So I know we all like talking about names and usually also have different opinions about usability, style, imagery, how dated or international, etc. a name is…
Now I’ve been missing a place to just throw in a name, have people who have an opinion on it discuss the name or mention a name themselves without always opening my own thread for each name.
I’d like this to be less “formal”, be honest but be nice, any name can be mentioned but instead of saying “this is bad/I don’t like this/this spelling is awful” make an argument for your position and be prepared to have it challenged, to discuss the name further.
Again, you can mention imagery, personal opinion, style, usability but explain you’re opinion when talking abou the latter two.
You don’t have to respond to every name, can join in whenever you like and mention any names you want to talk about…
This is great idea! I’ll start it off with a debate that I quite often get into with other people.
Is [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] too feminine to be a boys name?
As you can see in my sig, it’s my favourite name for a boy. I fel in love with it from the Pitch Perfect movies, when the first one came out. I personally dont think its too feminine. I don’t like any of the [name_u]Jess[/name_u] names for girls. [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] is a biblical boys name. As for masculinity, just research [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] Soffer or [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] [name_u]Spencer[/name_u] or [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] Metcalfe.
I’ve read on here people prefer [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] for a girl and [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] for a boy. I don’t know the origins of [name_u]Jessie[/name_u].
I guess this just leads me to another question- What is the impact of the pronunciation vs the spelling of a name?
[name_u]Jesse[/name_u] reminds me of uncle [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] from Full House so it’s not as feminine to me (anymore; I’ve only started to watch Full House about a year or two ago).
That said, irl I’d probably expect a girl if somebody said, for example, “I just spoke to [name_u]Jesse[/name_u]/[name_u]Jessie[/name_u]”, I’d assume they had talked to a woman.
@faycosta - [name_u]Jessie[/name_u], female, is a dimuntive of [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] and other names; as a boys’ name it’s a variation of [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] which is derived from the Hebrew Yishay.
Also, I’m not entirely sure how to interpret your question; are you asking if there if I think there is a difference in style between [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f] even though they are both pronounced the same? If so, yes.
For me the look of a name is probably a bigger indecator of style than the sound. [name_u]Marley[/name_u] feels modern American, unisex, very usable. [name_f]Marleigh[/name_f] feels made-up American; I like it a lot less as the spelling change feels so “we need our kid to be special”. It feels a lot less classy (which I’d never hold against anybody; they didn’t choose their name and up until recently the parents probably didn’t think much about it; I feels as if nowadays every kid needs to be even more special than 20 years ago when parents just wanted their kid to be happy).
That leads me to: why are creative spellings such a big thing in the States but not really anywhere else?
And: What do misspelling make you think about the parents?
For the second question it’d be interesting to get people from different countries to chime in because I think there’s a big difference between cultures there.
Here, creative spellings are mainly associated with uneducated people while in the States it seems even [name_m]Harvard[/name_m] graduates would name their children Johynna.
@[name_f]Izzie[/name_f] I don’t think [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] is too feminine at all. Yes, [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] could be a nickname for [name_f]Jessica[/name_f], but then [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] could be a nickname for [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and that hasn’t put people off. I’ve only ever known men to use the [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] spelling, and to be honest, I generally like softer names on boys.
As for the questions/discussion of spelling vs. pronunciation, there are some names i see spelled multiple ways and still want to pronounce the same - [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f] etc. are all Mad-uh-lin in my head as it’s the only pronunciation I’ve actually encountered.
Replacing o’s in names with y’s however does make me want to change the pronunciation and I have heard mixed responses as to whether they should. As soon as I see [name_f]Emersyn[/name_f], I think [name_f]Em[/name_f]-er-SIN, for example. Does a y change the pronunciation or is it just to denote that the name is feminine? Is it just the fact that I’m in the UK that I want to emphasise it?
As to the question about misspelling -or rather using a creative spelling - I don’t really think anything, so long as it makes sense. I can understand why you might replace an o with a y to reflect a name is supposed to be more feminine. I can understand [name_f]Emilie[/name_f] or [name_f]Aubree[/name_f] or even [name_f]Emma[/name_f]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u]. The only time I’d be inclined to judge is if the new spelling didn’t make sense or just created confusion so I feel [name_f]Marleigh[/name_f] or [name_f]Aubree[/name_f] are miles away from something like Alyzzabeth or Saryniti. Not sure if that really answered the question.
Just to add, I have seen creative /alternative spellings her in the UK - Emma-Lee, Ellena and Charlee being some of them, but I don’t think it’s as common. One thing I have noticed however is that people are less daring with names here in the UK? Whenever I watch anything filmed in the states -whether its a TV show or just interviews - there’s far more name variety and surprising choices? Could the interest in alternative spellings stem from that or am I wrong about the US being more daring about names?
What do you think makes some words acceptable as names and others not? What makes a good word name? [name_m]How[/name_m] do you feel about less familiar word names, like [name_f]Snow[/name_f], [name_f]Meadow[/name_f], [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f] or [name_u]Ocean[/name_u]?
@greyblue Well I think most words make acceptable names, names are just nouns, labels to refer to something. What makes a name a widely “acceptable” name is usually use and quite frankly if nobody went out on a limb and used a new name, there’d be 7 of every name in each class. My preferred word names are usually descriptive, virtues or something more abstract (like love or something like that), but anything that has a positive or at least neutral meaning works. All 4 of your names fits and I have seen them used as names.
@opheliaflora Creative spellings are fine imo, and with most people I know. Kree8tifv spellings are the ones that get judged. Without creatice spellings we probably wouldn’t have a lot of the normal, acceptable derivatives we have today but going from [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] to Quathurryn is going beyond a slight adjustment, it’s plain unrecognisable.
@izzie As I’ve said before, [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] is pure pure male to me. I can see it on a girl but I far prefer it on a guy, I know some incredible [name_u]Jesse[/name_u]'s and they’re all pretty masculine guys.
What’s your opinions of hyphenated names like [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-[name_f]Katherine[/name_f], [name_f]Elsie[/name_f]-[name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]-[name_f]Grace[/name_f] etc? Are they too long? Are they pretentious?
@opheliaflora In many countries, kre8iv spellings aren’t legal or they recently became so
I’m not sure but I think it was 2010 when people in Greece were finally allowed to name kids names other than those of Orthodox saints’ but I know no young kids with names like that
It’s probably because of A) everyone naming kids after the parents’ parents and B) racism
In Norway you could go to jail for giving your child a “weird” name, and kre8iv spellings probably qualify as “weird”
Personally I don’t care for hyphenated names I don’t like double middle names either. I wouldn’t say it comes off as pretentious though, more like “really you couldn’t just settle on two names.” If that makes any sense. I also think that double middle names and hyphenated names rarely sound pleasing to my ears, they’re a mouthful. Of course I think there’s an exception, if the last names are hyphenated to for example, use mom and dad’s middle name then that’s fine. In my mind there is no reason to have two first or two middle names, it should be that hard to just pic one of each. ( no offense to anyone who used or likes double names, things is just MY opinion of them) Id like to hear how others feel about the use of multiple names.
@izzie I definitely think boy first for [name_u]Jesse[/name_u]. While it works on a girl, I prefer it on guys. I know two [name_u]Jesse[/name_u]’ and they are both male. And growing up I watched [name_m]Gilmore[/name_m] Girls, who had a male [name_u]Jess[/name_u]. So to me it’s seem more masculine. I actually didn’t even really think of it for a girl until the Disney show [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] came out.
@izzie - I don’t think [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] is too feminine, if spelt [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] however I would assume they were a girl. If someone was to say [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] out-loud, I would assume they were talking about a female, as [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] is more common where I live so I would assume it was that spelling.
@opheliaflora - If a parent only made a small change to a name that didn’t make it harder to pronounce, I would assume they just found that spelling more aesthetically pleasing - eg [name_u]Everly[/name_u] to [name_f]Everleigh[/name_f], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] to [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] to [name_u]Reese[/name_u] or [name_u]Reece[/name_u] etc. If the change in spelling makes the name hard to pronounce or unrecogniseable, I would assume they wanted their child to be unique by misspelling the name - eg [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] to [name_f]Jazmyne[/name_f] or [name_f]Miley[/name_f] to Myleigh.
@izzie [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] is male, being an old biblical boy’s name, and [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] is female, as it’s the go-to nickname for [name_f]Jessica[/name_f]. I have a hard time seeing them as different forms of the same name, as they sound very different in [name_m]German[/name_m] ([name_u]Jesse[/name_u] becomes YESS-eh but [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] is still [name_u]Jessie[/name_u]).
@kizzy_delgado I think hyphens are fine as long as a) the names fit style-wise (which they do in your examples) and b) the name doesn’t get to long. 3 or maybe 4 syllables are fine, as there are common non-hyphenated names of that length. So basically you should be on the safe side if one of the two names is single-syllable. [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f] work with a lot.
Hyphanated names aren’t for me while double first names are fine. I don’t like that you have to use both names for documents, on official papers, etc. you can never be just [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f]. I also don’t like the look of the hyphen.
While with double firsts you can choose to put [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] on everything, introduce yourself as [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] but can also just put [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] if you ever want to drop the [name_f]May[/name_f]. It’s just more versitile.
I also don’t think that the hyphen makes it so more people use the full name; it always depends on how you introduce yourself/your child.
I don’t mind negative meanings at all but then I don’t pay much attention to meanings in general. I personally wouldn’t be bothered by a negative meaning though I suppose the better the meaning the more importance I’d give it.
Another thing that’s been floating around my head: [name_m]How[/name_m] do other people feel about very “grand” wordy names like Brave or [name_u]Hero[/name_u]
Personally I think
they are too much to carry for a a person and place unrealistic expectations on them
a name like [name_m]Leo[/name_m] [name_m]Casimir[/name_m] a lot more brave, strong, noble, etc. sounds than if the word were used
I second that. Positive meanings are nice-to-have, but if the meaning is weird or unknown, I could care less. Most people don’t care for name meanings anyway. Though maybe if I can’t choose between two names at all, the meaning might help with the final decision.
Question! [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think that word/nature names in other languages that aren’t used as a name in the country where they speak that languages count as “real” names or not? An example would be [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] in Norwegian, Rosmarin. In Norway they do use Rosemari (pronounced like [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f]) but not its translation.
@emmievies I’d say no. I already think it’s super odd that people choose [name_m]Berlin[/name_m] or [name_m]Dresden[/name_m] as names as that’s not at all done in [name_m]German/name_m, if somebody from another country were to name their child Fluss (the [name_m]German[/name_m] name for river), they can do that of course but it’s not a name as it’s not a name in it’s language of origin. I especially think it’s weird if it’s taken from languages that have little to no word names (like [name_m]German[/name_m]).
@[name_f]Izzie[/name_f]: If I heard someone say the name “[name_u]Jesse[/name_u]” I would probably automatically think girl, but only because I’ve only heard it as a nickname for [name_f]Jessica[/name_f]. However, I think the name itself would easily work on either genders. On a boy, it makes me think of the quarterback of the football team type boy, charming and able to make friends with anyone.
@greyblue: I think what makes some words more acceptable than others is their ability for a child to grow into them. For example, I can easily see a name like [name_f]Honor[/name_f] or [name_f]Autumn[/name_f] on an adult, but not so much names like [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f] or [name_f]Poppy[/name_f]. I also think it helps if a word name has sounds that are similar to another more common name. Using [name_f]Honor[/name_f] again, it makes me think of [name_f]Nora[/name_f], which in my opinion helps make it seem more familiar. For me personally, I like word names that have add nice imagery to a name combo, without being too cutsey.
Question - What are your opinions/thoughts on the name [name_f]Fiammetta[/name_f]? I absolutely love it, and it’s a gp of mine, but I was wondering - do you think it’s usable?
I don’t like it that much at all. I find it a bit too clunky and heavy and it has too many harsh sounds to my ears. It also makes me think of flames and matchsticks (maybe because the [name_m]French[/name_m] word for matchstick is allumette?) and it’s not an imagery I find particularly attractive. These things make me think it’s not that wearable and I can’t find any nicknames to make it more wearable either, other than [name_f]Ettie[/name_f]. I think it’s better as a gp or a middle
Can I get some opinions, imagery, pros and cons, etc on [name_f]Allegra[/name_f]? I know it’s a brand of allergy medicine in some places but that’s not the case where I live and I’d like some opinions outside of that. Is it too out there? Does it sound pretentious? Would it be too weird if the parents aren’t Italian or musicians?
@mother_dragons [name_f]Allegra[/name_f] is stunning. Very sophisticated. I can see it working on many different types of people. I don’t think it pretentious at all!
@rescuepups234 [name_f]Fiammetta[/name_f] is gorgeous but I understand why it would give you a pause. [name_f]Fia[/name_f] is an unbelievably cute NN. I think it just depends if you’re brave enough. I think it’s usable.
@opheliaflora I don’t mind Brave or [name_u]Hero[/name_u] but only like them in the middle name spot. I would be less inclined to use [name_u]Hero[/name_u]. Brave I think is nicer. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to be brave. Everyone has moments in their lives where they have to be brave. On the other hand, not everyone is a hero.
@choupette I wouldn’t use a name with a bad meaning. Meanings are actually very important to me. If the meaning is just ok, then that’s ok, Lol! But I wouldn’t use any that were horrid. I think positive associations / personal meanings are important too.
@mother_dragons I like [name_f]Allegra[/name_f]. It’s not too out there or pretentious. I can’t help but think of [name_f]Allegra[/name_f] [name_m]Cole[/name_m] from the movie [name_m]Hitch[/name_m], seen that movie way too many times! Lol. But she’s a great character. To me [name_f]Allegra[/name_f] sounds sophisticated and kind hearted.
@mother_dragons There was an [name_f]Allegra[/name_f] at my school, and although I don’t personally know her, the unique name did stand out to me. She was pretty with long brown hair and brown eyes. I didn’t find it unusual on her at all.