Favorite Gen X name?

[Anonymous]

I’m a solid gen x’er and have to say most if these names sound awfully generic. I mean, is there something about “jennifer” that screams gen-x versus just generic white girl name? If I had to name names that were popular among people my generation more than others, maybe: Jesse, Kirsten, mike, Sean, Jane, and yes, jennifer. But frankly these all seem pretty generic names that don’t stand out in any way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a solid gen x’er and have to say most if these names sound awfully generic. I mean, is there something about “jennifer” that screams gen-x versus just generic white girl name? If I had to name names that were popular among people my generation more than others, maybe: Jesse, Kirsten, mike, Sean, Jane, and yes, jennifer. But frankly these all seem pretty generic names that don’t stand out in any way.

I mean, yes? We're talking about names that were popular in an era when the most popular names were VERY popular. Of course they sound generic. There were like 60,000 babies named Jennifer in 1975. Compare that to 2019, when the most popular name (Olivia) was given to like 18,000 babies.

So yeah, the names are kind of generic by virtue of being very popular. That's the whole point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a solid gen x’er and have to say most if these names sound awfully generic. I mean, is there something about “jennifer” that screams gen-x versus just generic white girl name? If I had to name names that were popular among people my generation more than others, maybe: Jesse, Kirsten, mike, Sean, Jane, and yes, jennifer. But frankly these all seem pretty generic names that don’t stand out in any way.

Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Lopez disagree..

[Anonymous]

Laura
Tamara
Kimberly
Jill
Bonnie
Heather

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Rachel
Jill
Kerri (prefer it to Carey)
Amy
Danielle
Katie

I don't like:

Stephanie
Jennifer
Courtney

Those are both weird spellings. The traditional way is Carrie.

Two different names- or is that a regional pronunciation thing? Kerri and Carrie, to me, are pronounced completely differently

That must be regional. I grew up in the PNW and we pronounced those two names the same way.

Completely different names. Pronounced different. Carrie is usually short for Carlott, Caroline, etc. Kerri (Kerry) is an Irish name.

How do you say it? I have always said Carrie same as Kerri/Keri. I have heard Cari pronounced like Car-ee. But that's it. Every Carrie I've known has also said their name like Kerry/Kerri.

NP it is that you pronounce Ker and Car the same and they both probably sound like Cair/Care with an open A sound. The way I and the other PPs are describing has Kerry with a short E and hard R sound and Carrie with an open A but that lacks the slightly more nasal sound for the A where it would sound more like Air. Google "Merry, Marry, Mary" pronunciations. You should be able to listen to how people who pronounce these differently say them. Erin and Aaron as well.

Don't even start. Mary/Marry/Merry all the same. Same for Erin/Aaron. Where do people live that these are totally different? I've lived in the South/Midwest/West so I presume this is a regional North/North East thing?

+1
This is just bizarre. There is no alternate pronunciation for these names, even when spelled differently. The PP sounds a tad odd.

It's actually correct, there has just been widespread vowel merging, (aka "we got sloppy!) that makes them the same to some people and this is really only found in North America outside of the Northeast. Other English speakers (not in the NE) around the world absolutely distinguish between the three or, at minimum, two of them. You sound ignorant, Marry Christmas!

Do you also say you have to warsh your clothes and the car needs repaired?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rachel
Jill
Kerri (prefer it to Carey)
Amy
Danielle
Katie

I don't like:

Stephanie
Jennifer
Courtney

Those are both weird spellings. The traditional way is Carrie.

Two different names- or is that a regional pronunciation thing? Kerri and Carrie, to me, are pronounced completely differently

That must be regional. I grew up in the PNW and we pronounced those two names the same way.

Completely different names. Pronounced different. Carrie is usually short for Carlott, Caroline, etc. Kerri (Kerry) is an Irish name.

How do you say it? I have always said Carrie same as Kerri/Keri. I have heard Cari pronounced like Car-ee. But that's it. Every Carrie I've known has also said their name like Kerry/Kerri.

NP it is that you pronounce Ker and Car the same and they both probably sound like Cair/Care with an open A sound. The way I and the other PPs are describing has Kerry with a short E and hard R sound and Carrie with an open A but that lacks the slightly more nasal sound for the A where it would sound more like Air. Google "Merry, Marry, Mary" pronunciations. You should be able to listen to how people who pronounce these differently say them. Erin and Aaron as well.

Don't even start. Mary/Marry/Merry all the same. Same for Erin/Aaron. Where do people live that these are totally different? I've lived in the South/Midwest/West so I presume this is a regional North/North East thing?

+1
This is just bizarre. There is no alternate pronunciation for these names, even when spelled differently. The PP sounds a tad odd.

It's actually correct, there has just been widespread vowel merging, (aka "we got sloppy!) that makes them the same to some people and this is really only found in North America outside of the Northeast. Other English speakers (not in the NE) around the world absolutely distinguish between the three or, at minimum, two of them. You sound ignorant, Marry Christmas!

Do you also say you have to warsh your clothes and the car needs repaired?

No, and I am not from somewhere where anyone does speak like that. That sounds like some PA/Midwest nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Melissa

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Melissa, Samantha, Jessica (or is that more early millennial?)

I think Samantha, Jessica, and Amanda which has been mentioned a lot are more early millennial names.

Just because a name peaked when millennials were born doesn’t mean it wasn’t fairly common among GenX. We had our share of Amandas.

DP. I’m a GenX Amanda. As a child, I *hated* my name because none of the other kids had ever heard of it and thought it was weird. It wasn’t until I was in high school that another Amanda showed up. I think my parents were ahead of their time, even though the name is quite old.

Did people call you Mandy? Did you have this doll:

No, but I did have another doll called “Mandy Jane”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Christina and Christine! So pretty. Christina was on my short list for girls’ names (in 2015). DH nixed it.

Love Christina - it’s my daughter’s middle name. Hate “Tina” though!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rachel
Jill
Kerri (prefer it to Carey)
Amy
Danielle
Katie

I don't like:

Stephanie
Jennifer
Courtney

Those are both weird spellings. The traditional way is Carrie.

Two different names- or is that a regional pronunciation thing? Kerri and Carrie, to me, are pronounced completely differently

That must be regional. I grew up in the PNW and we pronounced those two names the same way.

Completely different names. Pronounced different. Carrie is usually short for Carlott, Caroline, etc. Kerri (Kerry) is an Irish name.

How do you say it? I have always said Carrie same as Kerri/Keri. I have heard Cari pronounced like Car-ee. But that's it. Every Carrie I've known has also said their name like Kerry/Kerri.

NP it is that you pronounce Ker and Car the same and they both probably sound like Cair/Care with an open A sound. The way I and the other PPs are describing has Kerry with a short E and hard R sound and Carrie with an open A but that lacks the slightly more nasal sound for the A where it would sound more like Air. Google "Merry, Marry, Mary" pronunciations. You should be able to listen to how people who pronounce these differently say them. Erin and Aaron as well.

Don't even start. Mary/Marry/Merry all the same. Same for Erin/Aaron. Where do people live that these are totally different? I've lived in the South/Midwest/West so I presume this is a regional North/North East thing?

+1
This is just bizarre. There is no alternate pronunciation for these names, even when spelled differently. The PP sounds a tad odd.

It's actually correct, there has just been widespread vowel merging, (aka "we got sloppy!) that makes them the same to some people and this is really only found in North America outside of the Northeast. Other English speakers (not in the NE) around the world absolutely distinguish between the three or, at minimum, two of them. You sound ignorant, Marry Christmas!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Mary%E2%80%93marry%E2%80%93merry_merger

OMG, could you be more obsessive and annoying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Gen X names I love:
Emily, Meghan, Laura, Julie, Kristen

Gen X names I don't like:
Kim, Dana, Angela, Stephanie, Ashley

Dana’s a gen-x name? I am solidly gen-x and it was and still is so rare for me to hear my name.

I'm early gen-x Dana (high school class of '89) and I never met another female Dana until I went to college. I did know a male Dana growing up. But I do think of it as a gen-x name--it was never very popular, but it was/is even less popular before/since.

There is no Dana, only Zul.

[Anonymous]

Also part of the 1980s babies that no one wants.

I’m a Megan, who graduated with 10 other Megans/Meghans/Meaghans. Sarah, Jennifer, and Lindsay/Lindsey were very popular in my year, but my solidly Gen-X babysitters were more of the Kim/Stacey/Jill/Melissa names.

[Anonymous]

Andrea

[Anonymous]

I was convinced when I was 10 that when I had a child I would name her Mallory. Well that did not happen lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually love Jennifer and Heather. Sure, there were too many of them, but they are both lovely names with nice histories.

My name is Jennifer and I hate it (born in '73). Besides just not liking it (it's a harsh sounding name to me), there were at least 3-5 other Jennifers in my classes, on my teams/clubs, etc. It was always a process for the teacher to identify who was Jennifer, Jenny, Jennie, Jen and the subsets of Jenny S., Jenn F. etc.

To top it off, my parents also gave me an uber hippy middle name (think rain, although that's not it). It's awful and dated. I want to go back to birth and throat punch them both.