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When we think of 'old people names,' certain names will absolutely come to mind. Millennials might think of 'Ruth' or 'Cecil,' for example. But like everything else, times have changed, and so have the 'old name' examples.
And Millennials are getting their feelings hurt.
Amber Cimiotti (@ciaoamberc on TikTok) shares her thoughts on motherhood, parenting, having a multicultural family, and living in the United States and Italy on her TikTok channel, and she's recently started sharing more of her children's thoughts on her page as well.
Her most recent share, however, had TikTok gasping for air as she pointed out her daughter's interpretation of 'old people names' and 'young people names,' and how Amber's name now qualifies...as an old person name.
The TikToker explained:
"Today, my daughter told me that names like Amanda or Ashley, or my name (my name is Amber), are old people names."
"I never thought of it this way, but she was like, 'Yeah, my teacher's name is Miss Erica, Miss Samantha, and there are Amandas and Ashleys. Those are just old people names."
"Whereas young people names now are, like my daughter's name is Scarlet, and there's Charlotte, there's Olivia, there's Penelope...Those are young people names."
"For me, Ashley is always going to be my friend from elementary school, so it just seems like a kid name to me, but it's not."
"Ashley, Amanda, Amber, all of these names are basically the new Margaret or Barbara."
You can watch the video here:
In a way, this isn't surprising, because we all certainly have our opinions about names that feel old and outdated to us. Some people might stay away from names like 'Emma,' 'Edward,' and 'Colin,' because it makes them think of Jane Austen's Victorian era, rather than something current. There are other names, like Greta and Ruth, that have been used in the casting of elderly characters in entertainment, leading people to not think of them as potential baby names.
But as logical as this all is, that doesn't mean that the shift from 'young' to 'old' isn't hurtful, perhaps especially to Millennials, who often feel like they've had a lot taken away from them already, down to the clothes they wish to wear and how they want to part their hair.
Fellow TikTokers shared the names they felt were the real 'old people names.'
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Others were amused by Amber's daughter's perspective.
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Some Millennials and Gen-Xers in the comments were hurt by the comment.
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This conversation is really interesting, and as hurtful as it might be to hear, it makes sense. Baby names have a way of cycling in and out of style, typically reemerging in popularity every 10 to 20 years.
One reason for this is easy: People might have negative associations with some names, based on who was mean to them while they were in school, which would lead fewer people to choose that name. They also might feel like they know too many people by a name to want to choose it for their own child.
But then once their child is grown, their child might revert to some of those names that were common in their parent's childhood or even before that, because they don't have the same associations with those names as their parents.
Another reason is that parents often want to honor family names (such as their grandparents), so those names start entering the name charts once again, and thus the cycle continues.
But, regardless, it can't feel great to see your name go out of style.