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I think it really depends on the person's viewpoint - it's like the word "old". Is "old" a bad word? Sometimes it can be a lovely term; sometimes it can be meant as an insult. It all depends on how its used. Some people use "dated" as a way to dismiss a name, but it doesn't always have to be that way.

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Using "dated" can be really helpful in terms of gaining insight on how a name is viewed by people. If some say "This is very dated to the 70s" that doesn't necessarily mean anything bad, like a name is no longer suitable. Maybe someone wants a name that evokes the 70s, nothing wrong with that. You like a lot of names that feel very dated to the 80s and 90s to me, and that's fine. There's no accounting for taste; people like all sorts of things. And I think that's great.

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I suppose "outdated" sounds a bit more transparently negative, if you consider being "out of fashion" to be a bad thing. But I don't come across that term too often now that I think on it.

I use dated as a pretty neutral term. Some names are just strongly connected to a certain decade / time period. That doesn't make it a bad name, or unusable in any way.

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Outdated feels different to me, as in - it's best left in the past. I'm thinking of names like Dick and Gaylord.

This message was edited 3/11/2024, 11:40 PM

I think "dated" is a bit negative. I do call names I like dated, so it's neutral somewhat, but I use it to mean out-of-style or faddish-and-boring, too. I don't think I use the word "outdated" to describe names.

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If I was talking about a name that seemed interestingly or stylishly old-fashioned to me, I'd maybe say it's retro or antique. If I called it quaint, I'd probably be making fun of it for being dated, but in a fond way.

I think disliking a name because it’s “dated” is stupid. Just because a name was only popular in the 80s doesn’t mean it isn’t a good name and should never be used again. I say we try making every name timeless.

Yeah, I guess I'd say dated if I meant "not in fashion as a baby name, evokes an older person at this time" and outdated if I meant "not in fashion and never will/should be in fashion ever again."
But both things are pretty neutral, since they're just a comment on one's own personal perception, which is all that any name opinions ever are.
And they're both also negative, because people mention that a name is dated as a reason to not favor it. Nobody says "Oh I love that name because it's so dated!"