Girls list, inspired by the out-there threads atm

[Remembrall]

Some of the more out-there names discussed recently have inspired me to post my outrageous name lists.

I'm only 14 weeks, but musing. And probably not brave enough for most of them, as first names. But I am partial to a more interesting middle name.

These are my absolute fantasy lists. Which do you like, and which do you hate? And first name-middle name combinations that jump out as lovely?

Girls:

Alba
Allegra
Antigone
Bramble
Briar
Charis
Claudia
Coral
Francesca
Hazel
Hero
Ivy
June
Monica
Morgan
Olive
Opal
Pearl
Romy
Sorrel
Vera
Violet
Vivienne

Boys:

Alan (very very special family name to me, probably the only one with any real significance on both of these lists)
Alistair
Amos
Blaise
Clement
Conrad
Ford
Jarvis
Laurence
Neville
Paris
Rafferty
Rocco
Rollo
Stellan
Valentine
Warwick
Willoughby

I love Clemency. And Clementine. Stop making my list longer!

Sorry Rememberall I adore the name Clemency and thought it went beautifully with Violet from your list so just had to post especially as you had Clement for a boy

Nothing too wacky there....Bramble though

Allegra, Alba, Monica and Vivienne are lovely imo. As are Alan, Conrad, Laurence and Alistair.

I read Allegra as Algebra

Violet is about as opposite of "out there" as it's posfibke to be. Just about every other girl under 5 is called Violet ime (I have a 4 yo DD, I know a lot of girls under 5).

Posfibke= possible !!!

How about Seraphina or Gloria?
Angus or Innes?

But they're not "out there" at all! In fact they're two of the prettiest names lists I've seen on MN. A few in each that I'm not keen on but definitely skewed towards lovely.

My first reaction to Bramble was to raise my eyebrows. Then I smiled and was delightedly keep it on the list.

Just a few thoughts about what comes to my mind for each of your names (BTW - LOVE Clemency too...)

Girls:

Alba - Scottish nationalist
Allegra - pretty
Antigone - love it! Shame the Sophocles play is so sad - she isn't a happy character
Bramble - middle name quite cool, otherwise, spring spaniel
Briar - another middle namer, quite like this (unusual for me!)
Charis - hate the sound, really harsh to my ear
Claudia - quite nice, German exchange student
Coral - Victorian prostitute
Francesca - pretty, Jilly Cooper character (Chessie?)
Hazel - boring
Hero - male name? what about Hero?
Ivy - Victorian maid, very Downton
June - Terry and June. Too dated
Monica - lovely. My grandmother's name
Morgan - awful, but then I don;t like unisex/American names and this is one for me
Olive - old lady
Opal - Victorian barmaid
Pearl - another barmaid
Romy - prefer as a nn, what about Romily?
Sorrel - pretty, colour of a horse in the US
Vera - dreadful, dreary
Violet - overused at the moment
Vivienne - pretty

Boys:

Alan (very very special family name to me, probably the only one with any real significance on both of these lists) - if the significance is important, there is no better reason!
Alistair - like it, very strong
Amos - old man at a compost heap
Blaise - woman
Clement - Frenchman
Conrad - German hotelier
Ford - a car
Jarvis - geek
Laurence - romantic novelist, possible gay
Neville - the man at the party you really don't want to be stuck talking to
Paris - female (I know Paris/Troy etc, but with Paris Hilton etc it sounds more female to my ears). And v v chavvy.
Rafferty - cool, if the kid/family can pull it off
Rocco - Forte Hotels. Or possibly a man who has made his money from chocolate. Likely to be Swiss.
Rollo - love it. Not sure why it reminds me of a dachshund though...
Stellan - not a name!
Valentine - cool, love this
Warwick - a city not a man
Willoughby - cool, IF you have a connection to the name. E.g. if your mother's maiden name was Willoughby then fair play, if not, a bit pretentious

I like Blaise, my association is Blaise Pascal. Also play by Claude Magnier.
Rocco-definitely Italian, autocorrect made it Rococo
Valentin/e with e at the end makes it girl's name.
Rollo? It is some kind of candy?
Henning Mankel
Romy- lovely. Romy Schneider was the beautiful actress, sadly not happy
Alba-Albion, Albania
Allegra-musical term allegro
Stellan is definitely a name, Stellan Skarsgaard-Swedish actor

'Stellan - not a name!'

Er, yes it is!

Rollo reminds me of King Rollo (which I loved). Probably only a reference that those born between 1975 and 1982 will get though.

Sorry for any Stellans I've slighted. It isn't a name I've heard but fair enough if it is in other countries!

bike whereabouts do you live? I know not 1 Violet and as its only around 80 in last years list this is surprising.

Girls- love these-
Francesca
Hazel
Morgan
Olive
Violet

Boys:

Love these-
Clement
Conrad
Jarvis
Laurence
Rafferty
Willoughby

Alba - okish if you're Scottish or have Scottish connections
Allegra - Ok
Antigone - pretentious
Bramble - great for a Springer spaniel
Briar - great for your second Springer spaniel
Charis - Sounds like a car, "the new Toyota Charis"
Claudia - nice, classic, not wacky at all
Coral -really don't like
Francesca - nice, classic, not wacky
Hazel - ok, bit dull?, not wacky
Hero - dear god no. Only if you are actually giving birth to an Avenger
Ivy - old lady
June - old lady
Monica - uptight Friends character
Morgan - ok but I think of more as a boy's name??
Olive - absolutely hate this name but I think that might just be me
Opal - better than Pearl
Pearl -"clutcher"/old lady
Romy - quite like
Sorrel - rabbit name
Vera - old lady, bit dull sounding
Violet - old ladyish but not as bad as some others
Vivienne - beware of shortening to 'Viv'

Boys:

Alan (very very special family name to me, probably the only one with any real significance on both of these lists) - classic but not the most exciting name in the world
Alistair - nice, classic
Amos - reminds me of an 18th Century American with a huge moustache, possibly friends with Abe Lincoln
Blaise - drippy and pretentious
Clement - as above
Conrad - 80s yuppie
Ford - no, it's a car brand
Jarvis - Cocker (trust me, I'm a vet and I see a LOT of Jarvis Cockers)
Laurence - bit wet
Neville - awful, sounds like snivel
Paris - really truly awful, no teenage boy will thank you for being called Paris, that's a lifetime of bullying right there
Rafferty - like but bit North London 'trendy' a la Jude Law and Sadie Frost
Rocco - as per Rafferty but Madonna, unless you're Italian, in which case, great
Rollo - bit pretentious but MN will love it
Stellan - great if you're Scandinavian
Valentine - christ no, see Paris above
Warwick - okish
Willoughby - see Valentine and Paris

Peas - West Yorkshire/South Yorkshire boundary. Counting all the children in dd/DS's activities, nursery etc I know 1 who is 5, 5 who are 4, 2 who is 3 , 1 who is 2 and a baby.

Alba -yes
Allegra -yes
Antigone -love this think my fave from your list
Bramble -no. Sounds like a puppy
Briar- I see Brian.
Charis- yes
Claudia- alright. Don't love it. Depends how you pronounce it (I prefer claw-dia than cl-ow-dia)
Coral- not my fave.
Francesca- beautiful and Classic
Hazel- I knew an old lady called hazel. But old lady names are back in.
Hero- like a classic greek name Ira
Ivy- like
June- not fussed
Monica- okay. I wouldn't choose but no real problem
Morgan- I see this as a boy name
Olive- quite like this actually
Opal- prefer ivy and olive.
Pearl - as above
Sorrel- love this
Vera- still a bit too old-lady maybe.
Violet yes
Vivienne- poss second fave on your list

Boys:

Alan (very very special family name to me, probably the only one with any real significance on both of these lists) - then it's a no brainier- go for this one!
Alistair -had a teacher called this and he was a plonker.
Amos- depends on ethnic background.
Blaise- okay. Reminds me of a horse though for some reason
Clement- okay
Conrad- like this
Ford- seems a bit americanised but I don't dislike it
Jarvis- don't like this a lot
Laurence- love this
Neville- same as Jarvis. Just seems like a bit of a geeky unpopular person.
Paris- flamboyant and dramatic.
Rafferty- like this
Rocco- madonna?
Rollo- like this a lot. Better than rocco but same lines
Stellan- is this a name? Not heard of it before. I like the sound of it though. It's a strong name
Valentine- whereas this isnt. Arty. I don't dislike.
Warwick. Nice town. And little person. Not sure if go for it .
Willoughby- holly? I guess you'd call him will though. So nice classic name but with a twist.

Nothing too wacky there....

Violet is about as opposite of "out there" as it's posfibke to be.

But they're not "out there" at all!

Well shit. I've not been around children since I was one. And back then, they were all called Jessica, Emma and David. In my head, those are the popular names. When in the 25+ years I've been growing up, what is popular has obviously changed, and my idea of out there has caught up with me.

I grew up with an unusual name - which is actually now top 100. This has surprised me, as someone who knows no children at all and hadn't ever looked at an ONS list before today, I still don't think of my name as popular or trendy. I want a certain level of unusualness for my child, and I firmly believe that your name (your main identifier) is failing in its purpose if it cannot distinguish you from others in your peer group.

Funny how your own perspective can be so disconnected from real life. And actually, this finding has given me the confidence to be braver with the name choice - because I'm probably not being brave at all!

Thanks all - many revisions are now needed! I will report back shortly.

Revision complete. These are the current lists and prevailing thoughts.

Girls:

Alba - DH's family are Scottish, so that might be a nice nod to them. Or they could think it's weird. Can any Scots advise on the perceptions of using this name?
Allegra - Still like very much, DH not so keen, as he knew one he didn't like too much.
Antigone - Probably a bit silly, but like very much and happy to have a bolder middle name.
Bramble - Still like because of our little in joke, but definitely a middle name if used.
Briar - LOVE
Chris - Really like, but firmly a middle name choice.
Claudia - Like very much, but not grabbed intensely.
Coral - LOVE, but actually sounds a lot like a family member's name who also shares our surname. Maybe middle.
Hero - Not enamoured, at best middle.
June - LOVE. It is a much cooler, less popular alternative to May in my book.
Opal - I think this would make an absolutely fantastic middle name.
Sorrel - Like very much.
Vera - LOVE. I think is has been left out of the granny-chic resurgence, and that appeals. To be honest, I think Wang over Duckworth anyway.
Vivienne - Like, but possibly a bit flowery for us.

Boys:

Alan - Still very significant, but I don't LOVE the name itself.
Amos - Awesome. I wasn't sure what a pp meant about ethnic/cultural assumptions about this name. Can anyone elaborate?
Blaise - This is fantastic. Huge fan.
Clement - Again, great. Plus I bloody love Clement Atlee.
Conrad - Not a fave, but do like.
Ford - Wacky middle name territory for me. This is a good thing, and it turns out I've got a thing for US president and UK PM names.
Jarvis - I love this so much, but is it too much?
Laurence - Big fave. Think this is brilliant.
Neville - Neither here nor there.
Paris - Still love this. Middle name though, due to prominence of the female Paris over Shakespeare's.
Rocco - I think this is very cool, and Madonna makes me like it more.
Stellan - Again LOVE, very very cool, but I'm not at all Scandi. Does this matter?
Valentine - Like, but will only ever be a middle name. DH isn't a fan.
Warwick - Warwick Davis is awesome. The name is awesome. I don't care at all that it is a place.
Willoughby - Middle name I think.

Any thoughts on combinations now?

Based on your revision and comments, I reckon you should go for one of:

Briar Vivienne Goldsmith
Claudia Charis Goldsmith (I love Charis' meaning: grace, kindness and life)
Sorrel June Goldsmith
Vera Opal Goldsmith

Blaise Alan Goldsmith
Clement Alan Goldsmith
Laurence Alan Goldsmith
Rocco Alan Goldsmith

June Antigone Goldsmith (JAG as initials which is much cooler than WAG )
Antigone Opal Goldsmith
Briar Opal Goldsmith
Briar Antigone Goldsmith
(Have you considered Blair for a girl?)

Blaise Alan Goldsmith
Stellan Valentine Alan Goldsmith (if you're ok with two middle names)
Alan Ford Goldsmith
Stellan Rocco Goldsmith
Warwick Alan Conrad Goldsmith (to remove the WAG aspect)

From your girls list I like
Antigone
Claudia
Hero
Olive
Romy
Sorrel

Boys I like

Alan
Conrad
Ford - I know one and it was on my list too
Rafferty
Warwick - I know a 2 yo called this, it's quite cool
Willoughby

Blaise - I know one, but he has a french connection, which I thinnk you need to get away with it.

You can't use Briar Opal Goldsmith....her initials would spell BOG

If Alan means so much to you I think it would be lovely used as a middle name. You could use Alana/Alanna for a girl?

I like most of your girls names and Alastair and Laurence from the boys list.

I realised that after I posted it
Briar Opal Vivienne Goldsmith?