Kaleo for a boy?

[stella1w]

It's hawaiian for The Voice. I like it because it's unusual and because it has a resonance for me. But no one I know likes it!!

I have just two more weeks to register my son's name and am totally stuck. I don't want anything biblical and that narrows it all down a lot....

It sounds like a car... or a biscuit...

Do you have any Hawaiian links? How do you pronounce it?

It's like a brand name for kitchen equipment.

What's at second choice?

Please don't.

I can't work out how you would pronounce it, so you would end up explaining that a lot. Middle name? What are the other contenders?

I pronounce it car - lee - oh

other contenders are Alexander and Felix but he doesn't look like either of those and I did want something more unusual..

Sounds like the name of a Korean car. Please don't inflict your son with such a ridiculous name- unless your son's father hails from Honolulu.

I think it is unfair to the child to be honest. zowie Bowie changed his name to Duncan first chance he got. moon unit doesn't call herself moon unit anymore.

If you were hawaian or lived in Hawaii, then fair does. But he is constantly going to have to explain how to spell it, how to say it and there is a risk he won't grow up pleased to have it.

Alexander is a great name as you can dress it up or down. How about the other one as a middle name?

Mmm thinking type of cabbage
Why not Keanu? That's Hawaiian.

Alexander and Felix are much better. When your DS is older he will thank you.

If you like it go for it, but be prepared for it to never be pronounced correctly. I would never have guessed it was 'car - lee - oh', almost everyone will get it wrong, which is fine if you don't mind.
My DD has an oddly spelt name and it is spelt wrongly often, it doesn't bother me at all. Though I have a friend who gets all puffy if her DS' name is spelt wrong, can't imagine what she would do if they pronounced it wrong too!

This is it being said by an Hawaiian www.forvo.com/word/kaleo/. I think its more of a kuh-leh-oh?

Coolio which sounds very similar is the name used in Benidorm.

I met a guy with this name once, and I kept forgetting it everytime I met him. Sorry it's a no from me.

Don't do it. And even moreso don't do it and get the pronunciation wrong.

There are some nice Irish, Scottish and Welsh names that are not biblical. How about English/Germanic names too? (Alfred, Albert, Edward, Edgar, Edwin, etc.)

Oh it's a name. I thought it was some sort of fabric you were going to wrap the baby in.

I don't much like it. But I seem to be diametrically opposed to names which begin with k.

Please, please just call him Alexander. Then at least there's a slight chance he'll choose a decent care home for you in 60 years time.

mmmmm. i take everyone's point.. but wondering why people think Kaleo is so ridiculous when say, Romeo, is not...
clearly will have to have another think..

Start a thread about Romeo and see what people say...

I think the difference is that people know the name Romeo. If you like Kaleo use it. We're all just internet sprites and best ignored.

I wouldn't call a child Romeo either. The chapter in Superfreakonomics on the impact of 'unusual' baby names is worth a read. Life can be a hard enough field to plough even without carrying the burden of your parents' choice of name. I wouldn't be greatly thrilled to be one of Jamie Oliver's girls growing up as Flopsy Kitten or whatever horrible name he chose.

I think the difference is that most people will know how to pronounce Romeo and a good proportion of people will also know how to spell it.

With Kaleo most people won't know how to spell it or say it and I think that's where the problem would be.

But, as I said earlier, if you love the name enough to not let that bother you then go for it.

Romeo is ridiculous. And Jamie and Jools Oliver should be hauled up for neglectful parenting.

Like Kaleo better than any of those, but I do think something that people could pronounce and spell would be kinder to him. Sorry. And I love Alexander.

How about just Leo instead? That's fairly unusual, but still lovely. I really like Alexander and Felix too by the way.
Not keen on Kaleo at all. It's trying too hard to be original and that can backfire. It makes me think of all those spoof names in comedies, like Spudulika.