Old names

My GS had a boy in his class and for years I thought the boy's name was Phoenix then I saw it written down and his name turned out to be Felix.

Grantanow

My Greatgrandfather x5 was called Phoenix.

I have a friend whose grandson is called Phoenix.

Calendargirl

Katie is actually a name in its own right, not a shortened version of Katherine.

‘Kate’ sounds trendier than ‘Kath’ doesn’t it?

Can’t imagine the Princess Of Wales wanting to be called ‘Kath’ somehow.

My daughter was originally called Catherine (for about a week) then I thought as she got older people would just shorten it to Cathy so we decided on Kate

My sister's unusual (foor most of her life) name was the result of a stand=off between my parents. Both had a name they liked and the response of the other in each case was 'over my dead body', so the name she was finally given was a compromise between them. and a very pretty compromise it was, although my sister did say that she so often had to say her name and immediately spell it out, that the spelling out almost began to seem as part of her name.

This is a bit off topic but my autocorrect always amuses me when I email my friend Elvira (think of the Blythe Spirit pronunciation). It invariably changes her name to Elvis . I should point out that I have never emailed Elvis ........ (I thought these machines were learning all the time - obviously not in this case).

I often wonder why parents choose the names they do but my unusual first name (I have never met another) was definitely in defiance of the “sensible” names of the rest of the family; certainly no thought was given to a life time of having to spell it out.

My Greatgrandfather x5 was called Phoenix.

😂 chocolatelovinggran

Many of my grandchildren's friends have Victorian or Edwardian names - Stanley, Elsie, Mabel etc.
I think they are charming, but they do make me think of the staff of a grand house...think imperious Maggie Smith - type tones
" Mabel - ask Stanley to bring the car round..."

Skydancer

Well the old names are certainly better than some of the ridiculous names now: Chelsea, Madison, Sienna etc. Also I dislike the old names that, for some reason, have been shortened: Alfie, Freddie, Charlie, Katie. Why not just use the full name and then shorten it in speech if you want to.

Skydancer you encapsulate the attitude that has always been with us. I can remember people when i was a child complaining about naames like Doreen, Mureen (actually an Irish name) and I am sure in the 19th century people objected to all those names like Maud, Gertrude, Millicent and Mildred.

As for using dimunitives as registered names. Have you any experience of the problems of having one name on your birth certificate that you never use and another name you use, a dimunitive of your main name, that has been used since birth.

DH is one of those, Robert, not his real name, always known, from birth as Bob, in order not to be confused with an uncle, after whom he was named. The confusion this leads to, the forms rejected because he hasn't put his official name down. sitting in hospital waiting rooms and not responding to a call for 'Mr Robert Smith' because he is reading and that name is not one tor raise awarenes,s because he is Mr 'Bob' Smith. Not to mention onlineproblems.

I see no problems with dimunitives being registered names.

Katie is actually a name in its own right, not a shortened version of Katherine.

‘Kate’ sounds trendier than ‘Kath’ doesn’t it?

Can’t imagine the Princess Of Wales wanting to be called ‘Kath’ somehow.

We had an auntie who we all called Eve-lyn, but apparently it was really Ev-e-line, and looking through the family Bible, it was spelled like that also.

Not realised until long after she died.

We’ve got a baby Finley in the family, I don’t mind that one though I thought it was usually Finbar.

My Grandma was called Evelyn and that has become very popular recently. She pronounced it Eve-lyn and went nuts when it was mispronounced as Ev-uh-lyn. Her brother wax Frank and that is popular too now.

My neighbour's little girl is called Evelyn, I think it's rather nice.

My Dad had a usual name, even looking online no-one else seems to have it.

Well the old names are certainly better than some of the ridiculous names now: Chelsea, Madison, Sienna etc. Also I dislike the old names that, for some reason, have been shortened: Alfie, Freddie, Charlie, Katie. Why not just use the full name and then shorten it in speech if you want to.

Nigerian "western" names can be entertaining. I worked in an office with a Monday, & someone in another dept we worked with was called "Tuesday". I once answered the phone to Tuesday, who wanted to speak to Monday. Totally lightened my mood!

Calendargirl

Robbie Williams wife is Ayda though, not Ada,

The ‘y’ makes it look a bit more glamorous.

It's a Turkish name too, which is usually pronounced aye-dah or ee-dah.

It seems to me that great-grandparents names are the ones that make the comeback, so I think most of us will have to wait another generation before our names are thought of as unique again.

We are all given French names, so there were not any repeats of those at school. My poor older sister always hated her name Martine, but I think it is lovely, and now not so unheard of.

Robbie Williams wife is Ayda though, not Ada,

The ‘y’ makes it look a bit more glamorous.

My grandmother was called Wilhelmina. I bet nobody uses that name now.

Usedtobeblonde

One of my young friends has a niece named Ada.
I last knew an Ada when I was a child, many, many years ago.

Robbie Williams wife is called Ada.
My mum had a friend called Ada. She was soooo glamorous.
If my father had had his way I would have been Ethel.

My friend's grandchildren are called Nellie and Eli. Lovely children; absolutely delightful. But I can't get the image of Nellie and Eli Pledge from the Pledge pickle factory out of my head.

My name is quite uncommon and definitely off the list, has been for years!
Our GCs names are quite uncommon, but are found in literature. Apart from one, the parents thought it was original within the family, until DH and I told them of relatives ( two generations away) that had that name. All lovely names.