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[Opinions] Heather
Do you think Heather is very dated? It's almost out of the top 1000 now. I like that because it has fallen so quickly that it might sound fresh again in a few years.I love it's strong, no-nonsense quality. It is very down to earth and I find it refreshing how it sounds nothing like the frilly, super feminine names that are trendy now such as Isabella, Sophia and Amelia. I think it stands out because it's a girls name ending in an -er sound.The plant is very rough but still beautiful in its way. It's not as glorious as other flower names such as Rose or Lily. I still think it has its charm.I think of a very sweet girl who doesn't wear much make up and is smart and a lot of fun and very outdoors-y.But I guess many think of a cheerleader type? Opinions on Heather?
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I do find it really dated, probably because I knew quite a few growing up. It just sounds tired and overdone. It's a bit too wispy for me as well.
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It's pretty but I do find dated and a bit preppy.
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True, there aren't many little girls in preschools or schools these days named Heather. It's their teachers, otoh, who are named Heather. It is dated although you're right. The plant is lovely. It's probably one of the prettier flowers/plants used as names.My perception of Heather is of a cheerleader (although I've never cheered with any), someone popular, friendly and slightly, slightly ditzy or flighty (blame that on the media, though). I've known several Heathers in real life and some fit this stereotype and some didn't.
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I like Heather. I think it's spunkier than Isabella, Sophia, or Amelia. It has an edge.
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I agree except that I feel that Amelia also has a bit of an edge. Actually Heather and Amelia make a good sister set.
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I don't think so. I think Amelia is whiny and weak.
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I don't dislike it, but to me it does have a bimbo image, and also a downmarket image. It's also dated, but not the same way that I think Mary or Anna is dated. mary and Anna seem dated because they've been so popular for so long that they seem not so much dated as "default" names. Heather, along with Brittany, are dated because they were so wildly popular in such a small window of time, and fell so fast.Ashley and Madison have also been popular within a fairly narrow window of time so far, but they haven't fallen anywhere near as fast as Heather and Brittany.Heather doesn't seem fresh either, to me anyway. So many Heathers are of an age to be having kids themselves.
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I like it, and although Heather was really popular in the 70's and 80's, I don't find it too dated. It would be refreshing to meet a little girl named Heather these days, and not too long from now, it will seem even fresher.I don't recall ever meeting a cheerleader named Heather. Most of the Heathers I have met have been quiet and kind, but I can imagine a more outgoing girl named Heather. I think it suits various personalities.
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In 2008, we acquired next door neighbors who had a then two-year-old daughter named Heather. Recently, I had the opportunity to see the little girl again. She's now six years old. I assure you, knowing a two-to-six-year-old Heather was anything but refreshing. I'm still immersed in the twenty-to-forty year-old Heathers, whose existence forces me to hear the name frequently, so I don't see how the age of a younger Heather can give any refreshment to the name.
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Really dislike Heather. I find it dated and rather ugly, and despite meeting an adorable little girl bearing this name recently I still can't shake the image of a painfully shy nerd type.
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Well I have known or met very few women named Heather. I was born in 87 which was its last year in the top 10. But I oddly have met very few Heather's. I've gone to school with either none or maybe one in my age group.But I know one Heather my age kind of well. My cousin who I am close to, one of her best friends is named Heather. She's friendly, nice, quirky, quiet, and artistic. She wears glasses and mostly vintage clothing, and has natural strawberry blonde hair that is more towards the strawberry side.I named Heather the large Beanie Baby stuffed animal I got from my mom on Valentine's Day when I was in 6th or 7th grade. I liked the name because to me it seemed uncommon, romantic, and sweet. Later I got a regular sized Beanie Baby that looked exactly the same. I named her Rose and she was Heather's daughter. IMO Heather and Rose have a similar feel to them. Lavender and Heather also have a similar feel but Lavender is grey-purple and Heather is dark and light pink.Heather makes me think of the beautiful hearty pink flowers of the same name that you'll find in the mountains while hiking. Heather has a very romantic softness to it while at the same time making me think of rugged wild landscapes. I've always liked the name Heather and I never associated the name with cheerleaders. I only saw the movie Heathers just a few years ago. It was an okay movie.When I think of girls named Heather I think of my cousin's friend or the Heather who owns a little artisan cheese making business with her partner, who sells her cheese at the Farmers Market in Olympia. I always would buy some cheese from her when I went to the Market. I loved their cheese curds with fresh garlic and parsley. I also loved their chevre and their blue.

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This message was edited 9/8/2012, 11:41 AM

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Yes, Heather is dated. It's feels just as dated as Jennifer to me. I don't think it will come back for a long time.I don't really like Heather and I don't find it refreshing at all. When I think of refreshing, non-frilly names I think of names like Margaret and Ingrid.
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Hmm okay. I don't find Margaret refreshing because it's still popular. It's number 100-something. I really like it, though.
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It's not dated. It's retro!Seriously though ... it's on my favorites list. But it's far enough out of date that I think it would be a bother for someone born today to bear. That would not stop me from wanting to use it because, hey, I put up with a name 25 years past its prime for MY whole life so far and it hasn't killed me! (but I did not enjoy it - so if I considered that factor, it would actually make me hesitate to use it. It doesn't bother me that Heather is dated, but it's a problem that it is dated just the wrong amount.)It doesn't have any sweet rustic image for me. It still sounds middle class and urban/suburban, like the girls I knew growing up who were named it (they were named in the earliest cohort of Heathers, early 70s). Could be a cheerleader, or not. But it's a darned nice modern name, I agree it is simple and natural and unfrilly - and grows up ever so gracefully, IMO unlike something such as Piper or Taylor. I put it in the same category with Summer, Amber, and Jasmine - except it suffers more from having been heavily used for a short time, and is maybe a few years "older" than those.

This message was edited 9/7/2012, 11:24 PM

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Yeah, I put it more in the word/nature name category than the ditzy blonde cheerleader category as well. I think the problem could be solved by using a more modern middle name. I'm thinking Heather Juliet, Heather Isabelle, Heather Zoe - something like that. If she really had a big problem with Heather she could use her middle name or put it on applications or whatever.
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It still is a bit dated to me. But I prefer it to other popular names of that time like Tiffany, for example.
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It has fallen very quickly but I don't think it's going to sound fresh again for a long, long time.I don't have the same impression of it that you do. I've never thought of it as strong and no-nonsense. It seems flighty and insubstantial to me.I just don't like the sound of it and it was overused so I'm so sick of it and I don't see why it was so popular to begin with and I'm fed up with it and I'm glad it's sunk like a stone.
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