View Message

Dawn was my SIL's middle name until she married my brother and dropped it for her maiden name. It's now my eldest niece's middle name.

---

Dawn is okay. I like its imagery, but not the sound (which is identical to Don in my accent). I guess I'd call Dawn the proto-Willow, but it doesn't really feel like a great fit with either of your word name categories.

---

I think Dawn's best fit is with the word names of its heyday--more Heather than Willow, more April than Autumn, more Crystal than Destiny.

I think Dawn is fine. I find it a little bit dated because the only Dawns I know are about 40, but it's nice and I could definitely see it fitting in with nature nameslike Willow and Autumn.

---

I don't think it would go with Destiny or Trinity, which are much more complicated and tacky.

I think it feels a little tacky, but more dated than anything and I don't really connect it with seasonal or wordy name categories. Mostly I wash my dishes with it. :)

I find it both tacky and sentimental. And for some reason I've never met an adult Dawn that I've warmed up to at all. Maybe it doesn't work on the over-5s!

I like Dawn. I realize it was popular as a first name in the 80's and that people may think of it in that "dated" light but, in my book, the far longer-standing nature, and imagery, of the event itself outweighs this consideration. Mankind has celebrated the dawn with song, dance, poetry, painting, photography, etc. Seen in this light, it's practically a classic. ;P

I think Dawn is a nice, simple name for a girl. :)

I hate it. Period. I class Willow, Autumn, Sage, Destiny, and Trinity as similar, only some are older than others. I despise these types of names. Faith, to me, is a little different because it's a virtue name (though one I don't care for). What I do think is interesting about these names is what makes them worthy of being names. Like, why is Dawn a name and not Dusk? Why is Sage a name and not Parsley? Destiny but not Fate? It's interesting. I wonder if anyone can come up with a theory?

This message was edited 2/11/2013, 2:50 PM

I think Dawn is...fine. It doesn't excite me, it doesn't offend me. If Dawn were an ice cream flavor it would be, like, butter pecan.

I always thought Dawn was a beautiful name. I would have liked to name our daughter Valerie Dawn, but I certainly wasn't going to give her the initials VD. :)

---

I don't really classify it in either category very firmly. I mean, I guess it's closer in feeling to Autumn and Willow, but it's also closer to Joy and Grace. (Faith too; I don't quite put Faith together with Autumn and Willow.)

I like it, mainly because of a person I know by that name.
I think it's a commonly used word name, so there are associations beyond just the word. Like Heather: I want to like the name because of the word and sound, but I can't help but think of it as nothing but a popular 80's name. Maybe Dawn is the same way for you.
I like it. I'd say it's a lot more like Willow, Autumn, Faith and Sage than Destiny and Trinity. I'd classify it as being closest to Autumn and Faith specifically.

It goes with Willow, Autumn, Faith, and Sage ... all of which, I think, will seem as tacky/trashy as Dawn does, when they have gone 40 years past their prime as well. At which point, Destiny and Trinity will seem more the way Crystal, Misty, and Monique do now. That's my feeling, anyway - having been born at the peak of Dawn's popularity.

---

It does sound super pedestrian but I would not mind being named Dawn. It'd be better than being named Willow.

---

It's DF's mothers name and he really wants to use it as a middle name on a future daughter. I, however, don't really like the name and am pretty bummed out about having to use it. (Plus I have yet to really see what makes his mother worth honoring over everyone else in his family... like 2 of her 4 kids no longer speak to her?).

---

It feels a bit dated to me. I remember kind of liking it when I was younger and reading the Babysitter's Club books, but the names for those girls were chosen in the mid-80s and they all feel pretty dated now. It's hard to stick into either of your two partly because all of those names feel very now, and partly because I feel like Faith fits better with the second group?

I love Dawn! It's definitely not tacky and would put it in the word category along with Willow, Autumn, Faith and Sage. It's a gorgeous name, with a beautiful meaning. Two associations that come to mind are the famous swimmer Dawn Fraser, and of course K D Lang, aka Katherine Dawn.

---

My stock combo is Elisabeth Dawn.