# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/81 "2009-09-04T18:28:57Z")
I’m 30, and my first name is Esther. I’ve noticed it growing (slightly) in popularity in recent years, but I don’t think it will last. It’s a very hard name to grow up with, and although I like my name now, when I was a kid, I hated it so much that I tried to make nicknames catch on, or pretend my name was actually something different. I love the name now, it’s made me who I am, but it was a love-hate relationship for many years. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/82 "2009-09-04T18:35:44Z")
As I write this, I’m holding a 1-year-old Eliza Jane. It was sort of a family name for us, though, so that was a major reason we chose it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/83 "2009-09-04T18:42:09Z")
I ran into a youngish Pauline recently. It does seem to be more rare these days that girls are given names that indicate their parents really wanted a boy, such as Roberta, Maxine and even more wretched names I can’t bring myself to mention. There was a Dick Van Dyke Show episode many moons ago in which Dick and Laura are being besieged with inane advice about what to name the baby Laura was expecting.\* Every relative and friend had suggestions, the most ludicrous of which came from (I think) Dick’s grandfather, who insisted that the child be named “Ulysses if it’s a boy, Ulysseia if it’s a girl.” You can see where this is going. Yep, encountered a Ulysseia the other day, now in her early 20s. \*The happy couple wound up naming him Richie. What a rotten kid he turned out to be. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/84 "2009-09-04T18:42:55Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The last bastion of “old lady names” seems to be Asian girls. I know a Chinese-American girl named Alice; our own **HazelNutCoffee** is Korean, and my (Asian) girlfriend’s first name is Esther and her sister’s name is Ruth. There are others, I just can’t think of them off the top of my head. Similarly I know Asian guys with names like Ralph and Harold who are my age (early 20s); I’ve never encountered whites with the same kind of old-school names. I don’t know why, but Asians seem much less prone to the trendy new names and more likely to name their kids “old” names. I think of Esther and Ruth as Jewish names, not so much old lady names. Well, maybe Esther is an old Jewish lady name… ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/85 "2009-09-04T18:50:21Z")
I know an Annabelle, an Anabella, a Miriam and a Josephine, all under age five or so. ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/86 "2009-09-04T18:55:17Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > 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. I think I knew at least 5 Esthers while in school. Grace was also an insanely popular name for both the Koreans and Chinese. I know that some Asian-American students who arrived to the US as an older student were allowed to pick their own names. This can result in some really strange names like Fendi (fashion fanatic) and Leo (Titanic was big). ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/87 "2009-09-04T23:06:13Z")
My girlfriend is 25-years-old, somewhat Taiwanese, and very much named Alice. I also knew a girl named Eunice in college, who was Korean. Very much agree with the Asian Girl Theory. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/88 "2009-09-04T23:21:36Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Anyone know an Emmeline (common 100 years ago)? Lotte? Oscar? Hortense? Charity? Wilbur? > > Not _everything_ comes around again. I knew someone with a son named Oscar. He’d be around 9 or 10 now (which scares the crap out of me, because it seems like yesterday that he was proudly flashing his first tooth). I haven’t run into any of the other names, though, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Emmeline made a comeback - it’s rather pretty, and it’s a nice alternative to Emma (which is waaaay too common in the under-5 set). As to the OP, one of my youngest cousins on the French-Canadian side is named Alice, after our grandmother. A couple of other cousins from that side of the family also have fairly old-school names… Felix and Amelie. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/89 "2009-09-04T23:38:31Z")
There was a girl in high school with me who was named Alice. She was class of 1980 and a flaming hottie. As a result, I’m not quick to dismiss anyone with that name 😉 ---
**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, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/90 "2009-09-04T23:42:14Z")
If I knew a girl named Alice, I’d be really tempted to call her Uber Alice. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/91 "2009-09-05T01:19:48Z")
A couple I know through someone else just gave birth last week and named their daughter Hazel. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/92 "2009-09-05T01:40:15Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Lucy is a beautiful, and old name. I wonder how many years before someone hears it without thinking ‘wacky redhead’. … I know a 3 year old named Lucy. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/93 "2009-09-05T02:11:03Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Lucy is a beautiful, and old name. I wonder how many years before someone hears it without thinking ‘wacky redhead’. … Lucy has been making a comeback in recent years. I’ve had a couple of them in my class in the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/94 "2009-09-05T02:28:32Z")
My wife’s name is Agnes. She’s 41. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/95 "2009-09-05T02:46:50Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > A couple I know through someone else just gave birth last week and named their daughter Hazel. This was my #1 choice if my second child had been a girl (older one is Dorothy). Instead we named him Howard. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/96 "2009-09-05T03:10:28Z")
I have nieces Monica, Elise, Olivia, and Clare. A name I’ve always loved was my aunt’s: Regina. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/97 "2009-09-05T03:50:59Z")
> [@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. Yes, this, at least for my parents. They tell me that they picked my (old-fashioned; I’ve never met anyone less than thirty years older than I who shared my name, which I actually think is awesome) name completely randomly from a book of names. My sister’s name was picked similarly randomly, so they were kind of shocked when it turned out her name was one of the more popular ones, and there were lots of kids her age with her name. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/98 "2009-09-05T03:54:07Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > A couple I know through someone else just gave birth last week and named their daughter Hazel. So did my brother and his wife (although the baby was born at the beginning of July, not last week). I swore to them I would call her Hazelnut, but I’m also thinking of Nutella. Susan ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/99 "2009-09-05T04:55:15Z")
I know an Alice who’s about 30, but no other seriously old-lady-named women. Unless Jane counts- I do know a Jane who’s about 21. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794/100 "2009-09-05T05:09:59Z")
I’m 22. I know an Alice and (surprisingly) an Elsie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-any-young-women-named-alice-myrtle-ethel-etc/508794.md?page=6)