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HelpRe: Classic or Dated?
in reply to a message by rem
Overlapping categories ... some classics are also dated.
To me "classic" means it has been used as a name since, eh, the middle ages? or longer ... and for me to feel like it is classic it has been used by English speakers with at least moderate frequency, for longer than living memory. (since I'm limited to English speaking culture and think of classic as being English language usage ... I'm sure there are classic Japanese or Indian names and whatever but I'm not able to distinguish that)
Classic names can BE dated, though, since they are subject to fashion within a lifetime. Like Patricia. It's totally classic ... and totally dated. Or Barbara. Or Matthew and David, even, are dated. But the most dated names to me, are the ones that were practically new usages (in US English) and became popular. Like Denise or Brian. What makes names even more dated, is if they were pretty popular within living memory and aren't used much anymore. It's true for non classics like Brittany or Kelli, or classics like Mildred.
To me "classic" means it has been used as a name since, eh, the middle ages? or longer ... and for me to feel like it is classic it has been used by English speakers with at least moderate frequency, for longer than living memory. (since I'm limited to English speaking culture and think of classic as being English language usage ... I'm sure there are classic Japanese or Indian names and whatever but I'm not able to distinguish that)
Classic names can BE dated, though, since they are subject to fashion within a lifetime. Like Patricia. It's totally classic ... and totally dated. Or Barbara. Or Matthew and David, even, are dated. But the most dated names to me, are the ones that were practically new usages (in US English) and became popular. Like Denise or Brian. What makes names even more dated, is if they were pretty popular within living memory and aren't used much anymore. It's true for non classics like Brittany or Kelli, or classics like Mildred.
This message was edited 1/13/2013, 12:28 AM
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David is dated? Huh. I think I know Davids in every age group, so it's weird for me to think of it as a dated name.
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Well, sure it has a baseline usage that is fairly high - I know Davids of all ages. But it seems like I know an army of Daves who are my age and a little older. So the name isn't unusual on a kid but it's still a dad name ... not as bad as Kevin or Steve or Mike, but still. Dave = dad name. I think younger Davids just don't call themselves Dave, so it's not as noticeable.
Hm I just looked at this http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=david+michael
and I thought, wow - Dave was actually almost as big as Mike. For some reason it does not seem AS dated as Mike though.
Hm I just looked at this http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=david+michael
and I thought, wow - Dave was actually almost as big as Mike. For some reason it does not seem AS dated as Mike though.
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Agree with all of the above
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