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Baby names

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

Original poster

Is Oliver.... boring??

110 replies

blueberry23 · 12/01/2023 21:11

It is literally the ONLY name that DH and I remotely agree on for DS2.

Neither of us love it.

We have an Alfred which we love love loved.

I feel like we are settling for Oliver as we have nothing else rather than because we love it which makes me sad.

I do like it... just don't love it 😫😫

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TroublesomeLuck · 13/01/2023 07:31

(Personal experience, and I do love the name!)

TroublesomeLuck · 13/01/2023 07:30

This thread does demonstrate the problem with Isaac.... too many people that can't spell it and put Issac

Purplemagnolias · 13/01/2023 07:26

All the parents of Olivers are obviously going to disagree that it's boring, so you won't get an unbiased response on here.

thirdtimeluckyorwhat · 13/01/2023 07:24

Yes it is
Arthur
Albert
Keep going till you find a name you do love there's no rush

Purplemagnolias · 13/01/2023 07:23

I suppose it’s boring in the same way wearing a black dress is boring or wearing jeans and converse is boring.

I'd call those styles classic and timeless rather than boring.

The opposite of fashionable or overused, which Oliver as a name seems to be.

LlynTegid · 13/01/2023 07:18

I would not call it boring, just that far too often chosen and you might not like it being abbreviated.

Penguinsaregreat · 13/01/2023 07:17

I’d use it. It’s classic and timeless.
I suppose it’s boring in the same way wearing a black dress is boring or wearing jeans and converse is boring. Wearing striped, multi couloured clothes and dying your hair pink is regarded as not boring. That’s how I see it. That sort of comparison.

WandaWonder · 13/01/2023 07:17

It is like my childs name, not in spelling but just a name name

These days it is a bonus with no need to explain or spell

I don't love it or hate it

But I presume it would also become Olly or Ollie?

Katela18 · 13/01/2023 07:13

Oliver is lovely in my opinion....DD would have been oliver had she been a boy. Her best friend at nursery is now a little boy with that name! (Everyone says ita really heavily used but I only know of this one).

For ds born last year our list was:
Oliver
Magnus
Hamish
Rafferty

We went with Hamish due to ties with DD's name

namechangedyetagain · 13/01/2023 07:04

When i had one I only knew 1 in real life (apart from Cromwell and Twist). Now they're everywhere in primary school.

Still love it though. Solid dependable name.

EarlyYearsMe · 13/01/2023 07:00

Yes it’s very dull

If you like Isaac, how do you feel about
Gabriel/ Gabe
Nathaniel/ Nate
Zachary/Zac

Thepossibility · 13/01/2023 06:59

If you call your first DS Alfie then I think Jeremiah could be cute. Alfie and Jerry.

totallyhadenoughofthisbs · 13/01/2023 06:57

Every other kid at DS school is called Oliver. It's nice but very boring!

Purplemagnolias · 13/01/2023 06:52

I think an Oliver could be a lawyer and he could also be a bin man. It's pretty timeless, despite being hugely popular.

What job a person does says nothing about how timeless their name is. A bin man can be named any name btw Confused

Most names that were very fashionable or popular for a period of time tend to fall out of fashion and start to sound dated. Think Andy, Steve, Mike etc. I know sooo many men of my generation with those names. They're dated to the 1970s

mrwalkensir · 13/01/2023 00:32

How about a proper Finn rather than Finley? When our eldest was at at Warwick uni, he said it was assumed that everybody was called Oli. But he's heading for 30. It might be slightly less popular now. Maybe a Fergus?

LolaSmiles · 13/01/2023 00:31

It's a nice name, but if you feel like you're both settling then don't settle.

Isaac is also nice.
Samuel or Arthur are nice options too.

WhatAmIDoingWrong123 · 13/01/2023 00:28

TwigTheWonderKid · 12/01/2023 21:21

It's bland, yes

Agree George is much better. Or what about something like Magnus?

How on earth have you made the jump from Oliver to Magnus?

Loachworks · 13/01/2023 00:26

My Ollie is almost thirty. I still love the name There was never another in his class or year even.

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 13/01/2023 00:22

Whatistheanswer2023 · 12/01/2023 22:56

Not Oliver please. All the Oliver’s I know are a bit ‘wet’.

What a really stupid comment.

Slimjimtobe · 12/01/2023 23:38

Alfred and Issac are great

do you like the names:
Reuben
Jacob
Frances

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 12/01/2023 23:32

There is nothing objectively wrong with Oliver but if you really love Alfred’s name then I think you owe it to DS2 to continue the search. It sounds like it’s DH’s turn to suggest some names, however!

Sebastian?

maddy68 · 12/01/2023 23:24

It's one of my favourite names. It's a classic go for it

RosesAndHellebores · 12/01/2023 23:17

DD's 24. She has a classic name which in 1998 was relatively uncommon. It then seemed to boom.

When she went to school there were 12 girls and 18 boys. Of the 12 girls, 3 were called Alice and 3 were called Imogen.

Whatistheanswer2023 · 12/01/2023 22:56

Not Oliver please. All the Oliver’s I know are a bit ‘wet’.

Copperoliverbear · 12/01/2023 22:55

I like Oliver. X