To anyone thinking of picking something pretentious...

[LethalWhite]

Don’t know if anyone else was listening to radio 6 just now?

A woman rang up with a request, mentioned her 6 week old daughter
Presenter: what’s she called?
Woman: Isolde Fleur
Presenter:.... what? sounds confused
Woman Isolde Fleur
Presenter: why? Where’s that come from?
Woman: it’s an old Arthurian legend.
Presenter: right. Why...why did you pick it?
Woman: well we were researching baby names and it just seemed to fit.
Presenter: well, ok.

The poor woman

I love Isolde. Fleur is a pretty normal name. I think if you're looking for pretentious, you need to look a lot harder than that!

What’s pretentious about Isolde? Giving the second name is odd, but hardly challenging.

The presenter sounds thick.

Hardly pretentious. The presenter sounds like an idiot.

Is it 'pretentious' to have an interest in history/legend/religion/another language or culture etc and choose a name for your child that resonates with you because of it?

Wow. Spectacularly rude and makes te presenter look like an ignorant bully.

The name Isolde has been around for around 1000 years and is part of the cultural heritage of the British Isles. Fleur is hardly out there, too.

Try harder I say

I read it and it sound like a bad French accented person saying

This old flower.

Never heard of the name Isolde. How do you pronounce it?

The woman pronounced it:

Is-old-eh Fleur

Very quickly in a sort of french accent (she wasn’t French)

Out of interest - what would the above posters class as a pretentious name?!

Isn't Isolde a version of Yseult/Iseult ?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iseult

protagonist in the "Tristram and Isolde" love story that bulks out "Morte d'Arthur"

Maybe I could be a radio presenter ?

We need more Arthurian names in society, I think ...

The presenter sounds uneducated, tbh. Isolde Fleur is a lovely name.

Pretentious to me is:

1. Double-barrelled: Lilla-Mae, Ruby-Rae, Lexi-Blu.

2. Wannabe American celeb/surnames as first names: Madison, Mason, Eden, Harper, North, Cody, Colton, Jayden, Kayden, Gage, Tyler, Dakota, Indianna, Savannah.

(It’s fine if you are American).

Yes Isolde is the German version of Iseult, also adopted in France.

I like them both but I prefer Iseult.

Presenter's ignorance is his problem, not this woman's. Manners are also a bit lacking IMO.

It's a horrible name. Very ugly.

Was it Chris Hawkins? He's not thick.

Pretentious to me is: 1) Double-barrelled 2) Wannabe American celeb/surnames*
They’re both chavvy not pretentious.

I wouldn't say that's a pretentious name at all but then I'm saying it in a Scottish accent rather than a fake French one lol

Not pretentious. Presenter sounds like an ignorant halfwit.

Is that supposed to be the big reason not to use a weird name? Like, nobody could ever think of a reason not to, but now we have it! Because if you ever call in to a radio station and mention it, the DJ might be confused!

They’re both chavvy not pretentious

Who says they can’t be both.

In fact, I think both trends apply across demographics.

And yes they’re my definition of pretentious.

Isolde Fleur is not particularly 'out there' is it?
Both traditional names in usage in the UK for hundreds of years!

My mother is called Isolde!!

Its never been in the top 10 in usage but its far from unusual!

I'd call it irresponsible not pretentious.
Kid would get bullied senseless with a name like that round here.
Problem is parents who give their kids daft names, don't have to put up with it themselves.

Only on mumsnet is that considered a normal name FFS. I'm with you and the presenter OP and feel sorry for the child.

I sold flour.

Isolde is a gorgeous name. No one says their middle name anyway!