Are there names you see wearable that other people bag on? Am I desensitized?

I keep coming across names that I think are usable…only to find they are on the nerd or un-usable lists. It kind of makes me sad! Am I just desensitized to “nerd” names?

These are just a few examples: (the list could go on) :slight_smile:

“[name]Burton[/name]” is listed as being “[name]Prissy[/name] no matter how you spell it” When I think of [name]Burton[/name] I think of snowboarding(hardly prissy) and artistic movies!

“[name]Sheldon[/name]” Is listed as being about as “far out as you can get” I knew a [name]Sheldon[/name] and he was a cool guy. I never thought of his name as being far out there.

“[name]Melvin[/name]” I didn’t used to like it, but now I think it has a sweet ring to it and “[name]Vinny[/name]” is kinda cute to me

“[name]Oswald[/name]” I think the nickname “[name]Ozzy[/name]” makes it awesome and I like how it sounds.

“[name]Elmer[/name]” This is very close to my sons name and I don’t see how [name]Elmer[/name] Fudd and [name]Elmer[/name]'s glue make it so bad. I was at the airport once and there was a little [name]Elmer[/name] there. I almost freaked out because I thought his parents were calling him my son’s name [name]Delmer[/name]. (It would be crazy to run into someone with his name since it is so uncommon. I still think it was a great coincidence I ran into an [name]Elmer[/name].) I found it wearable. Plus it has the popular “el” sound and I like the nickname “[name]Elm[/name]”.

“[name]Edmund[/name]” and “[name]Edwin[/name]” I don’t see how they are much different from “[name]Edward[/name]” which Twilight has made popular

In my opinion these names aren’t so bad. I don’t see how “[name]Sebastian[/name]” and “[name]Archibald[/name]” are any “cooler”(which I have seen being used lately). To me all names have character, and unless they are something truly degrading…I don’t see them as being so bad

Sometimes it bugs me that certain names are “nerdy” until they becomes popular in a movie or a celebrity uses them.

OR…maybe I am just getting desensitized to names. Are there any names that you see wearable that other people seem to bag on??

I like names like [name]Edgar[/name] and [name]Hector[/name], and people turn their noses up! I think it’s because I’ve met actual human beings with these names, so I know that it can actually be pulled off.

I like [name]Elmer[/name], [name]Edmund[/name] and [name]Oswald[/name]. I think [name]Grover[/name] would fit into this category too. :slight_smile:

@emelis I know an [name]Edgar[/name] too and I find it wearable as well! I also like [name]Grover[/name].

I think that out of this list [name]Sheldon[/name] and [name]Edmund[/name] are diffently useable and I think if you actually met anyone with any one of these names they would seem completly normal. I like [name]Agatha[/name] which is seen to most people the same way.

@nelliedellie I love the sound of [name]Agatha[/name] too! I am part Greek and I like names with Greek origins.

[name]Sheldon[/name] is so usable, I went to middle school with one.
There’s an 8/9 year old one at the daycare I worked at, and an 18 year old one who’s the older brother of kindergartner.
It’s totally usable.

[name]Edmund[/name] is BEYOND usable. [name]Edwin[/name] is usable as well.

I don’t find [name]Olive[/name], [name]Agnes[/name], or [name]Sebastian[/name] wearable but they’re love around these boards.

However it’s true that names become wearable when you see/meet someone with the name. I didn’t like [name]Aurora[/name] or [name]Eloise[/name] until I took care of the sweetest toddlers with those names. [name]Harvey[/name] was a total nerd/geek name until it was worn by [name]Harvey[/name] Specter on Suits

[name]Burton[/name] makes me think of [name]Gus[/name] ([name]Burton[/name] Guster) from Psych so I love it. But even before the show [name]Burton[/name] never felt prissy, more like somebody’s dad

I have an older cousin named [name]Sheldon[/name], nn [name]Shelly[/name] or [name]Shell[/name]. Always popular and handsome, not at all nerdy

I grew up around a lot of Hispanics so [name]Edwin[/name] and [name]Delmar[/name] are names I heard often. Can’t decide if I like [name]Delmer[/name] or [name]Delmar[/name] better, they’re both great

I don’t find any of your names as unusable. [name]Burton[/name] would be the one I find most difficult but Dule [name]Hill[/name] does such a great job making [name]Burton[/name] Guster (on Psych) a mixture between nerdy and funny that the name kind of gets a sense of awesomeness from that alone. :wink:

[name]Burton[/name] reminds me of [name]Tim[/name] [name]Burton[/name], which makes it unusable for me since I always found his movies to be “disturbing”
[name]Elmer[/name] is another one I couldn’t use just because it’s my favorite type of glue!

The rest are totally usable.

The only name I have issues with is [name]Euphemia[/name]. I see it as pretty, but everyone else (in the real world) sees it as too out there or unusable on a real person, better for a fictional character. I’m hoping to get it as a middle name, but it might end up on a pet.

I think these days, pretty much anything goes.

From the list you presented, I love [name]Edwin[/name]. If I ever have a son, [name]Edwin[/name] is a name I’ll seriously consider using. I think it’s an underused gem of a name! I know loads of people who would probably disagree (though many of these people think names such as [name]Beatrice[/name], [name]Arthur[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name] and [name]Calvin[/name] are totally ridiculous, unusable and elderly).

I really like the name [name]Stanley[/name] but it’s been pointed out to me as an “old man name”.

I think some of it is location. I knew a [name]Noel[/name] (female, pronounced no-elle) but when I brought it up here people said it was unwearable on a girl because it was pronounced nole–which I’d never heard of in my life.

Also, some of it is age, a name which for me represents all of my grandmother’s friends, sounds fresh and stately to a younger ear.

I also really love the name [name]Ebenezer[/name], as well as the much hated [name]Fenix[/name].

I guess the key is just to take people’s opinions with a grain of salt, taking into account that their background could be vastly different from your own. That can be really useful, especially if you want your child’s name to travel very well, as long as you don’t take things too personally.

I think the thing I find the most puzzling on nameberry is people’s obsession with popularity. I totally understand not wanting your kid to know 37 other people with the same name as them, but I do not understand people who feel like they have failed and are completely unable to use a name they adore simply because they met one child with that name or it showed up near the bottom of a list somewhere. That’s obviously extreme, but people fall all along that spectrum and some go too far in my opinion. It’s getting to a point where I expect people to start stringing gibberish letters together just for the fascination of being “unique”. It seems like the naming community is going to descend into the warring parties of “unique” and “tacky” based on their most loved insult.

I think nearly any name can be wearable, depending on the right person and whether or not they can pull it off.

As for people thinking a name is too much of an old man or old woman name, bah… I had people telling me that the name I picked for my daughter [[name]Ruth[/name]] was too much of an old lady name and then when they see the name on a cute little baby, they change their mind. My general naming style tends towards the classic names like [name]Thomas[/name], [name]Arthur[/name], [name]Walter[/name], [name]George[/name], [name]Howard[/name], [name]Theodore[/name], [name]Nathaniel[/name], [name]Sheldon[/name], [name]Edith[/name], [name]Ethel[/name], [name]Judith[/name], [name]Meredith[/name], [name]Claire[/name], [name]June[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Amelia[/name], [name]Alma[/name], [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Lucille[/name], [name]Georgia[/name], [name]Edna[/name], etc

Of course that was a mild example, some of the names I fancy are out there and I’m pretty sure quite a few people would find them unwearable. I like the names : Godric, [name]Nicodemus[/name], [name]Augustus[/name], [name]Beauregard[/name], [name]Gareth[/name], [name]Alastair[/name], [name]Leopold[/name], Archimedes, [name]Adelpha[/name], [name]Alethea[/name], [name]Gustava[/name], [name]Zelda[/name], [name]Corisande[/name], [name]Meissa[/name], [name]Amidala[/name], [name]Hermione[/name], etc.

I genuinely love all of those (other than [name]Sheldon[/name]. It just sounds like a very unintelligent person to me, which is ironic because it also reminds me of the chacacter on The Big Bang [name]Theory[/name]!).

My English teacher’s wife recently had a baby boy who’s middle name is [name]Oswald[/name] and I really really love it - dare I mention his first name is Wi1fred which is also a huge favourite of mine deemed as ‘unusable’. God, I seriously hope he doesn’t find this. :\

[name]Elmer[/name] is absolutely amazing, as is [name]Edwin[/name].

I think though, because in my area babies are frequently named [name]Maude[/name], [name]Cecil[/name] and [name]Robin[/name] I actually find it weird that people would ever think that Keilyn and [name]Kayden[/name] are actually MORE usable.

I don’t see that at all. It doesn’t even have that sound to it. And I also grew up watching a show about a young boy named [name]Stanley[/name].

I don’t really mind “old” sounding names. Unless something tragic happens, a person will spend much more of his/her life as an adult than as a child. Some people focus so much on the baby that they forget the senior citizen that’s going to have the same name down the road.

Maybe it’s desensitization, but even so, I don’t see it as a bad thing; perhaps it’s a sign you’re being more open to names in general. I knew an [name]Elmer[/name] and a [name]Seymour[/name] back in grade school (both in the same class as me). I think the worst any of them got was an “[name]Elmer[/name]'s Glue” joke once.

That’s exactly what I think!!!

What makes [name]Jerome[/name] so “bespectacled, serious, [and] studious”? [name]Every[/name] time I think of [name]Jerome[/name] I imagine a jock with big muscles!

Who says [name]Winifred[/name] is old-fashioned? I love that name!

Why is one name better than the other? All of the sudden [name]Cordelia[/name] is in style, while [name]Vera[/name] is still collecting dust in the attic. I thoroughly dislike [name]Cordelia[/name] and find [name]Vera[/name] quite charming. Who decides these things?

I enjoyed reading all of your responses. I am glad I am not alone in liking “outdated” names.

kala_way I agree with you. If someone loves a name they should use it instead of being distraught that they cannot use it anymore. They can still use it! I can understand if the name has suddenly boomed in popularity though. I used to love the name [name]Zoe[/name], but I know so many now that it doesn’t have the same feeling it once used to.

My daughters name is [name]June[/name] and I had planned on naming my next daughter (if I have another daughter) [name]Nora[/name] after a Great Grandma. Well recently I met a friend of a friend of a friend with 2 daughters named [name]June[/name] and [name]Nora[/name]! It wouldn’t have turned me off if she had only had a [name]Nora[/name], but I don’t know if I like the idea of having 2 daughters with the same names as someone I could possibly associate with. It did make me happy to see someone with a similar naming style though! That was the first [name]June[/name] I met. We might eventually move though, so if we do it won’t be a big deal to me.