Shakespearean names... too poncey?

[Musidora]

I really like these Shakespearean names for future DD, but are they, well... too poncey? Interested in people's opinions.

• Lavinia
• Marina
• Ophelia
• Octavia
• Cressida
• Cassandra
• Viola

Juliet
Rosalind
Miranda
Cordelia
What's not to love?
I don't like Lavinia though (I know a horrible one)

I think they're lovely names.

But I'd urge a bit of caution with Lavinia (too many lav jokes in her future?), Marina (sounds a tad too close to merina), and Ophelia (if your surname is anything remotely gropable). Viola can come out as 'viler'.

I love Cressida, Miranda and Viola.

Why not?

You might want to consider the associations of each play - Lavinia in Titus Andronicus does not have the best of times, to put it mildly, Ophelia wouldn't be my top pick as a role model, and Cressida is the original fickle lover (though I do love the name!)

To add to your list my Shakespearean names, chosen for the mix of name and association, would be:

Imogen
Beatrice
Emilia
Katherine
Rosalind
Helena
Olivia
Cordelia
Hermione

And in case you didn't gather, I think the principle of choosing a Shakespearean name is absolutely fine and not in the least poncey I may or may not have a child named for one of the above heroines

Thanks all! Good to see that they're going down well on the whole.

Bogburglar I wasn't so concerned that the principle of choosing a Shakespearean name might be poncey, more that those particular ones that are my favourites might have other class associations today. But maybe that's not something to get hung up about if you really like a name.

Also love people's suggestions of Juliet, Miranda, Helena and Olivia, but I already have friends/family with these names so a bit hesitant...

And yes, the original characters/plays are something to think about, but then I'm also named after a literary character who doesn't have the best of times so at least it would run in the family

Fair enough - and Cordelia and Juliet have been mentioned, neither of which are exactly good-news stories

I think I would still hesitate over Lavinia because it's relatively unusual and the characters fate isnt just tragic, but in the league of the nastier bits of Game of Thrones. So I'd always tend to be thinking of the Lavinia in the play rather than any other random Lavinia, and that wouldn't be an association Id enjoy iyswim.

Out of the ones you have suggested my favourites are Cressida and Cassandra without hesitation. Does it matter that I don't think a lot of people would immediately associate those names with Shakespeare but with the Greek myths?

Hmm yes you could be right re Lavinia. Although the character I'm named after meets with almost as nasty a fate but it's never bothered me... but maybe other people are constantly being reminded of all that and I'm never aware of it!! I could always claim it's the mythological Lavinia (Aeneas' wife)?!

I'm not fussed if people particularly associate the name with Shakespeare, I just happen to really like these Shakespearean names and DP is obsessed with Shakespeare so he would like the reference too.

Seems like Cressida is well-liked on here :)

All fine, love Octavia. My very non poncey mother was very keen on me calling my dd this (I didn't but I did choose a name which my Mil thinks is poncey)

The Lavinia I know gets "Vinny". I like it.

I also know a very lovely Lavinia who is Vin. It's a great name.

I like Lavinia, Marina and Cassandra, lovely names.

I have it in my head that you should only be called Octavia if you were born in October. But that was the 8th month in the Roman calendar and is now obviously the 10th month, so I'll just stop talking now.

Nothing poncey about a Shakespearean name. Or at least not the female names - if you called your son Othello people might wince a bit.

How about Portia from the Merchant of Venice. I think it's a lovely name.

Now I am thinking that your name is nightingale-related, OP?

LauraChant I know what you're thinking but no, it's a more common name than that!

Hassled yes - struggling to find boys' names we like in Shakespeare!

I'm really glad that people seem to like these girls' names.

I have three Shakespearean girls I would have used Viola if having dd4 (which I won't be!)

I am also trying to run through literary/mythological women who come to a nasty end there's a lot of them

I'd forgotten there was another literary association for Lavinia, so maybe if you didn't introduce it as 'like in Titus Andronicus' people wouldn't jump that way immediately.

Cressida still the clear winner for me though!

Love Cassandra and Miranda and considered both for dd1. Helena lovely too.

I don't like anything in your original list except Cassandra though, sorry.

I love Cressida
I know an Octavia and I just think skoda

If I thought we could have pulled it off, I've always loved Hero (Much Ado).

Boys names tricky aren't they - I don't think the comedy men have the appeal of the heroines, and the tragedies are more complex (agree baby Othello or Hamlet sounds a bit odd!)

Benedict (regularised spelling!) would be a temptation. Ferdinand? Sebastian?

Florizel? I have a soft spot for that, probably a good job DH didn't

Berowne?

My name is Cressida and I LOVE it! Although people always pronounce it cress seed a rather than cress i da it means 'infidelity' from the Shakespeare days and originally 'golden hair' from the Greek and Chaucer days (I think- happy to be corrected if I'm wrong)
I'm neither btw- have black hair and definitely faithful!

Sorry- I realise that message was super difficult to read. I was struggling with the punctuation buttons on the phone.

How about Jessica? It's a bit more classic than the others but I think Shakespeare invented it in Merchant of Venice

Benedict and Sebastian are the best of the boy's names I think. Girls have a lot more possibilities. Mind you we all laughed mightily didn't we when Posh and Becks went for Romeo and that's almost grown on me now.