Thoughts on the name Deborah?

bananers · March 2011

Would love to honor my mom somehow by naming my child after her, but I'm not sure if the name works for this generation, or if it's too 50-year old woman (I have a gazillion friends with moms named Deb, Debbie or Deborah/Debra). I know name trends are cyclical - just not sure if's too soon or maybe in another generation will be more trendy. (not that I necessarily need or want a name to be trendy, but I don't want my child to get funny looks because she has an old lady's name!

lilhotcandie69 · March 2011

It sounds too old to me. Use it as a middle name.

forensicmama · March 2011

I love it personally.

I don't think it sounds old, either. It's biblical.

newportbride715 · March 2011

I think it is a pretty name -not necessarily "old lady" at all -but I know a lot of Debs/Debbies, in their 50's, 40's and 30's so I am sick of that and do not expect it to make a comeback any time soon.

zaramarie81 · March 2011

bananers:
Would love to honor my mom somehow by naming my child after her, but I'm not sure if the name works for this generation, or if it's too 50-year old woman (I have a gazillion friends with moms named Deb, Debbie or Deborah/Debra). I know name trends are cyclical - just not sure if's too soon or maybe in another generation will be more trendy. (not that I necessarily need or want a name to be trendy, but I don't want my child to get funny looks because she has an old lady's name!

I have to confess, this name just sounds so dated to me no matter how I try to separate it out from the generation. Some names, like Dorothy, may have an older generation feel but doesn't have the same date stamp like Deborah for some reason. That said, could you use it as a middle name?

erinms · March 2011

I think I would use it as a middle name. It just seems too dated to me (in the wrong way).

juniper19 · March 2011

Well, if you use Deborah you will be way ahead of the curve. I have a feeling it will become popular in another 20 years - among our grandkids. Like the "old lady" names that are popular nowadays. Deborah's an old lady name, but not old enough (yet).

bananers · March 2011

juniper19:
...Like the "old lady" names that are popular nowadays. Deborah's an old lady name, but not old enough (yet).

Yes, this is exactly what I was wondering. I think I am leaning more toward MN because I can't quite separate it from my mom's generation, but was curious if others felt the same way.

anna7602 · March 2011

I have a few friends named Deborah. Does that make me an "old lady"?

Anyway, I have two reservations about this name. The first is that I don't really like the nn Debby/Debbie. It makes me think of Little Debbie snack cakes. The second is that even though I don't like this nn, it always comes across as snotty when I hear women named Deborah correct people who call them Debbie and say, "no, it's Deborah." Maybe it's just the women in particular and the way they say it.

nanaea · March 2011

Vs are mad trendy; what about Devorah, a Hebrew variant? (Emphasis is on the second syllable: deh-VOOR-ah.) Devvie or Devrie for short, instead of Debbie? Or Dorah/Dorie? Anyway, I think Deborah is a strong feminine name, but if I saw it somewhere I would assume it belonged to an older woman, not a little girl. Not that that's a such bad thing...

EXL311 · March 2011

I don't think it works. When I was in labor with DS three of my nurses were Deborah/Debra/Debbie. My aunt Debra is a nurse and one of the nurses at my mom's hospice was Deborah. I just associate it with women at least in their 40s, if not 50s and 60s, who are nurses.

queenbone · March 2011

I think Deborah on it's own is a nice name. It's a Bible name. I think the nn Debbie may be a little dated as a Boomer name, but Deborah is not like Linda or Susan.

Kadie331 · March 2011

I dislike it because it's my MILs name

But I like that fact that you want to honor your mom.

Moxie27 · March 2011

sounds dated...like the name of someone born b/w 1940-1960.

ycristina84 · March 2011

So...I live in Texas. There are about 50 Debbie's everywhere you go in and outside of Austin. It seems like every TX town has a plethora of Deborahs running around. Most of them are between 40-60 years old and are as down-home-country as you can get.

My boss is a Deborah and where she is from (also TX) she has 2 best friends named Debbie. They all have big hair, big jewelry, slightly white trash roots, big southern accents, BIG personalities...Everything is bigger in Texas So, that is all I think about when I see Deborah.I think it's dated, a little trailer park-ish and very southern (in a bad way). But, that's just my view because of where I live, maybe the name has a very different "feel" where you are from.

sugarpumpkin716 · March 2011

it's my mom's name. : )

but i definitely wouldn't use it.

ubermoose · March 2011

I really like it. I do know that it's a bit of a generational name--I'm also not sure how many friends my mom has had over the years named Deborah.

I don't think this one is necessarily coming back, so I wouldn't be worried about a wave of little Deborahs in your daughter's class. Some people might look at the name as dated, and perhaps it is, but I still think of it as a strong name. Some of my favorite names peaked several years ago, and I'm okay with that.

I think the question is: do YOU like the name? Of course you want to honor your mom, but it's also important to have a name choice that you are all-around confident about.

starlight8323 · March 2011

You are correct: we are in the wrong generation for a comeback on this one.

Deborah will most likely come back when our grandchildren are naming their daughters.

The good news is that if you use it as a middle name for your daughter now, your granddaughter will have a great family name, which is also in fashion, available for her to use for your great granddaughter's name!

2moms2twins · March 2011

maybe modernize it Deborah to Devorah or Devin

Allie30 · March 2011

I love how people talk about how a name sounds "dated" like it's pair of pants! Better "dated" than "trendy" IMO. Deborah is a classic and you won't have to worry about seventeen other Deborahs in your child's class!

An alt nickname for Deborah, btw, if you want to avoid "Debbie" is "Dorah".

I do like the PP suggestion of Devorah (a variation) or Devon, though (Or even devorah with a nn of Devon). It still honors your mother and gives the baby her "own" name.

LMS05 · March 2011

Deborah is a Biblical name so no, I don't think it's dated. I think it's classic. I have a friend named Debra (she's in her 20s). I think it's a lovely name and she's never, ever called Debbie.

AshasaurusRex · March 2011

I'm sorry, I've never liked the name Deborah, it sounds too old.

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