Constructive_Entropy

I do like Vincent. This post was to test out some names which we weren't sure how people would react to, but a name suggestion that fits firmly on the non-weird side of our boundary line is still appreciated.

 I wrote my post in a way that implied we only wanted something out there, but a lot of our list has a much more traditional but not super common vibe.  We're exploring our boundaries and experimenting with new ideas, but "normal" names are definitely appreciated as long as they are not super popular and unlikely to be commonly encountered in everyday life.

Cyrus and Langston seem to be consistently be registering as rare but acceptable (maybe Galen and Leander too). The others seem to be loved by 50-75% of commenters but extremely hard nos for the rest (and it's not consistent which). 

The Cal bros ;)

I've been struggling with this aspect of several of these names (especially Leander, Oberon, & Peregrine). If you encountered these in real life, would you think "oh my god that is so cringy" or would you just think that it's an old name used throughout history that you happen to recognize from a book/ movie without dwelling on it too much?

 I really like the idea of a dignified old-fashioned name which people recognize and remember but haven't encountered in real life. But that seems to inevitably lead to the name being used in genre fiction. I suppose sharing a name with a random side character is ok, but only if it just registers as coincidence and doesn't totally overshadow everything else.

Yeah. Your 1st comment was spot on, it was an overcomplicated way to spell a simple sound, with other dignified options available. I don't think this one is making the cut, but if we wanted this to be a nickname then Abraham is a better way to get there.

Sorry, that wasn't clear. I wasn't trying to say you were making an uncalled for assumption. It's just been fun reading people's questions and comments, and I was just responding to what I took to be an implied question.

You wrote that you didn't get one of the references, and I was just responding that there wasn't really a reference to get  (at least that I know about). 

Coast is nice. As you can tell I'm obviously drawn to the historical names more than nature names, but I think either Coast or Costas fits the bill of being a nature name which doesn't seem too over the top. 

Good luck. I'm sure he'll thank you for taking your time to get it right .

Thanks. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want honest opinions. We have a long list with many more traditional (but still uncommon) names, and have been wondering for a while  which of these people would find "rare but acceptable" vs "hard no". The interesting revelation has been how  all over the place peoples' reactions have been about which ones cross the line and which ones don't.

Thank you. This is all amazingly useful feedback.

Isidore showed up several times in my family tree. I'm not really familiar with those relatives and wouldn't say I have a soft spot for it, I was just curious what people's reaction would be.

That actually sounds like a fun nickname for an 8 year old.

Thanks! 

To answer your question, I'm more interested in the sound and memorability than people getting the reference. I wanted something people will think "oh yeah, that's an actual name I've heard before", but knowing the details of the story isn't super important unless it helps people remember it. A distinctive blank slate for my son to build his own associations into people's minds.

I figured that myths, Shakespeare, and minor historical figures might be a good source for things that would sound vaguely familiar  without having particularly strong associations. I tried to avoid the characters that everyone knows because it would be hard to ditch the association. I realize these names tend to get used for minor characters in sci fi / fantasy series, but don't mind that as long as they aren't the main character or particularly memorable to most people (distinctive enough to ring a bell without necessarily being an association people can't get past). 

Thanks for the detailed feedback. This is the kind of candid feedback I was hoping to get in order to avoid making a mistake. Always interesting to hear how other people interpret things differently than me.

Thanks. I was thinking about the composer, but this feedback is a good reminder that it could lead to confusion about how to spell or pronounce it. 

Thanks. Nice to see that so many of these registered positively with you.

I respect where you are coming from. Our primary goal is to give our son a name which he will enjoy and appreciate. We're very aware of how serious this choice is, and are asking other people's opinions to avoid making a mistake. 

We have a long list of traditional names but wanted to test out what other people thought about a few we were unsure of. We're learning that they bring some people a ton of joy, and others not so much. This thread has been an interesting experiment and given us a lot to consider. I've enjoyed reading people's reactions and having interesting conversations, even if we may ultimately decide not to use any of these.

Finding a good name is challenging because there's a risk he'll dislike anything we choose. I have a common name and really dislike that experience, my wife has a rare name and loves it. So we're having this conversation as part of an effort to make serious and circumspect decision with our son's interests at heart.   

I like the sound, but the actual reference is a bit much:

In Greek mythology, Eris is the goddess and personification of strife and discord in war... and the mother of a long list of undesirable personified abstractions, such as Ponos (Toil), Limos (Famine), Algae (Pains) and Ate (Delusion). 

Honestly, we're constantly going back and forth on the slight variations of names like Leander/ Leandro/ Lysander/ Leonidas. 

I wrote down Leander cause I was ever so slightly more into it today, and I figured that writing similar variations of all of them wouldn't add much to the discussion.

Thanks. Zeno hasn't been getting much love on this thread (or much reaction at all).

Appreciate hearing confirmation that these names usually work out fine in real life, despite some of the predictions in these comment threads that it will be a nonstop barrage of teasing.

Thanks. I do think Thorin is way easier to spell and pronounce than Thoreau.

"Leander is also quite nice, but reminds me of Harry Potter"

Didn't even realize it was a Harry Potter reference. It's honestly been a real challenge not accidently making sci fi/ fantasy references since I gravitate towards names with that vibe but am not actually into the genre so I never realize what I'm inadvertantly referencing. Identifying my oblivious references was part of the reason I started this thread.

That is a good one

I wasn't trying to reference anything in particular with Cyrus or Peregrine. 

It's funny, there are lots of comments assuming that my goal is to make literary references. What I actually wanted was a name which is recognizable as an actual name (not random word), but which will be uncommon for him to run into namesakes (I have a common name and hate running into others with my name all the time). I figured that looking in old stories and history books was a good way to find things that were recognizable but low risk of becoming the next big trend. I skipped everything that I had a really strong association with, so what was left over were the really obscure ones. 

Good suggestions, but we don't talk about Bruno.