Our shortlist - opinions?

[ParsleyCake]

Wow, turns out that once you are actually pregnant, baby names become a very serious business and long time favorites suddenly don't seem suitable!

Anyway, we are looking at unusual but non-bullying inducing names, ideally with a 'magical' or 'different' feel to them...so far, these seem to be unisex and unusual to the point of being very rare as names.

Boy: Griffin/Griffyn
Girl: Cleo/Griffin

What would you think if your friend named her child one of these?

Also, I would prefer a long verion of Cleo and Cleo just be the nick name, but I'm not keen on Cleopatra! Ideas? I made up Cleophreia (Cleo-freya) but it sounds too pretentious

OP, I really, really don't want to sound negative, but if a friend of mine was thinking of 'Griffin', I'd say:

1. I wouldn't use Griffin for a girl. Griffin (or Griffyn) is a version of the Welsh name Gruffuth or Gruffydd, which is based in part on a word meaning 'Prince'.

[http://www.behindthename.com/name/gruffudd]]

1. The ancient Greek/Roman monster (usually spelled Griffin or Gryphon in English) was also male; it was sometimes called the 'the king of all creatures'.

I think Griffin (or Gruffydd/Griffith) sounds rather good for a boy, but:

1. Griffin/Gryphon is a very popular name for schools in England. This may not matter - schools are usually good places - but, if you'd like to check, just Google 'Griffin schools' and see.

1. It's also the surname of a recent leader of the British National Party. But he may no longer be well-known by the time your baby has gown up.

Sorry - 'Gruffuth' should be 'Gruffudd'. Don't know what happened there!
And this link should work:
www.behindthename.com/name/gruffudd

I like Cleo. Griffin makes me think of the BNP though.

What about Maeve for a girl? Queen of the fairies, I think. It does have a long Irish spelling too, which is where queen Mab comes from.

Lois - I agree that Maeve is nice. In Irish mythology she is a very powerful queen; her name means something like 'intoxicating'. Her adventures make exciting reading. The Irish spelling is Maedhbh. ae = ay; dh=y; bh = v. For more info: www.standingstones.com/gaelpron.html

In England, faint memories of lost/overheard Celtic traditions meant that some Celtic heroes and heroines appeared in English folklore (and subsequently Shakespeare's plays) as supernatural creatures, ie fairies.

Griffin makes me think of puddle lane griffle

I know an Avalon, we call her Faff

Griffin is lovely for a boy. Cleo/Clio on its own is quite enough - it doesn't need lengthening.