Hat tip to faithful reader Jane for this one.
Have you heard? Though not officially announced, internet rumor has it that Lily Allen and Sam Cooper’s new baby is named Ethel. Ethel Mary Cooper to be exact, per this tweet from a friend.
I think it’s lovely! While Ethel is not necessarily an oldie I would have predicted to make a comeback quite so soon, it does have soft sounds of other names popular today, like Lily and Isabel. Most people will still put her in the same category as Beulah and Irma, though it wasn’t so very long ago that Mabel and Hazel were unthinkable.
Internet rumors proved to be true with Casper and Aleph. There’s no reason to believe a friend would purposely put out a red herring that appears by all accounts to be so believable, right?
What do you think?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Oooh! Ethel does read very old lady to me. I was trying to think why and a search popped up a popular British soap opera character from the past: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Skinner It’s not even a soap that I used to watch, but I was aware of the character, so I think she would be the first association for many Brits.
Definitely a fun unexpected one to bring back though.
And paired with Mary, makes the name sound even more old-fashioned.
(The twitter link didn’t seem to load for me.)
I’d love to read a list of old & new name pairings-along the lines of Agnes Lark. It would make a good post for the end of the year-a mix of old & new! What would make Ethel sound fresh-maybe Ethel Flynn?
What a great idea for a New Year’s post, Pelicolina!
Ooh, I love that idea! Please do it Elisabeth!
Flynn is a male name.
Hee hee – not anymore! Like many of the boys names, it’s also being used on girls these days. Blair, Leighton, Taylor, Cameron, etc etc! My niece has a girl named Conor in her class.
Someone on a name board posted two guesses for this baby, and one of them was Ethel. It was promptly attacked, but apparently that poster was on to something…
I agree that it has some of the same soft sounds as many names that are coming back. I think Ethel Mary is a sweet combo. I like the pairing. Classic Mary tones down the out-hipster-the-hipster quality of Ethel for me.
I hope it is true – I love it!
I think it’s very sweet.
Oh, I would LOVE to see Ethel come back! It has such a sweet sound to it. Hopefully once people have a sweet baby to attach the name to it will stop seeming so old lady-ish.
I can’t say I’m a fan of the name Ethel, but in general I’m definitely pro-”old lady” names making comebacks, like Frances, Hazel, Agnes etc. And Mary is super-sweet in the middle. Curious to see if this rumour is true!
I love this name combo and so hope it’s true! I think Ethel could definitely be ready for a comeback, particularly as so many other old-fashioned ‘E’ names have experienced a recent resurgence (for example Elsa, Elsie, Edith, Edie, Evie, Evelyn, Evie, Elspeth and Eleanor). I think it would be a surprising but refreshing choice!
Elspeth is my mums name and she just turned forty
I agree, I think Ethel is over-due her comeback, and it will only take someone like Lily Allen using it to get people taking it seriously again. After all, when Lily was born, her name was languishing in the Old Lady category; maybe that’s what’s prompting her (if the rumor is true) to select one that’s still there, so in twenty years time, her daughter will have the uber-trendy name of-the-moment that everyone is naming their baby
.
I so love it! It has such a sweet sound, and I think it’s pretty on trend, actually. I’d be surprised to see Eunice at this point, but not Ethyl. I say look out for Myrtle and Eunice, just the same!
I don’t think it needs a classic middle name to avoid hipster cliche– it’s not really a clunky, cool-because-it’s-ugly name with it’s soft beginning and -l ending– so I’d love to see it paired with Meadowlark, Azalea, Rue, Almandine, Omena or Vrai. It also makes a fantastic balance for any middle name that might otherwise venture into hippie cliches, like Moon and Butterfly, especially with a second middle name behind them.
Such a pretty sounding name; I’m so glad to see it, and I sure hope there are siblings!
Ethel Azalea is surprisingly appealing!
OMG! My cat is named Ethel!! Named after Ethel Rosenberg.
Love it. <3
I seriously hope that this is true because I am an absolute lover of both Ethel and Mary! Maybe a little bit of celebrity stardom could see Ethel picking up a little bit
I’d love to love this name, but Ethel reminds me of the “I Love Lucy” character, who was characterized by being Lucy’s comedic yet frumpy sidekick. It’s hard to shed that association.
I think this is right on the money. It seems perfect for her.
Effie could be a cute nn.
It doesn’t really surprise me she’d go for a name like this. She mocked strange celeb baby names on Twitter, but she’s Lily Allen, she couldn’t go in by half. She had to go all the way old fashioned. And I don’t mind Ethel Cooper; she’ll have a chance to blaze a bit of a trail with that name.
Effie would be a really cute nickname or Ettie even. I want to like Ethel but have an irrational dislike of all names that include that ‘th’ noise, I love Mary though and have recently promoted her to my favourites list. She’s such an old-fashioned sounding back-to-basics classic.
Confirmed (ish)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2082042/Lily-Coopers-mother-Alison-reveals-singers-baby-named-Ethel-Mary.html