Is Gwendolyn really that unpopular as a baby name?

[Waheymum]

I'm just about to go overdue with my second baby. DH and I have decided on Gwendolyn Puck as first and middle names. I wanted Puck as a first name but it rhymes with the F word and also sounds like pucker (pucker up? 🤮) so that's why it's been downgraded to a middle name. Loads of people I've mentioned Gwendolyn as a name to have either hated it or just said "oh" or something equally along the lines of 'if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything'. Is Gwendolyn (Gwen) a horrible name?

I have only good associations with Gwendoline as a childhood friend's mother was one. Not sure about the spelling with a y.

Absolutely sure about Puck. No child deserves it, never mind 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. It looks like Puke as well as the obvious f word.

Gwendolyn Mary Lacey.
It's a dreadful name anyway, and puck?

Gwendolyn is fine. Gwen is actually cute.

But then I read on to Gwendolyn Puck and all sanity went out of the window

Please don’t. That’s all.

There is a Gwen at my DS’s school. I quite like Gwendolyn.

I like it but Puck would be a huge mistake imho

Gwen makes me think of Marvel Spider-man (not a bad character btw!) but I think she spells it Gwendolyne which is fine as Americans are more forgiving over selling. If Gwen appears in the next movie, I think that it will be what her peers say to her. The character’s full name is Gwen Stacy.
I understand why people might not like it but it’s nothing compared to Puck. Are you sure that people aren’t reacting to that because my first associations were hockey, the word fuck then Shakespeare. Unless you’re in America where things are more chilled, I’d rethink the Puck rather than Gwen.

Were you honestly considering calling your child Puck?

I know a Gwen and a Gwenna. I wouldn't choose either name for a daughter of mine, but I think both are better than Gwendolyn.

@TheatreShop , Fluck is fine and lots of celebrities change their names, usually to make the name stand out more or because the name is duplicated.

Olivia Colman was Sarah Colman, David Tennant was David McDonald, Hugh Bonneville was Hugh Williams etc.

Gwen is cute.
Perhaps there’s something behind Puck that we aren’t seeing, but Cobweb, Moth or Mustardseed might be preferable.

I think puck is a pretty cool middle name (probably a bit too odd for a first name) but Gwendolyn sounds ridiculously dated (and not in a trendy way) and OTT. Gwen maybe just ok but I’d defo give Gwendolyn a swerve

Gwendolyn is ok… Puck off with that middle name though! Poor kid.

You cannot be serious 🧐

Puck is bloody awful. Please don't. How about Helena, Hermia or Titania if you are desperate for a Midsummer Night's Dream theme? Puck is a male character. Also the thing that gets walloped in ice hockey (I think). And rhymes with Fuck which is never a good idea.

Gwendolyn is ok-ish, though most people's only reference point will be Gwendolyn Mary Lacey from Malory Towers - posh, spoilt and stuck up.

I once knew an elderly lady whose official name was Gwendolyn Muriel. She hated both and was always known as Sally!

My mum, who would have been 100 this year, was called Gwendolyn. She hated it all her life and said that people found it very difficult to spell. Puck is bound to be deliberately confused with fuck by any self respecting bullying child and is also a strange name anyway. If this is a genuine post, l would suggest a rethink.

I can stay I’d really notice Gwendolyn being a bit of an ugly name if I knew the middle name was Puck. Is this a serious thread? Puck??
Puck is a male fairy. And the character on Glee played by a paedophile (which obviously I wouldn’t normally hold against a name, but it’s so unusual that it was my second thought)

What the puck are you thinking?

Gwendolyn is fine - reminds me of The Importance of Being Ernest.

Puck - I have no words.

I think they’ll grow up to be pretty resilient after all the bullying?

Puck isn't considered any sort of name in the UK. It was the name of a mischievous spirit in a Shakespeare play but other than that I've never heard of anyone, or anything called it. And for good reason!

Gwen is in the same retro trendy category for me as Nell and Tess. I much prefer Nell short for Penelope, or Bess short for Elizabeth. But it's not bad.
I assume there is a story behind Puck? You met your DH in an amateur production of A midsummer night's dream where one of you played Puck or something? It's not the best sound, I'd go for Helena.

Quite popular in south wales

Puck?

Lots of Gwens around here, but they're often short for Gwenllian, Gwennan etc although I know a couple of Gwens who aren't short for anything (S.Wales).

So I like Gwen but Gwendolyn (regardless of spelling) is Malory Towers to me. However, in the tv series (on iPlayer and v recent) the character gets called Gwen more often than Gwendolyn, and is far less spoilt and stuck up than I remember from the books (eventually, anyway)! So maybe the more modern association isn't as negative as pp have suggested.

Puck is an entirely different matter and I can't believe it's a genuine consideration...

Puck, I can hear it said as a Blackadderism, "rhymes with..."

Also ice hockey...

Gwen ok.