Never Coming Back
Although naming trends are changing faster than ever, and many previously thought to be stuck in forever unfashionable land are now up-and-comers, which names do you think are beyond saving? What names, due to sound or cultural association, do you think are just never coming back in style?
I'd nominate Pervis, Kermit, Hortense, and Lester.
By ilikemints
Tue, 05/29/2012 - 6:35pm
Tue, 05/29/2012 - 6:35pm
Replies
Gaylord
Nimrod, Dorcas
Bertha, Myrtle
Bert
Bert seems totally useable to me in these hipstery parts... it has that contrarian so-uncool-it's-cool-again thing that so many namers here seem to strive for, and I think Bertie is an adorable nickname for a little boy. I really like most of the -bert names, actually, though having a Rupert eliminates them from our list!
Likewise, Myrtle would be totally fitting in at the local beach, where I recently hung out with a Mabel and Beulah (not related to each other).
Bertha, though, I agree with - it's just become a joke-name associated with heftiness in such a firm way that I think it's unusable for a long time to come.
(Kermit and Hortense actually have a certain appeal...)
Dudley is unlikely to recover any popularity: 'dud', plus Dudley Dursley of Harry Potter fame.
I like Myrtle, Hortense, and Kermit! But I agree they're unlikely to take off in the general naming populace, at least for a while.
Pierpont or Poindexter, though Dexter has certainly made a comeback and i like it. Gaye as a woman's name, probably won't resurface, though i think it should. Cletus, Pugh are more i can think of for now.
Bertha, Mildred, and Enos. Beulah also sounds horribly fusty, but I have a feeling that one might come back.
Re: Beulah. Yeah, I debated over that one, but I think it's the kind of name that all it takes is a beautiful Hollywood couple to give it to their baby, and it'll gain some traction (although I doubt it'll be a top ten name, I can see it settling comfortably around the 400-500 mark).
I don't know... Although it's completely not my style, I can totally see Mildred coming back -- especially since it has the cutesy nickname Millie. Although I may be wrong, since the numbers have been steadily declining over the past few decades, I won't be surprised if that number stabilizes or even rises a bit. While I don't foresee Mildred sweeping the nation, I don't think that it's an unsalvageable name.
I haven't checked the statistics, but I don't have the sense that the mini-series Mildred Pierce (and Kate Winslet) did anything by way of reviving the name. My mother's two sisters were Mildred and Blanche, a pair of women unpleasant in every possible way. When I first heard the story of Cinderella, I immediately identified the ugly step-sisters with my aunts Mildred and Blanche. So I'm not rooting for the return of either of those names. OTOH my mother was Sylvia Eleanor--Sylvia is clearly on the way back and Eleanor is a rock star of a name at the moment.
My sense is that the "classical" triumvirate of names never coming back are Bertha, Mildred, and Gertrude, but you never know. I would have put Agatha and Sadie in that category, but Agatha is showing signs of life, and to my astonishment people today think Sadie is cute for little girls and say they can't imagine it for adults (but then they never met my great-aunt Sadie). So who knows? Hazel and Mabel have come roaring back, so anything is possible.
That's just it... All these names that I associate with my great- and great-great aunts are finding popularity, so I wouldn't attach the "never" tag to Mildred. Maybe not now, but I think that it will eventually. To me, all the names you just listed are still firmly "old lady" (I'd actually call them "bobbishe") and very much not my cup of tea. I do not understand the appeal, but I am glad that different names do it for different people, because otherwise, the name world would be a very boring place :)
I'm standing firmly behind Gertrude for a few reasons. For one, I went to art school with a girl whose name was M@tilda Gertrud3 Lastname, and although she mainly went by M@tilda, she signed all of her work with her full name. I remember having a lot conversations both with her and other people about what a great name she has (people knew I was a name geek, so I tended to have these types of conversations). It didn't hurt that she's pretty, charismatic, hilarious, and talented. So at least among arty types, the name is proven to have some caché.
There's also the Mad Men factor. Alison Brie plays Trudy, Pete Campbell's wife, and although she's not a main character, fans adore her. Again, she's pretty, charismatic, and talented, and definitely way too good for Pete.
So I think that what Gertrude has going for it is the nn potential, mainly Trudy, or even Tru. Trudy, after all, isn't that far off from Lucy and Ruby, and I think the full name could be a benefit for parents who like a cute nn, but would like a more serious name to fall back on for jobs and so on. I don't think it'll be a rock star top name, but it could definitely becaome a hit among hipster types.
I agree that Gertrude will be back. Probably not in a big way but I really like it and if I was a beautiful, non geeky person who is likely to have a beautiful non-geeky child then I'd seriously consider it.
I think Mildred/Milly is also not too bad.
Bertha, Poindexter, Pervis, Gay/e, Gaylord, Nimrod, Dorcas and Dudley are all lost causes for at least the next 100 years.
I know a little Beulah and am pretty sure I've recently overheard Mildred as well... I think they won't come back in a major mainstream way anytime soon, but I think there's a certain demographic where names like this are currently very hot!
It's that first-syllable "ER" sound that was popular in girls names 100 years ago that still sounds so unladylike to our ears today. Bertha, Gertrude, Irma, Myrna, Myrtle, Fern, Verna... and rarer names like Myrtis, Germaine, Ernestine, Merle.
Even Ursula, Shirley and Pearl suffers here, some. But it's the sort of thing that make me wonder... would it be always the case?
That's an excellent list that really proves your point! Saying all those names in a row really highlighted that sound and put into context why I just can't get behind the name Pearl, even though so many people on this board seem to like it. I knew that it was the throaty "UR" sound, (followed by the liquid "L" that did nothing to provide contrast,) but I never realised that it could be compared to Bertha, Gertrude, and the like.
Although Ursula doesn't have the same feel to me, because I feel like its vowels lighten it up, somehow.
I'm not a fan of that 'ur' sound, either. I'd add Muriel to the list, even though one of the most awesome women I know had that name (she died last year at 96).
Ethel still seems really out to me, but I can see it coming back, maybe before most of the 'ur' names.
Mildred suffers from sounding like mildew and from having 'dread' in it. But Millie is a great (and very fashionable) nickname. If I wanted a Millie, though, I'd choose Amelia or Millicent. And I did hear a mom call for a young Millicent at the park a few years ago.
I llike Myrtle, Fern, Gertrude, Ursula and Pearl from that list so obviously the 'er' sound doesn't bother me that much. Shirley is my MIL middle name and I'm not a fan of bestowing that on a child any time soon.
Aw, I like Enos for a little boy. I doubt I would ever use it but its going in list of sounds great, but too much to put on a child. Such is the case with Matthias and Nicodemus, other names that I love to death but I can't imagine shouldering a child with them. I like Muriel as well, I think its a lovely name. I can't see Eustace ever coming back but then again, stranger things have happened. i.e. the resurrgence of names like Hazel, Edith, and Agnes. Although I really think Edith and Agnes have Despicable Me to thank for it, it showed audiences that they can be adorable names on cute little girls instead of the grouchy old ladies so many had come to associate those with.
Adolf, Winifred
I think Dorcas, Nimrod, Gaylord and Pervis take the cake here. Those will definitely not see the light of day any time soon. =)
I think Dorcas, Nimrod, Gaylord and Pervis take the cake here. Those will definitely not see the light of day any time soon. =)
I think Dorcas, Nimrod, Gaylord and Pervis take the cake here. Those will definitely not see the light of day any time soon. =)