[/name] Everlasting. I’ve also thought of the nn [name]Frieda[/name] for [name]Winifred[/name] particularly if little [name]Winnie[/name] feels she has outgrown her nn. Some girls would probably go by [name]Winnie[/name] through high school, but others may find it too childish at a young age.
[name]Winifred[/name] is an adorable name, but if you don’t love it, then it seems clunky. I would never name a daughter [name]Winifred[/name] in case she didn’t like it. I love the nn [name]Winnie[/name]! [name]Maude[/name] is a great middle name, and after a few years, I think it will be very cool. No matter how cool [name]Harriet[/name] gets, I don’t think I will love it. [name]Mildred[/name]'s time will come again, but not for a while. We will all be eating our words about [name]Mildred[/name] one of these days. I don’t like [name]Mildred[/name] either by the way.
[name]Winifred[/name] would be an amazing middle name!
[name]Winifred[/name] isn’t one of my favourite names but not because it is old fashioned and musty. I just don’t like the ‘fred’ at the end or the possibility of ‘[name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh’ jokes.
It’s funny, the other examples you give of names that are too musty to be used. In the UK, these names have definitely started to be used again. I would say that [name]Harriet[/name] has always been around but never v popular, [name]Maude[/name] has started to be used again by trend setting types and [name]Mildred[/name] is probably starting to be used also. Personally, I just love [name]Maude[/name] and would definitely use it, especially as a middle name, perhaps with a slightly ‘frilly’ first name. I did, however, mention to a couple of friends that I liked the name [name]Maude[/name] and they both thought it was awful!!
You could use the nn [name]Binnie[/name] instead of [name]Winnie[/name], just like people use [name]Bill[/name]/ [name]Billy[/name]/ [name]Billie[/name] for a nn for [name]William[/name] for boys. I think it is a really cute nn.
I grew up with a [name]Winifred[/name] nn Wini. She was lovely and an incredible violinist. No one ever made fun of her for having [name]Fred[/name] in her name. Or for [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh. If you love this name, def go for it. I would love to use it, but I have a niece named [name]Danica[/name] ([name]Winnie[/name] from the Wonder Year’s real name) and having a [name]Winnie[/name] too seems like to much for one family.
