What is vintage to you?

General Name Discussion
1

I’m curious to see what the name enthusiasts think a vintage name is. I’ve talked about it with friends before and seen it discussed on some other sites a little, and everyone seems to have a different idea on what constitutes a vintage name. Some of the names that would be brought up when I said the word vintage didn’t strike me as vintage at all, like [name]Duncan[/name] or [name]Sophia[/name].

I think that a vintage name is certainly something that was popular in the distant past, but I can’t think of anymore criteria than that. A couple of names that come to mind are [name]Arthur[/name] and [name]Lillian[/name], both popular around the turn of the 20th century.

So, I want to know what is an example of a vintage name and why is a name vintage, in your opinion?

2

I say names like:

Girls: [name]Florence[/name], [name]Ethel[/name], [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Bessie[/name], [name]Edna[/name],[name]Bertha[/name],Milderd
Boys: [name]Willie[/name],[name]Arthur[/name],[name]Albert[/name],[name]Earl[/name],[name]Carl[/name],[name]Ernest[/name],[name]Fred[/name],[name]Raymond[/name]

Names that were in the Top 20 like 80 to 110 years ago, and hasn’t be heard from sense.

3

Names that are familiar, but not popular; names that had their heyday and where in style in a different era.

Girls: [name]Alma[/name], [name]Betty[/name], [name]Cornelia[/name], [name]Constance[/name], [name]Dorothy[/name], [name]Ethel[/name], [name]Edith[/name], [name]Gertrude[/name], [name]Henrietta[/name], [name]Gloria[/name], [name]Greta[/name], [name]Ida[/name], [name]Judith[/name], [name]Loretta[/name], [name]Lucille[/name], [name]Millicent[/name], [name]Muriel[/name], [name]Nora[/name], [name]Prudence[/name], [name]Octavia[/name], [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Temperance[/name], [name]Vera[/name], [name]Sybil[/name], [name]Zelda[/name], [name]Clementine[/name], [name]Hermione[/name], [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Tabitha[/name], [name]Stella[/name], [name]Miriam[/name] etc.

Boys: [name]Amos[/name], [name]Archibald[/name], [name]Arthur[/name], [name]Bernard[/name], [name]Leonard[/name], [name]Howard[/name], [name]Donald[/name], [name]Edwin[/name], [name]Edward[/name], [name]Gideon[/name], Godric, [name]Kenneth[/name], [name]Percival[/name], [name]Reginald[/name], [name]Roderick[/name], [name]Silas[/name], [name]Virgil[/name], [name]Walter[/name], [name]Winston[/name], [name]Thomas[/name], [name]Emmet[/name], [name]Atticus[/name], [name]Felix[/name], [name]Jasper[/name], [name]Theodore[/name], [name]Sheldon[/name], [name]Dexter[/name]

4

I think names that were popular in the distant past (maybe minimum of 50 years ago?), but ruling out names that have been consistently popular.

5

Going by the usage of the word in dating objects, something is vintage when it’s between fifty to one hundred years old. If something is over one hundred years old then it’s antique :slight_smile: For example; my nanna’s gold cross (minted in the fifties) is vintage but my Edwardian pocket watch is antique.

In terms of names I guess that would make names like Jean, Mary and Linda vintage while Edith, Edward and Adelaide would be antique.

6

I think if a name was popular in your grandparents’ generation or earlier, and isn’t nearly as popular now (in other words, it is associated with another era), then I would consider it vintage.

7

When I hear ‘vintage name’, I think of something old, but not “clunky”. For instance, vintage would be something that reminds me of say, old photographs and the silent film era, but still could make a comeback, assuming they haven’t already. (i.e. [name]Lillian[/name], [name]Mae[/name], [name]Rosalind[/name], [name]Pearl[/name], etc.) “Clunky” are ones that go back even further or remind me of REALLY old or dusty things, like Mrs. Havisham and the Dust Bowl. (i.e. [name]Matilda[/name], [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Eunice[/name], [name]Myrtle[/name], etc.)