Querky or alternative names - see my list of options

[Motherofrabbits87]

I like to be different. Just wondered what some of your querky and alternative names.
See my names list below for both genders, I think I would raise some eyebrows with some of them.

GIRLS:
nova
piper
raven
Harlow
Elara
robyn
xanthe
saxon
lexie
wren
kimberley
zero
khari
iris
kaia
tabitha

BOYS:
zakk
Harrison
Lincoln
falcon
corey
phoenix
jaxon
rex
Angus
hamish
blaze
ace
brandon
wolf
zeppelin
Zio
Balthazar
styx
toby
patrick
cooper

There's interesting and classy 'quirky', and then there's a bit naff 'quirky'. I think you have a few of both on your list.

GIRLS:
nova - I used to like, but is a bit 'teen mom' (as in the TV show, not a dig at teenage mums!)
piper - Pretty. Not that quirky though.
raven - It's okay, would only suit a certain type of person I think. I can't see it on a blonde haired blue eyed girly-girl, for example.
Harlow - Marlowe is much nicer and rarer and not a town in Essex
Elara - Not quirky, will blend into an ocean of 'el' names. Elowen is much prettier and classier
robyn - pretty. Not that unusual though if that's what you're going for. I know several.
xanthe - This name is very popular with Mumsnet! Not my taste, but nothing wrong with it
saxon - This is really bad. Saxon? Like Anglo-Saxon? Why?
lexie - Very, very popular and not at all quirky
wren - Gaining in popularity but a nice name. Very sweet.
kimberley - A bit dated.
zero - Zero? I wouldn't name a child this. Of all the numbers, 0? Like... Nothing. It's a bit sad.
khari - Is it pronounced like Carrie? If so, nice, but I prefer Carrie spelling.
iris - Very pretty but again, pretty popular
kaia - Nice. Popular in certain cultures. I know a lot of Turkish Kaias (but they're male)
tabitha - My daughter's name so I love it. Best one by far

BOYS:
zakk - Zach is okay. Zack is also fine. Xakk is an awful spelling!
Harrison - Not rare or quirky
Lincoln - It's okay.
falcon - No! No! No! Falcon???
corey - No, very 90s.
phoenix - No, very 90s
jaxon - No, very chavvy
rex - No. I know 3 babies named Rex
Angus - Nice
hamish - Fine
blaze - No, a bit chavvy. Blaise is better.
ace - No! It sounds like a jokey nickname
brandon - probably the least quirky name I've ever heard
wolf - So many babies recently named Wolf, Fox, Bear
zeppelin - Like... The thing?? The flying object? Why?
Zio - a bit nothingey
Balthazar - Cool, bold, biblical
styx - pronounced like sticks? Again, why?
toby - Another very un-quirky name
patrick - Nice, not quirky
cooper - Fine, not quirky.

I don't like your boy's list much. The girls list is so much better!

How could you call your child Zero? It’s like saying your child is nothing, worthless!

Some of them are not as yooneek as you seem to think, some are truly awful

Tabitha is lovely though

I like the idea of Phoenix but it feels like a big name to have to live up to

LOL a child named Zero. Can you imagine?! Just becouse you like quirky doesn’t mean your child would… most of the names - utter nonsense.
One or two are ok and normal enough

You should add one more name to your “lovely” list- Fart.
Judging by 90% of your name choices you will love it!:)

Hi MotherofRabbits, I think the problem is that whatever you might think you're asking for on the Baby Names board, what you're going to get is people's brutally frank opinions on those names.
It's actually quite useful if you want to know what your friends are probably really thinking when they say 'ow wow, um great, that's unusual' and so on. It's less helpful if what you're looking for is actually 'aw hun that's fab, I called mine Balonz, you call your bubba whatever you want.'

In the country where I live you would probably not be allowed to register your child as Zero or Styx because they're undignified and disrespectful to the child. Quirky is fine, but if you cross a particular line it's not fair on your baby.

My DD is one of these ^ ☺️ lots of compliments. Mine isn't on here but is a lot more out there (mythology) than some of these but many compliments and I love it, have never wanted to change it

You could always use one of your more "out there" names as a middle name so your child can choose to use it later if they want. For boys I also like Asa, Silas and Inigo.

A stupid spelling of Zack doesn’t make it “quirky”

There are some nasty comments on this thread, sorry OP, not sure what's drawn them out them out this evening, it's not even a full moon.

There's some great names on your list. I love Kaia, Wren, Robyn and Khari, and Xanthe actually.
Boys I like Patrick, Zakk and Corey
Have you considered Xander?

What about Dio?
Lars
Pantera?

I knew a lovely German Shepherd called Kaia. She saved me from a goat once.

Oooooooh...edgy

You’ll definitely raise eyebrows on mumsnet with “Jaxon” but not because it’s “querky.”

GIRLS:
nova- I know a couple of Novas. They wear Frugi clothes and the parents are desperately alternative.
piper- reminds me of Charmed.
raven- It's so Raven!
Harlow- it's a school isn't it?
Elara- not keen.
robyn- like it
xanthe- like it
saxon- I'd think Saxon was a boy
lexie- not quirky at all.
wren- like
kimberley- I'd want to say it Victoria wood style.
zero- you think so little of your child they're zero
khari- not keen
iris- nice but not quirky
kaia- not keen
tabitha- not keen (but the only Tabitha I knew was a homophobe)

BOYS:
zakk- I'd think you can't spell
Harrison- there's 3 Harrison's in my son's reception class
Lincoln- it's ok- unless they get a job in Lincoln one day.
falcon- She was a Gladiator wasn't she?
corey- he'd be in the baseball team of an American teen series
phoenix- I like it
jaxon- not keen
rex- not keen, a dog's name.
Angus- I like
hamish- I like
blaze- and the monster machines
ace- gladiator again.
brandon- ok
Wolf- another gladiator
zeppelin- a bit try hard for me
Zio- no
Balthazar- no
styx- no
toby- it's nice but not quirky
patrick- I like it
cooper- not keen.

I would also go for a name that can be shortened and have quirky nicknames just in case your child doesn't want to be different when they get older.

If you like Lexi you could go for Alexandra or Xander with Alexander for a boy (not that those nicknames are particularly quirky but you may like them).

I have a couple of friends who don't use their given names as they were given alternative names and hated them all their lives. They always felt that they disappointed their parents as didn't live up to the name.

Are you one of those people that run around shouting about how mad and zany you are?
Cwazy!

Zero, Styx and Falcon made me laugh out loud.

Please don't call any child Zero, Styx or Zeppelin.

@Motherofrabbits87

Thanks for the responses. I wanted to hear other people's not be told off for my list lol, its just a list I have gathered, I will know what is right for my baby when it arrives.

Everyone has their own taste. I didn't know I would offend so many people.

Also never stated they were all quirky, just some of them.

Are you new to mumsnet? No one is offended. No one has told you off.

You sound incredibly over sensitive and unaware of how discussion boards work

Harlow is a town in Essex. Its not the most inspiring place to be named after.

You have a few very traditional Scottish names on your list (Angus, Hamish) and if you like "place" names you might also like these Scottish names which are all the names of islands too:

Ailsa
Iona
Vaila
Arran
Lewis
Harris

Or what about these for inspiration:
Paris
Sydney
Rio
Athena

nova - I know a few, it's nice
piper - sweet
raven - I know of two, I love it
Harlow - no
Elara - meh, it's OK
robyn - it's OK, not a huge fan
xanthe - like
saxon - I'd think boy not girl
lexie - our nickname for Alexa
wren - know one, it's lovely
kimberley - bit 80s for me
zero - literally telling your kid they're nothing. No
khari - looks pretty but a bit boring sounding
iris - beautiful
kaia - sweet but a bit nothingy
tabitha - lovely.

Moat of them are less used but still well known

zakk - love it but doesn't need to be spelled unusually
Harrison - know one, nope
Lincoln - it's ok
falcon - nah
Corey - feels a bit 80s but ok
phoenix - ok
jaxon - alright
rex - woof
Angus - yuck
hamish - not keen
blaze - kids TV character
ace - no
Brandon - boring
wolf - not a fan of animal ms for names
zeppelin - know of one, it's cute
Zio - no
Balthazar - adore
styx - def no
toby - love but would go tobias
patrick - boring
Cooper - yuck

Saxon - big hairy bloke with a beard and sword
Zeppelin - airship in famous disaster
Tabitha and Iris are nice, though
For the love of God, not Zero.

Patrick is a really lovely boy's name. Classic. It's not currently common.

I don't think many of them would raise eyebrows. Maybe Balthazar would, but most of the rest are what other parents will expect to hear in their child's class. Names like Lexie and Jaxon are typical lower class names, names like Robyn and Toby are common and normal, and names like Zero and Styx are too 'trying hard to be different'. Every class has every type of parent. Weird names don't surprise me anymore, but I do think the parents are ridiculous. Don't make your kid stand out for the wrong reason.

I would definitely drop Zero (nothing) and Zeppelin (blimp) but wouldn’t particularly eyeroll at any of the others