Hypothetical names in a vacuum

[SummaLuvin]

Favourite boys and girls names if you were naming in a vacuum. No pretentious or chavvy connotations. No links to historical crimes (like Myra). No spelling or pronunciation issues. No obvious, but horrible, nicknames. No ‘bad’ meanings or connected stories (like Delilah). Just names you love that you couldn’t use.

Mine
Diana - still feel the Princess Diana connection it too strong, plus hate nn Di
Margarita - I love it, but most people disparage due to cocktail and pizza, and I don’t feel strongly enough to lump my child with it
Valentina - hate nn Val and Tina

Constantine - too ‘pretentious’ further exacerbated by our surname
Sacha - too Russian considering we have no Russian heritage, and couldn't use Alexander with Sacha as nn as there is an Alex in immediate family

[CatsArePeople]

Dravis (Drah-vis). I keep it for naming videogame characters.

[Fivemoreminutes1]

Alexa

[toastofthetown]

Boys:
Benedict - love the full name, but Ben is blah to me
Jean-Baptiste - I'm not French and have no connection to France
Lysander - too pretentious (to everyone else, I still love it)
Stellan - love it, but sounds bad with my surname

Girls:
Alice - way too popular for me, even though it's lovely
Junia - sounds just like Junior in my non-rhotic accent
Pandora - box connotations probably too strong, notwithstanding the jewellery brand
Vita - vetoed by husband due to a reference no-one in this country would even care about

[curlymacv]

Boys:

Dmitri - I have zero connection to Russia/Eastern Europe
Finbarr - lack of Irish connection
Dorian - the Oscar Wilde connotations!

Girls:

Juniper - love the sound of it
Artemis - again, just the sound. A big name to saddle a child with though
Constança - too fancy for me and I feel a bit odd using it even though my heritage is Portuguese!

[Riverlee]

Roderigo - loved the name since studying Shakespeare at school, but no Italian connection so would seem odd

BJorn - always wanted a Scandinavian name, and felt this would be known (due to Bjorn Borg). Wasn’t brave enough.

Leo - considered Leo, then Tony Blair named his son Leo and thought it would become popular or there was a link, not happened (and partly regret not using it).

Rowena - loved this name after first discovers it from the book, Seal,Morning -Rowena Farre. Only had boys,, so never used it,

[whatausername]

Lilith
Aram
Hatshepsut
Georgette
Ethel
Virginia
Riley

[refraction]

Madeleine
Ghislaine

[HainaultViaNewburyPark]

Helena - too many ways of pronouncing it (one of which I hate)
Julia - really dislike the nn Jules
Madeleine - just doesn’t work with our surname (far too alliterative)
Persephone - wasn’t brave enough to use it

Diego - no Spanish heritage
Erasmus - wasn’t brave enough to use it
Ivo - too many potential ways of pronouncing it (some of which I didn’t like)
Thierry - no French heritage

[EishetChayil]

I absolutely adore the name Courtney.

[Mum2Be36]

I would have chosen Nina or Eva if I had had a girl, but also like Emmeline.

For a boy I love Noah or Rory but wasn’t allowed them.

[itssquidstella]

Salvador
Godfrey
Montmorency
Algernon

Loveday
Dolores

[nansbigpants]

Floella- Loved Floella Benjamin on TV when I was very small and still think she's brilliant. But I am very, very pale skinned, as is my DD so I would have worried it seeming odd, or it being deemed cultural appropriation. I also dreamed of looking like FB when I grew up- which was obviously never going to happen!

Lucifer- love the sound of the name but very obvious connotations

[Mumofgirls2017]

Delilah (bible)
Clover and Flora (butter)
Evelina (hospital and don’t like Evie)
Ramona (sounds like remoaner)
Ophelia (sounds like I feel your, Shakespeare character)
Minnie (mouse, slang)
Darcy (spelling)
Cassiopeia (just too much!)

Clarence, Walter, Sidney, Leonard, Lionel, Cedric, Claude, Clyde, Herbert, Kenneth… too old man
Kai (rooney)
Forest (gump)
Titus, Thor, Zeus

[JNGO21]

Elwood - I love it but can't use it with our surname
Diego - No Spanish links but it's super cool
Sage - Too "hippy" and can't use with our surname but I think it sounds nice
Tiger - Again, not with our surname and also not really a name (even though I like it!)
Aldy - like Aldi..

This is a fun game! I also love how some people just don't care and will name their child whatever they want anyway.

[whatausername]

Bellflower
Lavender
Esmerelda

[SummaLuvin]

Why not Dolores @itssquidstella, it's on my list. Is it because of characters like Lolita, and Umbridge in Harry Potter? Or something else I don't know?

[CakeRattleandRoll]

Boys:
Osian
Caspar
Tycho
Jory
Tristram
Lachlan

Girls:
Tirion
Arianwen
Jacquetta
Corrisande
Elspeth
Juniper

[itssquidstella]

@SummaLuvin Mostly because of the meaning, and because I don't have any Spanish heritage!

[CaffiSaliMali]

For me it's names like Constantin, Katya and Anastasia - I have no Russian heritage.

Morven - don't have enough Scottish heritage.

Aneirin, Taliesin and Esyllt - I have have the Welsh heritage and am from a Welsh speaking family but am a Welsh learner myself and live in England so they feel a bit 'much'. Especially compared to names like Alys and Mari and Tomos and Harri.

[Allthesefolks]

Esmerelda - so pretty but it’s just too much!
Brigitte - I love it and Bridget is a family name but doesn’t seem like a child’s name, plus we’re not European

[Lissie87]

Astra and Sierra - if only they weren’t cars
Dandelion - not brand enough
Catkin - likewise