"American" names in London - will they go over well?

[lily3]

As expats in London, I'm wondering how our children's names will go over. I also just found out I'm pregnant with DC 3 and I'd love to hear what names are considered "trendy" (to avoid them) or what names would not go over well, that might be popular in America.

Our baby twins are named Rowan (girl) and Weston (boy).

The other names we like are Beatrice, Winifred & Hadley (for a girl) or Finn, Harrison & Asher (for a boy).

had to check our choices!
6 kids, 12 names - 1st and middle, so 2/kid - found 8 of them on the lists above!

could it be that I'm fashionable after all?

(note to self - must check years they were born - gotta wait to find out till 2013 to find out about DD, how annoying!)

I'm also from the US but we chose English names, mainly to make my mom melt when she's around the little English accents

Your twins have lovely names, Rowan is one of my favourite names for a girl :)

I don't think the names are particularly American, with the exception of Hadley. The only one I've ever come across is Hadley Freeman - who's American! I still like the name though.

From your suggestions for DC3, I like Beatrice and Asher.

I wouldn't think of Beatrice or Winifred as American names at all, they sound like very English middle class names to me. Finn and Harrison are also both very common in the UK. Asher less so, Hadley reminds me of the evil prison warden in the Shawshank Redemption, sorry! Plus, it's not exactly feminine.

Besides, you are American, there's no need for you to worry whether your kid's names will fit in. They'll be the glamorous American kids anyway!

OP - I think what often pegs a name as "American" is using a name that's also a surname as a first given name. Beatrice and Winifred are both clearly first names and couldn't be mistaken for a surname, however Hadley and all your boys names are also surnames. (In fact I know people with these surnames so it really stands out to me!)

They all sound entirely acceptable to me (expat Yank myself).
Names you need to avoid are names of cities or foods. And very ugly surnames used as forenames.

I know an English Ashton. Any good?

also OP, if you say "Winifred" many English people will think of (this might not be a bad thing)

Welcome to London, Lily3.

The only US name that must be avoided over here, at all costs, is Randy.

Someone was called Randy where I was yesterday, not remotely American, either.

I know an English Weston, he must be 18 now? I've known lots of Harrisons.i don't like Winifred, but it sounds very old fashioned and a bit Germanic to me, but I'm sure there are lots around.
The names people choose for their kids can be very very varied in the UK, and lots of people want to be different so names from other cultures and even non-names are quite common.
My weirdest one was a very fair, blonde girl called Ebony.

I would also agree with avoiding Randy.

Anything goes in London, really.

I like Hadley. There's a journalist called Hadley Freeman, she writes for the Guardian IIRC.

Beatrice and Winnie are definitely 'English' names and lovely IMO although I think Beatrice is growing in popularity at the moment. Not keen on Hadley at all, sorry.

Finn is also very English but also quite popular, it's a lovely name though. I love Harrison too but I do think of it as 'American', simply because the two Harrison's I know are American. I really don't like Asher, probably because Jane Asher irritates the hell out of me.

Personally, I wouldn't care one jot about choosing an American name, you are American although I understand you wanting your DC to fit in, I just doubt they'd be picked on for it at school.

I do love both Rowan and Wes though, gorgeous names

I like Rowan. Weston does sound very American but you ARE American? so you'll be forgiven I think!

Are you thinking of when you go back to the states? You don't want to touch down with baby Jemima and baby cedric and think omg what did we do!?

I named my children in one country and now they are being brought up in another and I think the country where they were named had a strong influence on me at the time. So I see your concern, if I've understood it correctly.

Hadley is terrible. That does scream 'American' to me and not in a good way. Eg, I really like Shelby which sounds American to me, and Nancy is a bit American but I like those. Hadley is just ugly and weird.

Wes pronounced wez is nice.

AGree about Randy. Your kids will survive any name but not this one. Randy is an old man's name in America though.

OP, this web site is well worth a visit: British Baby Names.

You can download lists of how popular names were in 2011 from here: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-266770

And you may want to look at names.darkgreener.com as well, which reveals trends.

Rowan is a fairly common (#135) boys' name. It was given to 473 baby boys last year. It is, however, well-established as a girls' name as well and was given to 69 baby girls last year. The most common namesakes in the UK are male - Rowans Atkinson and Williams - so you may find that people occasionally incorrectly assuming that she is a boy from reading her name.

Weston is a really unusual name in England and Wales; it was given to just 4 boys in 2011. (Wesley was given to 64 and Westley to 5.) It is easy to pronounce and sounds more familiar than it actually is so I would not be concerned. It does sound very American but he is American and I think a lot of Brits would love to be able to 'get away with' naming their sons names like Weston!

Hadley is also a very unusual name in England and Wales, given to only 10 girls in 2011 and 47 boys.

Harry is the most popular boys' name in England and Wales and Harrison is also well in the top 50 at number 37 (given to 2,122 boys).

Finn ranks at 136 (469 boys) but Finley is at number 34 (2,245) and Finlay at number 66 (967).

Asher was given to 89 boys, ranking as the joint 436th most popular boys' name with Stefan.

Beatrice is quite common, ranking at 126 in 2011 (having been given to 460 girls).

Winifred is unusual, given to only 22 girls (placing it as the joint 1374th most popular name along with choices such as Viola, Yasmeen, Roxanna, Rochelle, Suki, and Seraphina).

As your children are named Rowan and Weston, I would be inclined to pick names similar in style for this baby. I would therefore not use Beatrice or Winifred, as lovely as they are, or Finn, Harrison or Asher as they are either stylistically poles apart or else massively more popular than your current picks. Hadley works the best with your other two choices.

Agree with Gwennan. In fact Hadley could be your only name choice as works for a oh or girl, although I think I slightly prefer it for a girl...

Boy or girl

Wow so interesting, thanks everyone! I would NEVER go with the name Randy - it is a stereotypical "trailer trash" American name. Yuck!

Someone mentioned that Winifred and Beatrice are "middle class" names, interesting. What would be considered "classy" names in England? Our move to London is permanent, no plans to go back to the US.

In the US there are so many awful trashy names (think Brittney, Tiffany and of course, Randy) and and we would hate to give him/her the UK equivalent. We want a strong but somewhat unique name. Don't want him/her to be the umpteenth child in class with the same name as other students.

Well in my experience in schools the kids who seemed the most "trashy" (hate that word but struggle to find a better one, I don't mean lowest class, I don't mean poorest, I probably mean TOWIE, but I've not really watched that but do come from Essex). Anyway those kids are the most likely to have Unique names.
Most kids have: MC names, or ones from their/their parents culture. So lots of Irish, Welsh or Indian names.
Out of your choices, Harrison is the most likely to have others in his class especially if shortened to Harry, (maybe Beatrice too).
The upper classes tend to use the same names regardless (so King and Queen names, or very unique family names). MC names are class enough for most people, they are quite often the same kind of names their parents Gandparents had or sometimes Great Grandparents.

Hadley doesn't sound like a classy american choice either. sounds like a new madison or a new taylor

I would avoid Winifred, Harrison and Finn. Winifred only because of the witch (I think it's a lovely name otherwise) and Harrison and Finn because they are getting to the point of being hackneyed now.

Hadley is nice enough for a girl, but Beatrice is much nicer, imo, with Beatrix lovely too, and Asher is fab for a boy -- great biblical name.

Shelby is trailer trash to the point of strip club. Ashton is Kutcher.

Frances
Harriet
Juliet
Rosamund
Edith
Matilda
Agatha
are all fairly Englishy names for girls.

For boys:
Amos
Conrad
Fergus
Digby
Frederick
Hugo
Jasper

Harrison and Finn are very popular here so I would avoid those unless you dont mind him being one of several in the same school or even class.

If you want classy and not overly popular then your best bet would be Beatrice for a girl and Asher for a boy.

Hmm ok so Harrison and Finn are out.

What are your opinions on these names:

Girls: Sydney, Elena, Luca (for girl or boy), Mackenzie, Quinn

Boys: Meyer, Jackson, Maxwell, Mason, Sawyer

Sydney and Luca are primarily boys in UK. Luca especially. Quinn too IMO.

Elena is nice and unusual, I know only one.

Your second boys list is a list of surnames to me, esp Sawyer and Meyer, the only one I would classify as a first name is Max(well) but that's very popular (eg 2 in DS2's 10-strong footie team!)

I like Mathamxiety's list