Is Nimrod really that bad?

[lrpe]

We are from Hungary where Nimród is a popular boy's name and we'd like to call our child Nimród. However, I've just learnt that in American slang "nimrod" means idiot, dimwit, stupid, etc. But I've never heard this in the UK.

I wonder how bad Nimrod sounds for a native English speaker in the UK. (We have no connections with the US and our son would grow up in the UK.)

Possible alternatives would be:

László
Zoltán
Vajk (pronounced: voyk)

Are they any better?

Thanks a lot.

@MrsCremuel

I associate it with Elgar and the Bible and I’m from the UK. Never heard of it as an insult?

Me too!

Elgar. Awesome tune. Terrible name for a person. Sounds like a drain clearance company.

Lazlo is lovely.

Definitely not Nimrod, honestly I thought this thread title was a joke as I didn’t realise Nimrod was a legitimate Hungarian name and have only heard the word used as an insult. As a name I don’t think it works in the UK unfortunately.

Laszlo is great and Zoltan is fine. I think there will probably be difficulties with English people getting the spelling and pronunciation of Vajk right but otherwise the name is fine too.

Laszlo and Zoltan are really awesome. Nimrod is definitely an insult to my ear.

I always thought it was an insult for idiot, sorry. It’s also the title of a Green Day album.

Nimrod is a (very mild) insult. Like "fool" or similar, not offensive but not what you would want to be named.

Vajk will be mispronounced and misspelled constantly.

The other two are nice

László is lovely. Nimrod makes me think of the plane. Zoltan is ok.

Laszlo sounds nice and would fit with a Hungarian sounding surname.
Was that the name of the character they were trying to get on the flight in Casablanca film?
A hero.

I’d see it as an insult.

@NantesElephant

László is lovely. Nimrod makes me think of the plane. Zoltan is ok.

Agree with this!

Zoltan is soooooo cool!!

Wasn't Zoltan the name.of the fortune telling machine in the film Big?!

He'll definitely be the only one in his class, I love it. It's also easy to spell and pronounce whereas Laszlo seems to have the S or Z as 'extra'

Zoltán and László are amazing names.

Nimrod wouldn't be good in the UK as you say.

Big plane with antennae in my world.

I associate Nimrod with an insult

Well, this is interesting. I’m firmly in the ‘beautiful Elgar music’ association and have never ever hear it used as an insult. In fact, if I did hear it I’d assume it was someone pretty ineptly dissing someone else - I’d assume they’d misspoke or misheard an insult!

Surprised by the love of Zoltan on this thread - to me, I always think Zoltar, from the movie Big. Obviously it’s a different name but I couldn’t shake that.

Definitely not Nimrod, because it would be awful for him, just not ok to use an insult as a name if you are living in the country where it is an insult.

Or Vajk, simply because if they grow up I the UK it will mean endless spelling out and correcting and mispronunciation.

We were living abroad when we had DS1 and tried to choose a name that would work in both counties for his sake, which counted out some of my favourites, so I do understand.

Lazlo and Zoltan are both lovely though, it depends if you think the UK connection is permanent though. As it turns out we came home, nonetheless I’m glad DS1 has a name that works in multiple languages. A hard no to Nimrod though!

I always thought nimrod meant idiot and apparently that’s Bugs Bunny’s fault 😊

dotandline.net/when-bugs-bunny-beat-the-bible/

I love Laszlo. I've never heard to Nimrod as an insult. To me it means:

1. An incredibly beautiful piece of music by Elgar. Usually played at funerals or military services. This connection alone would rule it out for me (as it makes me cry!)

1. An RAF jet

1. A Greenday album.

Nimrod is an insult in my world.

I have moved around a lot over the years so I wouldn't think much of it, but I grew up in the UK and it was definitely used as an insult when I was there.

There was an old episode of Bugs Bunny where he calls Elmer Fudd 'Nimrod' - referring to the Biblical hunter. Generations of children watched this, and not knowing the reference, assumed from context that it meant something like dimwit. And so now it does!

I'd avoid it in any English-speaking country, honestly. László is really nice!

Where in the uk is Nimrod an insult?

I’ve never heard of nimrod used as idiot but it does sound like an insult and doesn’t sound great from a British POV unfortunately. It makes me think of the pixies song.

I really like the name László though. I think it sounds good. It’s one of those foreign names I really like but could never use as it would just be silly since I have no connection to other cultures.

American here. Definitely not Nimrod.

Also to be very American, László reminds me of Victor Laszlo from Casablanca, which is a very positive association!