Do these names have negative connotations?

[Cbd333]

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

I like Rufus for a boy.

[quote Cbd333]@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![/quote]
Oh no! I only know lovely ones.

Alexander / Lex might suit.
Ajax (wildcard!)
Just Max
Oscar

My mother-in-law has just suggested Quentin as a wild card!

Love Casper and Cassius with the nn Cass. Not posh or pretentious at all. Rufus on the other hand is awful. I’ve met a few kids with that name and a lot of dogs....definitely a dog name. What about Silas, Otis or Victor?

Rufus, Casper/Caspar, Hector all great.
Also pp suggestions of Felix, Silas, Magnus, Alasdair.

Suggestions:
Vadim
Lachlan
Elias
Calvin
Cyrus
Darius
Otis
Isaiah

I love Rufus - it's a bit doggy, but no more than Max or Sam or indeed Milo!

Short, easy to spell, friendly and outdoorsy, Roo or Rufe is a great short form.

Hector nice but dislike Heck

Maxim ok but I'd just go for Max (and he will end up as Max)

I like the idea of Sebastian more than the reality. Amazing name, but I'm not massively keen on Seb.

Rex sounds a bit dog's name and calling your child 'king' seems a bit presumptuous. Cassius does sound pretentious. Depends where you live though. Cass is a nice nn.

Rufus and Caspar are great names. Not particularly posh at all. (What do you think non-posh kids are called these days? It's not Dave, Steve or Joe).

Rufus means red. Any chance of red hair? Caspar makes me think 'three kings' before ghost, which is surely an old association.

Hector is more upmarket and hard to carry off. Such an an unattractive meaning and harsh shortening 'Heck' too. I think it's becoming more popular though. Maybe it's moving from really quite posh to ordinary middle class, the way Hugo has in the last ten years.

If you like Maxim you might like Ludovic (Ludo). Though perhaps too matchy with your dd. Or Valentine for a brave choice.

Conrad might suit you?
Clement
Corin

Quentin is interesting. Haven't come across one for years but it is a 'known' name, that people would recognise and might be able to spell.

@lottiegarbanzo yes definitely a chance of red hair so I quite like Rufus for that reason!

I think, in order, we're down to

Rufus
Maxim / Max
Jasper

We also both like Osian as we live on the welsh borders. I'm half-Scottish so we could spell Ossian but either way I can see a lifetime of 'how do you spell that / pronounce that' etc which seems like a bit of a pain for the poor kid. However, I do really like it. Why are boy names so bloody tricky.

Oh good! I've met a red-haired Rufus and it made me think 'oh well done, you got that right' about the parents. Though the main Rufus association for my generation is the beautiful-when-younger, dark-haired actor Rufus Sewell.

Osian is nice but I think you're right about having to explain it a lot.

I know several Osians - it’s a bit of a new Theo I suspect...

I would 100% go for Rufus!

These are all on my list inc Hector! Ralph is a front running for us atm too

All three of my children have a Osian in their class, and we're not anywhere Celtic.

@Arrierttyclock impeccable taste

@Constantcrayfish that's really interesting to know. A pp said it's gaining lots in popularity. I only have the children at my daughter's nursery to go by and friends' kids and we live fairly rurally so hard to judge what's a known name and what isn't!

We lived in london for 15 years and if we were still there i wouldn't be bothered in the slightest It's just there are lots of George, Harry, Charlie Theo etc up here.

I think Hector is great, was on my boy's list but I had girls. Casper was also on our list and Rufus so think we have similar taste.

Other classical names that could work:
Atticus
Atlas
Horace
Magnus
Marcus
Julian (think Julius would be a step too far)

[quote Cbd333]@Constantcrayfish that's really interesting to know. A pp said it's gaining lots in popularity. I only have the children at my daughter's nursery to go by and friends' kids and we live fairly rurally so hard to judge what's a known name and what isn't!

We lived in london for 15 years and if we were still there i wouldn't be bothered in the slightest It's just there are lots of George, Harry, Charlie Theo etc up here. [/quote]
We do not live in a diverse area and everyone copes with the Osians!

Hector sounds like Heckle to me. I can't get past that.
The rest aren't my favourites but not terrible either.

Your names are lovely and much much nicer than most of the other suggestions being shared. Names are so subjective, our opinions are irrelevant. Pick something you love and don’t ask anyone’s opinion. They’ll get used to it!

@icedgem85 thank you, that's so kind of you to say. With our first I spent forever discussing names with my mum but she died in December and I don't have any other girls in the family to natter with like that now. I miss her so much

I think I probably do care far too much what others think and you're right, we'll never please everyone (especially MiL!)

We're down to Osian, Rufus and Max now so perhaps we're best to just see what the baby looks like (and I'll laugh when it turns out to be a girl!)

Hi @Cbd333 , I echo what @icedgem85 , choose a name that you both love and don't worry what anyone else thinks. We kept our shortlist to ourselves until our children were born and only revealed our choice when we had met them and decided for sure.

I have one other suggestion you might like since you like Max. Our favourite for a boy when pregnant with our first child was Macsen. It is the Welsh equivalent of Maximus. Just a thought.

Good luck!