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[Opinions] What are the criterion of timeless name?
In the past, there was a perception that it was an "old people" name, but now I've seen a lot of comments calling it a "timeless" name for a "trendy" name. From what I understand, "timeless" is usually used to describe names that have a long history of use and are not strongly associated with a specific time period, but is this subjective?

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Sorry, double postThat's more how I would describe timeless - classic, long history, not strongly associated with a specific time, well-known on how to pronounce with common established spellings.

This message was edited 1/23/2024, 12:20 PM

That's more how I would describe timeless - classic, long history, not strongly associated with a specific time, well-known on how to pronounce with common established spellings.
It's definitely subjective, depending on a person's culture and history. A name can be trendy AND timeless at the same time, which is confusing! Like Helen, or Emma, or Noah, or Arthur. For me a timeless name is not necessarily a name that could be from any time period (but sometimes it can be), but one that works on a person at any age. If I see a name and can't guess a person's age or generation right away, it's timeless.
Which name are you talking about? I think when a name first becomes popular and then has a decrease in popularity, it's heavily associated with that one decade/generation/whenever it was the most popular. But if it gets popular again and has multiple phases of popularity, it becomes timeless because people don't associate it with one age. And what Dianatiger said, it depends on regional trends that you won't always know about just from looking at nationwide name data.
Thank you. Was an "old people" name, but now I've seen a lot of comments calling it a "timeless" name for a "trendy" name, which refers to names such as Alice, Eleanor, Lily, Violet, etc. In the case of a long history of use and are not strongly associated with a specific time period, it refers to names such as Anthony, Joseph, and Thomas. etc.

This message was edited 1/22/2024, 8:10 PM

For sure it's subjective. Biblical Christian names are timeless to me because I grew up in a rural, Christian community but that doesn't mean my experience is the default. Elizabeth could be timeless to one person but not to the next, and I'm not just speaking in terms of non-english speaking. Grace may be considered timeless to some but only a few decades ago it was considered too old and untouchable to use in some circles, in other periods it was considered too holy a word to use as a name. It simply depends on the situation and individual.
Thank you.
You've done a great job of defining a "timeless" name!
I agree
Thank you.
I think a timeless name is a name that has been popular for 100+ years or so. Names like Emma, Elizabeth, James and David.
Thank you.