Hugo or Oscar - really struggling

[Leeloo1233]

We have narrowed down our list to two names, Hugo and Oscar. It needs to work in English, Swedish and French.

We were almost settled for Hugo and have told many people, but now I'm freaking out that it's perceived too posh in the UK and people will think we are pretentious or tory voters or something else that I dont want to be associated with. Hugo is a normal name in Sweden and France and we live in Sweden, I just dont want to rule out us moving back to England to my DH's home country one day.

I had major naming anxiety with my first born and now fear it's coming back again :(

Both lovely names. I think they sound sweet and fairly traditional foreign names but not pretentious. Pretentious to me is something that's trying to sound cool.

Hugo Is a totally fine name and now so popular it’s no longer posh. Even if it were, what’s wrong with posh? Anyway, great name. Oscar is lovely too. You can’t go wrong with these two choices, either one is very solid.

I much prefer Oscar, and despite its popularity I've never come across one with 2 dc under 7.

Even if it were, what’s wrong with posh?

I'd like to understand this too. I personally have never judged anyone negative because they had a 'posh' name. If anything, I often really like their names and find them quite memorable in a positive way. I don't even regard them as 'posh' but rather as elegant and cool.

So what exactly is wrong with posh, as another poster asked?

Oscar

Hugo is a great name but yes it is a stereotypical posh boy name in the UK! Hugo is however growing in popularity so perhaps will be more mainstream in a few years time. Oscar is bland and overly popular. I much prefer Hugo.

Hugo is becoming very popular in the UK so rapidly losing the posh reputation, especially in our generation. It also works very well on the continent, where as I'm sure you know, it is also very popular (at least in Northern Europe).

@Comedycook , it already is mainstream. It's in the top 50 boys' names in England and Wales (2022 stats). (...Ezra is #46, Hugo #47, Louis #48...)

Yes I thought so...I mean as the babies called hugo grow up and start school etc the name will lose the 'posh' tag and no longer be associated as that

There are probably Hugos at (state) school already - it's been in the top 100 names for about 12 years. Ezra and Louis are already considered mainstream.

OP would probably get a comment like 'ooh, that's a bit posh/out there' about Hugo and Oscar but from people whose children are much older.

I've heard both names called out in the supermarket and I'm not in a well-to-do area (think crocs and sports sock not Green Wellies/Penelope Chilvers).

Hugo is a great name but yes it is a stereotypical posh boy name in the UK

And why would that be bad? Would people discriminate against those with posh names ??

Both are nice and both are names of prestigious awards. I think I’d rather win a Hugo than an Oscar.

On balance I like Hugo best, probably because I know quite a few Oscars and only one Hugo (and he’s lovely)

Names in the UK unfortunately do often indicate your social class.

Hugo, Rupert and Sebastian are stereotypical posh names.

Jayden, Tyler and Mason are stereotypical working class names.

Some names could be either....George, Thomas, James could be found on a country estate or a council estate.

Personally I like names which don't give anyone any pre conceived ideas about that person.

*Names in the UK unfortunately do often indicate your social class.

Hugo, Rupert and Sebastian are stereotypical posh names.*

Ok, and in what way is this bad? How are people with posh names affected negatively (if they indeed are)??

I honestly can't see any problem

It's not necessarily bad but people will often have pre conceived ideas about someone based on their name which may be wrong. Whether this bothers you or not is up to you.

@Comedycook , those names aren't 'posh' names any more. They strike me as regular names. They might not appeal to younger parents but I think that parents with jobs like tradesperson/office worker/teachers might choose them.

I like both Hugo and Oscar. I guess it depends on which you think goes best with your surname.

I think both names are quite sweet, but unfortunately my next door neighbours 2 dogs have these names so that rules them both out for me 🤦🏻‍♀️

Both are really nice names. Oscar was really popular but isn’t as much any more (at least where I live).

Hugo is very popular - my daughter has two in her class.

Oscar, I know his school years are a bit of a long way but if he ends up in a UK school Hugo will be turned into Huge (as in fat) and if he has any weight problems it will make if easy to pick on him

Hugo is really quite popular these days. And I'm not in a posh area! Oscar is too popular for me.

In 14 years, Hugo has never been 'Huge', even when chunky and actually is known almost universally as Boogie 🤷‍♀️.

Both fabulous strong names

Although I like Oscar and considered it for DS 6 years ago it just seems a bit overdone now. Hugo is great, go for it!

(And I do think you are overthinking. From a fellow anxious overthinker)

Both are very popular, and definitely not ‘posh’ these days. I would pick Oscar as Hugo is a popular name for dogs where we live and Oscar works better in terms of pronunciation for English and French.