What names are you too chicken to name your babies?

[Smokering]

Anyone else have names they really love, but aren't quite brave or "out there" enough to use?

I have three, all from books/movies/TV shows I like. :p

For a girl: Rose of Sharon. She was a character in The Grapes of Wrath, which is one of my favourite books, and I just LOVE the name (which is funny, because I don't really like Sharon by itself). I loved how the other characters never called her Rose or Sharon - if they abbreviated it, it was "Rosasharn". And I just think it's pretty and soft-sounding and awesome. But I wouldn't call a baby that. The logistics of a three-parter name just seem too daunting, and I'm also just a bit too conventional - it would get a LOT of raised eyebrows! Also, my mother thinks it's tacky. :p

Also for a girl: Leia. Nixed for the very obvious Star Wars connotations. But not only do I love Princess Leia herself - see avatar! - I like the delicacy of the spelling. Lots of vowels. It looks lacy and feminine and flowy and just lovely. I could go with Leah, but I don't like Leah at all. Honestly, I might just use Leia for a middle name one day, but I'm not brave enough to use it for a first name.

For a boy: Jean-Luc. Yes, after Picard. We actually semi-seriously considered this for DD (before we knew she was a girl, obviously), but I decided that giving a non-French kid a French name could be construed as pretentious. (And then we gave DD the middle name Marie! But that is a family name, at least...) Coulda gone with John Luke of course, but again, I didn't like it.

I also kinda like River (after River Tam from Serenity), but I'm not super-mega tempted to use it. Again, it's just a bit too "alternative" for my comfort zone... and a bit too trendy. But it's very pretty. And then there's Rosemary, which I've liked since I was a kid, but it's SIL's name so that's out.

What about you? :)

[Bobbys]

I like the name Cary for a boy; like Cary Grant. I'm not too chicken, but DH is. He thinks it's too girlie.

[clovergirl]

Not pregnant, but I love talking baby names!

For a boy: Lucius.  My husband HATES it and since Harry Potter mania has taken over my house it probably wouldn't fly with my kids either. 

Also for a boy: Hawthorne.  This was thrown around pretty heavily after DS was born.  My girls both have flower names and I wanted DS to have a nature/plant name as well.  I love the name, but it just wasn't him.  Too bad.  He didn't wind up with a nature/plant name either!

For a girl: Briar Rose.  I am still holding on to this one for that mythical 4th baby.  I wouldn't want to use Rose by itself, but I love it in the combination.  It was on my short list of girls' names when pregnant with #3 but alas, he was a boy.

Also for a girl: Thais.  I love the way this name looks written, but not how it's pronounced.  If I could get away with pronouncing it "th-ace" it would be lovely.  But I am a stickler for correct pronunciation! 

[Nicole730]

Elmer or Orion for a boy.  I've gotten so many strong NO reactions to Elmer.  (Oooh just thought, what about Ember, nah too close to Amber)  And I like Orion, but I just don't think I'd end up loving it once I named my son it.

I love and would use Wren for a girl but DH is against it.

[Orionsmama]

Nicole730! 

 I had to respond to your post. It is so funny that you mention both these names. We have a little guy we named Orion and for a girl we had chosen Wren. Maybe these names arent so uncommon, or perhaps we both just have impeccable taste :)

[Snugglebugmom]

What a fun thread!!

Smokering, "Rose of Sharon" actually comes from the Bible, Song of Solomon 2:1. I think it's lovely too, but you're right, a three-part name might be a bit daunting.

As for me, I love Calliope for a girl. Unfortunately no one knows how to pronounce it, and DH thinks it's pretentious.

I also love Lyric, I think it's just beautiful. But it's the name I started out with role-playing in MSN Gor chat, and it has very strong, personal ties for me. I wouldn't want to put that on a tiny baby girl.

And for a boy, I love Aragorn. Our oldest is also named for a character in Lord of the Rings, and Aragorn is one of my favorite characters. But the name is just a little too "out there" for me. 

I can't wait to read what other ladies come up with, I might just get an idea for our newest addition!

[Nicole730]

Originally Posted by Orionsmama 

Nicole730! 

 I had to respond to your post. It is so funny that you mention both these names. We have a little guy we named Orion and for a girl we had chosen Wren. Maybe these names arent so uncommon, or perhaps we both just have impeccable taste :)

Wow!  That's crazy.  I'll go with we have impeccable taste. :)  (Although the Elmer is a little out there, I loved the name Elsie and told everyone if I had twins they would be Elsie and Elmer..)

[tzs]

well, our last name is "stern" (is that disclosing too much? don;t stalk me now ;) ) and there's a yiddish name that religious jews use fairly often "shterna." 

dh has been begging me to use that name because then using the nickname it would be "shterny stern."

actually it's kinda cute and i've had strong public opinion to use it but i don't know if i could do that to a kid....although i do know a "Goldie Gold."

[tourist.]

Originally Posted by Smokering 

I also kinda like River (after River Tam from Serenity), but I'm not super-mega tempted to use it. Again, it's just a bit too "alternative" for my comfort zone... and a bit too trendy. But it's very pretty. And then there's Rosemary, which I've liked since I was a kid, but it's SIL's name so that's out.

What about you? :)

Love it!!  I would only not use it because I already know a River (my BFF's nephew), but I think it's a fantastic name - especially for a girl.  And River Tam is soooo worthy of being named after. 

[Smokering]

Oh, I just thought of another one - Bella. I think it's lovely, but... yeah... Twilight. (I also have a sneaking fondness for Bonnie, but DH thinks it's awful.)

Our oldest is also named for a character in Lord of the Rings

Ooh - any chance you'd tell us what it is? Samwise? :) I really like Merry for a boy, but I can't see it on a full-grown man... and it does sound a bit close to "Mary". I like Pippin too, but again, I can't really see a Pippin all growed up, as a hard-hitting divorce lawyer... It'd go nicely with DD's name though - Rowan - which is actually a hobbit name (one of Sam's ancestors, and a female to boot!); I like the idea of having all nature-y sounding names, as long as they weren't too obvious. Before we found out this baby was a boy I was in favour of Hazel for a girl, but I wasn't sure if it'd lock us into a cutesy tree-themed-names thing. Although, most people here don't know that Rowan *is* a tree...

[annettemarie]

I really wanted to name Molly Hermione, but DH vetoed it.

[Lisa1970]

I really like Paisley and Meadow for a girl. I like True for a boy.

[javilu]

I really like the name Jesús, pronounced in Spanish.  It goes very well with my son's name, too.  And I love the nickname Sus (pronounced like Seuss), too.  But my husband would never, ever go for it.  In my culture (Mexican-American from East L.A.), it's a very common name, you don't even need to be very religious to use it.  In his (suburban white Kansan)...not so much.

[tourist.]

Rowan used to be one of my top names...It was the name of the main female character in a book I read as a teenager (The Witching Hour, by Anne Rice I believe).  

Lots of names that I like and wouldn't use are many flower, plant and earth type names.  Actually, I take that back - I might use them, DH - no way.  

My son's first and middle names are from fictional characters, I'm wondering if we'll end up going that same route this time.  I can't imagine we wouldn't, all our animals are named after characters.  We have Trinity & Switch the beagles (Matrix), Jack the cat (after any number of tv shows or movies we watch), Gimli the bearded dragon with his red "beard" (Lord of the Rings).

[mclisa]

Scarlet - love it, but ever since a local strip club is named that...just can't use it.

[mmmmochi]

Oh I love Rupert, Hugo, Araminta, Mabel...but I would never be brave enough to use them!

[calynde]

For me, i secretly love a lot of hippie/nature names, but they soooo don't fit in our lifestyle and our bi-national family context. Sometimes i dream of using them just to rebel, but alas, not brave enough.

[katelove]

Originally Posted by Snugglebugmom 

I also love Lyric, I think it's just beautiful. 

Our baby was either going to be Lyric Rose or Freya Juliet. DH doesn't love Lyric but bravely tried to get used to it right up until J was born. I think he was very relieved when she was born and we agreed that she didn't look like a Lyric *or* a Freya. I still think it is an absolutely beautiful name though, might put it on the list again next time.

[Snugglebugmom]

Originally Posted by Smokering 

Our oldest is also named for a character in Lord of the Rings

Ooh - any chance you'd tell us what it is? 

Sure! Our oldest is named Arwen. Our (for now) youngest is named after another Elven princess from another series of books, Arya (from "Eragon"). The search is on for a third Elven princess whose name begins with A. DH commented last night that we seem to have painted ourselves into a bit of a corner here. 

[morganlefay]

Temple for a girl :)  I LOVE it.  I also love Cash for a boy, after Johnny Cash and one of my favorite characters from a Faulkner novel.

And clovergirl, I LOVE Briar Rose as well :)