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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Clement, Clarence, Roscoe or Gilbert?

164 replies

ammature · 27/08/2015 13:13

We are totally settled on Astrid if we have a daughter, LOVE IT! but a little confused for a boy. We always had Roscoe in mind way before I was ever pregnant but since being pregnant have come up with a few others. Gilbert, my husband like Gil and I like Bert as nick names, worried child will have 2 diff nicknames! Also like Clarence, Roscoe and Clement, Florian is an outside possibility too. Any thoughts?

OP posts:
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PageStillNotFound404 · 28/08/2015 14:19

Just to add to your joy, anyone who has ever read a book called The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh (it was very popular book in the 70s/80s) would never call a child Roscoe in a million years and would wince at a child with such a name.

I read that more than once in the late 80s and never even made the connection here - I only thought of the Dukes of Hazzard - so it is of course an exaggeration to say that anyone who has read it would wince at the name.

OP, I'm going to buck the trend and say I love Florian! It reminds me of Onkel Florian, a minor character in the Chalet School books, who was a big strapping Austrian chap capable of carrying fainting schoolgirls down a mountain. Not at all wet.

I like Gilbert/Gil too, and don't think that would be too out of step with current name trends. I'm neutral on Clement simply because of the rise of Clementine for little girls - I knew a lovely man called Clement/Clem but probably wouldn't use it these days for a boy, and I'm not keen on Clarence or Roscoe.

I agree with those who have said that most people will be polite when introduced to someone, regardless of how 'out there' the name might be, and if you get to know a person then that name just becomes 'them', no matter what other/previous associations you might have.

And as for a child hating their name because it's unusual...I've seen far more threads where people bemoan their parents' choice of name either because the spelling (not the name itself) was unusual or for precisely the opposite reason; that they were the sixth Debbie/Lucy/Jill or whatever in their school year and so always had to be known by their surname or its initial as well as their first name.

SmugairleRoin · 28/08/2015 14:55

No, no, no and no.

I do agree Florian is quite nice though.

Mehitabel6 · 28/08/2015 19:34

If they are a confident, popular child they will be fine but you can't know this and it is a terrible handicap for a shy, sensitive child.

leghoul · 28/08/2015 22:52

Astrid is a fabulous name.
Clement or Roscoe are my other favourites.
Not sure about Florian but quite like Fabian and Tristan. I also like Emerson, Emmett and Sorrell.

leghoul · 28/08/2015 22:55

Dorian?

leghoul · 28/08/2015 22:57

I particularly dislike Clarence not very helpful

LumelaMme · 28/08/2015 23:08

OP, I like unusual names.
Clement is a seriously good name.
Gilbert likewise (I know of one, he's a farmer)
I also know a Florian who is a really lovely bloke (admittedly he is from Austria, where Florian is a normal sort of name).

One of my DC has a very unusual name. She absolutely loves it, always has. Another one has an almost equally unusual name and isn't desperately keen on it, but doesn't hate it enough to really work on establishing its normal-sounding nickname as her usual name.

And they both survived a state primary school entirely unscathed.

Fozzleyplum · 28/08/2015 23:19

Just read the list to my DH. His suggestion? "Try Dave". Seriously, please don't inflict any of these on your baby.

GloriaHotcakes · 28/08/2015 23:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CakeRattleandRoll · 30/08/2015 16:22

If you are still there, OP, you have my sympathy. Yes, Baby Names can be quite robust, but some people do cross the line from robust to rude, which is uncalled for. Or maybe they just draw that line in a different place to me. I can't even relate to the concept of 'hating' a name - it's just a name! Why use such a negative, emotional word? Save it for things that are really deserving of hatred.

And I agree with pp that those parents who take care to choose popular names so that their children 'fit in', may well find the child would have preferred something more unusual, so they could stand out from all the others with the same name as them. I'm certainly glad to have been given a very unusual name and have never been teased for it (except by my sister, but that is probably allowed).

Anyway, I like Clement best of your list, esp with nn Clem. Also like Roscoe but mostly because I love nn Ross. Florian sounds to 'flowery' for a boy's name.

Thoughtfulduck · 01/09/2015 02:45

i like roscoe :) it makes me think of a confident, alternative young man. I don't like Ross as a nn though.

Florian I quite like but I wouldn't personally be brave enough to name a child that, I prefer Julian or Dorian.

Thoughtfulduck · 01/09/2015 02:48

Also, Gilbert makes me think of what's eating Gilbert Grape. Not usually a fan of the name but I liked it on that character. I knew a Ghily growing up (short for Ghilyon) everyone thought it was a great name.

3rdSymphony · 01/09/2015 09:55

Maybe some US Mumsnetters can comment, but my sense from reading contemporary American fiction is that Roscoe may have an association with middle-aged and older hillbilly/hick types?

Astrid is lovely. I quite like Gilbert (Scott Heron and Blythe associations can't be bad) and Florian, but Clemence and Clarence both sound slightly clammy to me - possibly I just don't like the 'cl' sound?

Linus? Cornelius?

I'm another Londoner. None of the suggested names would have stood out as in any way unusual in my NCT/playgroup circles.

Lweji · 01/09/2015 10:34

Roscoe will be forever associated with this character for me.

SquirrelledAway · 01/09/2015 12:26

I see I'm not the only one to remember Clarence the Cross Eyed Lion, but you'll probably all be too young to remember a book called Florian's Farmyard.

For me, Florian will forever be a short fat Shetland pony.

mrsschu · 01/09/2015 16:49

I actually like the name Florian Smile. I know three of them, all German and all lovely. Not sure how you would pronounce it though? The ones I know are Floor-e-an if that makes sense. Gilbert isn't too bad, lots of nn possibilities. Clement is ok too, a tad feminine sounding perhaps. Not keen on Clarence.

Overall I don't think your name choices are too astonishing, I'm regularly astounded by some of the names that get a lot of love on here. In saying that you can't really ask for opinions and then complain because you don't like them. People are very blunt on here, anyone who has read or contributed to threads on here knows that.

mrsschu · 01/09/2015 16:50

Forgot about Roscoe - not my cup of tea but again people like far worse names on here...

Persephone76 · 01/09/2015 18:31

well OP, I like your names. I have a little Clement and I could not care less what people think. The UK is full of Harrys, James's and Olivers. Be brave and don't be cowed. Once your baby is born only the very rude will comment.

MsRinky · 03/09/2015 18:56

Well, this thread kicked off all right.

Love Astrid. And Clarence is an awesome name, and was the name of one of the loveliest men I ever had the pleasure of knowing. Clement is OK, but not as good as Clarence.

Roscoe..hmm, Im listening to Midlake right now, but yes, I also thought of the Dukes of Hazzard. Suppose Van Occupanther is out of the question. Not keen on Gilbert, bit Anne of Green Gables.

Go for Astrid or Clarence.

Pipilangstrumpf · 04/09/2015 14:10

Astrid and Clarence - both lovely classic underused names!

Florian is VERY popular in Germany.

Colyngbourne · 04/09/2015 19:33

Gilbert (Scott Heron/Blythe) - excellent
Clement (Attlee) - also excellent
Clarence and Florian are a little more unusual and 'softer' as names.
I'm not keen on Roscoe but that's a personal thing - it's a perfectly acceptable name in itself.

Sotonwhere · 10/09/2015 14:10

Bit late to the party but I wanted to congratulate you on an excellent shortlist.

I have an Astrid and my front runner for a future boy is Roscoe- love it.

Let us know what you decide when baby arrives.

I'll go read the rest of the thread now- quickly posted when I saw people being nasty to you- they clearly have awful taste whereas yours is fab

ammature · 10/09/2015 19:48

Thank you to the lovely last few posters... Glad you share my taste :-)

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 10/09/2015 22:39

I love Clement and Florian. They are very solid Germanic names. Astrid is also fab.

The other names I do not like much at all.
Clarence makes me think velvet smoking jackets on very old men. The Clarences I have known were Older Than Time, both from very pious Catholic families.
Roscoe makes me think of Texas and/or The Dukes of Hazzard and the Confederate flag..
Gilbert says 'barbershop quartet' to me.

Wordsaremything · 10/09/2015 22:55

Do you have a penchant for 19thc boys' novels O P? Grin

That's what they remind me of, sorry. Or cats.

Very try too hard.

Hope it's a girl!