To be surprised by the names of the “posh kids” at DDs school

Actually you're right: I think that's true in the sense of using family names.

I was more meaning when people choose it to sound manly or important.

But you make a good point as perhaps all those Carters, Jensons and Madisons are named after relatives!

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (as she became) eloped with her lover to escape an arranged marriage with an Anglo-Irish gentleman called - I kid you not - Sir Clotworthy Skeffington.
Apparently Clotworthy was the surname of one of his ancestors. I think that used to be a thing - not picking a surname-type first name just because you liked it, but because it was a family name.

A young Rafferty I know has a cousin called Jayden…
pretty sure it’s not considered posh!

I kind of agree. But then Lucinda isn't of the "plain Jane" variety of name that some on here would contend is necessary to be posh.

I think it's more that a name can't be posh if it's made-up or adapted as a name from a place, surname or brand name

Well I mean there obviously is from different cultures… I know a Spanish Lucinda who you would identify as working class.

Ain't no working class kid in this world called Lucinda

Just an observation

I actually think it's a bit lax of any parent to think "oh I like x name but we're not 'good enough' to use that." Of course consider the ramifications in the context of where your child will grow up, but beyond that a name can be used by anyone.

What I am not so keen on is trying to make a child stand out by making it up or plucking a name out of obscurity for the purpose of being different as a kind of "look at me." Because actually it isn't look at me; it's look at my child and the child might not enjoy that. We all find ways to stick out if we desire to do so, but it ought to be a personal decision by the individual, not one thrust upon them. Children normally like to be similar to others, and it can take maturity before we are ready to stand apart.

But if it's a traditional name that is recognised as a name, then why not?

I agree with you there. Why the hell can’t anyone who wants to call their child Hugo or Jackson or Monty or Jim? If you like a name, you get to use it without being accused of social climbing or damaging your child’s life chances!

DS best friend is Hugo, in their early teens so not a recent name trend. When DS started mentioning Hugo I did assume he was a posh/upper class boy. Hugo lives in the local council estate and is from a single parent family. Lovely lad but definitely not from what many would imagine a Hugo being from.

It was a bit of a light-hearted comment making the point that names do get passed about, country to country and class to class. It's the ones that stay firmly put in a certain milieu that tend to be a bit less "classy."

😂 Yes, but that’s not where William got the name from, as the post I was replying to suggested.

Well, you were implying that Louis wasn’t a traditional royal name. I mean, obviously it depends how far back you’re going, but it’s been used by the British royal family for a long time. I’m not sure where you’re drawing the line on traditional v foreign!

But as you say the rest of them are just using whatever names they like. Good, and also surely irrelevant to the rest of us anyway. They’re just a family.

I work in a school (non teaching role) in a more wealthy area, with the odd 'council estate' thrown in. I have never seen any pretentious named children. It's all fairly normal - Amelia, Georgia, Sophie, Stan, James, Henry, Harry, Toby, Isla, Lily - there's not been a Tarquin in sight!!

I believe it was also quite popular amongst French royalty!

It is!!😂

Yes it is. I'm not sure that contradicts my comment though?

Yes, Duchess of Somerset, and she was considered a candidate for Queen of England, as successor to Elizabeth I.

Louis is one of William’s own middle names. I posted above - it’s a traditional German royal name and was given to William in honour of his father’s uncle, Louis Mountbatten.

The royal family has Archie, Isla, Mia, Lucas, Ernie which are all common as anything where I live.

Also it is interesting to note the current Royal family of "breeding age" or thereabouts seem to have purposefully departed from trad royal names, apart from William - though even Louis is a tad "forrin." And actually Charlotte came into England by way of cross pollination from their European relatives.

I can’t remember how to do links but this article was in the Mail yesterday and surprisingly many of the most popular names were in the top ten in several social classes, based on occupations, albeit in slightly different positions.

This is the most sensible thread on here.

Posh names have always been adopted and copied by "the lower classes" (such as they are.

That means those traditional names can be either posh or anything else.

The names that aren't posh are the left-field Chanels and Jaydens.

Really posh people don't try to prove how posh they are by picking their childrens name to impress people.
At my Dcs Private school the kids were called very ordinary things like Thomas, William, George, Amelia, Holly etc

There's no actual evidence for this, you're just using names of people high up in the line of succession in the royal family, which is a bad example because they're mostly named after past English monarchs. And Harry is Henry. It's not anything to do with avoiding bullying or being relatable.

I disagree as well. I know several very posh Arabellas, one with aristocratic relatives and the other from a family who are behind one of the great (household name) British instituitons. And Theodore is connected with quite a lot of posh older American families so once you get an international dimension you end up with some posh Theodores (which is the one I am thinking of).