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"Old-Lady names" ... Should they stay dead?
Some I like, some I don't... but the question is what do YOU like?Ethel
Freda
Maud
Irma
Gladys
Shirley
Edna
Helen
Pearl
Mable
Muriel
Myrtle
Claudia
Mildred
Norma
Hilda
Phyllis
Thelma
Arlene
Frances
Alma
Harriet
Eunice______________________________________________
"How wonderful it is that no one need wait a single moment before starting to improve upon the world." -Ann Frank
Mama to my "bright star" Clarisse Bituin and Wife to Julius. Mahal na mahal from our little family to yours!
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I like Helen and Muriel, but they don't belong to my favorites.I really dislike Mildred (for some reason, I think of witches when I hear this one), Myrtle (reminds me of "turtle"), Pearl (not even an oldie in my opinion, but way too corny), Ethel (for its harsh sound), Irma, Shirley and Edna (reminds me of Mount Etna).But none of them are particularly old-lady names in my opinion (well maybe Myrtle and Irma).
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Ethel, Helen, Pearl & Claudia are wonderful names. Especially Pearl.
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I would use Helen, Mabel (which I think you may have meant?), Harriet and perhaps Frances; I also rather enjoy Thelma, with its placid dignity. Shirley is genuinely pretty, but the tap-dancing toddler associations are too powerful.
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I did mean Mabel, I wasn't sure who to respond to to mention that. Slight dyslexia of the fingers there. My name is Heidi, so the tap dancing toddler is a pretty fine association imo. It's one of my GP names, and I personally used to be a huge fan of Mrs. Temple-Black... wanted to become an ambassador just like her. ;)I also think Thelma is spunky, but couldn't saddle a kid with it myself.
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Of your names listed I like Helen, Pearl and Claudia. I'm surprised you consider Claudia an old lady name, I've only ever met Claudias in their teens. I hate Frances with a burning passion, sorry. The rest are just a bit too fuddy or bland for me.Some I like:Mabel
Hazel
Cora- I'm told this is old lady, but I'm not sure I think it is.
Esme- maybe not old lady but it is to me as the only one I've known was in her 80s. This is a top contender on my list
Margaret.
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Mostly they can stay dead and that's fine with me. :)
But what the heck is Claudia doing on there? Dang it. Old lady? Really?
Also, Mabel, Alma, and Frances are cute.
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Freda - but I really prefer Frida or Freyde
Maude - with the e
Gladys
Pearl
Mabel - spelled this way, but I Love Maybelle
Claudia - don't really like it but I'd be fine with its resurrection. I'd like to meet some
Hilda
Arlene
Alma
Harriet
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The only ones I like are Ethel, Freda and Claudia. Frances, Harriet and Hilda can possibly work as middle names, the rest I loath, imo the are very ugly names that don't deserve a comeback.

This message was edited 9/13/2014, 2:16 PM

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Liveliness scale:
1 - pathetic or comic, not really usable
2-3-4 - becoming less fusty and more usable
5 - quite eccentric / a statement but quite usable
6-7-8-9 - getting more potential to be hip
10 - positively sexyEthel - 3
Freda - 5
Maud - 4
Irma - 2
Gladys - 2
Shirley - 4
Edna - 3
Helen - 8
Pearl - 6
Mable - Mabel actually - 5
Muriel - 3
Myrtle - 2
Claudia - 9
Mildred - 3
Norma - 4
Hilda - 2
Phyllis - 3
Thelma - 5
Arlene - 3
Frances - 7
Alma - 8
Harriet - 7
Eunice - 2

This message was edited 9/12/2014, 9:43 AM

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Ethel - I can't quite get with this one yet. It just seems so shrill and self-consciously ugly.
Freda - I don't hate it. Frida looks better to my eyes.
Maud - I've always kind of liked Maud and Maude. (I like it better with the 'e.') I think I like the way it looks written out more than I like its sound.
Irma - Is like the sound a cow would make whilst giving birth.
Gladys - Never.
Shirley - This is the mullet of names.
Edna - Haha, all I can picture is John Travolta in drag.
Helen - I like this.
Pearl - This is already kind of in, but I don't like it. I can hear it being shrieked from a tenement in NYC in 1910. "PEARL, come hang the washing!" (This sounds kind of yuck classist. I'm sorry)
Mable - young and able get your elbows off the table.
Muriel - it reminds me of Muriel's Wedding which is one of the most GRATING movies I've ever watched. I HATE IT.
Myrtle - Ugly school marm.
Claudia - I've always liked this. It's never seemed old lady to me.
Mildred - my beloved Grandma's name. I've thought about the combo Anna Mildred.
Norma - Yikes so ugly.
Hilda - I like this and Hildy. You can thank Trading Spaces for that. :)
Phyllis - hideous.
Thelma - ... Load Full Message

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I love virtually all old-fashioned names and deem all names worthy of revival.
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I don't think Helen, Freda, Claudia or Harriet are dated!I would like to see the following resurrected:
Freda
Maud
Edna
Helen
Pearl
Mable (Mabel)
Claudia
Mildred
Hilda
Frances
Alma
HarrietI think these should stay dead:
Phyllis
Gladys
Shirley
Eunice (yuck!)
Muriel
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I like Maude, Pearl, Mabel (rather than Mable), Muriel, and Claudia (but don't consider this an old lady name.) I'd really like to see more Pearls, Mabels and Muriels in particular. Just for jollies I looked up the popularity statistics for these three.Pearl was out of the top thousand from 1987 through 2006, reappeared in 2007 at 991, fell off again in 2008, came back in 2009, and has gone from 983 in 2009 to 676 in 2013. Comeback maybe? Mabel fell out of the top thousand in 1965 but made a reappearance in 2013 at 704. Does this mean a comeback?? Time will tell. Muriel fell out of the top thousand in 1965 and hasn't been back since. No comeback in sight. Yet.
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I happen to love Muriel. We have Miriel on our short list, which is a bit more modern.
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I like Mariel (and Miriel), but with Muriel I get hung up on the "myuh" sound- it's like the name equivalent to a dry-heave
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I like
Freda
Maud
Irma
Shirley
Helen
Pearl
Myrtle
Claudia
Hilda
Phyllis
Arlene
Frances (English version of my name, hehe)
AlmaI doubt the likes of Ethel and Mildred will make a comeback, these others might.
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Ethel: Incredibly ugly. It's not even old-lady-chic now, it's a joke.
Freda: Ugly.
Maud: Certain types of people swoon over this name but it has the ugliest sound.
Irma: Like trying to suppress a yawn.
Gladys: I'd never use it or want it for my own name, but there is just a slight touch of glamour to this.
Shirley: Again, I wouldn't want it for myself, but there is a sweetness to it.
Edna: No sweetness or glamour here. Sounds like a car trying to start.
Helen: Not bad, but I like Ellen much better.
Pearl: Ugly sound.
Mable: Mabel, Mabel, set the table ... might end up hipster-popular.
Muriel: Sounds like a pigeon gurgling.
Myrtle: I'd only name a pet turtle this.
Claudia: Not old-lady to me at all. Attractive if a little bit chilly.
Mildred: Its dead and it deserved to die.
Norma: Hate it. Was insanely popular in Oklahoma in the thirties or forties, namely as the combo Norma Jean.
Hilda: Ug lee.
Phyllis: Likewise.
Thelma: Yuck.
Arlene: Not terrible.
Frances: Kind of old-money-chic right now. Funny you should list Arlene and then Frances; Arlene Francis was a panelist on What's My Line way back.
Alma: See Thelma.
Harriet: I hear it's pretty popular in the UK but I don't think it'll ever make much of a comeback here. I don't know that it should.
Eunice: A big stuffy nose.
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I would have assumed Norma Jean would be after Marilyn Monroe's real name, but these people would be too old. It's interesting because apparently Monroe's mother had named her after Norma Talmage and Jean Harlow, maybe more people had the same idea?
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maybe ... (edited)Who knows? Here in Delaware, and in the nearby parts of Maryland, the trendy name for that generation is Margaret Ann. My stepfather has or had three different female relatives (some by marriage) of that age named Margaret Ann. They went by Margaret Ann (pronounced something like Margar-DAN) Marg, and one was Martannie.

This message was edited 9/12/2014, 6:46 AM

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I could do without Myrtle Gladys and Ethel
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Freda, Maude, Mabel and Harriet are my picks from your listI love Philomena
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