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HelpRe: Dated names
in reply to a message by queenv
I get where you're coming from, people's attitudes can be ageist, especially when it comes to names. My name is also very dated, and it doesn't really bother me, but I can still see how some might not like it.
Picking an unpopular (but not dated) name, by the way, doesn't always avoid what you describe. My name wasn't very popular when I was born (late 80s). Five years *later* it became a huge trend, and stayed trendy for about 20 years. In 60 years it will be like Mildred or Ethel --old and fusty. I still love it because, well, it's mine, and it has meaning to me. And in 60 years I'll be old and fusty too.
The safest way to avoid the stigma of "dated" is to pick a classic. Names like Elizabeth, Stephen, Katherine, and Robert aren't going away any time soon.
*previously posted as summitseeker*
--hike more / worry less--
Picking an unpopular (but not dated) name, by the way, doesn't always avoid what you describe. My name wasn't very popular when I was born (late 80s). Five years *later* it became a huge trend, and stayed trendy for about 20 years. In 60 years it will be like Mildred or Ethel --old and fusty. I still love it because, well, it's mine, and it has meaning to me. And in 60 years I'll be old and fusty too.
The safest way to avoid the stigma of "dated" is to pick a classic. Names like Elizabeth, Stephen, Katherine, and Robert aren't going away any time soon.
*previously posted as summitseeker*
--hike more / worry less--
This message was edited 4/23/2018, 10:04 PM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
Yes, that's what happened with my daughter's name. It wasn't all that popular when she was born, and hadn't been for the previous twenty years, and had only a minor vogue in the 1950s. It had never, at the time she was born, been a top 50 name in the US. But as I said, it was just beginning a rise to popularity the year she was born.
Regarding your statement about classic names, I thought her name, Victoria, was a classic that would never really go out of style, but then that was when it had not really ever been in style.
Regarding your statement about classic names, I thought her name, Victoria, was a classic that would never really go out of style, but then that was when it had not really ever been in style.
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Victoria's been holding pretty steady for the past 30 years. It'll likely go out of style eventually, but I can't see it happening anytime soon.
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Yeah, you followed the right strategy, but it just didn't work out for rareness. Victoria is still a beautiful name and honestly deserves to be popular. And it's been popular for long enough that it never will be truly "dated," even if it's less used in the future.
My name is Cayden, which really *was* rare for the year I was born (just outside the top 1,000). It, and similar sounding names, became a big trend in the 90s. I still like it and wouldn't change it, but it definitely is "dated" and will become an "old person's name" in 40 years or so. At least I'll be an old person then.
You can't predict future trends, and unfortunately that rare, beautiful name might not stay rare.
My name is Cayden, which really *was* rare for the year I was born (just outside the top 1,000). It, and similar sounding names, became a big trend in the 90s. I still like it and wouldn't change it, but it definitely is "dated" and will become an "old person's name" in 40 years or so. At least I'll be an old person then.
You can't predict future trends, and unfortunately that rare, beautiful name might not stay rare.
This message was edited 10/15/2017, 12:30 PM
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