It's not dated. It's
retro!
Seriously though ... it's on my favorites list. But it's far enough out of date that I think it would be a bother for someone born today to bear. That would not stop me from wanting to use it because, hey, I put up with a name 25 years past its prime for MY whole life so far and it hasn't killed me! (but I did not enjoy it - so if I considered that factor, it would actually make me hesitate to use it. It doesn't bother me that
Heather is dated, but it's a problem that it is dated
just the wrong amount.)
It doesn't have any sweet rustic image for me. It still sounds middle class and urban/suburban, like the girls I knew growing up who were named it (they were named in the earliest cohort of Heathers, early 70s). Could be a cheerleader, or not. But it's a darned nice modern name, I agree it is simple and natural and unfrilly - and grows up ever so gracefully, IMO unlike something such as
Piper or
Taylor. I put it in the same category with
Summer,
Amber, and
Jasmine - except it suffers more from having been heavily used for a short time, and is maybe a few years "older" than those.
This message was edited 9/7/2012, 11:24 PM