Opinions on these unusual names please

Elinor is an old alternative version of the name - perfectly correct. Jane Austen uses that spelling in Sense and Sensibility.

@poorolddaddypig are you thinking of Carmen Electra (ex Baywatch?)

Have never heard of Hebe (Heeb? Heebie?) Its awful. As is Hester. And if you want Elinor, why not spell it properly? I agree that quite alot of names are not at all unusual (varieties of Isobel, Kitty, Hattie (for Harriet) and Polly). Quite a few of them say "try hard" rather than "different". Pepper is horrendous, and dont like Gretel either.

I wouldnt know where to start on the boys names. Quite a few are really bizarre. Melchior or Wulfric?! Your child will be halfway through school before they can write their own name and you're setting them up for a lifetime of "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" and "how are you spelling that?"

I like most of the girls’ names, with the exception of Fern, Gretel (I prefer Greta), Electra and Harriet (I’ve never known a nice one!).
My favourites are Miranda, Flora and Elinor.

Your boys’ names are certainly varied. I love Angus, Caspar, Felix and Barnaby. Strangely, I also like Wulfric, which is certainly unusual but would suit a cool, confident type ... not so much a shy, retiring one.
The names I really dislike from your list are Ambrose, Bertram, Leon and Oswald.

For a girl I like Kitty, Hebe and Polly
For a boy I love Felix and Monty and also quite like Caspar

Please please please don't call your child Melchior, Oswald or Wulfric. Gretel, Pepper and Electra are almost as bad. The poor innocent child!

I really like Hester, Hebe and Harriet for girls and Felix, Giles and Barnaby for a boy.

Also, there is so much greater variety in names these days that it is very unlikely for any child to end up in a class with half a dozen of the same name. One or two, maybe.

Cordelia ok
Electra awful
Elinor. Nice but prefer the spelling Eleanor
Fern. Love
Flora. No
Gretel. No (I like Greta)
Harriet. Like
Hebe. Love
Hester. No
Isobel. Love
Kitty only if it’s short for Katherine
Miranda. Ok
Pepper. Awful
Petra. Love
Polly. No
Xanthe. Ok

Ambrose. No
Angus. Love
Barnaby. Love (my favourite)
Bertram. No
Caspar. Ok
Cosmo. No
Duncan. Awful
Felix. No
Giles. No
Leon. No
Melchior. No
Miles. Ok
Monty. Ok
Oswald. Ok
Timothy. No
Vincent. Like
Wilfred. Like
Wulfric. No

I would go for Petra or Barnaby.

Really like Cordelia and Flora; Barnaby and Miles.

Obviously not Alastair with middle name Alexander!

My favourites:

Flora, Kitty, Miranda, Polly

Angus, Caspar, Giles, Miles

Suggestions:

Lucinda or Tessa?

Alastair or Rupert?

My daughter is a Harriet. I only know of 1 other toddler Harriet and it was outside the top 50 last year so it isn't popular as such but probably one of the most well-known names on your list. I love Hattie too but my daughter just isn't a 'Hattie' at all!

I have a newborn Polly. Very rarely heard of these days & the response has always been positive. Lovely to read that lots of you like it as I've never seen it been asked about on here (I always browse here but never posted as it was always gonna be our baby girl name)

I like them all, apart from Pepper.

Cordelia - like it v much
Electra - porn star name
Elinor - dull and dutiful name like Hannah, Martha etc
Fern - I like it, and love ferns
Flora - a bit frilly
Gretel - a bit house made of sweets
Harriet - like it
Hebe - I think there would be a lot of “no, Hebe, not Phoebe”
Hester - I prefer Esther
Isobel - v popular
Kitty - I like it a lot
Miranda - Love it
Pepper - no
Petra - a bit canine
Polly - like it a lot
Xanthe - Love it

Ambrose - wet
Angus - like it, love Gus
Barnaby - like it
Bertram - pompous, red trousers
Caspar - I know a few, is it on the rise?
Cosmo - more red trouser, prefer Jago
Duncan - not due a revival
Felix - chinless twerp
Giles - like it
Leon - like it a lot
Melchior - what did he bring again?
Miles - like it
Monty - the red trouser force is strong with this one
Oswald - too avian
Timothy - like it
Vincent - old man chic, not for me
Wilfred - only like Wilf
Wulfric - all a bit lady of the lake

@FizzyGreenWater my eldest DD (18.5yr old) is called Xanthe Alexandra 🤣

Love polly and xanthe

Cordelia - fine
Electra - awful
Elinor - fine
Fern - ok
Flora - fine
Gretel - awful
Harriet - fine
Hebe - awful
Hester - fine
Isobel - fine
Kitty - awful by itself, fine as a nickname for Catherine in case she doesn't want to be 'Kitty' as an adult
Miranda - awful
Pepper - horrendous
Petra - fine
Polly - I personally hate it, but nothing fundamentally wrong with it
Xanthe - awful, far too try-hard

Ambrose - awful. Custard.
Angus - fine
Barnaby - awful
Bertram - awful
Caspar - fine
Cosmo - horrendous. How will he ever get people to take him seriously with a name like that? You're naming a person & future adult, not a teddy bear.
Duncan - fine
Felix - lovely
Giles - not my taste, but fine
Leon - fine
Melchior - you must be joking, surely?
Miles - again, not my taste, but fine
Monty - I don't like it, but it's not as bad as Cosmo/Melchior
Oswald - Oswald Mosely, most notorious British fascist.
Timothy - lovely
Vincent - don't like it personally
Wilfred - fine
Wulfric - too try-hard

Polydora is awful - it's a worm.
Alienor? Is it just me who sees Alien?

Sorry but Cosmo makes me think of the all-you-can-eat buffet chain of the same name which I obviously have frequented too many times to associate it with a child’s name

Never heard of it.

I like Melchior. But the dim would be Mel which is a bit pants.

I love Angus and Cordelia

Sorry but Cosmo makes me think of the all-you-can-eat buffet chain of the same name which I obviously have frequented too many times to associate it with a child’s name

Melchior sounds like mulch, or a dastardly Harry Potter character

Wilfred is a no as we have a dog called Wilf

Hebe - how is this pronounced? Like heeby jeebies?

You do know that Elektra murdered her mother according to Greek mythology?
And that an Elektra complex refers to a female whose unresolved love for her father distorts her relationships with other men.

Xanthe and Felix are nice.

These are just my personal opinions, so please don't be offended.

Cordelia - I like this. Also love Cora and Delia, which are both shortened options.
Electra - It's OK, but does make me think electric.
Elinor - I love this but prefer the Eleanor spelling.
Fern - I quite like. Know a lovely girl named this.
Flora - Pretty. Less popular than Florence.
Gretel - I quite like, but prefer Greta.
Harriet - Quite like. Love Hattie.
Hebe - Not keen, sorry.
Hester - I prefer Esther.
Isobel - One of my favourites. Love Isabella.
Kitty - Love this. My favourite on your list.
Miranda - Not keen. Only met one and she didn't leave a pleasant impression.
Pepper - No.
Petra - Quite like this.
Polly - Love this! My favourite along with Kitty.
Xanthe - I like this, but some may struggle with pronunciation if they are not familiar with it.

Ambrose - I can't take to this one, sorry.
Barnaby - It's OK. I've never met one.
Bertram - It just makes me think of an old man, but could be shortened to Bertie which is cute for a little one.
Caspar - Quite like this. I've only ever known one. He'll be in his mid 40's now.
Cosmo - It sounds like a dog or cartoon character.
Duncan - Dislike, sorry. The only ones I know are middle aged/ old men.
Felix - I can only think of the cat.
Giles - Really like this. One of my favourites on your list.
Leon - I like this too.
Melchior - Wouldn't know how to pronounce.
Miles - Quite like this.
Monty - Dislike, sorry.
Oswald - Not keen.
Timothy - Middle aged.
Vincent - As above.
Wilfred - This is actually quite cute. I know of a little one called this and gets shortened to Freddie.
Wulfric - No, sorry.

Favourites are Kitty and Polly.
Giles from the boys list.

In what world is Pepper a good girl’s name?

I like:

Fern
Flora
Gretel
Harriet
Hebe
Kitty
Miranda
Polly

Ambrose
Angus
Timothy
Wulfric

Favourites are Flora and Ambrose.

Dexter and Brontë are my two. Also liked Pearl and Otis (now the dogs name)