Which names are would you consider 'too posh/try-hard/odd' to be used?

[AKMD]

Having seen a few names pop up which, when read out to my office colleagues, have caused great hilarity, I was wondering which names poeple on MN generally consider too posh/try hard/odd to be passed off in RL. I absolutely love Arabella but have been told that DH and I aren't posh enough to use it :( Ditto Lucinda.

I have to admit I did laugh at Mungo. Sorry to any Mungos/parents of Mungos out there!

[Chandon]

I like these threads.

My DSs names are always on there

I find it amusing as I am not British, but do live here now, and am often mistaken for a posh-wannabe Brit. Until they hear my accent and/or see my surname.



On previous threads I have already vowed to name my next son Tarquin.

This British class thing is so VERY amusing to us foreigners

[ZZZenAgain]

aw shucks. Thanks lockets. I'm wondering if it is because I'm overseas I'm not being exposed to the usual range....

I had a Rex following me around when I was at secondary school, dogging my footsteps. I remember he was spouting off about golf once which I didn't play and I told him I had some (totally made up) handicap which must have been very good - and he went out and practised every day after that.

I am sure his parents loved me for that, very wholesome lifestyle. I could never have a Rex though for that reason. My sister was trailed by a most peculiar Hamish. he fell in love with her when she told him to get lost and stop bothering her best friend. Hamish and Rex , ahh the joys of youth.

[fraktious]

DH has small relations called Ulysses and Hippolyte.

Throughout my pregnancy we maintained that if we had a DS he would be Marcus Aurelius. When he was born I was so high on gas and air that had DH not been sensible I'd have gone through with it!

[Cattleprod]

I find it a bit 'try hard' when parents insist on putting the long version of the name on the birth certificate, even if they don't like it much and have no intention of using it. They seem to find it odd to put a shorter name on there. For example, if you want to call your son Max, why put the overly long and pompous Maximilian on the bc, which will just be a source of embarrassment for poor DS on the rare occasions it is used (graduation, wedding etc)?

[Nomdujour]

I know a Sophus and an Erasmus. They are both gorgeous and suit their names.

[gapants]

The right old money friends I have, have given their children family names as is quite traditional--

Thomas, William, Richard, Hugh, Bernard, Andrew,

Florence, Lucinda, Elizabeth, Rebecca,

the class thing is weird is this country and no matter what we might say or think, it does impact.

I am poor but of an old family and we used to have money/land, before my time alas. We all have boring names. Surname is double barrelled though

[narmada]

Hippolyte?? Are you serious?? Poor child. Sounds like some sort of diet pill.

[weltschmerz]

Hear hear, narmada!
It's also an idea to try out any name with your accent, your DP's and your parents/ILs first.. Allegra might sound very pretty in an Italian accent, for instance, but hearing myself hollering "Ey, Allegra, yer dinner's oan the table already!" would be another matter.

[Xiaoxiong]

When I was at university a graduate student couple who were friends of friends were trying to decide between naming their son Kermit Achilles or North Elvis. Totally appropriate for them and their son though.

I agree with Chandon, no matter how many decades I live here I will never totally understand the class judgements - you're just making a rod for your own back if you start caring about whether people will judge you for naming your child Rufus or Percy.

[LetUsPrey]

When I was pregnant with DS1, I told my mum what names I liked for boys. My early favourite met with the reaction "oh dear, is that not a bit posh? We're not really that type of background."

My suggestion - Henry.

Mind you, MIL suggested Derek.

They're both a bit barking in their own special ways.

[mistressploppy]

The poshest people we know have 5 kids - Amber, Milo, Ludo, Isla and Willa (Wilhelmina). I think they're all rather nice names. I can't help thinking that with them being SO posh (think minor royal), they could have tried a little harder to be ridiculous

[brdgrl]

I rather wanted to use the name Boudica, but I knew there was no way I was going to get that past DP.

Lucinda - the first one I think of is Lucinda Williams who is a folksy Americana singer-songwriter - not posh at all.

I know some people think my DD's name is a bit much, because it is hypenated. I couldn't care less what they think - her name is beautiful and classic, and the second half is there because it is my mother's name - which really, would make it beautiful even if it were Hermione-Georgette. (It is not.)

[LynetteScavo]

Ptolemy will always be too posh for me though.

[boobiekat88]

hehe, well I would definitely fall in to the try hard/posh category, I called my ds Phinneas, I love it, we call him Phinny usually and he definitely suits his name, I just like names that sound like they should be in a novel :-D I was thinking of Willoughby or Raphael for the next one..... at least they wont have the same name as other boys when they go to school!

[thereisalightanditnevergoesout]

One of my dd's names is on Collision's list, too...

[CaptainNancy]

mistressp- Milo and Ludo were on my list too!

I am struggling to think of anyone we know with 'try hard' names (other than 'Helen' )... it seems people just names they like [thunk]

lockets- congrats on new addition! (Lovely name )

[thereisalightanditnevergoesout]

@lockets and I love the names you have given to your children, - I just wish DH hadn't been so traditional...

[WiiUnfit]

I heard a Mum call her DS, Archie, in a 'loud & proud' way the other day, repeatedly. It seems a bit try hard to me, as does Darcy, Florence, Tarquin, Quentin, Lucinda, Harriet, Jago (but I quite like it!), Hugo (again, I like it though!), Felicity, Theodore .etc

[ducks from potential incoming biscuits thrown by Mum's of the above]

[Starsandcars]

Really don't understand the concept behind the phrase "try too hard" surely we all just pick names we and our dh love.

Both of my sons names have been mentioned on this thread - must we all pick names within the top one hundred but outside of the top ten!

[Starsandcars]

So thank you wallissimpson buy I can assure you thar the named were not chosen because I'm trying to be middle class! I don't even like that phrase!

[TastyMuffins]

Yes Starsandcars, you are so right, outside of the top 100 and you have less popular names which are considered posh and the made up or wierdly spellt names which are considered chavy. So pick from the top 100 in order to fit in!

My DS's name is mention above!

LOL about Cassius, until recently had only ever known it as the name of a dog we had when I was a kid.

[superjobee]

i had a nice long rant there and t'internet stole it!

basically, babies will be adults one day. unless you are some sort of high flyer middle class bugaboo pushing sophie toy chewing mummy your kid needs a normal bloody name.

namby pamby crap kids are called nowadays whats wrong with sarah, susan james and steven?!!