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Amy
I just noticed how popular Amy is in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland (it's in their top tens). It's ranked 23rd in England and Wales. Even in the US it has been hovering just out of the top 100 for a while, and was way more popular in the 90's than I ever would have imagined (it was in the top 100).How did I miss this? I've never met or heard of an Amy more than like two years younger than me (I'm 22). To me it is still a very dated name. I can only picture it on someone born in the late 70s/early 80s. The popularity of it took me very much by surprise.I can see how it's popular based on the sound though. It's not far off from the oh so popular Ellie and Ava. Even though it has been getting less popular, do you think it will come back up? Do you think of Amy as dated?

This message was edited 7/16/2008, 5:55 AM

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I was born in the 70's and like you, I really associate it as a name for my generation. The year I was born, it ranked second only to Jennifer (in the US). I sort of consider it the 70's Emma or Emily. But I think it was one of those retro names at that time, that was actually popular a century before the 70's. I don't think it was ever as popular as it was in the 70's however. I can see why parents today would like it for its simplicity. A lot of parents today look for short simiple names, and because it is seen by some as dated, some parents may actually be picking it because they feel other parents will see Amy as dated, and thus it is actually, at this time, percieved as sort of different.

This message was edited 7/16/2008, 4:00 PM

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I It seems very 70s/80s to me. I think its popularity is slowly declining personally.
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I think of Amy as a very 70s name too, but apparently it is still popular. It is an old-fashioned name and also reminds me of Little Women, and that song from the 70s "Amy, what you want to do/I think I could stay with you..." (Not sure who sang that). At any rate it is very pretty.
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I think Amy will come back up in popularity, all though to me, it seems to fit the 80s and 90s better to me.
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I have met a very young Amy before, she was 5 in about two years ago. Because of that, I wouldn't say it is dated.

This message was edited 7/16/2008, 12:13 PM

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I don't think of Amy as dated. I think of it as a semi-classic name because of its use by Charles Dickens and Louisa May Alcott.I know an 8-year-old Amy, BTW.
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I live in England & most the Amys I know are aged under 20. I think I know one or two over.
I think it will definitley make a comeback because it's got that short cutesy look & sound like Ava, Lily, Ella etc.
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Amy is a sweetly old-fashioned name but alas, it is also quite dated to me. I've just known so many. The youngest is my niece, Aimee Elisabeth, but most of them are Amys and are around the same age.
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I'm 26, live in the U.S., and I've met too many Amys to count. It was insanely popular around the time I was born.I'm not sure if it will sky-rocket in popularity again, because people associate it with the 80's/90's, but that doesn't make it dated to me. The name is actually an old one, so I don't understand why it isn't up there with the Ellies, Avas, and Maddies; it has the same kind of sound and feel to it. You'd think it'd still be more popular, but oh well.
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I know several Amys (and Aimees, though I detest this spelling) that were born in the 70s, but I also know an 11 year old Amy. I think it's an adorable name. I don't think it's trendy, but rather classic.
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I like to think my name's a classic which has just recently had a moment in the sun, personally. ;) I've met a few very small Amys, but not too many; I think it might just be a difference between the US and everywhere else.Array
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I'm English and most, if not all, the Amys I've met have been under 25. I consider it dated to the generation born in the 80s, 90s and 2000s - especially the late 80s/90s, I guess. Shame, because it's a really lovely name. I might use it as a middle name one day.
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Nope, I can't imagine an old women called Amy, it's definitely not an older generation name here in Scotland. In saying that though I didn't realise it was in the top 10 either. The only Amy I know was in my year at Primary (elementary?) school. There is also a wee girl called Amy (age 3 or 4?) in a popular soap based in England. Amy is in the same kind of category as Emma for me, the sort of simple classics. and it has a nice meaning which is a bonus, and still semi transparent in a country where most kids learn French at school, without being too blatant.

This message was edited 7/16/2008, 6:35 AM

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It's not dated to me. I've known girls named Amy in most age groups.I just checked the Australian stats, and Amy rose rapidly through the top 100 in the 1970s and has basically not left the top 20 since 1980 (the year I was born, which was replete with girls named Amy). So it's been in the top 20 in Australia for the last 28 years and to me qualifies as a classic rather than dated.

This message was edited 7/16/2008, 6:18 AM

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