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[Opinions] Janine?
My sister named her youngest daughter, who is almost a year old now, Janine. I was surprised when I heard it, because it seems so dated, and she didn't give dated names to her other three daughters. When she spoke to me about it, she basically said that her husband really liked it and she decided to go along with him. But she also said that it's part of a new baby-naming trend called "retro-chic." That means using names that were popular in the forties and fifties, but not really popular. Not names that were in the top twenty-five then, but more like they were somewhere in the bottom fifty. And it doesn't mean using names that were popular in the early 1900s, such as Hazel or Gladys, but forties and fifties type names.
Have you ever heard of this trend? What do you think of Janine? Is it ready for a comeback?
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Janine!My best friend ever is named Janine. She's the only Janine I've met, and when I met her I couldn't believe it. I thought "She can't be real. No one's name can be that bad."I still think it's pretty bad and dated. But the way it looks is so evocative of my friend Neeny that I love to see it on paper. Or typed or whatever. I also kind of like it objectively too.She was named after some song, anyway. Her name is Janine Nicole, which I think is SO dated and bad.I haven't seen much of this retro-chic thing going on. I've seen a lot of pretty Latinate names come back, but nothing with Janine-like vibes.
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Janine is so gorgeous, I've always loved the name (though I prefer Jeanine). I've never understood why it seems so uncommon, I don't think I've ever met a Janine of any age. I don't really think of Janine as that old fashioned but now that you mention it, it might be giving me a slight 40's vibe. I had no idea 40's-50's names are becoming trendy, I hope this isn't the case because there's a lot of older names I like and I don't want them to become overused or anything.
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I really love Janine. Reminds me of David Bowie's song by the name, which opens with "Oh, my love, Janine, I'm helpless for your smile." Who could possibly resist a line like that?I'd consider it, but there are names I like better, and forms of Jane that are more important to me.Array
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I know old fashioned names are coming back, but I've never heard of the term "Retro-chic" being used to describe it.Janine is nice and refreshing, but I prefer Jeanine or just Jean.
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The name Janine is quite popular in South Africa. I don't like the sound of the name personally, but all the Janines I know are very nice girls.
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I never heard of the trend being called such, and I didn't think it was widespread enough to be called a "trend." But yeah, I can see it happening, maybe. I don't really think of Janine as being a forties-fifties type name. I think of it as being a sixties-seventies name. I like it, it's very cute and ages nicely, and you could always use Gina, Nina or Jeannie as nns.
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or Neeny!
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Everything is undergoing some sort of revival these days it seems! I don't think Janine has been gone long enough to fit in that category, though. There were two Janines in my high school. I think it's a pretty enough name; I like it for someone else.
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In naming circles (i.e., here), "Retro-chic" refers to any era of the past. I've been using the term to refer to names that were popular around the turn of the twentieth century, like Josephine and Violet, for years. I use it so much for that time period, that I've taken to refering to names from the 1930's through 1950's as "WWII-era" names, just to keep them distinct. "Retro-chic" may have other connotations in other areas, like interior design or antique car circles. But here at BtN, for what it's worth, the term has a broader meaning. That said, I love the name Janine, although I'd prefer it spelled Jeanine. Nns Jenny, Jeanie and Nina are adorable.

This message was edited 11/15/2007, 10:30 AM

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I've been using the term 'retro-chic' for ages now!I agree with everything Bear has said.I like 'old' names, which really fits in with my personality. I'm a gal that likes vintage and antique clothes, furniture, make-up, hair styles, etc., so it's only natural that it carries over into my naming style. I adore names like Norma, Olga, Irene and Hazel because they're so old (and also because they're names that almost no one likes!). I do hope that there's not a large revival of the retro-chic names that I like, as I detest most über-popular and trendy names.
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