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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.