St John

[hofficoffi]

St John (pro:Sinjun) is a family name. (Dads name, Grandads name, great Grand dads etc) I only have sisters so no one in my generation has the name.

Do you think we could use it as a fn?

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I thought I'd posted on here yesterday but seem to have lost it. I'm sorry but I think it's horrible. Never heard of it anywhere other than that creepy Jane Eyre chappie, so my view is highly tarnished by that. And it reminds me of 'engine' and so feels sort of greasy and tar-like. I realise I am being unreasonable here btw but I really don't like it.

[LynetteScavo]

greenzebra - that's what DH said!

Stringfellow and St John. Interesting choice of names.

Personally, I've only encountered the name St John on MN. I think it's a bit um...poncy, but it's not my opinion that matters. Do you like it OP?

[Rydwinhofficoffi]

OP here - (added in the Rydw i'n, decided it was far far better as an actual sentence :P)
Right okay - wow :)
ummmm
Very very posh? - not very very but if I'm honnest then yeah come from a posh (naval) family. DDad never really stuggled as far as I know - apart from titles people have always called him Holy (think it is a nn from school that just stuck so everyone calls him it) To my knowledge GD never struggled either. Well maybe a few Sin-Jins not Sin-Jun (but both are correct) Actually GD always says 'as in Jane Eyre' to people which most people get.

Not sure about the down for Harrow and eton thing, maybe it is a bit different - posh but a navy family (OH is a RM and all my family are in or married people in navy)

Am worried as OH in no way comes from as 'posh' a family. And it would make people think a definate way about DC

We'll have to keep it in mind. Know we will be using it but have to think on fn or mn. Thanks

[maybunny]

I've only heard of it from Jane eyre and if I hadn't studied that book at school, would have idea to pronounce it sinjun! It may be a pain for your ds to explain x

[NotADudeExactly]

Reminds me of Four Weddings and a Funeral when the trainee priest is conducting the ceremony and gets all the names wrong.

Me too!

Also, wasn't St John the guy who met the bride at the first wedding, where they ended up under a table? Bridesmaid, kind of funky looking? Horrible mustache?

Oh Jesus, now I can't get that picture out of my head!

[Meteorite]

Any more thoughts, OP?

[browneyesblue]

There's a little info about the name here, including this snippet about the pronounciation:

Back in the day, the pronunciation of St. John was SIN gin. It?s a mash-up of Old English and French, weathered over the years into something that sounds like it could be a perfectly valid given name. (If you?re still scratching your head, consider that Sinclair evolved from St. Claire.)

[browneyesblue]

I like it, and like the reason behind it. If you like it, go for it.

[seeker]

I would say Helena with equal stress on each syllable. But it of course can be HelAYna. Neither pronunciation is going to cause embarrassment or laughter or judgement. St John would. I'm not saying that it should - obviously it shouldn't. But it will. And it seems to me to be cruel and irresponsible to deliberately give a child a name that might be a burden to him. It might not- but it might. Why risk it? And I'm not banging the drum for solid, traditional names. I'm just saying that naming a child is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. There are loads of names that are never heard nowadays but which are still spellable and pronounceable. You can be the only one in the school without being called MoonUnit.

[TheBolter]

It's a nice enough name, although I've always thought of it as an odd one - I find the thought of effectively canonising your child slightly odd, no matter how steeped in family tradition it is. And why is it spelt one way and pronounced the other? I know a lot of names are but this one really does take it to a new level.

I agree that unless you are incredibly old money and your unborn child is already registered with Eton and Harrow, this is a difficult name to carry off. And when I say old money, I mean also incredibly in well-bred with a family tree dating back to nobility of the Domesday.

Just my opinion though!

I think it would work fine as a middle name though even if your child was likely to go to the local comp. I have a friend (who was at comp with me, for the record) whose middle names are Edgar Charles. I didn't find that out until his wedding a few years ago! If they had been his first names, well that might have been a bit of a source of amusement back in our cruel teenage years...

[SlinkingOutsideInSocks]

And OMG, yes, that's my point - there are looooooads of easily pronounceable, spellable, recognisable names..! Jack and Emma for instance!!

But clearly not everyone's tastes run to Jack and Emma.

That's a good thing, but the way. :)

[SlinkingOutsideInSocks]

Seeker - I did say 'spell and/or pronounce. Isobel may be easily pronounceable, if not spellable.

I give you my DD's name - Helena. How would you pronounce that?

Of course there are plenty of names which are easily spelt and pronounced, but quite honestly, 'faintly ridiculous' is in the eye of the beholder.

You're always on this board banging the drum for solid, classic names. I love a good, solid, classic name myself, but not to the exclusion of all else. There is a place for diversity, for old family names, for interesting, quirky, individual names as well. Your rules work for you, but they're not the only option. Thank goodness.

[IWishIWasAFrog]

I like it very much, especially if it as family connections. Worked with a very posh lady once whose middle name was St. John! For me it is more a middle name than a first name though. And if it has been a family name for generations, you are probably from a v posh family it fits! Names and traditions like this will only survive if we (you) keep them alive.

[othersideofchannel]

My name (not English) can be pronounced in different ways, but once I tell people how I like it pronounced they generally remember . I assume the same would happen with St John.

It seems that OP's family HAS been using the name for a few generations and I think it is a lovely tradition personally, especially as the OP has only sisters.

[seeker]

It is stupi to compare Isobel to St John. Everybody can pronounce Isobel- even if thy have to check the spelling.

And there are loads of non" dull arse dime a dozen generic names" g charming language!h that are also spellable, pronounceable and not faintly ridiculous.

[Bubbaluv]

I really like it, but I agree that it would sound a little try-hard if the OP is not really rather toffee. Can't think of many posher names. It is lovely though. Makes me think of All Creatures Great and Small.

[nooka]

I went to school with a boy called St John. He was very very posh. If you are in the old money set then that's obviously not a problem. I do think it is a fairly odd name to be honest, so middle name territory for me.

[SlinkingOutsideInSocks]

"You just can't give a human being a name he will have to spell and pronounce every single time he introduces himself or has to fill up a form for the rest of his life..."

And yet people have been called St John for centuries and haven't spontaneously combusted through the trauma of this, so 'you can't...' is clearly nonsense.

Unless you call you children Jack and Emma, then chances are you will have to spell and/or pronounce your name many, many times throughout your life.

My name's Isobel - I have to spell it every single time I give it out without exception. That's 38 years of spelling it out. It's fine. Really it is. It takes 3 seconds.

I'd rather have a slightly interesting name (well, it was when I was given it in the 70s ) than some dull-arse, dime-a-dozen, generic name any day of the week. :)

[jaggythistle]

Could be worse...my DH always tried to say he wanted to call a DS Stringfellow. Flippin Airwolf.

[othersideofchannel]

Oh, I hadn't realised it was 'common' to give your child a pretentious name.. , well, I'm glad I'm not British and not have to worry about these things, as I find this all very confusing and silly .

But I still think the OP should name her son St John as it seems to mean a lot to her, the name isn't overused (as so many others suggested on here are) and I'm sure people will learn how to pronounce it once told .

[GrimmaTheNome]

It's not pretentious to call a napkin a serviette- it's common!
Its common because it sounds pretentious, a la Hyacinth Bucket.

[seeker]

It's not pretentious to call a napkin a serviette- it's common!

[graciousenid]

I like it & don't have any problems with the pronunciation (had to struggle to make the ambulance connection). We live in a very non-posh area with a real mix of names - lots of Eastern European & Arabic, chav & poncey (my kids included) - it wouldn't stick out here.

Even if someone couldn't pronounce it correctly they'd only need to be told once? Not a big deal?

[kelly2000]

Seeker,
I think most people would pronounce it correctly, it will only be if he lives in an area where most people call their children Tiffany or Byron that there will be problems.

Otherside,
In the UK it is considered "common" to give your child a pretentious name. It is like referring to Florence as Firenze when speaking English, or saying serviette instead of napkin.

And lots of people give children names that they mispronounce themselves, caitlin being one for instance.

[GrimmaTheNome]

I first came across the name St John in Jane Eyre. I started watching the TV series when I was a girl, started reading the book and got ahead - to the part with St John Rivers. Which I mentally read as 'Saint John' and was a bit . I was quite suprised when the TV series got to that point to find he was 'Sinjun'!

Its nice to keep family names going, but TBH I think this one is better kept as a middle name - it works well in the case mentioned, Norman St John Stevas.