Jennifer, Stephanie, Brooke, Lindsey and Brittany, and Megan. Like, omigod, these are, like, totally teenagers, right? Like, for sure.
Charlotte, Cora, Abigail and Agatha, and Ida. These are, in all likelihood, dowager dames of Downton Abbey, or, perhaps, sophisticated suffragettes of the previous century.
They're not?
There's a thing about names - how a name holds a connotation of generation and personality. I made a post several years ago about how, given the popularity of old Welsh names in the 80's and 90's I had to be careful choosing Welsh-based names for one of my stories - no one's going to accept The Dread Dark Lord Dylan.
Of course, these connotations change with time. When your grandmothers and great grandmothers were named Elizabeth, Margaret, Carol, Martha, Esther, and Lillie, those names seem old fashioned or traditional. But when Elianna's grandchildren are old enough to think about these things, names like Zoe, Riley, Everly, Avery, and Luna, will seem "old" and "stodgy," and who knows what will be hip and trendy at the dawn of the 22nd century?
But back to my lists at the beginning, the list of names that feels teenagery to me, because these were the names of the popular girls when I was a teenager - these are professionals. The Jennifers are the head of the foreign language department, and the head of graduate studies at a university. The Stephanies are an academic advisor and a doula. Brooke is a pediatrician. Lindsey and Brittany are teachers. Megan is a doctor of physical therapy.
And the "dowager dames?" They're babies. Charlotte is 2 1/2. Cora is turning 2. Abigail and Agatha are a little over 1 1/2. Ida is 6 months old. But maybe there's something to these "suffragette" names - these little girls will be the movers and shakers, the leading ladies of the next generation. Move over, Megan. Step aside, Stephanie - Ida and Cora have some changes to make.