Which names are would you consider 'too posh/try-hard/odd' to be used?

Bandwithering, yes that makes good sense. Sorry, I had misunderstood you. Nothing wrong with 'ordinary' if the names tick all the right boxes and work for you, by the way.

EllenJane, sorry if I came across as rude, but I do get a little offended when people start threads asking people for names that are 'too odd' to be used. I wish people were a little more open minded about different names.

ps, i expressed myself badly in my post at 11.29.11. Instead of 'So I tried very hard to come up with names that have an ordinary vibe' I should have written 'So I tried very hard, only to still end up with names that have an ordinary vibe'.

but, fwiw, I think that's not unusual.

Nothing is wrong with it at all tammy... but although my children's names might make you yawn, they went with the sur name, they worked in England and in Ireland, they weren't in the top, well, 80 anyway,,,, they went with each other, none of my cousins' children had these names, or my neighbours' children or my friends' children. My children's father had taste that was more conservative than mine. so it was actually very hard to come up with the names that would probably make you say 'oh. right'.

dykwim!?

Hi Sophies, I think I meant to respond more to tammy234 and her statement:

Personally I'd much rather meet a little Monty, Cassius, Quentin, Lucinda or Felicity than yet another Charlie, Alfie, Jack or Ellie.... (yawn).

It seemed just as rude as the laughter at some of the less popular names.

Yes, I agree with you Ellen. I'm sure most parents try very hard to find the right name for their child, whether the name happens to be widely used or rarely used.

But I am responding to the OP who is asking people to list names that they find 'unusable' (even 'laughable')- and many of us have children with those names.

I would react equally annoyed if an OP asked for people to list names that they found boring and overused and hence unusable.

But it is equally insulting to presume that those who prefer some of the more popular names, in the top 50 or higher, haven't tried hard to find a name they truly love, that suits their family. They are sure their child won't be teased for their name, at least, and these names are popular for a reason, they are just lovely names.

And to answer the op, I know a lovely Lucinda (known as Lucy) and also quite like Arabella (although it's maybe a bit too girly/frilly for me).

We have a ds with a name mentioned above and both he and us love his name. He has never been teased and loves being the only one in his school .

I also don't get why some adults are so concerned about 'being different' or 'trying too hard' . Kids are much more relaxed about different names - our London school has names from all over the world and no one bats an eyelid.

Regarding the class thing, if 'posh' (whatever that means) people don't use 'posh' names anymore then these names are no longer 'posh' and the more 'normal' people use them, the more 'normal' they become, no?

But what is wrong with un-ordinary? As long as the name is not 'silly' or teaseworthy why does it need to be 'ordinary'?

i tried very hard as well, but the names are quite ordinary. Ordinary but not used very often if that makes sense. So I tried very hard to come up with names that have an ordinary vibe.

I am really surprised at some peoples' narrow minded views. Surely the whole point of naming someone/something is to identify him/her. So choosing a name already used by thousands others won't really achieve this without having to add a modifier (or initial etc). Secondly, the name should sound nice together with the surname as well as work well in several languages (well, in our case given dh and my backgrounds).

We actually tried VERY hard to find suitable names for our children - it was not easy .

So why on earth would you NOT 'try hard' or not choose a name outside of the top 100 or even 250? Kids are pretty accepting of (most) names, but it seems a lot of adults (or mumsnetters) are very narrow minded, and I hope they don't pass their views on to their children.

Personally I'd much rather meet a little Monty, Cassius, Quentin, Lucinda or Felicity than yet another Charlie, Alfie, Jack or Ellie.... (yawn).

I know of an Alaric, pronounced AL-ar-ic.

It's the first I believe (at least that's how they say it on Vampire Diaries, which is the only place I've ever heard it said out loud )

Alaric is cool, is it a-LAR-ic or AL-aric?

My family (firmly middle class) has some great names - both my mum and MIL are Dorothy's although everyone knows my MIL as Dollar - I'm an Isabella from a time when it was really rare. My brother is Alaric, but everyone calls him Bil. My children are Beau and Kitty. And I have a brand new baby cousin called Wilfred. So anything goes really - I think you just grow into your name and if people are going to take the mickey, they'll do it regardless of what your name is.

My first pet, a goldfish, was named "Horatio" by my father - who used to like calling me or my sister "Arabella Higginbottom" fairly randomly too !
Hope he's not reading this, outing me and de-coding all my other contributions

• Like cracking the enigma code

do it! do it! do it! Horatio has style.

Horace is very difficult to carry off, really very difficult. Someone will be on in a flash to tell us in fact their son carries the name off beautifully, thank you very much I realise this

Oswald. I find it so hard to judge that name on its own merits because I've just recently watched the Oswald Mosley film with his twattish wife Diana Mitford etc and I cannot separate atm the name from the blackshirt character.

I would out myself in a moment if I told you the others!

It's after Nelson. Family Naval connection and deliberately chosen to complement DH's nationality, not intentionally posh/try hard.

Yes, I need to know the other names!

I could use Horatio as a middle name, but not as a first name. It would be shortened to Horace, obviously, and we just couldn't carry that off.

(Although I have a good friend who has a DS called Oswald. Maybe they could play together?)

do you also want to know Lynette what his other middle names are?! That is definitely a bit on the posh side frak. Horatio has something. Definitely has something that Horace does not IMO

I do have a tree called Horace though, if that counts for anything. Despite my efforts (yes I admit to not wanting it), it refuses to die. There are a pair of them - Horace and Benjamin - very resilient

You are obviously posher than me, fraktious!

Oh dear. One of DS's middle names is Horatio

almost anything is alright for a middle name though, isn't it?

alasdair

My ex middle name was horatio!