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Baby names

'Weak' and 'strong' names for boys

27 replies

Comerscroft · 06/06/2008 08:40

My friend has just made a list of boys names she consideres to be 'weak', and therefore not for her.

Timothy (= timid or Timmy the dog)
Philip
Samuel (Sammy)
Benjamin (Benny)
Stephen
Alfred (Alfie)
Walter (the wimp from Dennis the Menace)
Charles (Charlie the chimp)
Henry
Maurice
Nigel
Alan
Ian

The names she considers 'strong' and acceptable, include

David
Andrew
George
John
Michael
Kenneth
Duncan
Grant
Craig
Fergus

I thought it was interesting theat the 'weak' names all have soft consonants, whereas the 'strong' names have hard consonants, and so sound more forceful.

OP posts:
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littlelapin · 06/06/2008 08:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dragonbutter · 06/06/2008 08:52

i think your right about the soft and hard consonants. i think some people just prefer soft/hard consonant names. i'm not convinced that they are linked to any particular personality type.

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jajas · 06/06/2008 09:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

msappropriate · 06/06/2008 09:09

what an odd thing to spend your time doing.

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MrsBadger · 06/06/2008 09:13

now Andrew was on my (mental, not actual) 'weak' list because of the inevitability of Andy, hence Pandy

weird how our different minds work, eh?

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MrsJohnCusack · 06/06/2008 09:56

snigger
Henry means 'home ruler' - not very weak really

Grant strong surely only because of the thug in EastEnders? Her 'strong' list looks like a roll call of 80s pop stars

also David is the name of my DH, possibly the sweetest, girliest, mushiest non-gay man you could ever wish to meet

Nevermind, at least she's having fun!

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PeachyWontLieToYou · 06/06/2008 10:05
  • pmsl


If my bil Andy is strong how come he lives with Mummy aged 4? And accepts her ban on girlfriends despite owning half the house?

And how come my 'weak' ds1 Samuel is stunning at Gym and was 'spotted' by a west end dancer over whitsun because of his gym and breakdancing (and has a school 1-1 for aggression (not so good obv)

What baloney!
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conniedom · 06/06/2008 10:05

I am not liking
David
Andrew
John
Michael
Kenneth
Duncan
Grant

or

Timothy
Benjamin
Stephen
Walter
Maurice
Nigel
Alan
Ian

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PeachyWontLieToYou · 06/06/2008 10:06

34 obv

4 would be ok (although my dh tried to leave home at 3!)

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Enid · 06/06/2008 10:08

I love the name David for a boy/man

a quazillion other people cant be wrong

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Heated · 06/06/2008 10:10

I understand what you friend means, we arrive at our preferences somehow.

Theo, Leo, Kai etc are popular now but they sound soft and pretty, a bit like Chloe, to my ear.

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VictorianSqualor · 06/06/2008 10:21

I wouldn't say Kenneth was particularly strong, not Fergus, whereas Benjamin, Samuel and Henry I would.

I also think Jonathan, Alexander, Adam, type names are quite strong sounding.

Whereas Blake (Which I love, but didn't use partly because I thought it was a bit wishy washy), Ashley, Christian, Owen etc sound quite soft to me.

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gooseberryfoolmoonfiend · 06/06/2008 10:24

owen means fair warrior! Not that soft

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ShowOfHands · 06/06/2008 10:26

If she likes strong then maybe she should go for something like Thor or Strontium.

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VictorianSqualor · 06/06/2008 10:31

Not the meaning, the sound.

Personally, I like what I class as 'proper little boys names'

Like Alex, Sam, James, Bobby, Daniel, Ben etc iyswim.

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ShowOfHands · 06/06/2008 10:38

I was joking.

It's all subjective. I would swap round half of the names on the OP's lists.

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VictorianSqualor · 06/06/2008 10:41

I was answering gooseberry, I kind of guessed you weren't serious

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gooseberryfoolmoonfiend · 06/06/2008 10:43

DS's family nickname is Odin...
(he has a 'soft' name but isn't!)

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ShowOfHands · 06/06/2008 10:49

Aah I see. Can't be too careful nowadays on Baby Names. I suggest Collander as a joke and tomorrow somebody trots off to name their son Collander Odin Trouser and I didn't explain adequately that

1 I was joking
2 It's really a girl's name

Anyway, isn't Rufus rather nice VS?

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newgirl · 06/06/2008 11:08

lets face it if the boy turns out to be buff, six foot plus he can be called precious and will get away with it.

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Quangot · 19/08/2018 21:45

Adrian, Justin, Crispin, Monty, Jonty, Adam, Simon, Robin, Tarquin, Quentin, Rupert, Benjamin, Dale, Heath, Isaac, Jeremy, Ptolemy, Oscar, Toby, Atticus, Leonard, Kit, Timothy, Piers, Albie, Orlando, Jasper, Percival, Damien, Rowan, Moses, Barnaby, Griffin, Harold, Horace, Reuben, Conrad, Lucas, Marcus, Gerald, Graham, Geoffrey, Roland, Desmond

Molly, Matilda/Tilly, Ellie, Mildred, Maud, Freya, Erin, Mia, Mya, Polly, Emma, Imogen, Bella, Ella, Faye, Tabitha, Lila, Seren, Sukie, Indigo, Zoe, Isobel, Imogen, Isla, Laura, Cora, Dora, Jemima, Joanne, Dawn, Celia, Rae, Sandra, Andrea, Cecily, Wendy, Tessa, Thea, Alice, Lettice, Candice, Libby, Lettie, Lottie, Hettie, Hattie, Kitty, Alice, Alicia, Ottilie, Nancy, Patsy, Betsy, Mitzi, Gail, Bonnie, Eden

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pipilangstrumpf · 19/08/2018 22:03

I agree and find names soft or weak that sound soft, like
Noah
Alfie
Timmy
Maurice
Harry
Heath

Whereas strong names are those with hard consonants like
Alexander
Quentin
John
Magnus
Lucian
Nathan

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Picknickers · 19/08/2018 23:10

Lucian should be on the soft side surely?

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pipilangstrumpf · 19/08/2018 23:14

See, I find Lucian strong (especially the -an ending)

Louie sounds very weak however,

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ARCHERMASTER · 02/02/2021 14:33

@Comerscroft My name is Benjamin, and I am ready to beat up anyone who tries to do the same to me. Does that sound like a weak person to you!? Besides, the name Ben means rich and wealthy. And so far I am on track. So what does that have to do with weak!!??

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