Old-fashioned names to avoid naming your kids with

Zen Cohen wrote:

Betty (the last one I remember was Betty Rubble, Wilma Flintstone's friend
and confidante)

I could be wrong, but isn't Betty used as a nickname for Elizabeth?

JennP.

"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
.. .

"Ablang" wrote in message
...
What do you think are old-fashioned names to avoid naming your kids
with? ....

Hortense
Wilma (Hortense and Wilma are pretty old-fashioned now but were names of
characters in the best pic of 1946, "Best Years of Our Lives." And of
course
there's the lovely Wilma Flintstone)
Betty (the last one I remember was Betty Rubble, Wilma Flintstone's friend
and confidante)
Jemima (What took you so long?)
Flossie (actually, I kinda like it)


I believe Flossie is a nickname for Florence, which is not popular anymore.
It reminds me of the Bobbsey Twins - anyone remember them? ;-)
I went to school with a Jemima...her parents were hippies.

I think its the association with old age that turns us off - for
example, my grandmother was born in 1906 and I have clear memories of
her friends names - Elsie, Ruby, Opal, Mabel, Ethel, Myrtle, Florence,
Gertrude, Maisy etc. So....when my mom had kids and I in turn had kids,
we weren't gonna use those names.

The names of MY childhood in the 50's and 60's are all out of style
right now, probably for similar reasons. Liz, Susan, Cathy, Debbie,
Mary, Karen, Valerie, Helen....

The thing is....what goes around, comes around, and you can bet money
at some point Thelma, Velma, Wilma, Pearl etc. will come BACK.

For example, I thought of Lottie (Charlotte) as a real old lady name,
and its back in spades at our local public school. Lets see....other
ones that were gone for a long time that are coming back (or are back
to the point of nausea) Sarah, Emma, Cecily, Hannah, Thea etc.

So my money is on me being a granny or a great granny to kids named
Mabel and Elsie.

Mary G.

"bizby40" wrote:


"Rosalie B." wrote in message
.. .
I personally would avoid Gabriel, Solomon, Job, Jonah, Judas, or
Adolph for boys because of historic associations. But Adam and Jesus
don't seem to have the same .problem.

I can see why you'd avoid Judas or Adolph, but why the others?

Well I did say that I personally would avoid them. Gabriel is one
of the angels who is mentioned prominently as connected with judgment
day. I did know a guy named Gabriel and he had significant name
issues. Jonah because of the whale.

I would have thought Lolita would have that same problem, but I taught
a child named Lolita, and she apparently had no problem with it.

I've never met a Jezebel. But I've heard of Delilah's, which to me
doesn't seem like a great association.

grandma Rosalie

"JennP." wrote:
Zen Cohen wrote:

Betty (the last one I remember was Betty Rubble, Wilma Flintstone's friend
and confidante)

I could be wrong, but isn't Betty used as a nickname for Elizabeth?

There are LOTS of nicknames for various common women's names, but
sometimes people are named directly for the nickname (like Bette
Midler).

Nicknames for Elizabeth include Liz, Lizzy, Betty, and Beth.
Nicknames for Mary or Margerate include Polly for some reason.


grandma Rosalie

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
"bizby40" wrote:


"Rosalie B." wrote in message
. ..
I personally would avoid Gabriel, Solomon, Job, Jonah, Judas, or
Adolph for boys because of historic associations. But Adam and Jesus
don't seem to have the same .problem.

I can see why you'd avoid Judas or Adolph, but why the others?

Well I did say that I personally would avoid them. Gabriel is one
of the angels who is mentioned prominently as connected with judgment
day. I did know a guy named Gabriel and he had significant name
issues. Jonah because of the whale.

Correct me if I'm remembering my Bible stories wrong. God told
Jonah to go preach in Ninevah, and Jonah was afraid to, so he
tried to run away. God sent a storm to the boat Jonah was on,
so he told the sailors to throw him overboard to save themselves.
They did, and got sent a big fish to swallow him up and bring
him safely to shore, whereupon Jonah asked God's forgiveness and
went to Ninevah.

So, nothing really bad there. I mean, sure, he should have gone
in the first place, but he's nowhere near as bad as Paul, who
actually persecuted Christians before his conversion. Or Jacob,
who stole his brother's birthright. Or what about Peter, who
denied Christ 3 times before the cock crowed?

I'm not really sure what's wrong with Job either. Again, if I
recall correctly, he was singled out for this contest with the
devil because he was a righteous man.

Anyway, I sound like I'm picking on you now, and I'm not
trying to. I was just a little surprised at your list.

Bizby

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 12:04:32 GMT, "dejablues"
wrote:


"Ablang" wrote in message
.. .
What do you think are old-fashioned names to avoid naming your kids
with? I can't think of any guy names to avoid.

I only have some suggestions for girl names:
Blanche
Edna
Ethel
Gertrude



I actually like the old-fashioned names. They're a lot more appealing than
the trendy, pseudo-preppy , or just plain made-up ones so prevalent now,
like Jaden, Jailyn, Devon, Madison, etc.

ITA. I stuck with more traditional names for all 3 of mine.

Nan

Cathy Weeks wrote:
Ablang wrote:
What do you think are old-fashioned names to avoid naming your kids
with? I can't think of any guy names to avoid.

I only have some suggestions for girl names:
Blanche
Edna
Ethel
Gertrude

My grandmother's name was Dorcas. My father asked me to name my
daughter Dorcas, and my father's older brother asked my cousin to name
his daughter Dorcas. We said no.

Cathy Weeks

After wasting yet more time on the dynamic name tracker, I can see that
Dorcas never really was a hit.

(I actually *love* this site: http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager --
although I've spent way way too much time typing in names).

One of my grandmothers was Philomena -- even without the 'Minnie Mouse'
popularity, I skipped it when naming my daughters.

Caledonia

In article . com,
says...

I think its the association with old age that turns us off - for
example, my grandmother was born in 1906 and I have clear memories of
her friends names - Elsie, Ruby, Opal, Mabel, Ethel, Myrtle, Florence,
Gertrude, Maisy etc. So....when my mom had kids and I in turn had kids,
we weren't gonna use those names.

The names of MY childhood in the 50's and 60's are all out of style
right now, probably for similar reasons. Liz, Susan, Cathy, Debbie,
Mary, Karen, Valerie, Helen....

The thing is....what goes around, comes around, and you can bet money
at some point Thelma, Velma, Wilma, Pearl etc. will come BACK.

Abigail has made a comeback. As has Sarah. And Eva.

Boys' names seem to be more stable, since they're more often family-connected
names.

I have work associates who named their children for family members - John, then
Mary. Their standing joke is that baby-name books were pretty much wasted on
them :-)


For example, I thought of Lottie (Charlotte) as a real old lady name,
and its back in spades at our local public school. Lets see....other
ones that were gone for a long time that are coming back (or are back
to the point of nausea) Sarah, Emma, Cecily, Hannah, Thea etc.

Yep.

Banty

How about old-fashioned names like John, Jesus, Matthew or Joshua. Those
names have been in use for over 2000 years and are still popular. (Jesus is
a popular Hispanic name, IIRC.)

If someone wants to name someone with an old-fashioned name, that is fine
with me (either on your list or someone else's). This is a private matter
between the parents.

Jeff