Found my Claudia/Constance list-
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Found my Claudia/Constance list-
| Tue, 10-03-2006 - 1:27pm |
To Annette and anyone else interested-
We got into a discussion of names like Claudia that are distinctive and old without a decade of immense popularity OR anticipated future growth.
Here is the list I had made quite some time ago called

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Oh, see I like quite a few of these...
The Claudia/Constance List
Tabitha -- definite fav
Thea -- like it as a nn
Anastasia -- maybe
Penelope -- been on the lists
Beatrice -- really wanted for Lillian's mn
Veronica -- like a lot
Susannah -- nice
Millicent -- if we didn't have a Lillian
Lucinda --LOVE
Karen
Nice list!
Ginger
Ginger
Oh, I have a timeless list, made over a period of twenty years and an embarassing amount of study, contemplation, and research...Let me see if I can dig up the latest link to it.
Antonia is definitely on it, but I'd love to know their criteria. It is NOT the most timeless name ever in America; I'd put it in the top 20, maybe top 10.
Antonia would be a phenomenal match in your family. I am a huge fan of the name. I update my Personal Top 50 every other month or so. Antonia is # 4 currently and hasn't fallen out of my Top Ten in the past five years. That is saying A LOT; I have over a dozen legal pads full of notes on names! LOL
I'll post the link to my list in a moment.
PS- Don't fear any jump in popularity for Cecilia- the meaning "blind" holds the majority of people back. Penelope has been around for a dozen centuries, always in the background, in use, with little increase in usage. What has held most people back, and will continue to, is the Greek spelling and therefore the look of it. This is something may overcome, with the surge of Chloe, Zoe,
Ginger
wow, apparently this is "my" list -- a bunch of these are on my list:
Frances
Anastasia
Beatrice
Penelope
Nicola
Veronica
Susanna
Theresa
And I don't have Felicia or Cecilia on my list, but I do have Felicity and Cecily. :)
Ya know, my husband always balks at 4-syllable names, saying they're too long.
Okay, here's my post from a while back about Classics, Timeless, Classy, Traditional, etc.
<<
My standards for the True Classics are rigid. In all my years of collecting names, I've decided there are only 5-
Ann, Mary, Margaret, Catherine, & Elizabeth--- honorable mention- Laura---
Laura is the most widely-used girl name of all time in literature.
James, John, William, Charles, & Joseph ---honorable mention--- Michael
Michael has the most phenomenal stats of all-time. It's the longest running Top 5 name in history.
You might ask- Where's Sarah or Edward, for example?
My answer--- The True Classics I listed:
1. Have well-used variants in almost EVERY language
2. Have steady, consistent usage over centuries
3. Have historical roots from real-life and/or literary figures
4. Are easy-to-spell and recognize for all generations of parents through documented history
Now if you want a list of new classics or what I like to call "New Traditional-American"--- there you will find Sarah, Edward, Rachel, Rebecca, & Daniel, for examples.
Names on my New Traditional List come from the following criteria-
1. Can be found in general use (Top 500) over more than 3 consecutive decades, with spurts of disuse and/or use
2. Has broken into prominence (Top 250) within 100 years
3. Has historical or literary roots
4. Is easy-to-spell and recognize to all living generations
Timeless says to me- you can't guess the age of the person by his/her name- Example- If I say- Christy and Jason- chances are, you'll say 1965-1975. If I say Caroline & Robert...
Usage is steady over a century, at least.
So here are my Timeless options for you (some of them might surprise you, but they've been around & selected by parents a lot longer than we realize)- I caution you to check the current numbers for SSA site because some of these are in a period of high usage and could be considered "trendy" --- But, a true timeless name will outlast the trends! The ones that are the freshest, IMO, at the moment, are marked by *---
*Adrienne, Alicia, Allie, Amanda, Amelia, Amy, *Anastacia, Angelina, Angela, Anna, Antonia, Audrey, Aurora, *Bridget, Camille, Candace, *Carmen, Caroline, Cecilia, Celia, *Celeste, Charlotte, Christina, *Claudia, Claire, Colleen, Corinne, Cynthia, Delia, *Daphne, Diana, *Eileen, Eliza, Ellen, Emma, Eva, *Eve, Evelyn, Faith, Felicity, *Gretchen, Guadalupe, Gwendolyn, Hannah, Hope, Ingrid, Isabel, Iris, *Ivy, Jacqueline, *Jane, Jenny, Jessie, Justine, Joanna, *Johanna, Kathleen, Katie, *Joy, Julia, Juliet, Lydia, *Lucia, Madeline, Maggie, Marguerite, Maria, Marina, Meredith, Miriam, Molly, Nancy, Naomi, Natalie, *Nina, Nora, *Penelope, Phoebe, Priscilla, Rachel, Rebecca, Sarah, Sonia, *Susannah, Tess, Valerie, Veronica, Victoria
~~~~~
The following names could be added to the above list as New Traditionals-
Alexandra, Brooke, Carrie, Deanna, Danielle, Erica, Kristin, Mia, Olivia
~~~~~
Classy is another good list I have. Classy, to me, is a name that has deep roots (but can be a newer variant) and is recognized in multiple decades as a standard- It definitely adapts to the age of the person and generally adapts to the times.
The classic and timeless names listed above would go here along with-
Abigail, Ada, Adeline, Allison (approaching timeless), Andrea (ditto), Annabelle, Annie, Annette, Audra, Ava, Bella/Belle, Bonnie, Callie, Camilla, Carolyn, Carolina, Cassie/Cassandra, Christine, Clarissa, Constance (in disuse now, but feels classy & has been around a very long time), Colette, Cora, Daisy, Danielle, Esther, Elaine, Eleanor, Ella, Elsa, Emily, Evelyn, Frances, Francesca, Georgia, Gloria, Grace, Graciela, Greta, Gwen, Helen, Hallie, Holly, Irene, Josephine, Judith, Juliana, Julianne (approaching timeless), Kelly, Katrina, Kendra, Kimberly, Kirsten, Karen, Lana, Laurel, Lauren, Leigh, Leanna, Leanne, Leilani, Lila, Leticia, Leslie, Lena, Lillian, Lily, Lisa, Lourdes, Lynn, Lucy, Mara, Maura, Margo, Marisol, Martina (recent slump but has real potential), Martha, Melanie (approaching timeless), Melody, Monique, Monica, Patrice, Pamela, Patricia, Paulina, Portia, Rae, Renee, Rosa, Rosemary, Rose, Ruby, Ruth, Sabrina (approaching timeless), Sadie, Sophie, Stella, Stephanie, Serena, Selena (approaching timeless), Sophia, Simone, Samantha, Sasha, Sylvia, Shelby, Susan, Tara, Tasha, Tracy, Tessa, Tia, Virginia, Valeria, Vanessa (approaching timeless), Violet, Wendy
~~~~~
For girls, I also have a list I call "Gems"--- These names don't have the consistent usage numbers to be considered Classic or Timeless but they have that "feel" without the popularity!---
Adelaide, Althea, Antoinette,
Ginger
Living in America- I would pronounce
Antonia
positively like the book - Ann-toh-NEE-uh.
Oh, gosh, it's so gorgeous. I just like to look at it...LOL
Later,
Ginger
Ginger
Oh, so glad the list appeals to you with your grand taste in names, Annie!
A good sign too, that you'll select a name that is timeless and immune to trendiness!
PS- Shh- I prefer Felicity and Cecily too, but neither is trend-proof...
Later,
Ginger
Ginger
I'm assuming you've considered Nicola/Nicolette and eliminated for some reason?
Both Annie and I are quite taken with either, particularly Nicola and can't seem to get a bite...
Later,
Ginger
Ginger
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