Are traditional baby names "dying out"?

Question

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080812/tuk-life-britain-names-dc-fa6b408.html

I must be unusual, as I named my son (who's 20 months old) Arthur. I was adamant that I wanted an established and traditional name. I don't like anything modern or trendy. I like a name to have meaning.

We chose Arthur for the connection to "King Arthur" - as I'm Welsh and partner is English, and Arthur Pendragon was King of the Britons, we felt it reflected our son's heritage. It also seemed a very strong, classic name which would serve him well throughout his life.

Its also a family name - partner's grandfather was called Arthur as was my great uncle.

I adore "traditional" names like Edward, Henry, Rose, Elisabeth etc - they seem classic and timeless and won't date like the trendy, misspelled meaningless conconctions some parents today seem to go for. I also like some of the less popular traditional Welsh names such as Ioan, Catrin and Angharad.

Anyone else agree? Or am I the only one who likes traditional names which reflect one's own culture and heritage?

Answer 1

i agree with you, but its nice that those names are rare becuase then not everyone you meet will be called that. so its nice for the kid to have a rare name.

i like my name becuase not many ppl have it spelt this way, or not any i come in to contact with anyways.

My name is: Lucie

btw  :)

Answer 2

There are some lovely old names and I am pleased to see some of them coming back into fashion. I named my Daughters Diane & Susan, and they called their children, George, Andrew, Grace & William. I think those names are pretty traditional. My husbands name was William Arthur. My name is Barbara Joyce, and they called my Brother Bernard John, as you can see my Parents wanted us to have the same Initials.

Answer 3

Yes i agree with you, my husband is called Arthur & his farther before him, my son is called Abraham, my daughter Elizabeth, granddaughter Grace.

Answer 4

I like traditional names but in all honesty I could never name my child Edward or Henry

I think when they get to the teenage stage they'd hate me for it!

One of my friends named her baby Alfie

yeah it's cute now because he's only a few months old and he does resemble a little old man but I don't think he'll be impressed when he's 16

Answer 5

My grand niece is called Harley Attiana and I love it.

Answer 6

Its true that your name reflects your personality, and in India the name we have usually have some meaning or the other. It is said,that if you will have a name like that,you ll have the characteristics like that in you.. My name is Neeti,it means policy....It helps people to understand wht kind of girl I am,and also helps me to understand what is in there for me...

But yes, with the change in trend, people love short names with no meaning, but I think and I believe in India, people still stick to older names. They are in Trend now..

--------------------------------------...

http://www.yomacha.com

Answer 7

THey are we are in the 21st century

things have moved on but it nice some people like there children to have more traditional names shows you represent.

But when they go to school there going to get nicknames or shorten there names to something more modern anyway so well not much difference

Answer 8

Naming kids should follow the old indian convention.  Only give a name when you know enough about whats under their skins and 'Broken condom' or 'Horny weekend' is not fitting either

Answer 9

some names just sound to old like ethel, getrude, irene.

some traditional names will always be favourite like elizabeth, or catherine

Answer 10

Fortunately, some of them are making a comeback... People are naming their daughters "Olive" and "Hazel" again. It's refreshing.

Answer 11

Sadly they are. When my daughter called our first Grandson Timothy, one mum at the school gates was appalled, yet her son is called Bailey, which in my eyes is a "chav" name. She has just had a little girl, and called her Shanaia, which is even MORE a "chav" name.

I wish parents would give their kid's some consideration when naming their kids. We live in a rural village in Cornwall, and have many very "posh" people living here, who choose equally daft names for their kids. Rufus, Cornelius, Titas, Ziggy, Aloicious, Garth, Augusta, Octavia, Jasper, Pandora, to name a few of the "posh" kids

On the other hand, we know the kids that come from the council estate up the road, as they are, Harley, Brittany, Callum, Shannon, Jade, Jayden, Harvey, Bailey, Riley, Paris, Caitlin, Paige, Payton. EQUALLY as awful as the "posh" names, don't you think?

I am lucky that my kid's see things as I do, and apart from one name, which was chosen for my step-Grandson,(Brandon) before my Son married his mum, I am pleased with the names chosen for all 7 them. Here goes.

Timothy.

Erin.

Flynn.

Jake.

Melissa.

Michael.

Stuart.

Incidentally, my middle name is Violet, which I hated when I was growing up, but my Daughter is expecting again, and is considering it if she has a little girl.

Answer 12

I like the traditional names, like you say they come full circle, and i love the girls names like violet, ruby and grace, ...so you aren't that unusual, ...i feel sorry for the kids called Chardonnay, ocean, blue (all names from my daughters nursery!!!!!!!) i bet they are the ones that change their names!!!! lol!

Answer 13

i agree. I think names aren't that big a deal- but it's nice to have a bit of heritage.

Answer 14

I don't think old names will die out completely, like many things, there will be surges in popularity.  I think naming your child with a rare/unusual name is OK as long as it has some kind of dignity in it for the child to live with or at least to have a more ordinary middle name.

I feel it's a bit selfish to give a child a name that parent knows is just plain crazy and those names say more about the ego of the parent than consideration of the poor kid that has to go to school with a mad name.

Answer 15

I have three sons and they all have names that I consider 'classic' in that they will always be around.e.g. John.

Answer 16

i think it really depends on personal taste.

whos to say that way back when, arthur was a modern name and people then thought names a like judah were better.

maybe naming your kids unusual names will become more usual.

Answer 17

i was reading that earlier i think mine is old  

Answer 18

The traditional ones like Elizabeth and Edward will always be favourites, but in truth who in the modern age wants to call their child Walter?