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HelpRe: Dated names
in reply to a message by Ottilie
Deborah - seems midcentury steady like Gloria and Barbara, Sharon and Lorraine. Something dowdy about it now, hard to picture on a youngster.
Donna - I really like Donna. It wasn't as much of a fad as Deborah so doesn't seem as dated. Its similarity to Donald, though ... I don't know. I can see it being used again.
Eileen - still has a slightly youthful air despite the expectation of an older woman. Usable.
Jessica (though this is still very popular here) - it's not dated yet. She is probably under forty. So still usable, and I think it's a beautiful name.
Kelly - younger than Deborah, older than Jessica ... it's about like Jennifer, just less common and less likely to make a comeback because of the style. Which IMO matches the style of Ashley and they are both as likely to make a comeback for boys someday, as for girls IMO.
Pamela - kind of like Eileen except that I don't like it as much.
Paula - like Deborah. But I think it's more datey because it's a form of a male name, rather than an original feminine name.
Sheridan - total fadname, you can peg her age within less than ten years. Very dated despite not being that old. It's like Dale or Adrian on a woman. I don't like it, too surnamey and too like Sherman somehow.
Stephanie - it's like Olivia ... has enough classicness to not feel as dated as it is. Yet. But I'd be surprised to meet a Stephanie under 15. I like the name.
Susan - like Deborah and Paula, only more timeless. I like it.
Douglas - It's weird to me that this was trendy then but not now. Seems like it should be the other way around, the way it sounds to me. But it's dated, esp. Doug. It's alright.
Frank - This name is so old that the bulk of them have died and it's ready to return. I'm lukewarm on it. I like the full names for it better.
Glenn - another one where the only explanation for it not being more popular, is that it's seen as dated. It would fit in.
Graham - And another. I don't see this as dated. I don't like it.
Martin - Now, that's dated! I like it though.
Russell - also doesn't give me an unusably dated impression - more like it's just not in style, and I expect an older guy. For some reason, Ross seems more dated to me than Russell.
My favorite dated names:
Deanna
Audra
Angela
Carol
Meryl
Sherry
Jody
Melinda
Melanie
Sandra
Shannon
Peggy
Deirdre
Karissa
Dale
Ginger
Claudia
Myron
Eric
Derek
Drew
Keith
Terry
Thomas / Tom
Marc / Marcus
Brandon
Richard / Rick
Nicholas / Nick
- mirfak
Donna - I really like Donna. It wasn't as much of a fad as Deborah so doesn't seem as dated. Its similarity to Donald, though ... I don't know. I can see it being used again.
Eileen - still has a slightly youthful air despite the expectation of an older woman. Usable.
Jessica (though this is still very popular here) - it's not dated yet. She is probably under forty. So still usable, and I think it's a beautiful name.
Kelly - younger than Deborah, older than Jessica ... it's about like Jennifer, just less common and less likely to make a comeback because of the style. Which IMO matches the style of Ashley and they are both as likely to make a comeback for boys someday, as for girls IMO.
Pamela - kind of like Eileen except that I don't like it as much.
Paula - like Deborah. But I think it's more datey because it's a form of a male name, rather than an original feminine name.
Sheridan - total fadname, you can peg her age within less than ten years. Very dated despite not being that old. It's like Dale or Adrian on a woman. I don't like it, too surnamey and too like Sherman somehow.
Stephanie - it's like Olivia ... has enough classicness to not feel as dated as it is. Yet. But I'd be surprised to meet a Stephanie under 15. I like the name.
Susan - like Deborah and Paula, only more timeless. I like it.
Douglas - It's weird to me that this was trendy then but not now. Seems like it should be the other way around, the way it sounds to me. But it's dated, esp. Doug. It's alright.
Frank - This name is so old that the bulk of them have died and it's ready to return. I'm lukewarm on it. I like the full names for it better.
Glenn - another one where the only explanation for it not being more popular, is that it's seen as dated. It would fit in.
Graham - And another. I don't see this as dated. I don't like it.
Martin - Now, that's dated! I like it though.
Russell - also doesn't give me an unusably dated impression - more like it's just not in style, and I expect an older guy. For some reason, Ross seems more dated to me than Russell.
My favorite dated names:
Deanna
Audra
Angela
Carol
Meryl
Sherry
Jody
Melinda
Melanie
Sandra
Shannon
Peggy
Deirdre
Karissa
Dale
Ginger
Claudia
Myron
Eric
Derek
Drew
Keith
Terry
Thomas / Tom
Marc / Marcus
Brandon
Richard / Rick
Nicholas / Nick
- mirfak
This message was edited 5/29/2015, 7:50 PM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
Yeah, they're classics and that makes them seem less dated. They're only dated in the way Mary or Anna is dated. I guess Robert is a better example of a dated classic name.
But people are naming very few kids Thomas and Nicholas anymore, compared to in the past (midcentury for Thomas, 80s-90s for Nicholas). Maybe it's mostly because of increased name diversity rather than the names going out of fashion ... but I think people probably expect a Nicholas or Thomas to be an adult rather than a child, and to me that is kinda what "dated" is - the image of a name as being more likely to be one age than another.
Yay, someone who likes Sherry!
But people are naming very few kids Thomas and Nicholas anymore, compared to in the past (midcentury for Thomas, 80s-90s for Nicholas). Maybe it's mostly because of increased name diversity rather than the names going out of fashion ... but I think people probably expect a Nicholas or Thomas to be an adult rather than a child, and to me that is kinda what "dated" is - the image of a name as being more likely to be one age than another.
Yay, someone who likes Sherry!
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