Please be brutal(ly honest)!

[jusdepamplemousse]

No offence will be taken - honest opinions please. Having a hard time persuading DH to any of my suggestions as he thinks them all 'odd' and is worried about teasing. Would it be cruel to saddle a child with any of these?

Girl
Theodora
Persephone
Cliona
Hero
Eila
Darcey
Clara
Stella

Boy
Max
Aengus
Theodore
Ethan
Luca
Jeremiah
Joseph

Thank you everyone! Just catching up now. The brutal honesty is eye opening and v v entertaining! I love 'what about mary?' comment

All in all - I've weeded some out but have now also realised that any name will make some people go 'ugh'.

Worthwhile exercise!

Still want to know who the bad Jeremiah is...

Oh and the spelling of Eila - yes, unusual and truthfully it's made up by me (although surely it's been used before by someone, somewhere). It's a nod to a much loved family member. Is it too tacky to 'make up' a name? It probably is. Oh well.

Theodora - like
Persephone - wouldn't use due to myth
Cliona - I'm afraid I'm another one who thought clitoris! Maybe because I'm a human biology teacher and not Irish.
Hero - too many possible songs: All I need is a Hero, We don't need another Hero, etc
Eila - Haven't heard of it. Potential spelling issues - Ella, Isla. There is also a Welsh name Eira.
Darcey - not keen, feels like a surname, rhymes with arsy
Clara - not keen, but maybe because I am in Australia, and when said with an Australian accent is really not pretty
Stella - sounds harsh. If you want the 'stars' meaning, go for Estelle or Celeste.

Max - prefer as nn for Maxwell rather than Maximillian
Aengus - really like Angus, haven't seen this spelling but assume it is Irish
Theodore - really like
Ethan - meh
Luca - prefer Luke
Jeremiah - not sure. Keep hearing song 'Jeremiah was a bullfrog'.
Joseph - like

OK, you did ask for honesty...

Theodora - no - sounds too precious, plus Robbie Williams called his daughter this, and I loathe the man! Like Dorothea though.
Persephone - really like it, and the nn Sephy, but suspect it might be a bit 'much', unless she'll be moving in particularly artsy or literary circles. Pronunciation/spelling issues abound.
Cliona - clitoris again, I'm afraid. Shame, as it's very pretty in theory. Love Clio.
Hero - I get the appeal (big fan of mythological names here), and I like the non-girly -o ending, but I'd worry she'd be facing a lifetime of justifying her name to others. ('No, it's NOT a boys' name, it's from the Greek myth...')
Eila - OK - not awful, but seems a little flimsy, and open to confusion with other similar names.
Darcey - not keen. I'm a teacher, and have come across too many stroppy and entitled Darcey/Darcie/D'Arcys in my time. Plus it rhymes with arsey.
Clara - quite like it, but its popularity has exploded recently - think it might date (the new Amelia/Sophia?)
Stella - I want to like it, but it comes across as a bit brassy and brash to me (perhaps because of the lager and Stella McCartney connections?). Much prefer Estella or Celeste (or Aster, which also means star)

Max - meh. Loads of them about.
Aengus - love Angus, but this spelling just looks odd imo.
Theodore - like it, and nn Theo.
Ethan - a bit plain, but I quite like it.
Luca - much prefer Luke. Luca is pretentious in a minor celeb sort of way.
Jeremiah - no - it's either American President or American Bible Belt loon to me.
Joseph - massively overdone imo, but it's a safe enough choice

Overall you have a couple of nice options in there, but none that personally stands out for me. Names are incredibly subjective, though, so in the end you need to take everyone's opinions with a pinch of salt!

Thanks! Our circle is fairly artsy and bohemian but at the same time she or he won't just exist within our circle so am taking on board views about pretentious or 'ambitious' names...is ambition a bad thing?!

Dear God, Cliona (or Cliodhna, which I prefer, and both of which are pronounced CLEE-unna) sounds nothing like 'clitoris' or 'cleaner'. It's a name I really like. In fact, all your list us nice, bar Darcey and Stella which have a slightly dated and flashy connotation for me.

Favourites Cliona, Aengus, Theodore/a, Clara.

Wasn't Jeremiah a bull frog?

I know a Thea...she is a cutie

Ethan and Joseph are nice and I like Jeremiah (one of mine was nearly an obidiah...I've probably spelt that wrong)

Obadiah, that's better

I knew it didn't look right...used to love Balthazar as well

Do some people not know the myth surrounding Persephone? I think of it as a nice, seasonal changing, tale. I don't think it's at all dreadful or a reason for not using the name.

One description:
So, each spring Persephone comes back with the flowers that pave her way, to tell the story of rebirth, hope and harmony. And each fall when she leaves again for the Underworld below, her mother mourns and winter comes, while she waits for her return. Yet, for Persephone there is no remorse. She looks forward to the time she spends as Hades' Queen and wife, and to guiding those who have lost their way to the next phase of their life.

tempsperdu I disagree with you on Clara - how can it have "exploded in popularity" when it is 179 (yes, I checked) in the ONS baby names list. I know LOADS of babies and encounter newborns most days. I can't recall a single Clara. Amelias and Sophias you're right, but Clara no. I think it might be just a name that gets a lot of Mumsnet coverage, like Persephone

I know there's one in Dr Who, but the other Dr Who names were already really popular, Amelia and Rose for example.

EmilyGilmore you may well be right there - but just based on my teaching experience, there do seem to be more Claras coming through in nursery/Reception classes. Might just be a local trend though (I'm in London).

I've noticed that you seem to get patterns of names with a similar 'feel' becoming popular in turn - for example, after Emily and Amelia became mega-popular people began to switch to alternatives such as Amelie, and then once these too increased in popularity you started to get similar-sounding names such as Elodie coming through.

No offence will be taken - honest opinions please. Having a hard time persuading DH to any of my suggestions as he thinks them all 'odd' and is worried about teasing. Would it be cruel to saddle a child with any of these?
Theodora - horsey and un feminine
Persephone - too try hard
Cliona - clit
Hero - a bit try hard
Elia - how do you pronounce it?
Darcey - a bit 'Amber', not keen
Clara - perfectly nice
Stella - gorgeous

Max - lovely but so popular
Aengus - I don't really like it, but love Gus
Theodore - pompous and wet
Ethan - very 'Joshua'
Luca - without Mediterranean heritage? No
Jeremiah - ooh, nice
Joseph - v dull

I think very few of your names are odd, just not to my taste.

For Max you could also have; Maxian or Maximus

Theodora
Dorothea
Theodore

Beautiful names. I wanted to call my DD1 Dorothea but 17 years ago it didn't work. I'd use it now, like a shot.

tempsperdu I stand corrected then! Perhaps these things are geographical too. Anyway, I still love it

I love Stella. Gorgeous name and not too popular.

Clara is perfectly nice.

Theodora is a bit clunky to my ears, and not a fan of Darcey (bit American and made up sounding).

Never heard Eila or Cliona before.

I'll be honest - I find Persephone and Hero highly pretentious and try-hard.

Of your boys names, I like Theodore (Theo) and Joseph best, although none really to my taste. None of the boys names are worthy of teasing, though, if thats your worry.

I love Theodora & Persephone (and Balthazar!)

If you are worried that the names might be slightly cruel then I'd avoid most of your girls names.
Clara would be okay, but all of the others are unusual enough for her to have to spend the rest of her life spelling them for people or being teased. (you did want brutal right?)