What do people mean by saying "it's an old lady name"?

Question

I love the names Eleanor and Beatrice, with the nn's Elly and Bea. BUT I've heard soooo many commets saying "it's an old lady name" which bewilders me. Why do people not expect their children to become "old ladies" with classy names, do they expect them to stay young forever? Grandma Eleanor sounds better then Grandma Mckenna IMO.


Sorry if I offended anyone

Answer 1

I'm with you! ;)

All too often it seems people only consider how a name will best fit a child in the 0 to 3 range. Unfortunate, since all these little ones with "cute" names WILL one day grow to adulthood -- even "old lady-hood!" LOL -- at least one would hope. :)

And will Eleanor or Beatrice seem odd or "old" on an actual adult? Certainly not! LOL But all the little Kay-, Jay-, -lee and -la names will likely still come across as juvenile, insubstantial and dated, by that time (though they do to most of us already). :)

Such a shame when only the cute, childishness of a name is considered, rather than how it might (or might not) carry that child through the teen and adult years.

If you want something "adorable," use a cute nickname! That's why they exist, after all. Given names aren't intended to only fit an infant. :) Life's much longer than just the diaper years. "Grandma Mckenna" indeed! LOL

Edited to add: It seems many are confused concerning timeless classics versus names "only" used generations ago that are no longer familiar choices. LOL While it's true that Beatrice, for one, is less common than it was years ago, it's still been among the top 1000 nearly every year from 1880 until now, and I've seen both it and Beatrix on many people's lists (including my own), so you certainly can't say it simply isn't used. ;) Eleanor is an even clearer example, actually quite a familiar -- if not overused -- choice, at 277. Honestly, very few names in the top 300 would be considered unusual by most! And it's actually quite a bit MORE common than it was a generation ago, when it was in the 5-700s. Really it's just coming back around to its usual level of usage, which seems to range roughly between the higher top 100 choices to the mid 200s (judging from the numbers from 1880 to 2006). Not a name left to generations past by any means! :)

Answer 2

I think that people really mean that they are just not trendy at the moment. However, I think that it's so much better not to have a trendy name so that everyone can pinpoint practically the exact year that the child was born in. Grandmother Eleanor sounds so much better!

Eleanor is actually very popular right now where I live, people would say that it's a little girl name not an old lady one. Beatrice is not really a name that I would associate with any generation in particular, but I love it and the nickname Bea is cute! In a few years time people will think that the child was named very well, so don't worry!

Answer 3

"It's an old lady name" means that, according to the perception of the person speaking, the name is out of date. It was in vogue 80 years ago, but now it makes a lot of people think of an elderly aunt or grandma and not a new, tiny baby girl.

Yes, I think everyone realizes that these cute little baby girls will grow up, get married, have children and become grandmas themselves. By then, names like Britney, Monique, Tiffany, and Diana will be considered "old people" names. It's all part of the cycle that some names go through. In the next generation, very few people will have aunts and grandmothers named Eleanor, Marjorie, Evelyn, Mildred, or Hester, so they won't have the "old lady" association. As a result, those names will go back into vogue and the cycle will start anew.

I am often known for classifying some names as "old lady" or "old man" names. It's never meant as an attack on people who like those names for a tiny infant, it's just my opinion that I only give if I'm asked first. (I dislike it when people give unsolicited opinions and I try very hard not to make that mistake.)

I've gone through a similar disagreement with my mother. When I have a son, I'm going to name him Arthur. My earliest association with the name Arthur was the dashing king in the Arthurian legends. My mother's first association was a crotchety old neighbor who always shook his cane at children for looking at him. Needless to say, she's not happy with my choice. But at the end of the day, it's going to be my baby and my final say. That's all that really matters.

If you love the names Eleanor and Beatrice, then that's all that matters. Let everyone else say, "Those are old lady names!" until the cows come home. At the end of the day, you like them. That's what matters. Besides, maybe you and other people who like those names will be able to put them back in vogue, give them new life, so to speak. I used to think the name Emily was for a stodgy old spinster until I married a man with a cute, intelligent, lively niece named Emily.

Answer 4

I love Eleanor! I prefer Beatrix over Beatrice, but not by much. Beatrice is my grandmother's name, and she's a nasty old lady; never been nice to my sister, my dad, or me.

I think people say that they sound like old lady names because they prefer more modern, trendy names. I totally don't like names like Kayleigh or Jazlynne or Mackenzee. I really like names like Daphne, Eleanor, and Charlotte. They're names with great namesakes behind them, with a strong history, and a classic feel.

I think some people see 'old lady names' as names that are old fasioned, but names go in cycles. Hannah, Abigail, and Emily were old lady names until about twenty years ago, now, they're a dime a dozen. Now, Emma, Madeleine, and Lily are coming back. My bet is Agatha, Eleanor, and Georgia are coming back in the next ten to fifteen years, but not yet. In thirty years, Kayleigh and Jazleen are going to be old lady names!

And other people have pointed it out, but I hate when people say they can't picture a toddler with a name. People are toddlers for a year or two, a child for about ten years, a teenager for five or six, and an adult for up to eighty years. Why shouldn't a name sound best on an adult? Eleanor can go by Ellie, Nella, Nora, or even Ellen if she wants, but poor Jazleen is, at best, Jazzy.

Answer 5

I think all those older names are soon in style again as all the old ladies with those names pass away. There are some really pretty old names. Be the first to start the trend :-)

What about all those men's names that have been used for hundreds of years like James ,William, John and so many others, why are they not called old men's names.

Answer 6

They mean that these are names you don't hear much now but were popular when our grandparent's were kids.... and I love them. I love your choices too.

My youngest is Mary Elizabeth, she is named after my grandmother. She was always the only Mary in school other than a few teachers. When she was born, nurses would come into the room to see the "Mary."

I don't think that people know how to be creative so they buy those name the baby books and you end up with a pack of kids all with the same ugly trendy name.... Yuck.

Answer 7

I have been told the same thing. We are naming our daughter Madelyn (Maddy) and people keep saying that it is an "old lady name". I believe they say it because it is an older name and has not been used in a generation or so, especially when the people familiar with the name are grandmas themselves. I cannot remember or think of anytime in my life (25 years) that Had the name Madelyn (or Eleanor or Beatrice). Don't worry about everyone. If you like the name go with it.

Answer 8

Well everyone's entitled to their own opinions. You may like it, others will not. Plus, at the moment people are going through a designer name phase. That's when they come up with their own 'original' spellings and sounds to a common names.

EX) Jessica is now Jezzika. I think it looks ridiculous, others think it's 'cool'.

My name is Kira, which isn't as bad as Jezzika, but the name population will probably die down in a few years. I happen to like the name Eleanor, but Beatrice sounds like an old lady name.


Just kidding :).

Answer 9

I think people who object to 'old lady names' are probably obsessed by youth and 'kyoot'ness and how a name will fit a baby. But you're equipping your child for life, so I think well established 'old lady' names are perfectly serviceable. Beautiful, even.

A person's name is what they make it. So name you baby Eleanor or Beatrice, or Edith or Constance or Frances. She'll make the name hers, and no one will ever think twice about it being an old lady name.

Answer 10

I think those names are very cute! And those "old ladies" were once babies as well, with the name Eleanor and Beatrice! Don't worry about what people say, it's not going to be their name!