My wildcards: Aubrey or Barnaby?

[Mybobowler]

Baby boy due soon. We have a shortlist of very boring normal/common names to choose from when he arrives (think Harry, Charles/ie, William etc) but I fancy having a couple of wildcards up my sleeve. Our daughter has an uncommon-but-not-weird name and I like that it's fairly unusual.

So, tell me, am I a hormonal mess or are Aubrey and Barnaby good options?

(And yes, I know Aubrey is increasingly used for girls but that doesn't bother me at all. It annoys me that the go-to "gender neutral" names are usually traditionally boys' names (Frankie, Sammy, Stevie, Jamie etc) rather than the other way around)

Both awful.

I love Aubrey, I definitely think boys name. It also think of the character in the series Bones

Aubrey, sounds good to me.
Barnaby, sounds very pompous, will get shortened, Barny become Barny bear 🐻

@Mybobowler

Ahh there we are, I knew these would divide opinion! I'm always interested to know why people don't like certain names, so this is helpful!

Actually I agree that Aubrey is a bit of a wet name (you'd think that would really put me off), but I don't mind the feminine associations. I'm interested that some people are incredulous about a boy with a feminine-sounding name, but no one bats an eyelid at a girl called Charlie, Sam, or Alex (to name but a few). Obviously I'm not going to choose a name for my son purely to make a point about the fallacy of so-called gender neutral names, but it is interesting! Does anyone still use Hilary or Evelyn for boys?

On Barnaby, I'm OK with Barny as a nickname but probably wouldn't use it myself - the purple dinosaur is a strong image! I also use it a lot in the "the next door neighbours are having a barny again" context.

In any case, I think it's highly likely that this little boy will end up with a perfectly ordinary and unremarkable name. But it's nice to think of a few slightly left-field options.

Have you seen the reactions on this board when someone suggests a boy's name for a girl? MN HATES boy's names for girls! (Me included!)

I like Aubrey and do think of it as a boys' name. I don't mind Barnaby (but don't like it as much as Aubrey).

LOVE Aubrey! Barnaby not so much, but Barney as a nickname is cute.

Aubrey

Barnaby is dreadful, Aubrey is worse.

Adore Barnaby. Austin might go well, like Aubrey

Aubrey is quite dashing but I prefer Barnaby, called Barnes for short.

I prefer Aubrey for a girl. I absolutely love Barnaby

Aubrey. I've never heard it used for a girl though.