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Karen hasn't faded yet where I am

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It's slowly dying away, but I went to school with some Karens and I know a little Karen as well.

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Linda is like a "mom name" from my generation, so I think it'll be considered fresh as a daisy when my kids are having kids. Names like Sheila, Janet, Laurie, Sharon, Denise, etc.

These names are extremely common in my generation. For that reason, I don't think they are ready for a comeback. After most of my generation is dead, in another 30 or so years, I think these names will be ready to be used again.

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I think Karen might not be as unusable as Linda, though. For one thing, it has the -en ending.

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I know of a Karen who is college-aged.

They were always pretty names; it's the other baggage that makes them problematic. Face it, the 50s were a pretty unlovable decade.

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I like Karen with the northern European sound: KAH-rin. If it rhymes with Darren, or anything else, I'm not a bit keen. Linda is still a light, dancing, lilting name ... and miles better than Lynette! But I think I'd rather go for Lyndall, just because of the 50s associations.

I despise the name Karen for personal reasons, so I'm not too fond of it. However, one of my favourite TV shows has a little girl named Karen, so I can see it working.

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I used to adore Linda, I can see it making a comeback :)

Linda is still rather bland to me, but I'm really starting to like Karen.

Too dated to me.

I don't see them making a comeback quite yet, but maybe in a decade or two when the many Karens and Lindas become grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

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I personally really like Linda and would love to meet a little girl named Linda. Same with Melinda and Belinda.

Karen is far too dated, Linda... maybe

Karen has never really gone away, at least not in this area.

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Linda I think will come back fairly soon - I suspect around the time my niece begins having children. (She's 13.)

Dated is another way of saying "an old soul." An old soul in a young body is irresistable to me. The older the better, I say.

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Karen and Linda would be so sweet on a baby born now. :-)

I think they're both pretty, but a little too dated at this moment in time. Give them a few more years, and they will be fresh again (though I might consider using Karen if I spelled it Karin- it's a cute name).

They are very dated, but they could very well make a comeback--but not yet. That has to wait until pretty much all of the Karens and Lindas are dead, to put it bluntly. That's just the way that naming styles work. To people my age, Karens and Lindas were rampant amongst my peers, and for that reason I would never use these names. To people younger than myself, they are old-lady names and they wouldn't consider using them for that reason. (Sidenote: Are you young and do you have a name that is popular among your age group? If so, wait until the day you hear your name described as an "old lady name". More of a reminder of mortality than any gray hairs or wrinkles could be!) Once even those people are dead, and living people don't remember middle-aged or old Karens and Lindas, then the names will become charmingly old-fashioned and then the stage is set for a comeback.

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It's really hard for me to separate these names from their datedness. I hear them and think, "Oh, no too post WWII". I try to judge them based just upon their sound, but it's difficult. Okay, I'm trying---I guess I can see liking them if I were alive in 1950. Karen especially has a soft, pretty sound--Linda is just a tad harsh to me. But I like Linda much more than Lynn, that's for sure.

I'm actually surprised that Karen hasn't made a comeback with the 'en' ending.

Linda to most Asians, it will be somewhat overused and old-fashioned.However, Karen gives us the impression of "Powerful" "Aggressive" not so traditionally sweet girl impression.But Karen is kind of good name.It reminds of us the image of new modern independent OL

This message was edited 1/4/2011, 1:14 PM

Hmmm...
Well, they are both quite dated, Linda more than Karen, but i suppose i could see them making a comeback, i'd give it around 10-20 years.

I would consider them too dated. They certainly could make a comeback, but I do not see it happening soon, and maybe not for another 50-100 years.

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