Gladys

I think that Gladys is a stunning name, which deserves a resurrection. For one, it's a vintage name, with lots of history and usage. Vintage names are totally on the rise, so Gladys would fit right in, I feel. It's also unique nowadays, so she wouldn't be "Gladys B., Gladys H., Gladys R." among peers. Gladys also has mixtures of rough and gentle sounds, which I simply adore. I also love how it has different letters and the (potential) nickname "Gigi". Twin sisters named Gladys and Gloria would be wonderful. For potential combinations, I enjoy Gladys Maria of Gladys Rebecca.

I prefer Glenys. It is softer, nicer and lesser known. Gladys does look nice with the word 'lady' in the middle, though.

Super dated to me. Others have pointed out the word glad is right in the middle. I hadn’t thought about that- even though it’s very obvious. I really like that, as it’s such a positive emotion, and I do have a soft spot for names ending with ‘-iss’ sound. So yeah, mixed feelings about this one, but it’s definitely not a bad name.

Gladys is such a quaint old name. I fell in love with it after watching a 1930s movie, this was the lead girl’s name and they called her Glad!
And it has the word Lady in it (a possible nickname?!?), so sweet!

I'm surprised that this once popular name is now rare. Maybe it'll come back someday. Anyway, I like this name. I wouldn't call it (or any other name) an "old lady name". Besides, all old ladies were babies once.

Gladys, gladness.

Personally, I love this name because it reminds me of a gladiolus flower and it sounds like happy :)

I find this name really unattractive. It doesn’t sound good!

My name is GLADYS and I am proud of my name, it's a very special and powerful name and I love it.

I don't have a very strong opinion about the name. If I think of Gladys, I automatically picture a very nice, plump woman in her forties or fifties who works as a housekeeper or waitress. Don't ask me why, I don't know either. It may seem offensive, but I do not do it with that intention. It's not a bad name, but there are better ones.

Old lady name! Can't imagine this on an infant.

Kind of reminds me of GLAZE. Idk why, and also I have no opinion on this name, I don't dislike it, but I don't like it either.

I really dislike this name...

Lovely name.

It's pretty!

For some reason, it makes me think of maple syrup and pancakes.

The name Gladys makes me think of a reptile for some reason. I really don't know why.

This name is just fugly. It doesn't help that it sounds like the name of someone who is a hundred years old either.

Too dated and it's kind of unattractive. Also, the ending looks strange. It looks like someone added an S to the end of "Glady".

I had zero idea this name was related to Claudia, and even though I know BTN is one of the most reliable places on the Internet for etymology, I can scarcely believe it. I was 100% sure "Gladys" was related to the gladiolus, aka sword-flower! At least that was what Wikipedia said when I first looked it up as a kid.

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I've been in love with the name since I was eight years old and read the (highly-fictionalized) story of Saint Gladys, the swashbuckling Welsh princess whose father wouldn't consent to her marriage, so her beloved "kidnapped" her (supposedly with the help of King Arthur and two of his knights) and they lived happily swashbuckling lives until they converted and lived happily prayerful, peaceful lives. Textbook example of fiercely passionate sinners becoming fiercely passionate saints.

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Having been introduced to the name *that* way, you can understand I hate that it's only associated with frail old ladies (not that there's anything wrong with being frail, old, and/or a lady).

If your name is GLADYS, you have an awesome name! The name literally means "PRINCESS WITH SWORD"! WHAT A POWERFUL NAME! Wear it with pride. Your name is not Claudia so it does not mean lame. Claudia and Gladys are two different names.

I grew up in Spain and then moved to Mexico. Both of those places I was never made fun of my name being Gladys and to be honest I always felt special since no one I knew had that name. Until I moved to the U.S. that’s when I received a lot of backlash for having the name Gladys, and I became very shameful of it to the point were I didn’t even want to introduce myself. I’m only 19 and when people see me they think I’m younger than that but as soon as they know my name they wouldn’t ever expect it to be Gladys. Mainly because there’s this stigma that it’s an old woman’s name. And it makes me very upset because there’s more to it than just that. One of the recent experiences that I had was for a job interview. The employer and I spoke on the phone to schedule an interview then we met and the first thing that she told me was “Oh wow, I was not expecting you to be this young and with that name and also you’re Hispanic, right?” At that point I just nodded and proceeded with the interview. But to be completely honest I would just like to meet someone and not have that whole stigma of the name Gladys overpower that first impression.

Gladys is a middle aged lady who works in an office, she's over worked, her husband is about to leave her for a girl half his age, and she has a horrible drinking habit.

Very old and dated, but looks nice with the word lady in the middle.

I don't think it's bad at all. It sounds similar to Alice and that's back in style -- why not Gladys? It also rhymes with the first 2 syllables of the mystifyingly popular Madison. It's so interesting that some names come back and others are lost forever. It's often so arbitrary-seeming to me, but there must be something else behind it that I just can't see.

Gladys is an absolutely horrible name! I am allowed to say that because it was MY name! Growing up in the 60’s and 70's when my friends had flower power hippy names I was the object of ridicule. I actually had a boy I really liked tell me when I was fifteen that he really liked me but his friends would make fun of him for going out with a girl called Gladys. I started calling myself Gail with friends when I was eighteen though had to keep my own name for work. I was very glamorous and was constantly told that when people met me they had expected an old lady in twinset and pearls and they were shocked when they saw me. I took the plunge and changed it legally when I was 34. Best thing I ever did though my mother (also called Gladys) took it as a personal rejection and never called me Gail once in her life and cut me out of her will. I love being Gail. It changed everything about me. I know some old fashioned names are coming back but I think Gladys is too harsh for a wee girl.

Lol that’s my name and I read all the comments and all I can do is laugh.

Gladys sounds really nice, but the spelling is not. It just looks a bit too improper for me, to be more specific, the -dys letters don’t look good together. I feel if we want to make this sound a bit more modern and look good on a young child, Gladice might be a preferable spelling since it retains the pretty pronunciation while giving it a much more pretty spelling to look at that doesn’t look old lady-like. Just my 2 cents, you’re allowed to like anything you want and if you like the Gladys spelling or just the name in general, good for you.

Really old-fashioned nowadays, however this name is still poplar among Chinese girls these days, probably influenced by Gladys Aylward, a English missionary that went to China during the Japanese Invasion during WWII.

It's an okay name, like many other "old lady" names, I don't think it deserves as much hatefulness as it gets.
It's a name that will age well (I don't mean that as into the nursing home) and sounds quite nice.
Gladys Johnson, Gladys Smith, Gladys Cook... It's not that bad, people.

This name is ancient. It would sound putrid on a little girl.

I love the name Gladys! It's a really cute name! :D.

I could definitely see this becoming a retro, hipster name.

Hello, please don't assume that because you see an old fashion name that the person behind it is hideous. Gladys might not be exotic or trendy but I grew to like it, I was ridiculed and before meeting me was judged by my name. I'm a bartender who is smart, petite, and many say I'm pretty, (beauty is in the eye of the beholder). I love people, many think a certain way until they meet you. Stereotyping is awful, after all, a name is just a name... Thank you!

Am I the only one that doesn't think this name sounds that old-fashioned?

I'm quite fond of the name Gladys. It is the name of my great grandmother. I think it would make a nice alternative to the often overused 'Joy'. A nice nickname would be Lady. It conjures images of a bygone era every time I hear it. I may well use this as a middle name if ever I have a daughter.

I've always held a soft spot for underdog names like Gladys, Alma, Agnes - names that have gone out of fashion, are generally hated, and won't be making a comeback any time soon. It makes them special in my eyes.

For the comment above, I see what you mean with out of fashion names (although I love Agnes pronounced Ann-yes) but Gladys is just not quite a right name. It reminds me too much of a chicken. Please, let this name go, everyone.

I don't like it, but there are worse names. I prefer "Claudia."

It sounds happy. I like it a little, but at the same time I definitely won't use it.

It's a shame that there are so many comments about Gladys being "old" and "dated." Gladys really is lovely. The first syllable is *glad*--like the child is happy, like the parents are happy to have her. And it's really not a harsh name to say, despite the fact that there's a 'd' in the middle of it. I love Gladys, and think it should make a comeback. Like another poster said, look at Hazel.

I can see those Emma's and Isabella's naming their daughters Gladys in 20 years. Look at the comeback of Hazel.

A fine, trim, upbeat name.

I like this name. I think it rolls off the tongue, and because of the "glad", it seems like a bright, happy name.

I like it. It sounds happy and kind of hip.

I happen to find this a very pretty name. It has a darker feel to it, which is more to do with my only semi-association to this name then just how it sounds. This is a bit of a stretch, but it is pronounced basically how I say GLaDOS' name from Portal. Just my impression. But having that connection makes it impossible for me to think of old ladies as some of you are reminded of. I think of black humor and someone who is very deep. So that's just what I think of when I hear this name. Sorry for being a geek and connecting something most of you think of as an old fashioned game to a computer.

No offense but this sounds like a name for an old lady with a million cats. Ugly and dated.

Although I'd not name a child Gladys because it's too dated, I kinda like Glad is. Glad definitely exists so let's all be happy.

When I first saw this name spelled out on paper, I thought it was pronounced GLAD-eez or glad-EES, and I thought it was pretty. But when I noticed it was actually GLAD-is, it was a MAJOR turn-off. I always think of vikings when I hear this name. And it sounds really old. I don't like this name at all! (sorry to all the Gladyses out there!)

No one recognizes the fullness, the sweetness, the glow, the wholesomeness of Gladys any more?

The sound of the entire name is ugly: the 'gl' sound, the 'gl' sound combined with the 'a', and the 'dys' sound following it. Plus, the name sounds like the name of a very old woman.

If someone says to me "Gladys", I always associate it with clumsy houskeepers and cleaners from Miss Marple-stories. They are almost always named so, I don't know why. If they are clever, they have names like Mary or Lucy.

I don't really like this name. It's just hideous, very much like Bertha, Ethel, Gertrude, and Mildred. I think Claudia is much nicer than Gladys, in spite of Claudia's own similarity to the name Claude, its masculine counterpart.

It does seem like an old name, but it's pretty. Much better than popular names like Christine, Laura, Linsday, Amanda and Jacqueline. Plus it could be like gladiolus. Like the flowers. Very pretty ones. And although gladiolus is pronounced gladiola. Maybe that could be how it's spelt. And a nickname could be ola, I think this is a nice name.

Oh you guys are mean! I really like this name, but it reminds me of Gladys Kravitz form the show Bewitched.

I think this is the most horrible name on earth.

Sounds like a pre-historic aunt to me, not a very nice name for a child!