Do these names have negative connotations?

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We are really stuck for a boy's name for our little one who is due mis-July (we've decided on Phoebe Margot if it's a girl).

Keen on the names below but worried each might have a negative connotation, so please help! Do you like the below and am I over-thinking each name?

Rex (does this make you think of a dog?)
Rufus (is this too posh-sounding?)
Casper (does this make you think of the friendly ghost?)
Casper (is this too pretentious?)

Any other ideas gratefully received

Caleb?

Rex - Dog.
Rufus- Dog
Casper- Ghost.

What about Spencer?

Maximilian is another great choice.

Jasper is slang for wasp and the others are dogs I Know .sorry not much help!Cassius is too over the top and reminds me of Cassius clay ( showing my age)

Jenson
Cain
Zain
Theodore
Valentino
Forest
Hunter
Luca
Austen
Evan
Mason
Raphael

What about Crispin?

Robert nn Bertie
Donovan
Devon

I think sebastian suits the vibe you are going for. Seb for short is good for a child ir an adult.

Love Maxim/Maximilian, Rufus and Cassius (Maxim is probably my fave). As well as Marcus, Magnus, Caius, Lucian and Felix, I think they are the most useable of the Roman boys names today. Some people will always find classical names "posh" sounding, but I don't personally.

Rex is quite dog associated (which is a pity, as it has a cool sound). Shame you can't use Alexander nn Lex instead!

Casper is okay but has spelling issues so I prefer Cassius, Cassian or Caspian over Casper/Caspar/Kasper personally.

Lysander
Lawrence
Dominic
Benedict
Edmund

Rex/Rufus are dogs
Casper is a ghost
Cassius is ready to throw on boxing gloves and punch you in the face.

All of my those names are just so strongly associated in popular/modern culture.

Mohammid Ali was Cassius Clay before he changed his name.

We had a dog called Rex

I know a Casper and I think it's a fab name. Not keen on the rest.

Rex - I can’t see it as a proper name
Rufus like
Casper reminds me of The Radfords, like it

Thank you everyone for being so helpful, I feel like I have some perspective back! I still don't think of Rufus as a dog's name particular so it's still on the list but lower down. So we're down to:

Maxim / Maximus
Rufus
Hector

Hamish is also knocking about a bit bit not that wedded to it.

Our surname is 3 syllables and there are two family names as middle names so I think Maxim could maybe be the one as it's Latin so complements our daughter's name but isn't too Gladiator 😂

Still would love to hear any other suggestions as hasn't thought of Sebastian / Seb and that's a lovely name.

Maxim does make me think De Winter. But do I like Max, and Maximillian is a big of a mouthful.

Just to throw something out there...my son is called Max and a surprisingly high number of acquaintances mentioned they have/had a dog named Max. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest; I know of two dogs named Emma but I wouldn’t think of them when meeting a human Emma. You may not want to shorten Maxim or Maximus, but thought I’d point it out.

Fwiw I think Rex is a great strong name (human or canine!) and Cassius, but not keen on Hector, Hamish or Rufus.

All your names are fine (although I like some more than others). Really, don’t overthink it too much. Pick a name you love - none of them are ridiculous, stupid looking or made up, so it’s all good. The only one I really wouldn’t use is Hector, because it reminds me of hectoring.

How about Cormac?

I don’t like Maxim because of the connection to the magazine, and also the fact that I think of it as a word rather than a name, and Maximus is a bit poncy. I do like Maximilian - I know you said your surname is long but in practice I don’t think it would be too much of an issue since everyone would shorten it to Max.
Sebastian is nice.

I like all of them and don't think they have any negative connotations.

@Constantcrayfish the estate agent who sold our last flat was called Cormac and he was a sleazebag so I'm forever put off that name!

They do sound a little bit fancy-pants but not in a good way. If you’ve got your heart set just go for it though!

Alternative R names:
Robert
Rory
Rhys/Reece
Rowan
Russell (I think this is lovely!)

C names:
Callan
Charles
Connor
Cameron
Craig