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Baby names

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

Original poster

This is driving me crazy... Please give me your (very honest!) opinion

153 replies

ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 16:13

Boy's names... I thought they were sorted. (I was wrong. Let's hope the girl's names stay sorted...)

Jonathan
Anton
Antonin (I prefer Antonin, tbh)
Julius
Cedric
Maximilan
Gregory

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dotdotdotmustdash · 07/04/2017 20:51

I went to school in central Edinburgh in the 1970s with the some of the children of Uni Lecturers - we had a Gulliver (Gilly), a Julian and a Titus in my class. Edinburgh can cope with unusual names, but Cedric is a step too far.

dotdotdotmustdash · 07/04/2017 20:49

Really? Shoot. May I ask why? I mean, what's different about Scotland and Cedric?

In my almost 50 years of living and working in the Edinburgh area I have never, ever, come across a Cedric. It sounds so very 'English' that it would set your little boy apart in ways that might not be beneficial to him.

Gregor would awesome, Cormac is ace and I think most Scots and Irish would have no problem with 'their' names being used. There are some very posh Hamishes around! The poshest Scot I knew was called Menzies (commonly nn is 'Ming'). There are lots of others great names.

ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 07/04/2017 20:44

Hector is very posh Scottish : so it could work with your rather unusual name taste! Old fashioned but with maybe a dash of hipster. Same for Hamish and Angus I would say. Hugh also...

I went to school with lots of Ferguses. The posh ( I mean like aristocrats!) English did adopt all the names above and Fergus for quite some time.

I still like Cormac... but it's still Irish!!
So what definitely wouldn't work is telling people in Scotland that you wanted to give your DS a Scottish name and then telling them you chose Cormac.

Original poster
ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 20:43

I also scratched of Julius. I hate the nn "Julee"...And I don't really like the name Julian.

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Original poster
ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 20:35

sugar

Aww, thanks.

DH just suggest Hector.

So...
Hector
Anton(in)
Jonathan
Gregory

I don't think we're "Scottish enough" to pull off Cormac, are we?

ILike

I've never met a Fergus. But it does remind me of supernatural. Maybe not, tbh... But it is a pretty nice name, thank you :)

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Sugarpiehoneyeye · 07/04/2017 20:28

Chippie, go for Jonathan, it's a good strong name, with great nick names too !

purplepaisley · 07/04/2017 20:27

I like Jonathan - I know 2 adult ones through work, one is known as just Jo, the other is Jonny. It's a well known name that doesn't seem to be too widely used at the moment.

Jonathan Julius kind of works, so long as your surname isn't Jones or another J - that might be a bit too much alliteration!

Gregory is really nice too.

thebakerwithboobs · 07/04/2017 20:16

Hamish' Scottish names are great! I can't see anyone being offended as long as you don't want to call him Sturgeon....

ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 07/04/2017 20:11

Where in Scotland is the job btw?

If Edinburgh , whole different rules apply Wink

ps Fergus??

Lucked · 07/04/2017 20:10

Cormac is great. Would you consider Conrad.

ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 07/04/2017 20:06

I guess maybe you move in circles where unusual names are common! Which is fine! And more usual in London :)

I hear all sorts of names I didn't think real people had on MN!

Cormac is great! I do think some people might think it an affectation for non Scots to use Scots names but not generally. And Scottish names are widely adopted and quite cool across England - so much so that Callum (oh how the double l makes me wince!) and Cameron are v popular names everywhere. And Rory and Ewan to a lesser extent.
But Cormac is Irish ;)

Original poster
ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 19:45

What about Cormac?

It's Scottish, after all. Would it sound weird in the "rest" of the UK? Is it weird to use a Scottish name when neither DH or I are Scottish?

A friend of mine once said something about them not giving an Irish name to their children (her name is apparently traditionally Irish) because of anti-Irish sentiments. Would that be an issue with a Scottish name in the rest of the UK? Because of politics or Idk...?

(Btw, I'm not from the UK and I'm not trying to be offensive. And whilst DH is lovely he's a bit socially inept. So, he's pretty bad at guessing what may offend people...)

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Original poster
ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 19:40

This isn't juts about Scotland though. Those names would be unusual and potentially a bit 'precious' anywhere

Really? I know somebody that has sons called Wolfram and Terrence. I thought ours were very solid and normal. Oops Wink

Right... Maybe Julius as a middle name. (Although we wanted Peregrine, after DH's late Uncle. Or maybe Corvus, just because I like these names. But Julius Peregrine would work as 2 middle names, I suppose...).

So, mumsnet shortened the list, which is great...

Jonathan
Anton
Gregory
Antonin

That's the current list, I guess.

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ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 07/04/2017 19:38

But Cedrc doesn't sound strong to any of the rest of us! I think it's the lispy sibilant at the beginning..

I totally imagine it being said Sedwic in a whiny voice.

ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 07/04/2017 19:35

In most parts of the UK Anthony is pronounced Antony.

All the names, apart from Gregory sound just really - well- English. Scots tend to have a different Venn diagram of names! All the same really common ones like Jack and so on and then a fondness for Celtic names... so none of those.

It wouldn't be an issue of the boy wore his name with confidence. But most Scots don't go for 'drippy' names, for want of a better expression!

This isn't juts about Scotland though. Those names would be unusual and potentially a bit 'precious' anywhere..

Julius is also in Pulp Fiction!

Secret , I haven't met a baby any of those names!!

Original poster
ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 19:35

cece

Only Jonathan when in trouble. That's kind of cute. :)
DH has a friend called Jonty, I think I prefer Johnny as a nn. But Jonty would be fine as well.

I think Cedric (sigh! Such a lovely strong name!!) and Maximilian are out. I do like Maxim (also Maxime for a girl, btw), but I don't really love Max (I don't hate it, just not particularly keen).

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cece · 07/04/2017 19:32

I have a Jonathan and he is aka as Jonny. He's only Jonathan when he is in trouble. He is 13 now and says he loves it as it can be formal and informal just be changing between Jonathan and Jonny.

Original poster
ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 19:32

Right. It seems like Cedric wouldn't be a good choice.

Although... Seeing as, if we were to move to Scotland (currently very likely) DD's name may be seen as "weird"/"awful". So, would it be unfair to give DC2 a name that wouldn't cause any... issues? Or am I being weird? Confused

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DianeSelwyn · 07/04/2017 19:31

Max is a bit boring these days - so many of them in DC's primary & nursery classes. Maximilian slightly better but no one will ever call him that, they'll all shorten it to Max!

I really like Anton. And it suits all ages.

MangoSplit · 07/04/2017 19:30

I love Anton - nostalgic for me, as it was the name of my first love! Never heard of Antonin before.

I also like Jonathan.

SecretNortherner · 07/04/2017 19:28

Anton yes! I wanted that name for my lb, but oh said no Angry, antonin just doesn't look 'right' Maximilan (and it's variants) are quite popular at the moment, not sure if that would factor into your decision. Not sure I've ever met a baby Greg? I always associate it with an adult?, Cedric? Just no!

Original poster
ChippieFishieHorshie · 07/04/2017 19:24

ILikeBeans
I grew up in central Europe. Not Russia ;) But the th? I don't like it. So, no. Not Anthony...

I don't know about really dated names (for boys. For girls the granny name thing was very trendy, wasn't it?)
I just really like Jonathan.
But I think I prefer Gregory to Gregor (Gregor looks unfinished).

Would Jonathan and Gregory work in all parts of the UK? If Cedric and Maximilian don't... What about Antonin, Anton and Julius? Or would they also be most likely slagged at school?

(Btw, if Cedric would be an issue in Scotland. I suspect DD's name may be. ooops. Poor girl. well, it's too late to change it)

OP posts:
thebakerwithboobs · 07/04/2017 19:05

Jonathan is great and lots of opportunities for short versions-Jon, Jonny, Nat, Nate etc.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 07/04/2017 19:04

My DS is Max (he's 17 , its a gorgeous name suits any boy )

I liked Greg , there were two chefs on QVC years ago called Greg&Max who I loved (Max was 10' tall, Greg was tiny red haired with a beard)

My favourite other boys names - Josh or Zac (DD would've been a Zac if she wasn't a girl)

ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 07/04/2017 19:03

Gregor might go down well in Scotland ; it's quite common.

I teach a boy called Maximilian and he hates his parents for it. Everyone just calls him Max so why bother with the -ilian?

In general, Scots are down to earth (especially compared to Londoners in many ways) and those names would seem so out of kilter, if you excuse the pun.

Cedric Diggory is the only good usage I can think of for that name!!

Is Antonin not a character in War And Peace? I think it's OK - if you're Russian!! Otherwise, why not just Anthony?

Have really dated names come back into fashion? I swear Jonathan hasn't been used since about 1987...and Cedric since about 1950!