# Do You Know Any YOUNG Women Named Alice, Myrtle, Ethel, etc.? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794 "2009-09-03T20:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/41 "2009-09-04T02:44:10Z")
> [@StaudtCJ](#): > > My up-and-coming daughter-to-be is going to be named Rosemary. I was just told that the name is exceptionally old-fashioned. That’s a very sweet name. Best wishes to you & her (& everyone else involved). ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/42 "2009-09-04T02:53:23Z")
I know a 24-year old young lady named Ruby Carol. I know a 3-year old girl named Alice. I know a 20-year old girl named Emily. Is that old-fashioned? I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/43 "2009-09-04T03:04:39Z")
I know a 19-ish Phylicia. I also know a 25-ish Gertrude. She is Hot. Both are generic white chicks from the Midwest. 20-ish Emilies ae common as 15-ish Madisons; they’re everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/44 "2009-09-04T03:10:38Z")
Anyone know an Emmeline (common 100 years ago)? Lotte? Oscar? Hortense? Charity? Wilbur? Not _everything_ comes around again. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/45 "2009-09-04T03:15:05Z")
IIRC, on _Frasier_, Roz’s little girl was named Alice. That could be part of what triggered the comeback. I’m just waiting for folks to start naming their baby girls Mary again. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/46 "2009-09-04T03:18:58Z")
Oh, there are scads of Marys here. Because Mary goes so well with middle names: Mary Elizabeth Mary Claire Mary Rebecca Mary Helen Those are the kind of girls’ names popular with the prep-school crowd here. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/47 "2009-09-04T03:37:43Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Where does “Clara” (with a final “a”, not “Claire”) stand in the pantheon of old lady names? Has it ever been popular? There’s a 7th-grade Clara at my church and a one-year-old Clara in my son’s day care class. This makes me think it’s coming back. Apparently I’m in a minority who doesn’t think of Charlotte as an old-lady name. I think I’ve always been aware of at least one in my age group since childhood, even when I moved or went off to college. It would have been my first choice if we’d had a girl. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/48 "2009-09-04T03:38:45Z")
> [@missred](#): > > IIRC, on _Frasier_, Roz’s little girl was named Alice. That could be part of what triggered the comeback. > > I’m just waiting for folks to start naming their baby girls Mary again. Oh yeah, I remember Alice. They had a lot of sort of older type names on that show. Alice, Daphne, Niles. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/49 "2009-09-04T03:45:06Z")
When I hear “Alice” I think of a tough-talking Jewish single mom from New Jersey now working as a waitress in a Phoenix diner. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/50 "2009-09-04T04:11:31Z")
I know a Mary Alice who is about 16 now. And Helen is making a big comeback. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/51 "2009-09-04T04:12:48Z")
I knew a girl in her twenties named Martha. I myself am in my twenties and have a dreadfully old-fashioned middle name: Frances. I grew up with a lot of children of Korean immigrants who had old-fashioned names: Oliver, Roland, lots of Esthers, Amelia, several Graces, Louisa, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/52 "2009-09-04T04:14:46Z")
> [@TheTerribleTako](#): > > As for why, I think it has a lot to do with most Asian parents being a wee out of touch with mainstream American naming practices. The kids with the trendier names typically had parents that were educated in the states or were otherwise more assimilated into the culture. I actually discussed this with one of my students, who emigrated from Korea when she was about 9, and was 12 when I met her. She told me her parents were relatively hip and let her pick her name, and she picked Christina because she liked Christina Aguilera. However, other, less enlightened parents in their social circle made their kids take Biblical names, like Esther, Eunice, and Ruth (her family and their friends were all members of the same church). She seemed relieved that her parents did not go that route. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/53 "2009-09-04T04:32:02Z")
I’ve recently met an infant (about 6 mos old) named Gertrude. Her parents call her ‘Tru’. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/54 "2009-09-04T04:53:15Z")
I love this site for checking out baby names. You can see any name’s popularity in graph form. And who doesn’t love a good graph? [http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager](http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager) Looks like Alice has had a very slight increase in popularity in the last few, but it’s still way, way down the list, and nowhere near the huge popularity it had early last century. ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/55 "2009-09-04T05:14:56Z")
> [@StaudtCJ](#): > > My up-and-coming daughter-to-be is going to be named Rosemary. I was just told that the name is exceptionally old-fashioned. Thats a kick ass name, it may be old fashioned, but its classy and pretty, and not overused. She’ll already have a good song. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DJJCQ4dtAlw/hqdefault.jpg "Grateful Dead - Ramble On Rose - 6-26-94") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJJCQ4dtAlw) One of my favorites. You get a few nick names out of it too. When one of my salmon swim upstream, I’m stealing that name, she’ll be a Rosy cuz’ she’ll have flamin’ red hair. If its a boy, Spud, he’ll look like a potato, with red hair. No second marriages, because we all know what happens to red headed step children. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/56 "2009-09-04T05:21:13Z")
I know a seven year old Miriam, that strikes me as very old-fashioned. A twenty-on year old second cousin of mine just had her first child and named the baby Helen. ---
**Author:** ![StaudtCJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@StaudtCJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaudtCJ)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/57 "2009-09-04T05:51:58Z")
Thank you to those of you that liked the name and/or sent congratulations. It’s not why I posted, but it’s very sweet. We’re looking forward to her. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/58 "2009-09-04T06:35:13Z")
I have never met anyone named Alice in my life. It was near the top of my names list if I ever have a girl, but this thread is making me reconsider; apparently it’s a lot more popular than I realized. The same thing happened to me with Alexander-- I wanted to name a boy that all my life, and then when I found out we were having a boy I did a little research and found out it’s in the top 10 :eek:. I don’t want my kids to have weird names, but I also don’t want to curse them with someone saying their name and 3 people looking up their whole lives. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/59 "2009-09-04T06:35:30Z")
One of my counselors at summer camp was named Alice. She was born around 77. Alice doesnt seem too old ladyish…it’s not like Ethel or Agnes ( I always think of the song title from the Onion "Please imbibe my sweet phospate my dear Agnes of mine) My “almost girlfriend” has the worlds most “New English” name…Hannah. Her last name makes her sound like some Goodwife type from a Hawthorne novel. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/60 "2009-09-04T06:59:00Z")
> [@bubba\_jr](#): > > Thats a kick ass name, it may be old fashioned, but its classy and pretty, and not overused. She’ll already have a good song. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJJCQ4dtAlw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJJCQ4dtAlw) > One of my favorites. Not “Love grows…”? Well, okay, to each his own. Plus, some awesome evil baby jokes! ETA: And let me join in saying congrats to **Staudtcj**! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794.md?page=4)