Mumsnet's most loved baby names

olivia and Rosie always seem popular

*think

Juliet is always mentioned on here. Always, always, Juliet pops up. Personally I thing it sounds a bit wimpy.

I think names which are classics but not overused as best-liked here. Names disliked the most are American ones (like surnames as first names), nicknames used as the official name and unusual spellings of names.

Bloody Margot, Rory, Elizabeth. The lovely Hazel is occurring more though.

I think Wren an Quentin names may be inspired by fictional characters, so would have started fairly recently. They might not be ones you've heard in your area yet.

You also get the regional effect where a really unusual name gets used, then someone else uses it and it becomes more mainstream in that area, but not in other parts of the country.

Isn't Kobe swahili?

[quote Drunkenmonkey]@kirstenblest personally I don't think that's usually true. If someone asks about Charlotte or Alexander or Edward, they are usually mostly loved. You will get the odd person saying "that's dull" but the vast majority will like it and say things like "timeless, classic, strong" etc.

The names that get called "boring and dull" are usually the ones that are currently trendy and popular (Amelia, Eva, Sophia etc) because people get bored of hearing them I imagine (no disrespect to those names).[/quote]
Yes because MN attracts a certain type of poster - it is mainly aspirational white mums, who then soak in others opinions on what will happen if they give their child a non-classic name.

Timeless and classic aren’t really compliments on the name as such, they’re more objective observations that the name is one that has stuck around throughout history.

I’m not against traditional names at all (although I like them more for boys than girls), but I feel a lot of mumsnetters limit themselves in naming their child as the names they like are dismissed as something that will ‘date badly’ or is ‘naff’. It’s a shame as the name they float is often gorgeous but they end up settling for something plain.

My childrens names got slated by some people on MN! Haha but some people were really nice about them and liked them as much as I did.

Names like Sophia, Alice, Anna, Olivia.. I see them doing well all the time.
MN tends to not like more out there names imo

@kirstenblest personally I don't think that's usually true. If someone asks about Charlotte or Alexander or Edward, they are usually mostly loved. You will get the odd person saying "that's dull" but the vast majority will like it and say things like "timeless, classic, strong" etc.

The names that get called "boring and dull" are usually the ones that are currently trendy and popular (Amelia, Eva, Sophia etc) because people get bored of hearing them I imagine (no disrespect to those names).

I love the name Ottilie, I think it's very pretty and classically English.

It's originally German, the feminine version of Otto. Pronounced O-TEE-lee-eh

I've never met a real life Quentin of any age!

Really? I know three under age 12. And most people know of the illustrator Quentin Blake or film director Quentin Tarantino.

I, on the other hand, have never met a real life Wren, which is often suggested here.

Must be very regional!

But it's white middle class names that get a lot of stick too. Beige, boring, dull, bland etc.

Irish and Welsh names get love because of the need to give a nod to the child's heritage, then you get the arguments about spellings and pronunciations.

Reading through the posts, it's true that it's white middle class names that get a lot of applause.
When we say 'classic' what we really mean, is used historically by the white middle class and fit for a king or queen (Charlotte/Katherine/Alexander etc)
It's actually quite sickening to think of the level of unconscious racism and classism that occurs. It isn't intentional necessarily.

I saw the name Kobe torn to shreds once. A name with a lot of history in other cultures. Same goes for lots of names traditionally used by ethnic minorities.
My DH is Irish and really dislikes the English obsession with class, he wouldn't entertain a typical English middle class name, worse still if it was a royal type name (Henry/William etc) or a 'posh' name (Barnaby, Monty etc)
It was very difficult for us to find names that we both liked actually! Names can mean very different things to different people.

I don't love Marianne. I don't hate it but Anne seemed to be every other girl's middle name when I was at school, so it seems dull and like all the Julie Annes, Karen Annes and Kerry Annes, etc

Anne-Marie was quite popular in my age group, and despite it being hyphenated I don't think it's too bad, but the names run into each other a bit so it sounds like Amery.

Marianne is a good one. Everyone on Mumsnet loves Marianne. I think it's because it hits that sweet spot of classic, uncommon and has never been trendy so not dated. I love it.

Choosing names is usually a compromise between two people. I love a lot of these names, but my DP preferred more traditional names, so the actual names we used for our children were more common names that we both liked.

I wonder if a lot of the mumsnetters suggesting names like Otillie and Clementine or Atticus and Reuben would have liked to use these names but couldn't persuade their partners?

Benjamin always gets lots of love on threads

Someone always pops up to suggest Claudia

Also Marianne. I just don't get it

Sylvie

Samuel.

Esme, which I personally think just sounds so ugly

That's why I said I hadn't meant to put that at the end