Your opinion on these names, please? English naming "rules" are a book with 7 seals to me... [hmm]

[1horatio]

so...:
Vela (which I love and is also the name of a constellation)
Carina (honours somebody that saved my life...)
Erica
Louisa
Carla
Kira (Kira doesn't come from Ciara, it's the feminine form of Cyrus. I think this sounds spunky)

Cedric (my absolute favourite, tbh. I looove this name)
Clement
Isaac
Orion

My better half is English but I am from all over Europe (Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Germany...)
The daddy works for a uni, I myself am a consultant (law).
The daddy would probably just name the kid after grandparents/favourite aunt/uncle and be done with it... But in Britain names can apparently be "wet", "chavy", "common", "try hard"?
The 2nd and 3rd name will honour relatives, so these will be fairly classic....

You even guessed the kind of school my husband went to... This is really fascinating but also a tiiny bit scary (I wasn't aware I revealed this much about my husband, tbh!)

Vela- just doesn't sound right
Carina- part of the trachea. I couldn't name a child after a body part.
Erica- fine
Louisa- nice
Carla- nice
Kira- sounds a bit made up, but nice enough.

Cedric- awful
Clement- quite like
Isaac- nice
Orion- try hard

Why ask about the rules then if your not going to let them dictate your choice

To make an informed choice.
I for example simply assumed Peregrine is hippy-ish. But apparently is more old man/classic.
Maybe we'll still end up naming our child Peregrine. But now it's an informed choice... :)

Ha! It's really obvious to an English person. I'd strongly recommend you read 'Watching the English' by Kate Fox if you are interested in these things.

FWIW my mum is foreign and my DDad was English working class. They picked a foreign name for me which gets a lot of comment and is class mobile.

She worked as an au pair for upper middle class people and so crosses into that class v easily (wouldn't be seen dead with a serviette etc), sent me to private school and so most people who meet me think I'm posh. Despite both my parents having working class jobs and nearly getting evicted. So as a foreigner you can slot in wherever you like! - and your kids will follow you.

My DH on the other hand also went to private school but doesn't come across nearly as posh as me as although his parents are now loaded and live in the home counties they would never pass as upper middle in a million years - too many doilies, serviettes and saying pardon instead of what. They've made money but are stuck trying too hard with cake forks and stuff.

However both DH and I can see there is a whole layer of class we are excluded from having been to private and not public schools - it gets very complicated! Luckily none of it is remotely important in day to day life except for amusement value and spotting how many of the government went to the same school/university

So class isn't necessarily down to education or jobs or money - it's also your social network and state of mind. As a foreigner it really depends who you first meet/work with when you arrive.

Don't names tend to move through, mainly down, the 'classes'?

A few years ago names like Sebastian, Hugo, Quentin, Isabella, Clementine were all seen as quite posh whereas they've become much more mainstream imo. I certainly know a lot of kids with these names, many of whom are not at all posh or even socalled 'middle class'.

In other words, associations change and I don't think I'd take long to change my perception of a Peregrine if I met a cute little one now. And especially in and around London most names on here would be absolutely fine (even cool imo).

I like orion. I especially like severin. Sev would be a great nickname on a teenager. I wouldn't write it off because it sounds like severing if you like it. Id also point out that on announcing your babies name, anybody with any manners would simply say "that's lovely". Not pick apart the social and outdated class driven connotation. I actually think I'm a bit in love with the Way you've responded to some of these posts when it became apparent you werent going to immediately drop cedric because some people think it's an old man name. I think anyone under 25 will associate it with cedric diggory from harry potter who is a brave and good character. All the names you've said are perfectly acceptable.

I think Cedric is OK too.

I associate it with Ivanhoe's father but in real life I know of it used by French parents nowadays.

"Id also point out that on announcing your babies name, anybody with any manners would simply say "that's lovely". Not pick apart the social and outdated class driven connotation."

I agree with that completely. I think many mumsnetters are particularly keen to advise against anything 'unusual' or 'posh' or 'old fashioned' whereas in real life most people much more open minded imo.

People will say "that's lovely" out loud. For the most part, people are polite. What they will say in their heads is "omfg, what were the parents thinking" if you pick a name like Severin. I'm not saying you shouldn't pick what you like btw, just pointing out that people are two faced what people say to your face won't necessarily mirror what they privately think.

I would rather give a child a name that didn't follow the masses rather than worry that some small minded judgemental person might think it was a stupid name. None of the names op has suggested are particularly out there. I heard of one called bodhi this week. That is "out there" and try hard. Orion isn't.

Actually, thinking about it, I would guess your husband went to Ampleforth based on public school and liking the name Ignatius.

Don't tell me if I'm wrong, I now have a whole picture in my head

"What they will say in their heads is "omfg, what were the parents thinking" if you pick a name like Severin."

As long as they don't say anything negative, such parents can think what they want! If they are so narrow minded and have such strong feelings towards a little child's name, I think that says more about them than Severin's parents. And hopefully a little Severin can quickly change their narrow minded old fashioned view of the name :).

I like the op's names, especially Cedric and Orion. They're great classic names that are easy to spell/say and aren't overused. What's not to like? Yes, they're a little old fashioned and less common but to me that's part of their appeal. Much better than so many overused names like Archie, Jack or Finn, for example. Do we really need more of these?

I also agree with previous posters that some people on here are so small minded and have such strong feelings about some names - I wonder why? We're in London and none of the suggested names would cause any surprise, in fact I think most people (certainly those that I've come across) would find the names very cool.

It's ok, I won't tell you whether you're wrong or not. But I will tell you that you're speculations are amusing :) (in a good way).

I started reading Watching the English the last time we went on holiday. It was interesting, but I haven't read a lot yet.

It is interesting to see how different people view the names. Maybe I should start a new thread. With less names where I'll also ask posters what they named their children... I like less common and old-fashioned names, they're cool.

People probably won't tell you their kids names. Ironically they don't want to be judged on their name choices!!

neonrainbow:
that is true. The person saying that Isaac is "common" probably wouldn't admit to having an Oliver...
The other option would obviously be to give the child a name that's clearly not English... But I'm not sure I like that option.

Whenever I hear the name Cedric it reminds me of the cartoon 'raccoons' that was on when I was a child. Never met a real life Cedric I just remember him!

The only English Cedric I know is Cedric Robinson, the Queen's Scout who leads people across the very perilous sands of Morecambe Bay. He is no cissy.

I was going to say the same as Wolpertinger. It's clear even from a few posts where you are approximately in the class spectrum! So here are my comments on your name list, based on that (and on how the names would be "read" by the people around you):

Vela - too unusual; sounds too European. People will think of bicycles.
Carina - lovely; unusual but not too much so. Elegant.
Erica - doesn't fit. Too old-fashioned.
Louisa - lovely and elegant. Will blend in beautifully. Very "upper-middle".
Carla - old-fashioned and very American. A no-no.
Kira - a bit too fashionable, but OK.

Cedric - very old-fashioned, wet and fey. Sounds like a PG Wodehouse character (and not in a good way). Ditto Peregrine, if you're wondering
Clement - ok but a bit staid. Not very classic or "now".
Isaac - classic. Will blend in beautifully.
Orion - too unusual; a bit "pop star's child".

Astraea - actually lovely. Would not raise eyebrows in your social circle.
Lettice - classic English and very "upper middle", but could lead to puzzlement in other social circles.

My take on it: if you want your child to blend in in the middle-upper-middle classes, including at school and in future life: Louisa and Isaac are perfect. Isaac is the safest of your boys' names. Of the girls' names, Louisa, Carina and Astraea are both the safest and most appealing in terms of how they will be "read" by others.

If you like Cedric but don't use it for a boy, what about Cecilia, or Cecily for a girl? An under-used but classic and elegant name.

Thank you for the suggeston, Cecilia is really pretty. But tbh, the girl names aren't really a problem anymore. Right now it looks like it would be a Louisa or a Carina/Katherina/Katharine (we're still working on the spelling. I just happen to really dislike Catherine,...)

Boy names are so difficult. I think I may post a new thread for boy names. I have come up with quite a few (non-vetoed) boy names that are imo just lovely

Right now I like Anton, Cedric and Nathaniel. But we'll see...
I think finding lovely boy names is really challenging.

Anton du Beke..

Is this du Beke guy so prominent and unlikeable? Because that's not the first time I get this reaction to Anton... Plus a quick google search didn't reveal anything inherently unlikable...(?)

To me this is the name of a character in one of my favourite childhood books (Pünktchen und Anton...). But this is apparently not well known in the UK at all...