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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Pretentious names?

67 replies

Linguaphile · 01/06/2014 08:02

When choosing a name, did you write off any for the pretension factor? As I am not English, the idea of a name sounding 'too posh' is new to me... I have my fair share of sociocultural connotations attached to names, but none of that particular variety. Just curious as to what names (if any) you would avoid because they sound pretentious?

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SquirrelledAway · 01/06/2014 17:16

I do think there is a certain amount of social climbing involved with names - I always have a hmmm moment if I see that Dave and Debbie have called their children Tristan, Gioconda, Utah and Maximus.

Alisvolatpropiis · 01/06/2014 15:05

People have actually rolled their eyes at me before . Thing is I don't like them because they're "posh" sounding, I like them because of the sound/meaning.

My dp has started coming up with inventive reasons why we can't use certain names. I've let him think I've conceded one but really it's just because I've realised the name sounds awful with our surname

Original poster

Linguaphile · 01/06/2014 14:47

Ha ha Alisvolatpropiis, my DP tells me the same thing! In truth, the reason I bring it up is because someone told me the other day in a conversation about baby names that our children's names were 'quite posh' (and it wasn't a compliment...). Rather annoying.

OP posts:

Alisvolatpropiis · 01/06/2014 14:32

My dp tells me I like pretentious names all the time, so clearly it isn't something that would bother me

ThaneOfScunthorpe · 01/06/2014 14:13

I agree with Leggings. If you judge a name for being pretentious then you'd be someone whom I'd give a wide berth.

Just choose the name you like, OP.

Nunyabiz · 01/06/2014 14:04

We choose names to deliberately sound pretentious
The more pretentious the better.
DH loves 'Beauregard' or 'Reginald' haha! At first we would suggest jokingly, but now we actually think... Yep... Something ironic about us uncouth, uncivilised, interloping colonials naming our children whatever the hell we like.

poppydaisy · 01/06/2014 13:58

Sorry pretentious

poppydaisy · 01/06/2014 13:57

Agree with leggings.

Also, most upper class names slowly move downwards and become mainstream - lots of evidence in a great book called Freakonomics.

Examples include Henry, Sebastian, Quentin, Hugo, Arabella, Aurelia and Seraphina - all becoming fairly mainstream.

But most importantly, choose a many you love - I happen to love 'pretensions' names - I find them elegant, classic and timeless.

Leggingsandtrainersnonono · 01/06/2014 13:12

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Leggingsandtrainersnonono · 01/06/2014 13:10

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scarletforya · 01/06/2014 11:39

Ditto EyelinerQueen

Rupert for example! It's hilarious to us! Rupert! Ho ho!

MardyBra · 01/06/2014 11:31

There are some names which just scream "upper class", like Torquil or Jocasta, which are not mainstream or usable without risking some ridicule. Other names, like Hugo or Arabella, used to be UC but are fine to use now imo.

There's also another element of pretension imo, where people are "trying too hard". Personally I loathe Atticus, for example. To me it screams of someone trying to say "I'm an individualistic, creative liberal", but in fact it says "I'm trying to show you how clever I am because I read TKAMB for GCSE".

EyelinerQueen · 01/06/2014 11:28

I do.

I'm Irish and from a working class background. My brain automatically rejects all names that sound posh and/or stereotypically English.

The very thought of telling my family my child was called Antigone or Jonty makes me .

SoftSheen · 01/06/2014 11:27

I am English, and some examples of names which I like, but wouldn't use in real life, are Rupert, Ptolemy and Araminta.

NoArmaniNoPunani · 01/06/2014 11:26

If someone like me used a posh name I'd probably bring the name down rather than making my child sound posh :)

Kantha · 01/06/2014 11:25

My favourite boys' name won't be countenanced by DH because it is too posh.

DogCalledRudis · 01/06/2014 08:39

I'm not english either and i really don't grip that "too posh" or "too common" thing. Choose the name as you like

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