The 100-year rule

Why have you called him that?

The new kids in the books

A baby called Clive

Old lady chic

Grandad cool

Last reviewed: December 2019

What are your parents' names? Clive? Sue? David? Julie? We bet you wouldn'tof giving your baby a name like Trish, Roger, or Carol... would you? But skip back a generation or two to the Elsies, Evas, Arthurs, and Archies, and suddenly your great-grandparents' names seem, well ... kind of cool again.The older Georges, Alfreds, and Henrys of the world now have great-grandsons named in their honour. Prince George is the perfect example of this, being named after his great-great-grandfather, King George VI.Names like Edith, Reggie, or Florence have emerged from the charity-shop box of names, transformed, with a definite whiff of vintage glamour. Add in the Downton Abbey factor, and unless it's a century old, a name is just not on-trend.BabyCentre mum Gemma says she's heard lots of talk about the 100-year rule. "Names that were popular 100 years ago seem to be the ones that are becoming popular now," she explains. "We chose the names Rose and Alfie because they are closely associated with our grandparents' and great-grandparents' generations."The comeback is partly due to people's associations with the names. Names that were popular in our parents' generation are still associated heavily with them. This means that we find it hard to imagine a child with those names. But older names are freed from this link and therefore feel more suitable.Association clearly takes a starring role in the naming game. When BabyCentre mum Tracey-Anne decided to call her baby Jack Arthur, her older relatives turned up their noses , declaring it a name from "their generation".But instead of being offended, Tracey-Anne recognised their dislike as mere familiarity with the name. "We would turn our nose up at one of our friends naming their child Nicola or Tracy today," she decided. "I think we tend to dislike the names of our own generation and that of our parents'."There are other theories, too. BabyCentre mum Melissa believes that names given to babies are suddenly considered "cute" or "different", regardless of their previous connotations.Melissa changed her mind about the name Stanley recently after meeting a two-year-old boy who was named after his late Grandad. "I used to see it as an 'old' name", admits Melissa, "but now I see it as making a comeback and I really like it."Alongside the old-name revival, we shouldn't forget the other naming trend around at the moment: the new age. Your baby may one day play with George, Martha, Emily, Alfie, and Charlie at nursery, but he may also rub shoulders with the likes of Summer, Beau, Riley, and Aaliyah.If you want your baby to stand out from the crowd, new age names are a great way to be inventive and creative with your baby name choice. But you may want to think carefully about how the name is spelt and if it fits with your surname. New age names may be cool, but they won't be as easy to recognise as older, more classic names.Given the resurgence in popularity of old names, it's possible that names in the future will also have a cyclic nature. Perhaps one day we will be welcoming grandchildren by the name of John, Anthea, Graham, or Lynn.BabyCentre mum Lisa definitely believes that names come in cycles. "I would think that names like Mandy and Carol will hold the same appeal for our own children," she says. "By then, Alfie and Archie will be 'dad names' whereas Clive and Trevor will be mysterious and historical."So if you want a name that is safe and familiar, 'old lady chic' could be the way to go. Another bonus is that there are hundreds of names for you to choose from.Here are some traditional girls' names that are making a comeback: Beatrice , Bessie, Blanche Matilda , May, Millicent And here are the boys' names that are popular again... Frederick , George, Henry See other baby names loved by BabyCentre parents in our lively .