Names for foreign middle-class toffs

[csillus]

Hello. We are Hungarians living in the UK, but to be honest we do not understand well the British class system and which names are considered posh/chav. My husband is from an old upper-class family in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but they lost their fortune more than a century ago, and as far as I understand it, in British society we are middle-class, provided these classifications apply to foreigners too. Our surname sounds like JEZSÉNSZKY DE LUDÁNY (slightly altered). We can't decide whether to give a native Hungarian name or its English equivalent to our baby ( sex is not known yet) considering s/he will probably go to an English primary school in the Midlands. We do not want to seem too pretentious, but want too respect our heritage as well, while helping the integration of our child. Below I list our favorite names with English equivalents if any. Please, share your opinion about them. Should we use the English or the native forms?

Male:

László (Ladislaus)
Árpád
Atilla
Vazul (Basil)
Miklós (Nicholas)
Milán
Huba
Xavér (Xavier)
Hunor
Miksa (Maximilian)
Gyula (Julius)
Zoltán
Géza

Female:

Arduina
Édua
Damira
Ilona

Thanks a lot

The only one of your names that I think would raise any eyebrows at all in their Hungarian form is Atilla (because of Atilla the Hun).

Basil and perhaps Julius are rather 'upper class' I would say in their English versions.

TBH, I think that for the most part foreigners are excused the whole naming/class nonsense that goes on. I'd just pick the one you like the best and go with it . I think it's nice to use a name from your culture rather than Anglicising it, but that's just a matter of personal preference too really.

FWIW, I think that Maximilian and Julius both sound quite 'posh' in English (though not Max, which is a bit trendier atm).

From your list, I like Milán and Xavér the best for boys, and Ilona and Damira from your girl list, though I'm going purely on the way they sound to me - I don't know any of the meanings or connotations of them in Hungarian of course (or how they are pronounced!).

The only ones I think you might have problems with are Atilla (because of Atilla the Hun), Hunor (because it sounds very like Honor, which is a girls' name), likewise Gyula (if the G is soft, it sounds a bit like Julia?). And possibly Géza, depending on pronunciation, it might sound a bit like 'geezer' in English?

I like Damira and Ilona.

Out of the boys ones - definitely not Atilla (totally associated here with Atilla the hun).

I like Miklos, Milan, Xavier, Miksa and Laszlo. You'd have to be prepared for the accents to be dropped though. I think Basil is a bit old fashioned in this country and associated with Basil Fawlty and Basil Brush. Geza is too much like 'geezer'.

I really like Maximilian. Think it's a fantastic name. Sorry for v brief post

I would say use the native forms, definitely.

However: be prepared that the accents will probably be missed off most of the time (eg they will be written as Laszlo rather than László). If you mind this, then may be best to select a name without accents.

I would also suggest sticking to names which are pronounced roughly as they are spelled - which will make mispronunciation less likely.

I would also avoid Atilla as the main association for most English will be "Atilla the Hun".

If you are going to use the English forms, I would avoid Basil (associated with Fawlty Towers and Basil Brush - 1970s comedy TV characters)

My favourites, and I think reasonably easy for English tongues to pronounce, are:

Laszlo
Arpad
Miklos
Miksa (lovely name, but because it ends in an "a", people may assume it's a girl)
Xaver

Edua
Ilona

Oh and I don't think any of your list of names would have a "class" association in England.

Ooh what exciting names!
If he/she is going to grow up in the UK with a complicated surname, I would keep the first name short and simple. Then again, you could have what ever name you liked but use a simple nickname all the time perhaps eg Max, Nicky.

I would avoid Atilla and Zoltan I think.

Love all the girls' names though.

Also I do know/know of a couple of people called Milán, so not unheard of in the UK, but of course they may have Hungarian family that I don't know of.

Wonderful thread title! I would say that, whatever you go for, don't anglicise it... you want you child to be proud of his/her heritage. But I'd suggest that you don't use accented letters (eg just Laszlo, Arpad etc) as some computer systems get a bit stuck with them. And make it pronounceable...

I like Miklos, Miksa and Ilona...

I wouldn't worry about class. Just go for a name you like.:) I think I'd go for the Hungarian versions, perhaps with an English middle name. Agree that Atilla may be best avoided due to hun connotations.

this reminds me of Georges Mikes 'How to be an alien' - a longstanding classic!

i believe in Hungarian his surname is pronounced Mee-Kesh.

just be mindful how English tongues will pronouce you LO's name!

I really like Laszlo.

Agree with all the posters above. Your baby will have a fantastic name and it is great that s/he will be able to be proud of his / her Hungarian heritage.

Thanks for the comments. I have learnt a lot, I'd have never thought about these connotations. (Being an alien means you have a limited point of view. George Mikes is great, I have recently read Kate Fox's Watching the English as well, and already ordered Jeremy Paxman's The English.)

Then I discard Attila because of the Hun, Gyula because sounds indeed like Julia, also Géza ("geezer") and Hunor ("honor").

But what's wrong with Zoltán? It's very easy to pronounce in English.

I wonder if László might be associated with The English patient (Count Laszlo de Almasy) and if it would be good or not for my baby?

Thanks.

What fabulous names!

I really like Arpad and Ilona and I was at school with a (Scottish) girl called Alona, so I don't think it sounds too unusual.

They both sound very classy and eminently suitable for toffs

Iirc, Zoltan was the name of the fortune telling machine in the film Big.

How would you pronounce Ilona? In Hungarian it is Ee-lo-na. Would you say Ay-lo-na?

I have a hungarian husband who was very keen for us to call our little one Zoltan if we had a boy. I really like Janus (not sure of spelling but John in Hungarian.

Anyway, go for the hungarian names.

I like Ilona for a girl, my husband has an Auntie Ilona and I always liked her name.

I like Xavér (Xavier).

I have an Ilona! It;s a lovely name.

Personally I see Vazul as a name for an older man (I know a few Vasyls in their 30's).

I really love Miksa.

I never thought of 'The English Patient' - I wouldn't worry about that at all. If anything at all Laszlo makes me think of Victor Laszlo in Casablanca but that association is fine as well. It's a good name.

I would have said Il-ona or ee-lona but not ay-lona. Can't speak for other British people though.

We had a Zoltan who played football for our local team. Sadly he died last year.

László (Ladislaus) -- Lovely (thinking of Casablanca although it was Victor Laszlo...)
Árpád -- ok
Atilla -- love, but I think you'd get annoyed by the Hun references. I knew an Austrian Atilla, but that was in the US and people are not as likely to be silly about names there.
Vazul (Basil) -- Vazul would be called Vaseline, but Basil is lovely
Miklós (Nicholas) -- Lovely
Milán -- Lovely
Huba -- not great
Xavér (Xavier) -- Lovely
Miksa (Maximilian) -- Lovely
Zoltán -- Lovely

Female:

Arduina -- ok, there would be pronunciation problems though, initially
Édua -- ok
Damira -- Lovely
Ilona -- Lovely

I went to school with a Zoltan (I can't remember if it was his mum or his dad was from Hungarian). He was lovely :)

So I like Zoltan best. Vasul sounds so much better than Basil, I really like that too, and then probably Miklos.

Not so sure about the girls names, but that might just be because I'm not sure how to pronounce them.

I like

Vazul (Basil)
Miklós (Nicholas)
Milán
Xavér (Xavier)
Miksa (Maximilian)
Gyula (Julius)
Zoltán

Arduina
Édua