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Baby names

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

Original poster

My Ideas For Unique Girls' & Boys' Names

59 replies

BigFatBully · 24/06/2025 13:11

I don't think I've mentioned on Mumsnet yet but I recently found out that I'm pregnant again!!

We are quietly excited and have the 12 week scan tomorrow.

We are wanting to keep the gender as a surprise for when they come along but we've been toying around with some ideas for unique names. We don't want to follow the crowd, we want a unique name that will also be presentable on a CV when they are older.

These are the names we've thought of so far. We wondered what you all think.

Girls:
Matilda
Lynne
June
Estelle
Martine
Louisa
Elaine

Boys:
Jonas
Antonio
Derek
Norman
Lawrence

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Original poster
BigFatBully · 24/06/2025 13:25

I really like the name Matilda but it's very popular at the moment with the self-titled film having a resurgence in popularity recently. But it's a good name in that it can be informally shortened to Tilly to family and close friends but I think formally would look good on a CV or university application for example. We just want to avoid having to always specify "which one" if there are others with that name in class, nursery etc. If that makes sense. 😂

OP posts:
PopThatBench · 24/06/2025 13:24

BigFatBully · 24/06/2025 13:21

Thank you. No, we have no Spanish ties. Do you think it would be rather crude as an English heritage family to name a child Antonio? It would probably get shortened to Toni or Tony, which I'm not keen on but I think as a whole it's interesting.

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I don’t know really with names, whether it would be okay? I would just assume an Antonio would have Spanish roots somewhere in the family 😂 same with Jonas. I don’t know what the rules are anymore. They’re both nice names though!

BarnacleBeasley · 24/06/2025 13:22

Okay, so looking at the lists more closely, apart from Matilda, which you do see for little children, and Jonas and Antonio, these are all names which are completely normal names that exist, but aren't currently used much for babies. If you're quite young, OP, you probably don't know many people with them - I do, but they're all 45 or older. I think you've pitched this solidly at 'names associated with older generations, but which haven't come back into fashion as granny names yet'. So you're probably fine to pick any of them except Matilda and if you're lucky, all the other new parents this year won't have had the same idea.

Original poster
BigFatBully · 24/06/2025 13:21

PopThatBench · 24/06/2025 13:15

Congratulations 💛

Girls:
Matilda - This is a lovely name but I’ve heard quite a few children with this name.
Lynne - Love the potential nickname “Lynnie”
June - I love this, this was also on my list.
Estelle - Not too bad.
Martine - Not a fan.
Louisa - Nice.
Elaine - God no.
Boys:
Jonas - Nice.
Antonio - Do you have Spanish ties?
Derek - No.
Norman - Cute.
Lawrence - Will 100% be shortened to Loz if you like that?

Thank you. No, we have no Spanish ties. Do you think it would be rather crude as an English heritage family to name a child Antonio? It would probably get shortened to Toni or Tony, which I'm not keen on but I think as a whole it's interesting.

OP posts:
YourWinter · 24/06/2025 13:17

Louisa
Jonas

That is all.

PopThatBench · 24/06/2025 13:15

Congratulations 💛

Girls:
Matilda - This is a lovely name but I’ve heard quite a few children with this name.
Lynne - Love the potential nickname “Lynnie”
June - I love this, this was also on my list.
Estelle - Not too bad.
Martine - Not a fan.
Louisa - Nice.
Elaine - God no.
Boys:
Jonas - Nice.
Antonio - Do you have Spanish ties?
Derek - No.
Norman - Cute.
Lawrence - Will 100% be shortened to Loz if you like that?

Original poster
BigFatBully · 24/06/2025 13:15

BarnacleBeasley · 24/06/2025 13:12

Congratulations! How are you defining 'unique'?

Thank you! We don't want names that are currently "trendy". We also want to avoid celebrity names or for example, names that the Monarchy are calling their babies. Ideally so that they will be the only child in class with that name. For example, we wouldn't choose the name Charlotte as the Royal family have a baby Charlotte and it will be very popular at the moment as a result.

OP posts:
MumChp · 24/06/2025 13:13

Nice, but not unique.

BarnacleBeasley · 24/06/2025 13:12

Congratulations! How are you defining 'unique'?