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I think of a middle name, or some plain-Jane character on TV or in a movie. I don't think I have met a fn Jane, of any age. It'd be refreshing and a come-back classic feel I think to see it on a little girl in real life.

I love Jane, but I wouldn't classify it as "quirky" or "retro." To me, it's a timeless classic. Elegant, simple, and beautiful.

Love it. It's also very usable for double-barreled FNs, though I love it as a MN the most.

Jane has been growing on me quite a bit lately. I'd love to meet a little girl named Jane. Despite being overused as a middle name, I still like the middle name Jane. I don't know anyone who is middle-aged named Jane, so no, I don't find it middle-aged. I'd say it's more retro and ready for revival. I really like it paired with unusual and more intricate middle names (Jane Cordelia, Jane Theodora, etc.).

I think Jane is a beautiful timeless name. A classic, which as you said, is overused as a mn, but would be lovely for a fn.

I like Bear's description of the name :)

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I'd love to use it as a first name. The only reason I'd refrain from it now is because my fiance has a very common last name.

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It'd be great to meet a little Jane, not boring or middle aged. Plus the NN Janey is adorable :)

Jane isn't as plain as some people think. It has spunk. It has a fighting spirit. I really dig it.

I don't find it to be quirky, retro, or middle-aged and boring. :-)

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Jane to me is dignified and regal. I second Bear's description!

I really like Jane and I don't think it's plain or boring. Janie would be a very sweet nickname. I think it goes perfectly with Frances and Cecily.

I adore Jane. The only thing is she needs an amazing middle name to maker her pop.

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To me she's all retro and sweet. Audrey Hepburn comes to mind.

This message was edited 4/25/2014, 1:41 PM

It's very common on adults, so I find it a little boring for an adult (like Julie or Jackie - every other woman in their 40s is named one of these three around here!)

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However, it would be nice to see a young Jane or Janie. I also like it as a second middle name in some combos, sometimes to tone down a complicated combo for example:
Antonia Penelope Jane
Tabitha Naomi Jane
Cara Hermione Jane
Magdalena Phoebe Jane
Emmeline Rosalie Jane

This message was edited 4/25/2014, 1:41 PM

Jane is regal, intelligent, literary -- what's not to love? Jane may not be flashy, but she's got the market cornered on depth. Still waters run deep. Plus, you can have a little fun with the middle name. The gravitas of Jane give you license. Meeting a little Jane would indeed make my day. :0)

I love Jane! I am actually sitting with my officemate Jane right now, and she's who inspired my newfound like for the name.

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I think it's quirky, classic, elegant. It's much more interesting than Sophia or Olivia. I'd consider it for a daughter.

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It'd go perfectly with Frances and Cecily!

Retro simplicity is the perfect descriptor - as a first name, anyway.

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Sidenote: Your signature first made me think you had lost two babies. The word 'angels' often implies miscarried or stillborn babies. Then I saw the names and recognized right away that those were your living kids. Anyway, it might just be me who gets that vibe. But I thought I'd let you know how I read it.

I like it. It is pretty and I'd say it's more classic than retro. This is a name that is on my list but because our last name ends with an 'N', it sounds clunky, so I can't use it.

It's neither quirky nor boring, neither retro nor middle aged.

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I feel like it's a very standard and modest short name like Mary and Anna. It doesn't seem that commonplace to me - the main associations I have are the idiom "plain Jane," and Dick & Jane, the characters in the midcentury readers. See Jane run. Those give it a generic air, but it's not any more forgettable than Mary or Anna. It's timeless, like Robert. Jane is less forgettable, to me, than Sarah or Elizabeth or William.

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I get a more youthful and sassy vibe from Jane than Joan, which IMO is the dated (or retro if you prefer) and boring one. Jane seems to me more assertive than Anna, and more dynamic than Mary, but as dignified and versatile as either. I think the similarity to June and Jade makes Jane have a similar appeal to those, only it seems less frivolous.

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I'm pro-Jane-as-a-baby-name.

This message was edited 4/25/2014, 11:48 AM

I say it's middle-aged and boring, not quirky and retro.

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I say it's middle-aged because it fell from the top 100 in 1966. So most Janes these days will be either middle-aged or elderly.

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But that's not why I say it's boring and it's not why I say it isn't quirky and it isn't retro. It could be argued that it isn't retro because it hasn't been out of style long enough to become retro, which is why most names that went out of style as recently as the mid 1960s are not yet retro. But that's not why Jane isn't retro. Jane isn't retro because for centuries it was extremely popular. As far back as this site goes in listing popularity statistics, 1880, it was never lower than 151. And if popularity statistics were kept prior to that, I think we would be able to see that for most of those years, it was far more popular than that. This is the same reason it isn't and I don't think ever could be quirky. And it is the reason that it's boring.

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Because it was so common for so long, it has a generic image for me that renders it unusable for me and keeps me from really liking it, despite the fact that I don't dislike its sound. It doesn't say anything. I feel it's the equivalent of naming a child "Hey you."

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I feel the same way about Mary.

This message was edited 4/25/2014, 5:34 PM

I think Jane is the prototype boring dull name. Plain Jane.