Anyone else not like "old" names?

mrsseguin · May 2009

I see on here a lot of people using old names...or, ones that I consider "old". I couldn't name my daughter Hariet or Esther or a son Henry or George.

I must admit too though that I am much more inclined to go with a trendy/popular name for my child. Like Aiden or Emily. I do realize that some names are making a 'come back' now, but I'm just not into the 1930's names I see on here.

Julia-Henry · May 2009

I think there's a difference between old and classic. I happen to love classic names, names that have been used pretty consistently over the centuries, with a history and real character. Some popular names happen to be classics. In fact, Emily is from an old Roman family name, and Aidan was a medieval Irish saint - although they are both very popular now, they're timeless.

What I don't like is trendy. Trendy names are names that feel made-up to me, and are the kinds of things that date quickly. Part of the issue is that names get attached to certain eras and, when they decline in popularity, they start to feel 'old'. Today's trendy names are tomorrow's old names.

tak2002 · May 2009

I like classic names. They don't sound old to me...just classic

leah1615 · May 2009

Julia-Henry:
I think there's a difference between old and classic. I happen to love classic names, names that have been used pretty consistently over the centuries, with a history and real character. Some popular names happen to be classics. In fact, Emily is from an old Roman family name, and Aidan was a medieval Irish saint - although they are both very popular now, they're timeless.

What I don't like is trendy. Trendy names are names that feel made-up to me, and are the kinds of things that date quickly. Part of the issue is that names get attached to certain eras and, when they decline in popularity, they start to feel 'old'. Today's trendy names are tomorrow's old names.

Yes, I agree 100%. Especially that last part!

EXL311 · May 2009

Well classic or old I'm not a fan of most either. I still can't understand why everyone is so gaga over the name Henry. I'm not a fan of William, Robert, etc. either.

Julia-Henry · May 2009

EXL311:
Well classic or old I'm not a fan of most either. I still can't understand why everyone is so gaga over the name Henry. I'm not a fan of William, Robert, etc. either.

Interesting.. both of your children's names are biblical, which makes them much "older" than Henry or William or Robert...

ilovemygirls · May 2009

Yeah, I'm always shocked when I see that people actually admit to liking the name Hazel (sorry to anyone out there- just one I picked out of the air). I also knew someone that named their child Edna in the last 10 years or so. Seriously, that's just mean. My kids don't have trendy names, but I'd say they're definitely modern. I do like some 'traditional' names, but none like I mentioned...

AllThatGlitters101 · May 2009

mrsseguin:
I see on here a lot of people using old names...or, ones that I consider "old". I couldn't name my daughter Hariet or Esther or a son Henry or George.
I must admit too though that I am much more inclined to go with a trendy/popular name for my child. Like Aiden or Emily. I do realize that some names are making a 'come back' now, but I'm just not into the 1930's names I see on here.

Lol...Emily seems older to me than Harriet or Esther! It's been around so long (popular in the 18th and 19th centuries).

EXL311 · May 2009

Julia-Henry:

EXL311:
Well classic or old I'm not a fan of most either. I still can't understand why everyone is so gaga over the name Henry. I'm not a fan of William, Robert, etc. either.

Interesting.. both of your children's names are biblical, which makes them much "older" than Henry or William or Robert...

Okay let me clarify "old". I think that certain names that come from biblical times and other way back when centuries have not been so popular at a certain time to make people think of them as old people's names. Henry and George are two of the names that I have heard enough as old men's names that I think of old men when I hear them. Rachel is biblical but I don't think of it as an old woman's name. Did that make any sense? It did in my head but not sure if I clarified very well.

NikiT · May 2009

I like a lot of the "old" boys names, but not the "old" girls names. Probably because boys names don't seem to change as much over the years as girls names. Like a poster mentioned, there's a difference between old and classic. I do like names with consistent use like Victoria, Elizabeth, Sarah etc. Names like Harriet and Esther just seem retro-trendy. If I'm going to go trendy, I'd rather pick a contemporary trendy name.

jebuell · May 2009

In general I'm not a fan of older names, either, especially for girls. My girls name list consists mostly of "newer" names like Summer, Calla, Callie, etc. But at the same time I don't like trendy names (like Madison and Hailey). I guess I'm more into unique but not-too-unique names.

For boys I think a boys names I tend to like "old" names. Earl and Dillon (both family names) are old and they are our top two picks. But again, not into trendy names like Jayden and Aden.

J+R · May 2009

I don't like them at all... A friend of mine is having a baby and naming it Harry - I hate that name... I like the newer names (Jenna, Autumn, Peyton, etc.) although I guess they aren't that "new" I definitely don't consider them "old" like Hilary, Sylvia, Ester, etc.

christina627 · May 2009

I like Henry. I think that guys names are usually just more "classic" names. Those girls names do sound more like a grandmother than a baby. Sorry to those using them.

KLSC04 · May 2009

Agree! The Miley, Ashlyn, Kiley, Kayla's are the Jennifers of the future.

I like the classic names that no matter what era they are from will never go out of style

thatgirlang · May 2009

Well, there will always be someone who doesn't like any given style. Of course some people like "old" or classic names and some people don't.

newportbride715 · May 2009

I like old names that have become timeless and classic (William, John, Kate, Elizabeth) I don't like old names that were trendy in their day and are now just "old."

jenerally · May 2009

I find myself liking old names more and more these days.

cmyers6278 · May 2009

I tried to pick names that can be classic, but are still high on the popular names list. Abigail and Sophia.

EmmieB · May 2009

mrsseguin:
I see on here a lot of people using old names...or, ones that I consider "old". I couldn't name my daughter Hariet or Esther or a son Henry or George.
I must admit too though that I am much more inclined to go with a trendy/popular name for my child. Like Aiden or Emily. I do realize that some names are making a 'come back' now, but I'm just not into the 1930's names I see on here.

Ironically, I used to be teased for having an "old lady" name when I was in elementary school. Yeah. Emily = Old Lady in the 80s.

The names we've chosen aren't 1930s. They're all pre-1900 :-D

Go with what you like. It's all relative.

stephnews · May 2009

I agree that I wouldn't name my child Mabel, Agatha or Edith, but it's all relative because Heather, Shawna and Jennifer will be the "old lady names" to our grandchildren.

smismar · May 2009

I guess I definitely don't fall in this category LOL! But whenever someone says that it's an "old" name, I like to remind them that all the folks in nursing homes named Edgar, Ethel, Mabel, etc (Sylvia!) were babies once, too. I wanted a name that was about as far from trendy as possible, but wasn't odd or unusual that no one had ever heard of. I think we picked a classic name that won't date our daughter to a specific generation (Silvia Rhea was the name of the mother of Romulus and Remus - the legendary founders of Rome).

LMS05 · May 2009

I like older names, but I especially like classic older names like Elizabeth and Sarah. I hate trendy names. Yuck.

hollybabe · May 2009

NikiT:
I like a lot of the "old" boys names, but not the "old" girls names. Probably because boys names don't seem to change as much over the years as girls names. Like a poster mentioned, there's a difference between old and classic. I do like names with consistent use like Victoria, Elizabeth, Sarah etc. Names like Harriet and Esther just seem retro-trendy. If I'm going to go trendy, I'd rather pick a contemporary trendy name.

Exactly. I like older names and originally I was drawn to them because they were different. Now they're trendy just like Emily and Jacob. There will probably be a bunch of Henrys, Eleanores, Georges and Hazels in my next child's kindergarten class.

The positive side is that these names at least have staying power and aren't made-up sounding.

Temp984666312503071 · May 2009

I think it's great that we don't all love the same thing. If we did, there woulnd't be diversity and all the babies would have the same name. So - name your baby whatever "trendy" name you love and I'll name my baby what I want.

We are naming our daughter Kate (Katherine) and love classic, timeless names. I personally don't care for the Callie/Keely/Kaley trend - totally nms - but I don't begrudge anyone for loving them or really put a lot of thought into it.

And I thought I would just add. My grandfather's name was Aidan (he just recently died at 90 years old) and it is my father's middle name. Up until very recently that name felt very very "old" to me (like Earl or Harry or Henry). Aidan wasn't invented in the past 10 years - it was just renewed and brought into the forefront. Same as Henry or any other older name.

And I TOTALLY agree with whoever said that today's "trendy" names are tomorrow's "dated" names.

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