Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Poncey Names?

306 replies

WinkyWinkola · 28/09/2006 19:11

I'm nearly 12 weeks pregnant with my second child.

DH and I have chosen names already but I'm starting to think they could be the source of mockery for the baby but I love these names. They're unusual (apart from my hearing lots of dog owners shouting, "Barnaby!," recently!) and dunno, I just like 'em.

What do you think? Am I going to subject my child to misery?

Boy
Atticus Elijah or Barnaby Elijah

Girl
Ophelia Pearl
Gretchen Violet

WinkyWinkola

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
CarolinaMoon · 29/09/2006 17:37

how many names have your kids got, MI??

motherinferior · 29/09/2006 18:16

Only four (they have two surnames) but pretty poncey, all of them.

beckybrastraps · 29/09/2006 18:25

I hope I didn't sound rude. I was just saying that ponciness is in the eye of the beholder as it were.

I came across a baby called John the other day, and found myself saying "Oh what an unusual name" - because it is now really. Well, round here anyway.

If you love the names, then name your child one of them. The Hugo in my school managed to carry it off, despite a very high ponce rating for the time and place. Ultimately your experience at school will be determined by your personality, not how unusual your name is.

bakedpotato · 29/09/2006 18:30

lol at MI/swimming lessons

turquoise · 29/09/2006 18:56

I quite like Atticus and Elijah and love Violet, like Ophelia but agree she could be in for a hard time if you go with it.
Re ponciness, there is an Isembard where I work and I just knew before he even opened his mouth he'd have a rich fruity upper class nob voice. He does, and an attitude to match.

Original poster
WinkyWinkola · 29/09/2006 19:43

Ach no,Spidermama, not put off at all. Very interesting. Thank you for your concern though.

Obelia sounded like a good option but then a bit too much like Obelix? LOL at must teach her to swim.

I like Dorothy too, LargeGinandTonic, and all the shortened versions like Dotty, Dolly etc. Smashing.

Why Atticus? I just think the name has a solid, no nonsense ring to it. It has dignity. It could be shortened to Gus too?

My first child is called Theodore. We call him Teddy for short. But he can choose what he prefers - i.e. Teddy, Ted, Theo or Theodore when he's older.

OP posts:
Marina · 29/09/2006 20:01

I like Gretchen (am Spinnrade?) too Winky, but agree with an earlier comment that you might be better calling her Margrete and abbreviating.
I think so much depends on your likely locality and socialising tbh - I live in a suburb where it's ok to be Jaden or Maximus (or Aragorn) but you are likely to be duffed up if you are a Sebastian or a Jasper. Little Barnaby would not last long on the mean streets of SE London...
I love Dorothy and Theodore (did try to persuade dh that dd could be Rosamund or Theodora, he was not having it)
We found with both of ours that as soon as we saw their faces we knew from our shortlist of names which would be right.

QueenPeaHead · 29/09/2006 20:07

Atticus is just trying too hard.
Ophelia sounds like death

Gretchen makes me retch. Oh, how convenient, that rhymes. I suppose it is OK if you are going to keep her flaxen hair in plaits and make her wear silly dresses with rickrack all over them....

Original poster
WinkyWinkola · 29/09/2006 20:20

What's rickrack? Do you mean smocking?

OP posts:
LaDiDaDi · 29/09/2006 23:09

I like your boys name choices but not the girls names. I like Greta, as someone else suggested, much better than Gretchen. There's just something I don't like about the -chen ending for some reason.

brimfull · 29/09/2006 23:12

I had a lovely friend at school called gretchen,don't think I'd call my child it though

hunkermunker · 29/09/2006 23:21

Elijah Atticus, I like. I don't like Barnaby as a name for a little boy, but I like it for a teddy bear (although incidentally, I do like Teddy and Theo and Theodore).

I'm not keen on the girls names you've listed, sorry.

magicfarawaytree · 29/09/2006 23:23

'barnaby the bear my name, never call me jack or james' ( or something like that) - i loved that programme. hijack over.

Clary · 30/09/2006 00:12

Lololol at MI and teaching Ophelia to swim.

Just read that post out to my DH

So do we know Fillyjonk's name? My suggestion is Mabel....

WRT the OP, I too have unusually named children (my mother dislikes all the names) so am wary of criticising (and did not tell anyone in advance)
But still am not mad on Gretchen, just not very euphonic. Like Elijah and Violet tho. Love To KIll a Mocking Bird as well.

lemonaid · 30/09/2006 00:19

They are all what custy would call 'a bit Waitrose', I think.

I like Atticus and Elijah. I used to be about Barnaby but a friend's DS is now called that and I am a convert as it suits him perfectly.

Ophelia is OK but not with Pearl - just sounds too much like "I feel your pearl" which, in the mind of a teenage boy... [shudders]. Ophelia will give rise to some teasing, but then any Waitrosey name will.

Gretchen I don't like, as with some other pp -- it just sounds a bit harsh. Greta is nice though

lemonaid · 30/09/2006 00:19

Oh, and I like Violet too.

thelittlestboho · 30/09/2006 11:05

I love the name Atticus, I know of a little boy in California called that. I also have a rabbit with that name, lol. Go for it. Are you a blink182 fan per chance? Ophelia is another great one. I like your style.

tlb.xx

Rumpel · 01/10/2006 18:29

Do they go with your surname?
Atticus is nice, as is Elijah
Gretchen is horrid - connotations of Hansel and Gretel.
Violet is nice, Pearl is a bit old fashioned, I like Ophelia, all depends on your surname though and area you live in. Kids bullying at school?

YellowFeathers · 01/10/2006 18:36

I had picked Ophelia Rose if we had a girl. I think its very pretty.

I like all your chosen boys names but not together.
Maybe Atticus Barnaby or Elijah Barnaby.

My great great grandad was called Barnabus Christmas

mousiemousie · 01/10/2006 18:51

lOVE THEM ALL [SMILE]

chester30 · 02/10/2006 08:25

my child was known as Ptolemy before she was born..in the end i quite liked it. People would have trouble spelling it I think. name choices such a personal thing, personally i think it is rather useful to have an unusual name - people will always remember you. Also depends where you live, the name jesse in scotland not so good! Ialso think there are certain names that can lead to a lifetime of trouble - have a look at the court lists in the local paper!

LexyB · 02/10/2006 09:07

Agree with all the people saying don't tell family and friends what you have decided until after the baby is born . With all 5 of my children name only anounced once baby has arrived and only once did someone have the honesty to tell me they didn't like the name. All children suit their names and can't imagine them as anything else.
Love old fashioned old man / lady names
DD1 Elsie ( 19 yrs)
DS1 Conal ( 17)
DS2 Edwin ( Ned )( 15 )
DS3 Stanley ( 2)
DD2 Keziah 9 weeks

Love Violet and Ophelia ( although Ophelia does have unfortunate connetation ) but our surname really is Ball so not possible to use them.Don't like Gretchen at all. Atticus and Elijah are good, but not keen on Barnaby, reminds me of bears and purple dinosaurs. Lots of little boys in my area called it recently. I am a midwife so its know what current naming trends are.
On list for DD2 was Edith, Euphemia ( Effie )and Cecilia or Bertie, Reggie and Blake.
My older children have survived school with no trouble over their names although the area we live in is quite mixed arty / council.

Go with what you like.

riab · 02/10/2006 09:50

Boy
Atticus Elijah or Barnaby Elijah

Girl
Ophelia Pearl
Gretchen Violet

Personally I'd steer clear of unusual names. We decided it wasn't fair to lumber DS with an 'odd' name that could leave him open to playground mockery, constant missspellings, and also the burden of trying to live up to it.
We also felt that just because we like to be slightly unusual it wasn't particualrly mature to express our individuality by giving our poor bairn an unusual name!

We went for good old english names:
Alexander James

and then threw in a more unusual one as a middle name
Rafael

we call him Sasha as a nickname but we're perfectly happy for him to choose to be Jamie, Alex, Lex, Jim or other varients when he gets old enough to choose. I'll probably register him at school as Alexander and Sasha will stay the family petname.

I'm afraid the only one of your choices i like a all is Barnaby, but why not give him the full version? Barnabas is a good old name, but it is a bit poncy.

All the others scream 'arty poncy types' to me and would really lumber the poor kid. if you are dead set on them why not go for a straightforward first name and stick the poncy one in as a middle name.

Remember even in arty middleclass Oxford Inspector Morse had to be known by his surname only because his first name was unusual and he got ribbed unmercifully at school.

SSSandy · 02/10/2006 09:53

Surely Barnaby is a normal name, don't you think? Barnabas sounds a bit more unusual to me, not really keen on that.

Still like Ophelia, has a nice ring to it and Violet is not extravagant either IMO

Still don't like Gretchen. Here (in Germany) mums sometimes use the "chen" diminutive when their kids are very small (pre-school) so you get a Paul called Paulchen and so on but never a teenage or adult boy, it would sound so weird.

firemaiden · 02/10/2006 10:27

Winky, how would these names be abbreviated? Children always seem to shorten other people's names so do give some thought to the likely abbreviations - Orphelia - Off? Atticus - Attic? Pearl - Pee? Sorry but just can't imagine how these names would work in the playground.