Those names you wouldn't use...

[whatausername]

...but really want to!

I was joking to a friend I might use the names Raisin and Wooster. Those are obviously total joke names but it made me wonder something. What names do you secretly like but don't have a thick enough skin to use or don't wish to 'inflict" it on a child? All subjective of course.

Mine:
Hortensia (love this!)
Augustus
Lucretia
Lavinia
Antigone
Amadeus
Wulfric
Claus (maybe if I move i could use this lol)
Hedwig
Virginia (the whole virginity as a virtue thing is ghastly)
Bláithín (I got told this is old-fashioned and I am distinctly un-Irish)

Ok, these I love but would never use:

"Word/occupation" names:
Cloud, Holliday, Story, Meadow, Snow, September, Lilac (girls)
Baker, Deacon, Everest, Sailor, Cobalt, Stone (boys)

"Posh" names that would sound WAY too over the top with my already-posh-sounding surname:
Calliope, Alexandrina, Madelief, Persephone, Seraphina, Sophronia, Xanthippe, Luciana (girls).
Rudyard, Cassius, Jolyon, Ludovic, Lysander, Xavier, Sylvester, Rudolph, Oleander, Casimir (boys).

I also have a soft spot for Lucifer.

Ironically perhaps, my actual children have names that are described as "boring" (I think of them as classic/timeless).

Meant to add I LOVE Klaus/Claus. If only I had any German heritage I might have tried to tempt DH with a little Nicholas nicknamed Klaus.

Also love (but would never use) Sully/Sullivan and Bellatrix.

@Bouncingbelle I too love the name Kelly for a boy. I've met a few and they've all really suited it. Ive always loved the name Hermione too by HP ruined it.

Girls:

Lilith - DH is Christian and I think baptism would be difficult with this one.
Morven - am not Scottish enough
Eilidh - as above
January
Orlaith - am not Irish enough
Aoife - as above
Esyllt - as beautiful as this is, the Ll makes it unworkable in England
Iseult - there's an Issy in the family
Anastasia - no Russian or Greek heritage

Boys:

Ibrahim - we are neither Muslim nor Arabic, but I do like the name
Cadwalladr - it's just a bit much
Iago - Welsh for James, ruined by Aladdin
Constantin - no Russian heritage
Alistair - not enough Scottish heritage

Anemone
Marjolaine
Ludmila
Narcissa

Tristan
Edgar
Darius

finallychangedmyusername my DH is German and I love some of the German names such as Mattheus, Sebastien, etc but our surname is never spelt or pronounced correctly so I went for names for the DC that work in both languages but are mostly English. I almost went for the German spelling for DS but chickened out at the last minute because I figured that everyone would just automatically just spell it the English way

Miffy. Yes, like the cartoon rabbit.

Oh and Shiloh for a boy. I love it but the Jolie-Pitts have ruined it for me.

Wacky names based on scientists from the 19th century. But I have used them for the two we lost in early pregnancy so I’m not going to share sorry.

Thought of more-
Lars
Tariq

Velvet
Mercedes

I went to school with a Miffy, short for Mary Frances.

So many of those names are on my list 😂 afraid they'll never see the light of day though 😢
To add to the collection I like
January
Prairie
Amaryllis
Lorelai
Porphyria
Electra
Perdita

Drake
Wolfgang
Ember
Jericho
Evander

I wanted ds2 to be Elvis but it got vetoed by Dp.

Vlad. As I come from Transylvania

I really like Mackenzie and Jett!

Clementine
Blossom
Capri
Virginia
Esmeralda
Cherryanne
Oprah
Dorothy

Bugsy
Watson
Roger
Frank
Bruno

P.s Wulfric is so sweet.
Lucretia instantly makes me think of lube secretion..

I love Wulfric for a boy and Seraphina for a girl.
Just not brave enough!

Hermione and Harriet.

I love both. I don't think Harriet is a particularly nice name but it has been a favourite of mine for a long time. I can't put my finger on why I like it. I really like Hermione but it would be mispronounced and I'm not a fan of names that end in the 'ee' sound with the exception of Hermione and I do not like names being shortened.

Boys:
Basil
Saul - always loved this name until I read the Bible
Cinnamon

Girls:
Nettle
Juniper
Lavender
Eden
Jemima
Rosemary

Billy, Theo, Kate, Tom. Pretty much anything that's actually a nickname.

For some reason I like the quite strict sounding virtue names - Patience, Prudence etc

Boys names:

Antonin
Anatoly
Valentin
Ruaridh
Taliesin

Girls:

Leliana (yes I play Dragon Age 😬)
Athena
Ilarya
Ceridwen

Sullivan as in sully from monsters inc 🤣 I love it but would never use it

I wanted to call ds Artemis, dh veto'd that one

Xanthe
Cordelia

Merlin
Florian

Apollo
Oberon
Orlando
Phoenix
The names we did end up using often turn up on these threads anyway!