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Baby names

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

Are there any names that you just can't imagine on a baby?

212 replies

TheNameNerd · 22/08/2022 12:13

Each to their own but I just can't picture a baby Frank. It seems such a harsh sounding adult name for a baby especially a newborn yet there have obviously been a lot of baby Franks but somehow I have a mental block when picturing it.

Does anyone else feel this way about a name?

OP posts:
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dmask · 27/08/2022 10:41

Barry, Gary, Jeff.

FiveDollarMilkshake · 27/08/2022 10:07

Gerald
Ian Grin

Joy
Gladys
Gertrude
Mavis

LadyEloise1 · 27/08/2022 09:57

DFOD · 27/08/2022 06:46

Ronald

Vera

Absolutely Smile

Cognacsoft · 27/08/2022 07:16

Alan
Keith
Brian
Phyllis
Cecil
Gladys

SuperGinger · 27/08/2022 07:08

DD is a Wendy, I love it but people often say to her she has an old lady name.

DFOD · 27/08/2022 06:46

Ronald

Vera

Sushi7 · 27/08/2022 03:16

Granny names are popular now but I still can’t imagine a baby Ivy or Elsie. Less popular granny names (but still rising in popularity) are Margaret and Dorothy. 60s and 70s names aren’t popular right now but then again, I didn’t think Ivy and Elsie would be in the top 15!

littleburn · 25/08/2022 14:45

Bernard

bruce43mydog · 25/08/2022 14:39

Eunice, pam, sylvia, jennifer, Joan, Ida, Edna, Moira

LadyEloise1 · 25/08/2022 14:02

Cedric
Cecil

Floomobal · 25/08/2022 12:00

DFOD · 24/08/2022 22:40

Eugene

Eugene and Ernest were on my list. Vetoed

DFOD · 24/08/2022 22:43

Virginia

DFOD · 24/08/2022 22:40

Eugene

wellingtonsandwaffles · 24/08/2022 07:36

Graham
Alison
Barry
Linda
Nigel

DFOD · 24/08/2022 07:31

Mavis

Sandra

Sonia

Tonia

Gerald

Vincent

DFOD · 24/08/2022 07:30

Roy

WandaWomblesaurus · 24/08/2022 01:20

It/Them/Zim

ScruffMuffin · 24/08/2022 01:07

It's a short name with a similar vibe to
Anna
Lucy
Beth
Faye
etc.

Slightly less common and maybe a bit cooler. Didn't suit a baby amazingly, but from preschool age onwards she has totally owned it. I've only ever met one other child with it since having her.

ScruffMuffin · 24/08/2022 00:59

Toosadtocomprehend · 24/08/2022 00:52

So basically this thread is about slagging off peoples choice of names or the choice of their parents !!
oh well crack on and enjoy!

Nope. Just mentioning names that we can't imagine on little babies, and discussing the cyclical nature of fashions.

FWIW, we chose a name that didn't suit a baby girl overly well, but she is going to be an adult far longer than she was a baby, and we named her with that in mind. I'm not into the grandparent names or surname names trends personally, but I'm so glad that others are. Life would be very monotonous if we all liked the same things.

Toosadtocomprehend · 24/08/2022 00:52

So basically this thread is about slagging off peoples choice of names or the choice of their parents !!
oh well crack on and enjoy!

ScruffMuffin · 24/08/2022 00:45

Marcipex · 24/08/2022 00:31

@ScruffMuffin my sister teaches a God.

I love the way that phrase works!

Marcipex · 24/08/2022 00:31

@ScruffMuffin my sister teaches a God.

mathanxiety · 24/08/2022 00:11

Neville, Richard, Dennis.

ScruffMuffin · 24/08/2022 00:05

Barry, Nigel, Godfrey (what would he get called for short? God?), Sheila, Tracey, Lesley. They are all parent and grandparent names though, so were clearly used for babies once upon a time.

I know brothers (one primary school age, the other a toddler) called Antony and Ian, and slightly older sisters Nora and Agnes. Some of those names sound very old-fashioned to my ears, but it's only a matter of time before they all come round again. I also know a little Mary, which makes a refreshing change from all the Bea, Bella, Ella, Emily, Amelie, Amelia, Evie kind of names.

When my DD was a baby (she's now a teenager), another mum at a baby group introduced her newborn DD as Ada. I thought it sounded SO frumpy at the time, but actually it does seem to fit in with the similar Evas and Avas, as well as the other 'granny' names like Agatha and Edith which have come back into fashion.

ThomasinaGallico · 23/08/2022 23:57

puddlesofmothers · 22/08/2022 21:42

Adolf

<snort> Yes I think Adolf is somewhat, er, tainted now.

The girls’ names are making me think of the Beautiful South’s Song for Whoever: Jennifer, Alison, Philippa, Sue, Deborah, Annabel too. I think the ones in Mambo No 5 are pretty unfashionable too. 😂(Although I do know an Erica in my uni-age DD’s year).