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Baby names

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

Original poster

What do you think of...

36 replies

MimiSunshine · 15/05/2016 17:08

We are debating names and for a boy my OH has come up with Marlin. I think I like it but need to roll it around a bit.
We like less common names but I wouldn't say we want anything too out there and I can't decide which this is.

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ThroughThickAndThin01 · 17/05/2016 19:50

It's awful.

septembersunshine · 17/05/2016 19:43

It sounds a bit wrong somehow. Like neither one name or another. It also looks like you have spelt another name wrong. Marlon looks better I think (and sounds it too - the 'lin' at the end of Marlin makes it sound more feminine then Marlon).

Original poster
MimiSunshine · 17/05/2016 17:21

I like Malin too which i understood to be a unisex name but more frequently used on girls than boys

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BertrandRussell · 17/05/2016 08:53

So because it sounds similar to a girl's name in one language it's fine for a boy in another?

PenguinWatch · 17/05/2016 04:39

It's similar to the Swedish girls name Malin. It wouldn't sound strange to me. I actually quite like it!

Imps9 · 16/05/2016 22:29

When I say it aloud, it sounds like I've mispronounced Marlon or Marlene. I'm not keen for that reason, but equally it's not a bad name at all.

ccsays · 16/05/2016 22:21

I think I would mishear it as Marilyn (or Merlin).

LunaLoveg00d · 15/05/2016 22:42

Great name. For a fish.

It's a try too hard mix between Martin or Merlin.

Bogburglar99 · 15/05/2016 19:09

Another one wondering if Martin is due a revival? Also has a nature vibe if you forget saints and think of the lovely birds.

MiddleClassProblem · 15/05/2016 19:06

But it dies point out that people may hear it and think Marlon but that happens with lots of names tbh

MiddleClassProblem · 15/05/2016 19:05

Marlon Brando

LastTripToTulsa · 15/05/2016 19:04

Well it reminds me of Marlin Brando

DerelictMyBalls · 15/05/2016 19:02

I quite like Marlin.

Original poster
MimiSunshine · 15/05/2016 18:44

🙄 Nancy is a goats name isn't it? 😉
Seems like Marlin is either 'duh it's a fish' or not common but doesnt blow anyone away. I dont think either of those bother me

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MiddleClassProblem · 15/05/2016 18:16

Hilarious

BeauGlacons · 15/05/2016 18:10

I think you are more likely to get a kid called Billy. That's it, Billy for a boy, Nanny for a girl. But I think the thread's about naming a child.

HeteronormativeHaybales · 15/05/2016 18:08

Martin is nice though, and retro in a good way.

HeteronormativeHaybales · 15/05/2016 18:08

I wouldn't. It's not nice enough to balance out the annoyance of being called Martin or Merlin and being subjected to fish jokes all his life.

MiddleClassProblem · 15/05/2016 17:55

Well equally you get a kid called Robin but not pigeon or blue tit

Original poster
MimiSunshine · 15/05/2016 17:52

Middle I agree Merlin is too associated with Wizard.
I'm pretty certain the name came before the fish and we like Delphine for a girl which means Dolphin so maybe we're more fishy than I realised 😄

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RaeSkywalker · 15/05/2016 17:48

I don't think it's too 'out there' at all.

BeauGlacons · 15/05/2016 17:46

It is indeed but so is a shark or a dolphin. You wouldn't call a child koi or turbot. I like Albert though.

MiddleClassProblem · 15/05/2016 17:43

Re the fish thing, it's a pretty magnificent fish. Old man and the sea, this big beauty he was chasing... Pretty poetic

Original poster
MimiSunshine · 15/05/2016 17:42

Marlon is a definite no which does slightly put me off Marlin as again it's suggested as its origin name

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BeauGlacons · 15/05/2016 17:39

I think Merlin is less out there and would consider it If I were having a boy now. I'd also consider Arthur and Gawain for that matter.

Caspar, Hector, Alysious = same genre as Merlin.

Jason, Connor, Jordan = same genre as Marlin/Marlon/Marvin.

Subtle nuance