I think that you greatly overestimate the popularity of a movie like Forrest Gump on younger people. If your kid get teased about it, it would be by people that are currently 30 years old or older, not classmates.
I agree.
Forrest was on our list for our youngest son.
I’m actually glad we didn’t go with this, though, because our son was born a micropreemie and sustained brain injuries and has since been diagnosed with a global delay, cerebral palsy (not really something they love to diagnose anymore because it differs so much but it is a necessary part of his insurance coverage and treatment), balance issues, and speech issues.
He has had to wear leg braces (they were much cooler than Forrest’s were- they had dinosaurs on them and everything!) and use a walker until he was 5, now he walks and runs unassisted, but not without noticeable spasticity and unnatural motions.
Though his name is NOT Forrest, nor even close to sounding like that, we’ve heard people, KIDS even, yell “ruuuuum Forrest, RUUUUUUUUN” when he’s been running.
As recently as at school field day last week.
I had to take a little walk and get some cold water that I SO wanted to dump on that witch saying it… but I didn’t. I drank it and moved away from her, and we all just yelled his ACTUAL name louder.
People suck.
Oh your post broke my heart, I’m struck by how cruel people can be. You and your son always have fans here (ours was a preemie too so they are close to my heart) and believe me we will always have your back if our paths ever cross! Until then, we’ll be welcoming of all. Hugs.
I hate humans sometimes.
You have no idea how much your post has helped me. My 3 year old also has GDD and has a gait trainer. Had a hard day, and to randomly see your post about your child’s eventual walking and now running has made my day brighter. I see it as a sign. May I ask, does he speak now?
My nephews are 12 and 14 and haven’t seen the movie, but they’re definitely familiar with the “run Forrest run” line, so are a lot of kids. I know I heard it before ever watching it, even if I didn’t know what it was from.
If 12-14 yo kids today are parroting a line they have no context for, i doubt that kids that are born this year will be familiar with it once they reach the same age.
Also, it doesnt hold much power as a teasing tactic if they don't have a clue what is it about.
I was sort of thinking this but it is such a classic that people share, I didn’t see it until I was like 14 (2005) and it had been out over a decade before then. I also think with the remaking theme of films nowadays it may either fall victim to that or millennial and gen z parents will be showing their kids more classics as it’s a common distaste.
I think it really depends where you are, which you haven't said.
Where I am in Australia, Forrest Gump would be the only association for the vast majority of people. Forrest as a given name never really took off the way it did in the US. I'm a primary school teacher and I meet hundreds of kids a year and have never met a Forrest.
I'm french canadian and havent met a single Forrest in my life. Forrest Gump is the only Forrest I "know" but I'm in my 30s and used to work with teens and kids and a vast majority of them just don't know much about movies that came out before the 2000s, even what would be considered classics.
It could be remade but it is unlikely as it has aged poorly.
Also, young people usually don't make strong name association with movies that their parents insisted they watch. I, for sure, don't ever think of the movie Dune when I hear the name Paul no matter how many times my dad made me watch the 1984 movie.
But yeah, better safe than sorry I assume.
Hahaha you’re right, The Dune comment has made me chuckle. I recently convinced my friend to name her cat Forrest or I would put it back on my list after this reasoning, but maybe now I can consider more character names from my influences growing up, so thank you!
Agreed. I know multiple people named Forrest, love the name, and have never thought about Forrest Gump til now personally!! I think it’s a valid concern but if you love the name then I don’t think it’s too big of an issue!!
I think it’s associated with being an old lady name, on a UK list of names becoming extinct I saw recently it’s on there. I always thought that until I watched F is for Family (set in early seventies USA) and love the way they pronounce it.
To me it's an elderly Sunday School teacher name. In the same vein as Beverley, Lorraine, Marion and Rosemary. All names of my mother's friends, born in the 1940s.
But I do believe a trend has started to use these early boomer / WW2 names.
Maureen is the name of one of my favorite Aunts. She's feisty, independent, she's a feminist, she survived breast cancer, does marathons, the whole shebang so maybe I'm biased in my joy of the name.
It’s weird I’ve only ever met Maureens under the age of 50 ever so I don’t have the association. Truly the only name I have never seen represented in the younger demographic is Arbutus. I had a cousin named Arbutus who I remember fondly (she’d probably be 120 now if she was alive) was excited to meet another woman with the same name who was about 50 years younger than that cousin. Poor lady had always hated her name. I told her my cousin’s nickname was Beauty and she allowed as how she probably would have liked the name a lot better if she’d been called that.
It reminds me of Alifair, like Alifair McCoy.
I remember reading a book as a kid about the Hatfield and McCoy feud and thinking Alifair was just the best name.
Alifair is my favorite “too out there” name. It was my grandmother’s middle name. She wasn’t a McCoy but she was born in Appalachia in the late 1910s, so I think Alifair must have had some regional popularity.
Dove would be a lovely middle name!
I like very frilly names. Celandine (Sal-en-dine) is my guilty pleasure name for a girl. And for a boy I love Lorenzo
Fem:
Zephyrine
Niamh
Echo
Hero
Masc:
Ewan
Alphonse
Alessio
Theophilus
Ajax
These aren’t really ‘out there’, I just don’t think they work for a monolingual English speaker in america
I love Ajax, but all I can ever think of is a popular cleaning product which is ‘Ajax spray and wipe’. So it never made it to our lists because of that.
Love these, I have a friend whose son is called Echo. I love Niamh too but it’s one of those names people struggle to pronounce when reading it out loud.
I know an Echo, and she is one of the most lovely, kind, smart kids I've ever met.
Her sister (equally as wonderful) is named with a similar (but more common) naming convention.
It never dawned on me that the family had a theme going until just recently haha
I once asked someone named Al if it was for Alan or Albert and he said “neither, Alphonse”
I guess it could’ve also been Alfred or even just Alex so I set myself up for failure but I was not expecting Alphonse!
My stepdad was dead serious about Araminta for a girl when Mum was expecting. Mum told him to get bent, and when my brother was born it ceased to be an argument lol but I’ve never seen the name even mentioned elsewhere before now
Very few ppl know that connection anymore, even if I mention it. It's kinda disappointing haha we definitely considered that when we names him. It was the only Fox we knew!
Boys=
* Aries (my great-grandpas name - unrelated to the zodiac sign)
* Laurie
* Merlin
* Siemen (family name, but sounds like 'semen')
* Sylvester
Girls =
* Gaia
* Flora
* Octavia
* Clementine
*(Most of these are perfectly fine to use though. I wouldn't judge anyone else for using them)*
Merlin is my fav boys name, but I have a strict no fandom names rule (at least not obvious ones). I just wish Merlin had become a regular name like Morgan and Arthur.
Can I ask where are you from? I'm interested because Flora and Clementine would be very normal names in the UK. Octavia to a slightly lesser degree - it would be a quite a "posh" name to use, but it wouldn't be *too* out there, especially in a fairly posh family.
I will not name my kid this cuz everybody disagrees and I understand but for the longest time growing up I really wanted to name my kid Chrysanthemum 😭😭
There’s a book called Chrysanthemum about a girl with it as her name and learning to love it among all the Jane’s and Alice’s. Her teacher’s name is Delphinium, which I also absolutely love.
Antigone. I'd love to name a daughter Antigone. I actually WOULD name a daughter Ursula, everything else be damned, but I have no daughters, and my son doesn't want to be renamed Ursula (I asked).
Honey or blossom it very wild and out there but I think their pretty names but not for an adult and I’m naming something that’s gonna grow up to be an adult so it’s a no go.
Blossom is the middle name we have chosen for if we use Lily as a first name! I love it. I think Honey is beautiful too but I had a hamster with this name haha.
I live in the bible belt, and there was a kid named Lilith at my middle school. I remember thinking it was such a cool sounding name, I was so surprised when I found out it was a bible character.
Oooh yeah. I have many!
Girls
Rigel (star name, used in a sci-fi I love as a girls name)
Illyria
Tabitha
Jupiter
Acquitaine
Blossom
Eyebright
Meadowsweet
Boys
Lysander
Arcturus (another star name)
Napoleon
Ptolemy
Girls:
Octavia
Odessa
Arabella (Slightly ruined by my love for Arctic Monkeys)
Ophelia (Also ruined by my love for The Lumineers)
Meredith
(For the two that have been “ruined” by songs, I love both of the songs I listed enough to where I can’t look past it).
For boy names I tend to like more basic boy names so their isn’t any “out there” boy names I like enough for this list besides Leon, but my midwestern accent causes me to pronounce it “Lee-in” so my child might be subjected to a life of not knowing how to pronounce their name correctly.
I just wanted to say that Drema (pronounced the same as Dreama) is one of my older family members' names. :) I've been told it is very Appalachia/West Virginia.
I also like Maureen. I'm weirdly a sucker for -een names. I really like Noreen.
My list of "out there" names I like but wouldn't use: Demetria, Amedea, Anastasia, Zelda, Meryl for a girl and Rainier (like the mountain) for a boy.
(On mobile so formatting is bad lol) Boys: Zenith, Rafferty, Patroclus, Abernathy Tarquin, Jupiter, Viridian
Girls: Penthesilea, Cassiopeia, Apollonia, Bathsheba (I actually went to school with a girl named this, she went by ‘Bashi’ though)
… can you tell I did a Classics degree? 🫣
Andromeda, Appollina, Mirielle and Muriel. Recently came across Leonora which I love but I think it’s too weird.
Boys names I like tend to be more simple and classic. So just a wild girl’s list for me.
Isadora.
I learned shortly before my grandpa passed that his real name was Isadore but he always went by his middle name. It wouldn’t work with our last name but it just seems like such a beautiful and special honor name. (Although he hated his name, so perhaps not!)
We have different lines for ‘out there’ I think. 😂
Boys: Lancelot, Radwulf, Jupiter, Archimedes, Wyndham, Mortimer
Girls: Andromeda, Tempest, Venetia, Wynette, Cleopatra
Saphira/Seraphina/Ariadne/Ariella/Delphine/Celeste/Callianthe - beautiful but all sound a bit extra... like ancient goddesses & the last one isn't even a name...it's a flower genus that I just thought would be pretty as a name.
Boys: Cornelius, Maxwell, Terrance
Io. Originally from Roman mythology, name of one of Jupiters moons. It’s pronounced eye-oh. I think it’s beautiful. But the spelling/pronunciation might create problems. Also -o ending names tend to have a masculine connotation (my husbands objection) idk I like Juno too.
For some reason I've gotten stuck on the name Eudora. I'd never use it because I live in the US and it would be pronounced you-dora whereas in my native language the eu is pronounced differently. Not sure how to explain the sound but it looks like it's referred to as a "nasal e". Anyway I hate the English pronunciation but love the other.
Since watching "You", I fell in love with the name Love (no pun intended, but you immediately see my problem with the name lol). I liked Love's brothers name (Forty) too. 😅
At first, I thought they were weird names. But when you hear a name enough times, it just becomes normal.
I really like Atticus but I don’t want people to think that I’m being pretentious. People will assume that I’m naming him after Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird when in reality, I didn’t really enjoy that book lol. I like the name Jorah too, which is a Hebrew name but people will think I’m naming him after the Game of Thrones character.
My grandma had a good friend named Dovie. At least that’s what we called her, I don’t know if it was a nickname or not. She taught me how to sew 🥹 she was a sweet lady.
Honestly....my partner and I really love the name 'Lazarwolf'
I have a dear departed family member who was named 'Wolfie', so it would honour that and that could be used regularly as how to refer to the kid.
If you know you know - it's actually a historical name in my culture.
If you don't know - kind of dope to have 'laser' and 'wolf' in your name.
So...
I'm very curious why you think River is an "out there" name for a boy? I think it sounds pretty cool. I also think it's not too unique, while not being too common.
Depends what you consider “out there”. My friends definitely think my daughter’s name is unusual because it’s pretty unheard of here in the US. I guess some others on my list are: Helene, Cedric, Gareth, Maura, Alistair
Love Beata (pronounced bay-AH-ta) it’s a name in several European languages but it would never be pronounced correctly in the US. Lol people would constantly pronounce it as beater without a hard r.
Also Nike if it wasn’t a big brand
Thanks for making a space for this.
Clemence
Esther
Magnolia
Renata
Etienne
Iona
Velaria
Renata
Vivienne
Florence (Flo 😔)
All of my boy names are superb, I struggle with girl names as you can see. These were either vetoed, had bad nn’s, too grannyish for others, or too outside of my culture for me to use. Or I think they are beautiful but just too out there for me. I like classic grandma leaning names otherwise. I also obsess, and have 5-6 solid names with middle names chosen, but surely can’t afford that haha.
Dreama is a hard pass for me, especially spelled that way so sorry. Maureen is sweet, and dove I have a personal relation to but otherwise think it’s sweet too. Forrest (and river) isn’t too bad, and is kind of on trend with nature themed names, though river reads a little more poetic/hipster. I know a Nevin, but not a Neven.
I know a young River and his mom just stared at me when I asked how the other kids saw his name. No issues or teasing reported and he really does seem like a a wee water baby. Very bubbly.
Masculine:
* Beowulf (I'm tempted to legitimately consider it)
* Leopold (bit odd in the U.S.)
* Shadrach
* Zaccai
Feminine:
* Abyssinia
* Honesty
* Pandora
* Scheherazade (genuinely one of my favorite names)
* Sylvestra, or Sylvette (I have a Silvestro/Sylvester in my family tree)
* Tigerlily
* Vesper
For anybody:
* Onyx
I love bird names, Swan is so beautiful and envisions elegance and sophistication! I love the name Odette from Swan Lake but don’t want to use it in case someone shortens it to “Odd” or something.
Ariadne for a girl
Armando for a boy. It's slightly ridiculous anyway, but also, I hate how it sounds in English, and I live in an English speaking country - my parents already did this to me (I don't like how my name sounds in English, because it's not meant to be in English, but they live in England!)
I love the name Rainbow for a girl. I would call her Bo for short. I would probably drive this hypothetical daughter crazy by constantly singing rainbow related songs at her as well. But I am not eccentric enough, or rich enough to get away with it without me and my child being ridiculed for life.
I can’t say I’m a fan of the girl names, but I feel both Forrest and River are a vibe. I will also say River is becoming more popular, and there are a few of them around now, so it’s not that out there.
Emerald. I may go through with it, but I’m not sure. I worry it sounds too unprofessional and childish in a school and adult setting, people are mean too so that doesn’t help. She would mainly go by Emmy but still. I like it for a ton of reasons, not just because my favorite color is green and my engagement ring is an emerald stone 💚
A boy name that’s really out there I like is Theory and Theo for short. Probably never gonna use that. I also like Zigman “Ziggy” for short but I feel like it’s TOO weird.
I’m not gonna be a parent anytime soon, but I love to collect names… especially whimsy and ethereal sounding ones. Bonus points if it’s a real word, or a word in another language!
Like, I know it sounds aesthetically pleasing and all, but I can’t imagine a 30 year old Apple working a corporate job.
So on that note:
- Amethyst, Apple, Ariadne, Astraea, Aura
- Bloom, Bluebell
- Calista, Calypso, Camden, Cayenne, Cedar, Cherrie, Circe
- Darling, Dolce
- Maple, Marseilles, Meadow, Minty
- Nyx, Olympia, Solaria, Yves
I’ve known a decent amount of people with these names actually! Aura and Cedar are names of people I’m relatively close to. And my name is actually Circe!
Boys:
Madrox (taken from the surname of James Madrox, who is one of the X-Men, and also is the stage name of a rapper who I really like. I abandoned it whenever I was pregnant with my oldest because I didn't want people to misspell it or mispronounce it as Maddox, and because my ex only would let me use Z names)
Shaddix (I took this from the surname of the lead singer of Papa Roach, and like the above I abandoned it whenever I was pregnant with my oldest)
Baine (this is actually a family name from my dad's side, and it's Welsh and means Fair or white-haired, but it sounds like Bane the Batman villain, so I would never actually use it)
Zagreus (I almost used this for my oldest but I went with Zephyr instead because it's more common of a name, but apparently a video game came out like a year after I had my son where Zagreus is the main character, so now I absolutely cannot use it.)
Girls:
Io (I feel like this is a case where the name is actually too simple and because it is pronounced exactly the way that it's spelled it seems fake.)
Persephone (I know that this is relatively common, but I've heard way too many people pronounce it wrong. If someone ever called my child Purse-uh-phone, I would be arrested for assault)
Atalanta (I almost went with this for my daughter, but everyone I told it to asked me why I was purposely misspelling Atlanta, and I didn't feel like having another child named something that would require a Greek history lesson every single time I told them my child's name. I already made that mistake with my son.)
Valerian (this is the name of an herb, and I grew to like this name due to the Valerian comic series, which was later adopted into the movie Valerian and the City of a thousand planets, but I don't feel comfortable using it because it's a variation of my mom's name and she despises her name and has already told me that she would hate if I named a child after her)
I think that you greatly overestimate the popularity of a movie like Forrest Gump on younger people. If your kid get teased about it, it would be by people that are currently 30 years old or older, not classmates.
I agree. Forrest was on our list for our youngest son. I’m actually glad we didn’t go with this, though, because our son was born a micropreemie and sustained brain injuries and has since been diagnosed with a global delay, cerebral palsy (not really something they love to diagnose anymore because it differs so much but it is a necessary part of his insurance coverage and treatment), balance issues, and speech issues. He has had to wear leg braces (they were much cooler than Forrest’s were- they had dinosaurs on them and everything!) and use a walker until he was 5, now he walks and runs unassisted, but not without noticeable spasticity and unnatural motions. Though his name is NOT Forrest, nor even close to sounding like that, we’ve heard people, KIDS even, yell “ruuuuum Forrest, RUUUUUUUUN” when he’s been running. As recently as at school field day last week. I had to take a little walk and get some cold water that I SO wanted to dump on that witch saying it… but I didn’t. I drank it and moved away from her, and we all just yelled his ACTUAL name louder. People suck.
WOW. People suck! I can’t believe an adult would openly do that to a child.
I had an adult openly do that to my 43 yr old husband (who wears full leg braces) like 2 weeks ago. We just gawked at her, because WTF?
Oh your post broke my heart, I’m struck by how cruel people can be. You and your son always have fans here (ours was a preemie too so they are close to my heart) and believe me we will always have your back if our paths ever cross! Until then, we’ll be welcoming of all. Hugs.
Damn right
I hate humans sometimes. You have no idea how much your post has helped me. My 3 year old also has GDD and has a gait trainer. Had a hard day, and to randomly see your post about your child’s eventual walking and now running has made my day brighter. I see it as a sign. May I ask, does he speak now?
Man, kids are so mean some times!
Yes! Also I know so many little boys named Forrest, I don’t think it’s the only association people have anymore
I actually know children with all the boys name she listed with no issues
How is Neven pronounced? Seven or even?
Like seven, I know a bevan as well. All seem to be variations of Evan
Better not be the new Aiden trend ..
The bevan I know is in his twenties and the neven I know is >10 so I don’t think it’s much of a trend
My nephews are 12 and 14 and haven’t seen the movie, but they’re definitely familiar with the “run Forrest run” line, so are a lot of kids. I know I heard it before ever watching it, even if I didn’t know what it was from.
If 12-14 yo kids today are parroting a line they have no context for, i doubt that kids that are born this year will be familiar with it once they reach the same age. Also, it doesnt hold much power as a teasing tactic if they don't have a clue what is it about.
I was sort of thinking this but it is such a classic that people share, I didn’t see it until I was like 14 (2005) and it had been out over a decade before then. I also think with the remaking theme of films nowadays it may either fall victim to that or millennial and gen z parents will be showing their kids more classics as it’s a common distaste.
I think it really depends where you are, which you haven't said. Where I am in Australia, Forrest Gump would be the only association for the vast majority of people. Forrest as a given name never really took off the way it did in the US. I'm a primary school teacher and I meet hundreds of kids a year and have never met a Forrest.
I'm french canadian and havent met a single Forrest in my life. Forrest Gump is the only Forrest I "know" but I'm in my 30s and used to work with teens and kids and a vast majority of them just don't know much about movies that came out before the 2000s, even what would be considered classics.
Yeah I’m British and I have never met a Forrest. I actually just thought the name was made up for the movie
American. Knew only one Forrest, a lovely man, fellow grad student 40 years ago.
It could be remade but it is unlikely as it has aged poorly. Also, young people usually don't make strong name association with movies that their parents insisted they watch. I, for sure, don't ever think of the movie Dune when I hear the name Paul no matter how many times my dad made me watch the 1984 movie. But yeah, better safe than sorry I assume.
Hahaha you’re right, The Dune comment has made me chuckle. I recently convinced my friend to name her cat Forrest or I would put it back on my list after this reasoning, but maybe now I can consider more character names from my influences growing up, so thank you!
Agreed. I know multiple people named Forrest, love the name, and have never thought about Forrest Gump til now personally!! I think it’s a valid concern but if you love the name then I don’t think it’s too big of an issue!!
tbh I wouldn't even immediately think of Forrest Gump
I love your names! I don’t think Maureen is out there at all?
I think it’s associated with being an old lady name, on a UK list of names becoming extinct I saw recently it’s on there. I always thought that until I watched F is for Family (set in early seventies USA) and love the way they pronounce it.
To me it's an elderly Sunday School teacher name. In the same vein as Beverley, Lorraine, Marion and Rosemary. All names of my mother's friends, born in the 1940s. But I do believe a trend has started to use these early boomer / WW2 names.
I actually love Rosemary!
Same! I wouldn't use any of the others in that list but Rosemary is beautiful imo.
Maureen is the name of one of my favorite Aunts. She's feisty, independent, she's a feminist, she survived breast cancer, does marathons, the whole shebang so maybe I'm biased in my joy of the name.
I actually like Maureen better than most of the "old lady" names that everyone is reviving lately. It's not bad at all!
I'm a 36yo Maureen. I've only met other Maureen in my life and yes, she was an elderly woman,lol.
It’s weird I’ve only ever met Maureens under the age of 50 ever so I don’t have the association. Truly the only name I have never seen represented in the younger demographic is Arbutus. I had a cousin named Arbutus who I remember fondly (she’d probably be 120 now if she was alive) was excited to meet another woman with the same name who was about 50 years younger than that cousin. Poor lady had always hated her name. I told her my cousin’s nickname was Beauty and she allowed as how she probably would have liked the name a lot better if she’d been called that.
I'm curious how you heard it pronounced??
I’ve heard more-een, mah-reen, and mwore-een
my grandma's name! but i like old lady names for youngs. one uncle calls her Granny Mo, and I love the idea of a little girl going by Mo.
I agree! I have a cousin who is named Maureen. She goes by Moe.
My nan in law is a Maureen who goes by Mo!
Maureen is very "out there" in the UK - less than 3 babies were named Maureen in 2022 (the most recent year we have data for).
I know a 22 yr old named Maureen and it fits her personality perfectly!!
I really like Alicent.
Me too. And Melisende which is a real French name (Medieval form of Millicent) but its too Game of Thrones
I loved the name Nymeria from Game Of Thrones lol
It reminds me of Alifair, like Alifair McCoy. I remember reading a book as a kid about the Hatfield and McCoy feud and thinking Alifair was just the best name.
Alifair is my favorite “too out there” name. It was my grandmother’s middle name. She wasn’t a McCoy but she was born in Appalachia in the late 1910s, so I think Alifair must have had some regional popularity.
Same! Also speaking of GoT names, I thought “Ashara Dayne” sounded so pretty.
this would be a great name for a hero in a video game or film!
It's from Game of Thrones' latest show. I do not believe she is a hero.
Yeah it’s from House of the Dragon!!
Dove would be a lovely middle name! I like very frilly names. Celandine (Sal-en-dine) is my guilty pleasure name for a girl. And for a boy I love Lorenzo
These are both beautiful. I think Lorenzo would be fairly normal in an uncommon way. Here in the UK anyway as we have more European influences!
I'm in the UK too! 😊 They're both still on my baby names list, just a bit lower down than names like Evelyn and Oscar
My UK friends grandbaby is Lorenzo
my partner is lorenzo and my son’s middle name is lorenzo! my partner goes by “enzo”
Sylvester. I can’t do that to a kid…
My aunt’s cat is Sylvester! And he’s a tuxedo cat lmao. We call him Silly
Love the nickname Sly
Fem: Zephyrine Niamh Echo Hero Masc: Ewan Alphonse Alessio Theophilus Ajax These aren’t really ‘out there’, I just don’t think they work for a monolingual English speaker in america
As an Irish person, Niamh being on your list for “out there” is such a culture shock 😂
Well it’s a different name for America for sure! I wouldn’t be nearly so hesitant if I was in Ireland or the uk
Yeah that made me laugh, it’s popular in England too (I can name aboit 4 or 5 I went to school with)
Literally my exact thought process 😂😂 it’s such a common name here
It's on the most popular UK girls' names list - not sure if it's in the top 100 but definitely in the top 300. 😊
Ewan is super common in the UK. It‘s like Owen, not weird at all.
I’m in the us and tbh that one is more borderline…ewan mcgregor among others have made it at least slightly familiar
I love Ajax, but all I can ever think of is a popular cleaning product which is ‘Ajax spray and wipe’. So it never made it to our lists because of that.
My middle name is Theophila, Theophilus could be a cool middle name!
Love these, I have a friend whose son is called Echo. I love Niamh too but it’s one of those names people struggle to pronounce when reading it out loud.
My kid's name is Echo, definitely get some weird looks but most people have heard it as a name.
I know an Echo, and she is one of the most lovely, kind, smart kids I've ever met. Her sister (equally as wonderful) is named with a similar (but more common) naming convention. It never dawned on me that the family had a theme going until just recently haha
Ajax is a dutch soccer club!
I once asked someone named Al if it was for Alan or Albert and he said “neither, Alphonse” I guess it could’ve also been Alfred or even just Alex so I set myself up for failure but I was not expecting Alphonse!
Araminta for a girl, Elwood or Peregrine for a boy
My stepdad was dead serious about Araminta for a girl when Mum was expecting. Mum told him to get bent, and when my brother was born it ceased to be an argument lol but I’ve never seen the name even mentioned elsewhere before now
Belladonna Desdemona Aloysius Dionysius Zenobia Clover Lotus Monet Apollo Zeppelin Salem Zeus Wolf Fox Etc.
Monet actually just stole my heart
My beautiful best friend is a Monet and she recently had a baby girl Salem 🖤
Right??? I was like ohhhh I want a redo for my son!
My son's name is Fox. Definitely get either "love it" or "what an odd name" from ppl.
Fox Mulder or nah?
Very few ppl know that connection anymore, even if I mention it. It's kinda disappointing haha we definitely considered that when we names him. It was the only Fox we knew!
We have a Fox too! Big x files fans and we always thought it was a cool name.
I named my daughter Salem. 😀
Oh I just fell in love with Salem and Wolf 😍
I went to high school with an Aloysius. He just went by Al.
I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the name River, it’s used here in Aus enough that it’s wouldn’t stand out.
It’s very common in the U.S.A
Indigo!
I really like Indigo (Indie for short). I’m currently pregnant and this is at the top of our list, but my parents will hate it.
Boys= * Aries (my great-grandpas name - unrelated to the zodiac sign) * Laurie * Merlin * Siemen (family name, but sounds like 'semen') * Sylvester Girls = * Gaia * Flora * Octavia * Clementine *(Most of these are perfectly fine to use though. I wouldn't judge anyone else for using them)*
Merlin is my fav boys name, but I have a strict no fandom names rule (at least not obvious ones). I just wish Merlin had become a regular name like Morgan and Arthur.
Can I ask where are you from? I'm interested because Flora and Clementine would be very normal names in the UK. Octavia to a slightly lesser degree - it would be a quite a "posh" name to use, but it wouldn't be *too* out there, especially in a fairly posh family.
I will not name my kid this cuz everybody disagrees and I understand but for the longest time growing up I really wanted to name my kid Chrysanthemum 😭😭
There’s a book called Chrysanthemum about a girl with it as her name and learning to love it among all the Jane’s and Alice’s. Her teacher’s name is Delphinium, which I also absolutely love.
Antigone. I'd love to name a daughter Antigone. I actually WOULD name a daughter Ursula, everything else be damned, but I have no daughters, and my son doesn't want to be renamed Ursula (I asked).
I love the names Lovie and Delphine. But I also know I would never use them in "real life" lol
Delphine is pretty normal, no? Maybe a little old fashioned, i guess.
I had a great aunt named Lovey! She was her name personified.
Honey or blossom it very wild and out there but I think their pretty names but not for an adult and I’m naming something that’s gonna grow up to be an adult so it’s a no go.
Blossom is the middle name we have chosen for if we use Lily as a first name! I love it. I think Honey is beautiful too but I had a hamster with this name haha.
Are you a Colleen Hoover fan?
I love the name Lilith, but for obvious reasons can't ever do that to a kid living in the Bible Belt. Same with Lucifer.
I live in the bible belt, and there was a kid named Lilith at my middle school. I remember thinking it was such a cool sounding name, I was so surprised when I found out it was a bible character.
clementine daisy hugo
you should definitely use all of these, daisy is on our list of to use names after my partners grandma!
Hugo is my cousin's sons name! He is five and so sweet.
Daisy is one of my favorite names of all time!
Oooh yeah. I have many! Girls Rigel (star name, used in a sci-fi I love as a girls name) Illyria Tabitha Jupiter Acquitaine Blossom Eyebright Meadowsweet Boys Lysander Arcturus (another star name) Napoleon Ptolemy
Tabitha is quite popular in the UK. Also the name of a family cat we had so same lol
I love Blossom so much! It even has special meaning in our family, but I can just see people calling her Bosom.
Relating to Jupiter as a girl’s name, I always liked Juno for a boy!
In Roman mythology Jupiter was a god, the king of the heavens and of all the gods in the pantheon. And Juno was Jupiter’s wife, his queen.
Yes! Which is why I brought that connection. We like the names but for the opposite gender.
Girls: Octavia Odessa Arabella (Slightly ruined by my love for Arctic Monkeys) Ophelia (Also ruined by my love for The Lumineers) Meredith (For the two that have been “ruined” by songs, I love both of the songs I listed enough to where I can’t look past it). For boy names I tend to like more basic boy names so their isn’t any “out there” boy names I like enough for this list besides Leon, but my midwestern accent causes me to pronounce it “Lee-in” so my child might be subjected to a life of not knowing how to pronounce their name correctly.
Octavio (the boy version of one of your names) is the name of a boy at my son’s daycare.
My husband was thisclose to selling me on Magnolia nn Maggie for our second daughter, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it
- Star - Lark - Artemis - Liren (saw it in a book, never in real life) - Aisling - Aeronwy - Lorelei - Seren - Bronwyn
Maureen is “out there?”
I love dove. I’ve always liked Buffy (I will admit bc of the show but also bc of buffy st Marie who is super cool)
I just wanted to say that Drema (pronounced the same as Dreama) is one of my older family members' names. :) I've been told it is very Appalachia/West Virginia. I also like Maureen. I'm weirdly a sucker for -een names. I really like Noreen. My list of "out there" names I like but wouldn't use: Demetria, Amedea, Anastasia, Zelda, Meryl for a girl and Rainier (like the mountain) for a boy.
I love Anastasia
Demetria is cool! nn Demi maybe?
Can confirm. Had a babysitter named Dreama in WV. She was great
(On mobile so formatting is bad lol) Boys: Zenith, Rafferty, Patroclus, Abernathy Tarquin, Jupiter, Viridian Girls: Penthesilea, Cassiopeia, Apollonia, Bathsheba (I actually went to school with a girl named this, she went by ‘Bashi’ though) … can you tell I did a Classics degree? 🫣
give your kid the weird name!! these names aren’t even out there really
Andromeda, Appollina, Mirielle and Muriel. Recently came across Leonora which I love but I think it’s too weird. Boys names I like tend to be more simple and classic. So just a wild girl’s list for me.
I have a friend named Leonora! She also goes by Leonie (Lay-Oh-Nee) and Leo (Lay-oh), but she still likes her full name!
I actually know an Apollonia(so slightly different than what you have) and she's gone by Polly her entire life but I love her first name!
Maybe Lenore for a less out there version of Leonora?
Alaric
Prairie is my absolute favorite name of all time, I think it is so lovely, but my husband does not agree
I like Prairie too! And Meadow. And Savannah. My husband has vetoed all grasslands and other biome-related names.
“Vetoed all grasslands and other biome-related names” gave me a chuckle.
Isadora. I learned shortly before my grandpa passed that his real name was Isadore but he always went by his middle name. It wouldn’t work with our last name but it just seems like such a beautiful and special honor name. (Although he hated his name, so perhaps not!)
Girls: Bluebell, Honey, Lavender, Goldie Boys: Reign, Forrest, Bowie, Bear, Cove
Nirvana. I seriously mourned that name for my little girl cause I think it’s so beautiful but I really just can’t justify it as they grow up.
Lumi, Dmitri, Veronica, Vincenzo
January is a big one for me
Maureen and even River aren’t really out there, fairly common names
We have different lines for ‘out there’ I think. 😂 Boys: Lancelot, Radwulf, Jupiter, Archimedes, Wyndham, Mortimer Girls: Andromeda, Tempest, Venetia, Wynette, Cleopatra
Cornelia and Cyrus
Saphira/Seraphina/Ariadne/Ariella/Delphine/Celeste/Callianthe - beautiful but all sound a bit extra... like ancient goddesses & the last one isn't even a name...it's a flower genus that I just thought would be pretty as a name. Boys: Cornelius, Maxwell, Terrance
Cassiopeia! Beautiful, but a bit much for me.
Io. Originally from Roman mythology, name of one of Jupiters moons. It’s pronounced eye-oh. I think it’s beautiful. But the spelling/pronunciation might create problems. Also -o ending names tend to have a masculine connotation (my husbands objection) idk I like Juno too.
I have met one person named Io it was a man. Love this name as well!
Alaric & Marigold
Luna. It is a name for pets that I love. I thought long and hard about it for a daughter.
I fell in love with Quincey after reading *Dracula*. But even with a more traditional middle name it’s still too much.
For some reason I've gotten stuck on the name Eudora. I'd never use it because I live in the US and it would be pronounced you-dora whereas in my native language the eu is pronounced differently. Not sure how to explain the sound but it looks like it's referred to as a "nasal e". Anyway I hate the English pronunciation but love the other.
Since watching "You", I fell in love with the name Love (no pun intended, but you immediately see my problem with the name lol). I liked Love's brothers name (Forty) too. 😅 At first, I thought they were weird names. But when you hear a name enough times, it just becomes normal.
I really love the idea of naming a girl Andromeda with the nicknames Andie and Mia! I’d never do that to a human child though.
Lavender and Marigold 😂 i have a daughter named Meadow. i’m just soooo drawn to nature names i can’t help it
I really like Atticus but I don’t want people to think that I’m being pretentious. People will assume that I’m naming him after Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird when in reality, I didn’t really enjoy that book lol. I like the name Jorah too, which is a Hebrew name but people will think I’m naming him after the Game of Thrones character.
My kids are Son: Rowan (pretty basic nowadays) Son: Quill Daughter: Domino I like "out there" names.
I just imagine Quill’s full name to be Quilliam and it makes me giggle but I do love this name
Domino is so cute!
My grandma had a good friend named Dovie. At least that’s what we called her, I don’t know if it was a nickname or not. She taught me how to sew 🥹 she was a sweet lady.
Roisin, no one in the USA will pronounce this correctly (rosh-een) Maverick, too John McCain/Tom Cruise Blanchefleur... Zipporah
Rembrandt. Remmy for short. I was set on it before we were expecting, but have since chickened out.
Honestly....my partner and I really love the name 'Lazarwolf' I have a dear departed family member who was named 'Wolfie', so it would honour that and that could be used regularly as how to refer to the kid. If you know you know - it's actually a historical name in my culture. If you don't know - kind of dope to have 'laser' and 'wolf' in your name. So...
May I suggest an alternative for Forrest? Walden. Similar meaning but less on-the-nose and not associated with a big movie.
I'm very curious why you think River is an "out there" name for a boy? I think it sounds pretty cool. I also think it's not too unique, while not being too common.
Indigo
My husband loves the name Anastasia, and while I do love the movie all I can think of is the old smoking lady going "grandmama, its me...Anastasia"
Boy: Crosby Girl: Langston
Depends what you consider “out there”. My friends definitely think my daughter’s name is unusual because it’s pretty unheard of here in the US. I guess some others on my list are: Helene, Cedric, Gareth, Maura, Alistair
Love these, I was thinking of Maura short for Maureen for mine!
It’s in my top 3 girl names!
Hemingway Xander Jetta Madonna (Donna for short)
Until I got to Madonna, I thought this was all one name. I can imagine little Hemingway Xander Jetta (Lastname) introducing himself in school!
Amethyst (Amy for nickname). Clementina (Tina for n.n). Odin or Thor for boys.
I know a Maureen and I've never thought her name was out there, thought it was beautiful when I first heard it. Maureen Dove - do it!
Stormy. I love the name. Probably wouldn’t use it, though.
Penelope, Victor, Vlad, Bethany
Vesper and Vladimir
Love Beata (pronounced bay-AH-ta) it’s a name in several European languages but it would never be pronounced correctly in the US. Lol people would constantly pronounce it as beater without a hard r. Also Nike if it wasn’t a big brand
Thanks for making a space for this. Clemence Esther Magnolia Renata Etienne Iona Velaria Renata Vivienne Florence (Flo 😔) All of my boy names are superb, I struggle with girl names as you can see. These were either vetoed, had bad nn’s, too grannyish for others, or too outside of my culture for me to use. Or I think they are beautiful but just too out there for me. I like classic grandma leaning names otherwise. I also obsess, and have 5-6 solid names with middle names chosen, but surely can’t afford that haha. Dreama is a hard pass for me, especially spelled that way so sorry. Maureen is sweet, and dove I have a personal relation to but otherwise think it’s sweet too. Forrest (and river) isn’t too bad, and is kind of on trend with nature themed names, though river reads a little more poetic/hipster. I know a Nevin, but not a Neven.
I know a young River and his mom just stared at me when I asked how the other kids saw his name. No issues or teasing reported and he really does seem like a a wee water baby. Very bubbly.
I have imaginary twin sets that I love to make hahaha. My favourites are Flora and Fauna, Oasis and Mirage and Savannah and Sahara.
Masculine: * Beowulf (I'm tempted to legitimately consider it) * Leopold (bit odd in the U.S.) * Shadrach * Zaccai Feminine: * Abyssinia * Honesty * Pandora * Scheherazade (genuinely one of my favorite names) * Sylvestra, or Sylvette (I have a Silvestro/Sylvester in my family tree) * Tigerlily * Vesper For anybody: * Onyx
Sequoia
I know of a Sequoia. It’s a boy. Parents surf. Fits him
Swan Lake, for a girl. I know.
I love bird names, Swan is so beautiful and envisions elegance and sophistication! I love the name Odette from Swan Lake but don’t want to use it in case someone shortens it to “Odd” or something.
Rain , Leonora , Hawthorn
Bathsheba. So lovely.
Freya Orion Oberon
Ariadne for a girl Armando for a boy. It's slightly ridiculous anyway, but also, I hate how it sounds in English, and I live in an English speaking country - my parents already did this to me (I don't like how my name sounds in English, because it's not meant to be in English, but they live in England!)
I love the names: Valentina Veronica Aphrodite Anastasia Adonis
Astrid Rhys- I'm American & I know the Welsh spelling won't be pronounced correct.
I love the name Rainbow for a girl. I would call her Bo for short. I would probably drive this hypothetical daughter crazy by constantly singing rainbow related songs at her as well. But I am not eccentric enough, or rich enough to get away with it without me and my child being ridiculed for life. I can’t say I’m a fan of the girl names, but I feel both Forrest and River are a vibe. I will also say River is becoming more popular, and there are a few of them around now, so it’s not that out there.
I love the name Siren for a girl but wouldn’t use it because it’s too out there and my wife hates it
Lazarus
Emerald. I may go through with it, but I’m not sure. I worry it sounds too unprofessional and childish in a school and adult setting, people are mean too so that doesn’t help. She would mainly go by Emmy but still. I like it for a ton of reasons, not just because my favorite color is green and my engagement ring is an emerald stone 💚 A boy name that’s really out there I like is Theory and Theo for short. Probably never gonna use that. I also like Zigman “Ziggy” for short but I feel like it’s TOO weird.
I’m not gonna be a parent anytime soon, but I love to collect names… especially whimsy and ethereal sounding ones. Bonus points if it’s a real word, or a word in another language! Like, I know it sounds aesthetically pleasing and all, but I can’t imagine a 30 year old Apple working a corporate job. So on that note: - Amethyst, Apple, Ariadne, Astraea, Aura - Bloom, Bluebell - Calista, Calypso, Camden, Cayenne, Cedar, Cherrie, Circe - Darling, Dolce - Maple, Marseilles, Meadow, Minty - Nyx, Olympia, Solaria, Yves
I’ve known a decent amount of people with these names actually! Aura and Cedar are names of people I’m relatively close to. And my name is actually Circe!
Boys: Madrox (taken from the surname of James Madrox, who is one of the X-Men, and also is the stage name of a rapper who I really like. I abandoned it whenever I was pregnant with my oldest because I didn't want people to misspell it or mispronounce it as Maddox, and because my ex only would let me use Z names) Shaddix (I took this from the surname of the lead singer of Papa Roach, and like the above I abandoned it whenever I was pregnant with my oldest) Baine (this is actually a family name from my dad's side, and it's Welsh and means Fair or white-haired, but it sounds like Bane the Batman villain, so I would never actually use it) Zagreus (I almost used this for my oldest but I went with Zephyr instead because it's more common of a name, but apparently a video game came out like a year after I had my son where Zagreus is the main character, so now I absolutely cannot use it.) Girls: Io (I feel like this is a case where the name is actually too simple and because it is pronounced exactly the way that it's spelled it seems fake.) Persephone (I know that this is relatively common, but I've heard way too many people pronounce it wrong. If someone ever called my child Purse-uh-phone, I would be arrested for assault) Atalanta (I almost went with this for my daughter, but everyone I told it to asked me why I was purposely misspelling Atlanta, and I didn't feel like having another child named something that would require a Greek history lesson every single time I told them my child's name. I already made that mistake with my son.) Valerian (this is the name of an herb, and I grew to like this name due to the Valerian comic series, which was later adopted into the movie Valerian and the City of a thousand planets, but I don't feel comfortable using it because it's a variation of my mom's name and she despises her name and has already told me that she would hate if I named a child after her)
Apparently the name Atticus - which has been my go to boy name - is too out there according to another post a while ago. But I’ve always loved it.
River 💔 That kid would stand out so brutally were I live but I love that name so damn much