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HelpWhy do “dated” names get less criticism than “trendy” names?
The reason "trendy" names are criticized on this site is because they dated in the future. However, there seemed to be less criticism of currently "dated" names on this site than there was criticism of currently "trendy" names, and I thought "dated" names were "trendy" in the past and were currently "dated", so I expected there would be more criticism than the "trendy" name. So I asked.
(Edit - I changed the title because the expression "worse" was too extreme and, above all, violated what I was trying to achieve: "The names of various eras are beautiful, and none of them are better or worse than the others." I'm really sorry)
(Edit - I changed the title because the expression "worse" was too extreme and, above all, violated what I was trying to achieve: "The names of various eras are beautiful, and none of them are better or worse than the others." I'm really sorry)
This message was edited 4/22/2024, 8:51 PM
Replies
I think because “dated” names have more history and etymology, things which are overall priced here.
I dunno, I find some dated names not to my taste. Of course it's personal but I find names like Gertrude could die off and I wouldn't care.
Thank you.
I don't get what's wrong with a "dated" name. And I don't believe in the concept of "dated" anyway.
A name doesn't suck because it's trendy - it sucks if the trend sucks, which a lot do.
A name doesn't suck because it's trendy - it sucks if the trend sucks, which a lot do.
Names which were "trendy" during their initial time of heavy use can just seem historically "normal" to the artistic avant-garde people who revive names from the past around a century later. One recent example is Hazel, which was very "trendy" when it was first introduced (see its really steep rise between 1880 and 1893 in the charts on this site), but which young parents today are enthusiastically reviving, without any knowledge that many people in 1890 would have considered Hazel a very new and questionable invention as a given name.
I'm guessing! Dated names can be associated with elderly uncles or friendly old neighbours; they are familiar and therefore have a context. Trendy names haven't proved themselves: they might not even hang around long enough to become dated. So people regard them with suspicion, I suppose.
Thank you.
This message was edited 4/22/2024, 8:52 PM