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Help[Opinions] Re: Miley
in reply to a message by Paul
I share your feeling, that Miley has a kind of frivolous air about it (like Kylie or Rylee), that doesn't seem like the most appropriate name for a businesswoman. But then, if I met a businesswoman named Miley, I don't think her name would damage her professional impression - instead her professional impression would buff the name.
I also share your sense that it seems like an unfortunate name for a young woman to have, if she were born right before Miley Cyrus transformed into a ... well god knows what she is, and the name fell out of favor.
(But did you see the bounce last year? It bounced a little. So, maybe it's not so bad for them after all.)
And anyway, two more things to consider - 1 Bajillions of women have names that become dated as we age. A Miley's age might be guessable, but at least it'd be guessed right, and not guessed too high - thanks to the abrupt drop in usage. If it had trailed off gradually, there'd be tons of Mileys whose name sounded 20 years older than they are. 2 News flash. As women age, we do get older, along with our names, and they stay appropriate, and this isn't a bad or shameful thing at all, it happens to everyone. It's a choice to pretend you're young when you're not, that is pathetic - not the aging itself. Sane, accomplished older women, generally speaking, are just not concerned with making an impression that they are fresh ingenues. Having fashionable young girl names is actually undesirable for grownups - as you noted, a name like Miley, or Riley for that matter, does not seem to suit an accomplished woman of 40 today ... it makes her seem, not younger, but less competent and intimidating. And neither does a currently fashionable name like Ava or Harper seem to suit her - it might even make her seem older than she is, not younger. By the time Ava, Harper, and Miley are 40 though, their names will be 40 too, and seem appropriate.
Consider that when you meet a real person with a name you have had a strong negative impression about ... how fast does your impression of the person change your impression of the name, versus your impression of the person being colored by the name? YMMV but for me, an impression of a real person is much more important than that of a name on paper, and I can forget entirely my emotional navel-gazing about your name, when I'm interacting with you personally.
So, I think the problem you and I both intuitively perceive, is a non-problem for women named Miley, in reality.
I think the worst they'll have it, is growing up while Cyrus is still making a godawful impression in media, and encountering the numbskulled but natural inclination of people like us to associate their name with her.
- mirfak
I also share your sense that it seems like an unfortunate name for a young woman to have, if she were born right before Miley Cyrus transformed into a ... well god knows what she is, and the name fell out of favor.
(But did you see the bounce last year? It bounced a little. So, maybe it's not so bad for them after all.)
And anyway, two more things to consider - 1 Bajillions of women have names that become dated as we age. A Miley's age might be guessable, but at least it'd be guessed right, and not guessed too high - thanks to the abrupt drop in usage. If it had trailed off gradually, there'd be tons of Mileys whose name sounded 20 years older than they are. 2 News flash. As women age, we do get older, along with our names, and they stay appropriate, and this isn't a bad or shameful thing at all, it happens to everyone. It's a choice to pretend you're young when you're not, that is pathetic - not the aging itself. Sane, accomplished older women, generally speaking, are just not concerned with making an impression that they are fresh ingenues. Having fashionable young girl names is actually undesirable for grownups - as you noted, a name like Miley, or Riley for that matter, does not seem to suit an accomplished woman of 40 today ... it makes her seem, not younger, but less competent and intimidating. And neither does a currently fashionable name like Ava or Harper seem to suit her - it might even make her seem older than she is, not younger. By the time Ava, Harper, and Miley are 40 though, their names will be 40 too, and seem appropriate.
Consider that when you meet a real person with a name you have had a strong negative impression about ... how fast does your impression of the person change your impression of the name, versus your impression of the person being colored by the name? YMMV but for me, an impression of a real person is much more important than that of a name on paper, and I can forget entirely my emotional navel-gazing about your name, when I'm interacting with you personally.
So, I think the problem you and I both intuitively perceive, is a non-problem for women named Miley, in reality.
I think the worst they'll have it, is growing up while Cyrus is still making a godawful impression in media, and encountering the numbskulled but natural inclination of people like us to associate their name with her.
- mirfak
This message was edited 1/23/2019, 10:02 AM
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My sister told me that one of my favorite names (Edith) was a 'grandma name' - I pointed out that her name, Emma, was also a grandma name once (very literally in her case, she's named for our dad's grandma) but no one sees it as that now. One day, Miley too will be a grandma name. I actually can picture a Grandma Miley pretty easily. There are definitely names I think aren't suited for all ages - mostly cutesy nicknames. But with trendy or seasonally popular names, they age with their bearers.
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