Basil

[MeyMary]

What do you think of the name Basil?

Tia :)

Sebastian and Louis are lovely. Matteo is nice too. Adrian is bland. Marco I think French. David is boring anyway (I’m welsh so know loads)

Sebastian Louis goes well together!!!

IMO Basil is the best of your considerations.

Does it have to be something that sounds equally good in German and English?

We live in Germany but DH and I mostly speak English with each other (DH is learning German but it's currently still rather rudimentary). German may be a bit more important but it does need to "work" in English as well... (And it needs to be at least pronounceable in Italian.)

I don't like Thomas or Hans. Michael is nice but it might be a bit bland? Idk...

@Enko

I agree, Basil is the best of our considerations in my personal opinion...

I think it's cool, bit different, and has nickname of Baz which is fine.

I doubt kids these days know how basil brush is or has seen fawlty towers!

I like Sebastian and Matteo from your list too :)

I like Baz/s.

He could also got by Bass. Or Boss(y), which might be a bit more unfortunate.

The Basil I went to school with was occasionally called Basilikum (the German word for the herb...) or Cum/Kum. (No sperm connotations in German, btw!)

I was going to suggest Sebastian or Louis with your criteria. Or Cosmo/Cosimo.

We do actually have a cat called Basil. He was a rehome.

Bass is a good nn for Sebastian.

I can't believe your husband is saying it's a good name for the UK.. don't listen to him. Basil fawlty for me and I am not that old.

How about Hugo?

I actually quite like it. Gives me a hippy vibe, picture a toddler in dungarees with long curly hair. I think it’s a happy name.

I can't believe your husband is saying it's a good name for the UK.

One of your better suggestions is admittedly not quite a ringing endorsement!

@TatianaLarina
We do actually have a cat called Basil

Is Basil a quintessentially British cat name?

How about Hugo?
I unfortunately don't like Hugo. It sounds a bit harsh/rough in my personal opinion...

@Cbeebiesrehab

So do I. I feel like it's simple, cheerful, not particularly popular or too "out there"... But it doesn't have the same cultural connotations to me so there's that.

Is Basil a quintessentially British cat name?

Apparently so..

names are so personal. if you like it go for it. doesn't matter what other people think.

The Basil Fawlty/Brush references won't mean a lot to his generation so I wouldn't worry about them too much. Personally I find it a bit twee, it's a great name for a cat/dog/rabbit but not my taste for a human.

I like most of your other names, but Severin sounds too much like severe/sever. And definitely avoid David if the association is bad!

Littlebird88

That would be 100% correct if I was naming myself. But we're inflicting our chosen names on someone else... I do agree that other people's tastes don't matter a lot but cultural associations etc certainly do... :-/

I like most of your other names, but Severin sounds too much like severe/sever. And definitely avoid David if the association is bad

Yes, Severin does unfortunately sound a bit too much like severing... David is a great name imo but I just can't with that one. You're definitely right in regards to that name, David isn't useable (in our case, not in general!)....

Terrible. Fawlty or Brush.

I like it, actually. It's an established name, but uncommon these days, and not cutesy. Or would you consider Basilio, the Italian version, which has more panache to my ears?

DH Grandad is basil- I love it but don't think I could use it- also would be shorted to Baz which i hate

I LOVE Basil. Sweet, nature-themed, friendly-sounding. Would go well with a baby, child, and adult. I would've happily had it on our list for my son, but my DH vetoed it due to the Fawlty / Brush connections.

Baz is dreadful.

The actual name isn't that bad it's the association with Basil Brush and Basil Fawlty that makes me say a big fat no

I love this name!!!

I am not sure how you intend on the pronunciation, but I grew up with a boy who’s name was pronounced ba-sil not bay-sel(or however you want to spell the probounciation for basil lol) and we had lived in the u.s and he was teased relentlessly for having a name that sounded like and spelled like basil. Don’t recommend, things may be different where you live but not a good choice in my opinion

Surely it's pronounced Ba-sil, at least in the UK. It should sound like the plant - it's the same word.

I've only heard it as Ba-sil. It's not Baysil!