What are some "dated" names that you think are ready to come back?

Are there some names that most people still consider old-fashioned that you think are ready to come back?

[name]Betty[/name] and [name]Judy[/name]. I see it happening.

[name]Arlene[/name]
[name]Gale[/name]
[name]Geraldine[/name]
[name]Lawrence[/name]

[name]Rachel[/name]! So many people tell me it’s dated to my generation, but it seems so timeless to me, I really love it. I guess some people see it as plain and boring still, but it actually took a big leap in my state in the past year (22 spots to number 58), so it seems very current, very in-style to me.

I’m with @jessicat11 on [name]Arlene[/name], too–it’s my grandmother’s name, and while it still feels old-fashioned (and I’m pretty sure it’s a made-up American name), I think it has a pleasant sound and the nns [name]Ari[/name] and [name]Lena[/name] are very usable. I seriously considered swapping my grandma’s FN and MN and using [name]Grace[/name] [name]Arlene[/name] for a future daughter, but in the end I still like my top two ([name]Isabelle[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Arianne[/name] [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Kate[/name]) a lot better, and they hold quite a few similarities/ties to [name]Grace[/name] [name]Arlene[/name].

I think [name]Bette[/name] (I like this spelling better) is ready!!

~[name]Jasmine[/name]

[name]Lorna[/name]
[name]Joanie[/name]
[name]Claudine[/name]
[name]Pauline[/name]

i’m gonna echo tintri and say [name]Judith[/name]/[name]Judy[/name]! I love it.

also:
[name]Nancy[/name]
[name]Polly[/name]
[name]Beverly[/name]
[name]Gloria[/name]
[name]Sally[/name]
[name]Dolores[/name]
[name]Patricia[/name]
[name]Joan[/name]
[name]Theresa[/name]
[name]Sandra[/name]

these are all 50s names that i adore :slight_smile:

[name]Rosemary[/name]
[name]Rosamund[/name]
[name]Marie[/name]
[name]Esther[/name]
[name]Enid[/name]
[name]Theresa[/name]
[name]Judith[/name]
[name]Iris[/name]
[name]Iola[/name]
[name]Susannah[/name]

It’s harder with boys because so many names that have been used on boys long enough to be considered dated are still in used so they’re more classic. Some of my names are dated farther back than 90s or 80s but aren’t far enough back to be coming back really. Dated names I love are…

Girls:

[name]Cornelia[/name]
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Etta[/name]
[name]Kimberly[/name]
[name]Tara[/name] – though I like the spelling [name]Terra[/name] which makes it a Latin word name
[name]Cassandra[/name]
[name]Heather[/name]
[name]Valerie[/name]
[name]Amber[/name] – my sisters name
[name]Jacqueline[/name]
[name]Cynthia[/name]
[name]Diana[/name]
[name]Bridget[/name]
[name]Bethany[/name]
[name]Claudia[/name]
[name]Bianca[/name]
[name]Irene[/name]
[name]Elaine[/name]

Boys:

Cornelius
Sylvester
[name]Glenn[/name]
[name]Arthur[/name]
[name]Edmund[/name]
[name]Edwin[/name]
[name]Lewis[/name]
[name]Barnaby[/name]/[name]Barnabus[/name]
[name]Bernard[/name]
[name]Homer[/name]
[name]Brent[/name]
[name]Todd[/name]
[name]Geoffrey[/name]
[name]Virgil[/name]
[name]Warren[/name]
[name]Richard[/name]

I have a feeling that these will come back:

[name]Eileen[/name]
[name]Irene[/name]
[name]Dorothy[/name]
[name]Judith[/name]/[name]Judy[/name]
[name]Mabel[/name]
[name]Whitney[/name]
[name]Donna[/name]
[name]Dawn[/name]

Boy names are harder to figure out; their ranks remain almost stagnant sometimes, and the trends change in very subtle ways.

[name]Sybil[/name]. Classic Victorian names are in vogue right now, and with the beautiful young Lady [name]Sybil[/name] Crawley in Downton [name]Abbey[/name] (and [name]Sybill[/name] Trelawney in [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]), I think it’s destined to make a comeback.

I am thinking in the next ten years we will be seeing [name]Linda[/name], [name]Patricia[/name], [name]Barbara[/name], [name]Deborah[/name] etc all come back in a hardcore way. They will seem fresh again, those and others from that generation. (What I in my head call “the aunt and uncle names” for people my age, I am 33) Back when I was a teen, names that are so popular now were “grandparents and their friends” names…[name]Emma[/name], [name]Cora[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Sophia[/name] and the list goes on…[name]Sophia[/name] and [name]Rose[/name] were “the golden girls” to many not that long ago, lol.

[name]Sally[/name]
[name]Betty[/name]
[name]Robin[/name]
[name]Susan[/name]
[name]Joan[/name]
[name]Dorothy[/name]
[name]Barbara[/name]

I need a little longer on [name]Linda[/name] and [name]Nancy[/name], but I bet theyre not far behind…

[name]Love[/name] [name]Rosamund[/name] & [name]Esther[/name]. Also, [name]Susannah[/name]

Also, [name]Sybil[/name], [name]Rosalind[/name], [name]Ada[/name].

I totally agree with this list! Some, like [name]Marie[/name], are already coming back!

[name]Joan[/name]
[name]Rita[/name]
[name]Sally[/name]

Right now I am loving mid-century names, I can’t get enough of them!

Anyone mentioned [name]Jane[/name] yet? That one’s really starting to pop up in unusual places (like the top 100 in [name]Utah[/name]…)

Girls- [name]Jane[/name], [name]Susannah[/name], [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Louise[/name]/[name]Louisa[/name], [name]Nancy[/name], [name]Sylvia[/name], [name]Polly[/name], [name]Constance[/name], [name]Marianne[/name]
Boys- [name]Arthur[/name], [name]Louis[/name], [name]Lawrence[/name], [name]Roland[/name], [name]Albert[/name], [name]Gilbert[/name], [name]Emil[/name], [name]Guy[/name], [name]Foster[/name], [name]Edmund[/name], [name]Frank[/name]

I love this thread! Some that I agree with I will repete

[name]Susannah[/name]
[name]Patricia[/name]
[name]Rosamund[/name]
[name]Dorothy[/name]
[name]Dawn[/name]
[name]Deborah[/name]
[name]Theodora[/name]
[name]Enid[/name]
[name]Edith[/name]
[name]Ellen[/name]
[name]Jean[/name]
[name]Jane[/name]
[name]June[/name]
[name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Ingrid[/name]
[name]Constance[/name]
[name]Cornelia[/name]
[name]Amelia[/name]
[name]Prudence[/name]
[name]Diane[/name]
[name]Wilma[/name]
[name]Gloria[/name]
[name]Francine[/name]
[name]Sandra[/name]

[name]Edwin[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Cyrus[/name]
[name]Amos[/name]
[name]Ian[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]
[name]Burton[/name]
[name]Jedidiah[/name]
[name]Ezekiel[/name]
[name]Reuben[/name]
[name]Monty[/name]
[name]Holden[/name]
[name]Otto[/name]
[name]Walter[/name]

I’m sure most of these have been mentioned but:
[name]Cassandra[/name]
[name]Sylvia[/name]
[name]Kathleen[/name]
[name]Karen[/name]
[name]Sybil[/name]
[name]Susan[/name]
[name]Diana[/name]
[name]Mary[/name]
[name]Roxanne[/name]

[name]Edmund[/name]
[name]Arthur[/name]
[name]Frank[/name]
[name]Richard[/name]
[name]Harold[/name]
[name]Barnaby[/name]

@ellieberry and @morganalefaye:

Oh, you two have posted some real gems! I like:

[name]Ingrid[/name]
[name]Gloria[/name]
[name]Diane[/name]
[name]Cassandra[/name]
[name]Sylvia[/name]
[name]Kathleen[/name]
[name]Diana[/name]

[name]Walter[/name] (well, it’s starting to grow on me)
[name]Edmund[/name] (see ‘[name]Walter[/name]’)
[name]Arthur[/name]