Names you're not brave enough to use

[goldenorbspider]

Saw a thread the other day and someone mentioned Hecate! I love it but could never saddle a child with it. We played very safe with our name choices but if I was to throw caution to the wind, we would have some very out there names

Girls

Hecate
Calista
Calliope
Olympia
Giovanna
Zola
Athena

Boys

Hudson
Lorenzo
Ira
Cassius
Carey
Troy
Calvin
Solomon
Tate
Roman

Aethelflaed and Hereward. Actually I probably am brave enough for Hereward. I knew one years ago and think it's great.

How are they pronounced?

Ethel-fled and Heh-reh-wood.

Although, tbh, it's probably 1000 years since anyone was called Aethelflaed, so you can pronounce it how you like.

I knew an Aethelflaed in Australia about twenty years ago. "Ethel" to his friends

I like Tancred myself - I suppose Tancred Bradshaw has made it a bit more mainstream now

Scout

So we put it as a middle name

Girls

Zillah
Hepzibah
Tesne
Quinn because read fast it looks liken Quim

Boys
Ainsley
Eden
Torran

@Lailaha Wow, that's quite a name to give a boy. The most famous Aethelflaed was definitely female: the Lady of the Mercians.

Persephone
Calliope
Phaedra
Gabriel (I know it’s a very used name but it felt too biblical to me)

Athena and Seraphina

Gabriel is lovely, it's just the irony when they behave like a child

Glad to see I'm not the only one with a penchant for Greek mythology names

@bridgetreilly I know! His parents apparently loved the name, and didn't know that it is usually a female name! (He had a brother called John and a sister called Wendy, iirc, which makes it slightly more comedic from the outside ) Tbf he wore it well!

Iolanthe
Xanthippe
Persephone
Circe
Ceres
Dorcas

This is why I enjoy playing The Sims though, I give them all the names I would never use on a child.

Like Hudson and Calvin OP, good choices!
Ha really funny you see “Roman” as a risky choice @goldenorbspider - theres 2 in my Nct group of 8! It’ll be top 20 in next year or so on current growth trajectory. It’s getting very run of the mill- will be the equivalent of 1980s “Dave” or “Sarah” soon x

Ermintrude

We loved the name Lemoni but my step-dad killed it when he said "what, likely garlicky?". FFS.

She's a character in captain corelli's mandolin.

I really wanted Yorick for a while, but it was clearly never going to happen in the real world.

Yannick
Wilfred
Zanine (we knew a xanine)

Ocean
Tigerlily

Wolf
Atticus

I wanted to name my late son Wolfgang. I didn't. But his middle name was Jareth after Bowie, Goblin King in Labyrinth. That felt quite daring.
I wanted a girl baby I could call Katherine. So I could have a Wolf and a Kat.
Other boy names I dithered about were Jett and Jedrek.

For girls I really like Ophelia or Winter and for boys I love the names Woody, Forest, Luther or August. I personally wouldn't actually use them though.

I've missed the boat there, I did suggest ronan as an alternative but my other half wasn't having it

Atticus is a fantastic name, I like atlas as well but it's very severe

Girls
Hecate - no
Calista - yes
Calliope - maybe
Olympia - yes
Giovanna - is it back in fashion?
Zola - no, Budd.
Athena - yes

Boys
Hudson - ok, a bit too surnamey
Lorenzo - I know one so no. He's great but people would talk.
Ira - no
Cassius - yes but Muhammad Ali
Carey - no
Troy - no because I know 2.
Calvin - no.
Solomon - love it
Tate - no
Roman - no

I'd probably use them on pets. DC got very conventional, safe, classic names.