Fashionable names

My best friend when I was a child in the 1940s was called Harriet. It was very unusual then, but became fashionable later, I was very envious of her unusual name.

What goes around comes around, names go in cycles, one generations popular names are the butt of jokes to their grandchildren.

To my generation names like Ethel, Olive, Margery, Arthur, Albert, or rather Bert were the butt of comedian's jokes. Now they are back in fashion

I think this 'Susan' is the first swallow of spring. Soon we will have flocks of Susans, Marys, Margarets, Johns, Peters and Michaels filling every nursery and infant school.

I had a great-aunt Louisa. I’d quite like to bring that back. We find Louise, but rarely Louisa,

What about Theodora? Henrietta?

I was surprised never to encounter a Diana while teaching.
Wonder if there will be a new one soon?

[I was at school with an Eluned, which I liked because it was unusual but she hated, and would only admit to Megan. ]

I know a baby called Rex.......
I’m partial to biblical sounding names I must admit. I love Gabriel and Raphael, Josiah, Gideon etc.

How about Rosemary and Jennifer? I hadn’t realised those were dated, but they are.

I always think boys’ names are less prone to fashion changes than those of girls, but I would be surprised to encounter a little Geoffrey or Kenneth now.

Not Amex!
Her second name is French
Sorry folks. I had to have a covid test in the hospital and rushed my post!

My name is Susan!

I am usually called Sue not usually called dull and boring though - anything but. Dont worry I'm not offended rather be called that than Beyonce or similar fashionable name.

DH calls me Suzie which I love.

A lot of my Welsh friends have names like Janet, Susan, Margaret etc but their grandchildren tend to have more traditional Welsh names.

Dont forget the paulines

The Scottish tradition was to name children after their grandparents. I should have been a Barbara and my mum should have been an Elizabeth. Neither of us have those names!

It certainly makes it easier to trace ancestors

As I was a teacher for 25+ years, names have unfortunate resonances for me! I loved the name Sarah and wanted to call my daughter that, but I had a nightmare of a pupil with that name at the same time which really tainted it for me. I can't recall many Susans latterly. It's a nice name.

Alegria re Scottish names, my grandmother was called Wilhelmina and insisted that my aunt call her daughter that. My mother resisted, thank goodness, as I'm not fond of it.

Alegrias1

Susan means lily flower and Barbara means exotic. Lots of meaning there.

And Alegria means joy

I read Barbara was Roman for barbarian!

Any one heard of a baby called Lionel or Cecil?
I know of someone calling their baby Lion. But not Lionel.

Susan is one of a group of girls names which are found (in some form) all over Europe - Mary, Jane, Elizabeth, Anne, Margaret, Catherine, Helen, Susan, Alice, Sarah, Isobel. Eleanor.

Other European girls names are versions of boys names -Alexandra, Charlotte, Willma, Roberta, Nichola, Andrea, Henrietta, Davina, Georgina, Martina

Then there are names which go in and out of fashion and become very dated, perhaps because of a famous singer-ot actress- Valerie, Marilyn, Gloria, Natalie, Tracey, Britney, Lola, Shirley, Kim, Tiffany.

One of my children has a name which was almost unheard of when she was born in the 1970s and is now one of the most popular. I don't know why. She is not famous!

Having older French students, just looking at the list of names I can guess their ages before seeing them. As for children, I didn’t think I had heard right the first time, when a boy said Adolf, but he was from another country. For myself, in the 50s, hardly anyone had heard mine, a situation which is different nowadays. I hated it when I was little but now people think I am younger than I am because of it.

Namsnanny

Any one heard of a baby called Lionel or Cecil?
I know of someone calling their baby Lion. But not Lionel.

Yes, here in France

i wish my mum had called me something else . i was named after someone in the hospital. (just thought i was born at home) maybe i was taken there afterwards. would have liked to be called elizabeth. i have that as my second name.....but i intend to go out the same way as i came in .W.E.M.

As a child of the 50’s, my classmates were Elaine, Dawn, Christine, Diana, Penelope, Diane, Heather, Lesley, Glynis to name a few.

I am not revealing my name, have never liked it. No one is ever called it nowadays.

I think that Susan is a lovely name, good to see it back in fashion. There were five Susans in my class at school, not come across it since, only the odd Sue. (One was very odd).
Last night there was a female journalist who was reporting from Jersey. Her name was Jean, she looked quite young too. That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.

One of the questions posed by a young grandchild on our family quiz was "In the Harry Potter films, what was Hermione Grainger's middle name?"

It was Jean.

Those Welsh names you mention Anniebach are beautiful but I guess I am biased being Welsh!!

I had two Aunt Gertrudes. Wonder if that name will ever be fashionable again?