Names which are unpopular and you don't understand why

[detachablehoof]

I wondered about calling my PFB Topsy. 99.9% of responses were utter horror. Olive was another on my list which people were horrified by. I don't understand why?! It's not weird, it's easy to spell, it's a proper name, ...

And now I'm wondering about Beryl. A quick search of this forum tells me that I'd get a similar reaction so I'll not ask for opinions

If it was a boy I liked Leonard ... which elicited horror from my family!

Do I just have terrible taste or does anyone else find the general consensus really odd sometimes? Like why is Olive considered terrible and frumpy when Olivia is so popular?

Would love to hear which other names you wonder why they aren't used more!

Love Lenny and olive

Topsy = rabbit

Actually bumblebees. I think topsy sound very posh so would expect someone called topsy to have a very good education.

I think if Beryl was going to come back it would have done already. It's the same vintage as Pearl and Ivy and they've been back in fashion for yonks now.

It's just a really, really, ugly name and I'd feel sorry for a baby Beryl. Olive isn't that obscure these days, definitely favoured by hipsters.

Leonard is fine. Lenny is a cute nickname.

Topsy....well.....where to start! Good name for a 1950s burlesque dancer.

I think topsy sound very posh so would expect someone called topsy to have a very good education

Topsys and Binkys and Tiggys and Bimbles are always family nicknames. There'll be a proper name like Annabel or Jemima on the birth cert.

“Oh I’m so sorry you need emergency surgery, don’t worry though this is Topsy one of our best Surgeons”

I'd be fine to be honest. A qualified surgeon is a qualified surgeon.

Topsy is a cat's name. Topsy is the cat who got the cream.

Dorothy is lovely.

Topsy... just no

I’m a healthcare professional- Topsy would be introduced as Dr Smith (or Ms Smith depending on if she was a consultant or not)

Olive is top of my list if I ever have a girl. It's lovely.

My 4 month old dd is called Olive and she’s perfect

Love Olive and Dorothy. Topsy just reminds me of Topsy and Tim. Loved the books, hate the tv programme.

I used to babysit a little girl called Beryl. Her dad called her his 'little Beryl of monkeys'. It was adorable.

I like the name Nevaeh (gasp! shock! horror!). I know people here think it's chavvy and American, but I like the way it sounds!

Then again, I really dislike a lot of popular names now...

The general consensus can be most odd. I think the inexplicably popular George is a ghastly name. It sounds wheezy and jowly and porky.

Of yours, I don’t care for Topsy because of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but I like Olive, and think Beryl is much like lots of the retro-chic names which have been revived, and Leonard is fine.

Parthenope, I feel exactly the same about George. It sounds clammy and wobbly and obese to me. Hate it

I've always thought Linda is a lovely name, but nobody else likes it at all.

Love them all, especially Dorothy!

i love the name Beryl - and the stone it represents. Like Ruby or Amber.
I have a think for gems, i think

I love the name Belinda.

I think it’s so pretty but I just think most people hate it.

I am surprised Olive isn't more popular. Also Olivine, with both the popularity of Olivia and some gem names, but as previously said, when one option is so generally well-liked and known, those similar names will be always be compared to it. My name is one letter off a very well known and far more frequently used ones and it's often mixed up and compared with it.

Topsy does feel more like a nickname to me. Dorothy is quite nice and does seem like one to rise in popularity alongside other similar grandparent generation names.

I think we’re a club of two, Bubastes.

I think Beryl is no different to Ivy or Iris or Pearl and I don't get why it hasn't come back into fashion alongside them. Leonard is cool. Olive is much classier than Olivia.

Topsy is just awful though. Would you honestly be happy to be called Topsy yourself?

Belinda is beautiful! Do people really hate it?!

Topsy makes me think of autopsy

Olive is beautiful though imo

Topsy and Beryl? Why would you do that to a child?

Topsys and Binkys and Tiggys and Bimbles are always family nicknames. There'll be a proper name like Annabel or Jemima on the birth cert

^ this! I know several people (children and adults) who are known by family pet names but there’s always a proper name on the birth certificate / exam certificates etc.