DH list - I will be surprised apparently

[TippleMacFreddy]

I suppose it is what I get for marrying a Medieval ( Anglo-Saxon) expert.

I think he is slightly crazy but he has made me promise to put up his list because 'you will be surprised' (this is the list after my cull btw)
So....

Boys

Athelstan
Oslac

Girls

Alswitha /Ealswith
Osburh/ Osburga

I like bede very much. How do you pronounce gunhilda?

I think Oswin is much more preferable to the OP's list though.

Just in the interest of balance I feel I should say that I have a very unusual name and I love it. I suppose it is a small pain having to spell it (I do it automatically now) and occasionally it's been annoying when I have got a 'what' type response, but that's pretty rare. Usually I get very positive feedback. Perhaps that's more likely for a girl though.

One option is to give your child the interesting name as his/her middle name and then use that at home but provide the option for your child not to at school etc. My grandparents did that for my father, although he has in fact never been called his first name.

The other ting that I considered important when naming was to make sure that there were options re nick names. So if an Athelstan wanted to be more 'normal' then having Stan as a fall back is good. I still think it's middle name territory though :)

More here - some which I feel are nicer perhaps...

oh Tipple

Thank you thank you thank you for posting the pre-cull list
I badly needed a laugh and have been sniggering like an idiot
As a teacher I would struggle to keep a straight face I have to say
Likewise if I didn't know the middle name and heard it at wedding

Shit, the list is making Oslac actually look viable - i could just about live with Axel

Ealshswith is still awful but her daughter was called Elfreda - i could live with that (Freda as nn)

So are you any nearer to choosing a name - please update us

Why is it okay to choose a name which reflects your history if you are Islamic, Hindu, Polish but if you attempt to do this when you are English then the world and its dog thinks it is okay to take the rip?

^ Gnome Anglo-Saxon names do, technically, reflect English history, but they're derived from a language that would be totally unintelligible to a modern English speaker. So the names frequently sound odd in the extreme.

Naming your daughter Sexburgha is a stupid idea no matter how historical or English the name is. So is naming your Indonesian son Buttman when you live in an English-speaking country.

I don't think it's that A-S names are part of English history that makes them open to mockery, it's the fact that many of their popular elements (-burga, -frid, wuff-, etc.) sound comical in the modern context. By contrast A-S names that don't sound weird are never mocked. Emma comes to mind.

Oswin
Godwin
Edwin

are all excellent names.

also

Oswald
Godred
Edgar

Hehe your husband is brilliant :)

Inga is a good solid anglo saxon name but not bonkers either

If you Google them you can have perfectly nice ones.
If he wants Anglo-Saxon go for a compromise.
Edward or Edwin
Edith or Megan or Rowena.

Lots of names are Anglo-Saxon that might be a surprise-I wouldn't choose them but Whitney(from the white island), Tracy (brave) Lynne (a cascade)Jeffrey (peaceful gift) Desmond (gracious defender)
650 names here

There are quite a few useable ones on the list exotic Fruits has linked to.

Drew for a boy and Dawn for a girl eg. Edmund is lovely. Edric sounds nicer than Eric but still recognisably a name and easily pronounced. Esme is a beautiful girls' name. Lucan for a boy is nice. Russell for a boy could be due a bit of a revival. Wyne for a boy.

Edric is terrific. He can be Ed, Eddie, Ted, Teddy, Ric, Ricky ....

I don't think Whine Wyne is a good idea, though.

It's pronounced like Win, not Wine. I rather like it.

I thought it was quite a good list-not to say surprising and you could use it as a compromise. Have Anglo-Saxon -but not from his list.
I would have Edward and Catherine

Who would have thought you could have Adrian, Anna, Audrey, Brogan, Clover, Courtney,Daisy, Douglas as well as your Beowulfs and Aethelberts?-and I didn't even get as far as the E's to find them!!

I thought there were some lovely names on that list. Some awful ones, admittedly (who'd call their daughter 'Cyst' ), but some 'normal' ones and some unusual but nice (Alodie, Elswyth etc).

Not sure if the OPs DH would consider them all authentic/correct, but surely that's less important than having a nice and usable name!

As someone with a penchant for Anglo-Saxon names myself (but didn't get the option with DCs) I would say that if you're extraordinarily affluent and well-connected you can probably get away with such quirkiness but if they may have to attend 'normal' state schools please think again....!

I have a stupid literary name.

I hate it and secretly judge my parents for landing me with it. I hate having to spell it, correct pronunciation, etc

My DC's have utterly conventional names and none of the trauma.

I like Raedwald. I think you could pull that one off.
Er... Hilda?
Tell him he gets the middle name.

I like Elfreda / Elfrieda and Edric. They can easily be shortened as well. I have met people with both of these names. Interestingly Elfrieda worked for English Heritage!

Leofric! Leo for short

I really love Bede.... The rest are a little too unusual for my taste.

Interestingly Elfrieda worked for English Heritage!

Male archaeologists are called normal names like Phil, Mick, Ian and Tony.

Female archaeologists all seem to have 'interesting' names like Carenza, Morrigan, Jacquetta, Elfrieda and Miranda.

I really like Edric actually....normally I'm eye rolling at the nutty names being offered on the baby name forum. Although its apparently a Norman name, I absolutely love Avelyn / Aveline for a girl, or Edith which I will get to use one day!

Douglas is surely pre-Saxon?