I used to think that classic names were so boring. Now I only like girl names that are classics and a lot of my favorite boy names are too. Right now the name [name_m]Phillip[/name_m] is really growing on me. It still sounds a little boring but I’m starting to like it. Has anyone else hated a name at first and then grown to love it over time?
Yes, actually psychologically speaking the more you are exposed to a stimulus the more you grow to appreciate/tolerate it… Same thing holds true for names (though of course over exposure can have the opposite effect). So if there’s a name you don’t want to like, avoid it! 
I can assure you of these things if you hang around here on Nameberry long enough.
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The names you love will change (multiple times :)).
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The classics will creep up on you because so many Berries love them. They’ve been abused and discarded by many as “boring” but classics never go out of style. By definition, they’re timeless.
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Names you never considered in the past will now suddenly be regarded as “fresh”. I always remember the saying: everything old is new again.
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Because Nameberry is made up of an eclectic mix of people with cultures/religions/interests/hobbies/life experiences different from your own, your name pool will constantly be replenished with exciting and unusual options. Your interest will be peaked and your horizons will be broadened in the process.
So to answer your question: yes, some names will grow on you if you lift up your heart and keep an open mind!
I agree! [name_u]Mischa[/name_u] I love reading your posts!
[name_f]Susan[/name_f] and [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] have both ‘crept up’ on me. Of course they are real boomer names so grannyish in the extreme but I keep imagining them on a baby and they seem charming. Ten years ago I thought they were aweful!
Absolutely! I get bored with names, move on – or sometimes I meet someone who ruins a name for me. And then I fall in love with new names.
I used to love [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] – and while I still do, I think it is a little too popular for my tastes – so I have moved on to [name_f]Clementine[/name_f].
I used to love [name_f]Emma[/name_f], but its huge popularity has dimmed its star for me. Now I like [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f], [name_f]Ada[/name_f], and [name_u]Emerson[/name_u].
I’m tired of [name_u]Madison[/name_u], but once, a long time ago, I thought it was a fresh surprise. Now I wonder if [name_u]Monroe[/name_u] or [name_u]Mirren[/name_u] could work…
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] and [name_f]Florence[/name_f] once too old fashioned. Now I adore both. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] is in transition for me – some moments it seems better for a nursing home, other moments, I can imagine being delighted to meet a [name_u]Baby[/name_u] [name_f]Hazel[/name_f].
Classic is defined by constituting, serving as, or worthy of being a pattern to be imitated. Too often it is simply imitation. I prefer less common forms of the classics like [name_m]Ned[/name_m] rather than [name_m]Edward[/name_m]. Classic names not widely used today–[name_m]Frederick[/name_m] and [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] for example works. Twists on trendy names like [name_f]Laurel[/name_f] for [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] or [name_m]Alec[/name_m] as opposed to [name_u]Alex[/name_u] sound chic. Fashionable names at the bottom of the most-popular lists, like [name_m]Duncan[/name_m] or [name_u]Simone[/name_u] are very understated.
I used to HATE [name_u]Sasha[/name_u]. LOTS. Now, I think it is cute and fun!
Nameberry has helped me to [name_f]LOVE[/name_f]:
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_f]Adeline[/name_f]; [name_u]Emmett[/name_u] and [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m].
Yes I used to hate [name_m]Archie[/name_m] and [name_u]Alfie[/name_u] know I love them however I prefer [name_m]Archie[/name_m] as a nickname for [name_m]Archer[/name_m] but [name_u]Alfie[/name_u] by itself (I can’t stand [name_m]Alfred[/name_m]) is just so adorable and to me it works at all stages of life.
Names can definitely grow on you. My husband wants to name our second daughter (if we ever have one) [name_f]Brigid[/name_f]. I didn’t like it AT ALL at first, but then he said he wouldn’t talk to me about names anymore because I “never consider any of the names he suggests” (but to be fair, the only other name he ever suggested was [name_f]Siobhan[/name_f]). So, I decided to seriously consider it. Now, I think I might feel sad if we never have a little [name_f]Brigid[/name_f], I’ve imagined her so much. I suppose I still wouldn’t say it’s my [name_m]FAVORITE[/name_m] name, but I can appreciate it now and it feels right to me, like it definitely belongs in our family.
Yep. [name_f]Emma[/name_f] is creeping up on me despite it’s popularity. [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and [name_u]Jude[/name_u] and [name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] and [name_f]Calista[/name_f] grew on me (rather quickly) and now [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] is trying to work its way in (although I think I may be making myself like it because it’s my mother’s name and I will probably have to use it for a daughter’s middle name, so I better start to love it).
Indeed! There are many names I did not love initially for example [name_u]Jude[/name_u], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m], [name_f]Millicent[/name_f] and [name_f]Judith[/name_f] etc etc and now after pondering them for awhile I have come to appreciate and love them. I’m also seeing, after joining Nameberry (the slight distaste for popular names) that I’m liking names like [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] again. Probably because I’m trying to put aside that feeling that popular names are not so great and that you don’t have to be unique, only love the name for what it is and nothing more.
Yes, yes of course! :). I love [name_f]Margo[/name_f] now! But also named I loved I am not a fan of anymore. I’m sure once I have children I will love the name just because I love the kid so much ;). Ha
I don’t think I’ve gone from hate to love, but I’ve definitely gone from meh to love, and from love to meh. In one case I went from love to hate, but that was mostly (ok, completely) because I got to work with a really difficult person with that name 
We have two kids, and I’ll tell you that whatever you choose, you won’t imagine any other name for them after about a year. At least that was my experience.
I feel like there are a few different categories of names that grew on me. There were names I FORBADE myself to love because of their popularity and/or because they were “boring classics” ([name_f]Molly[/name_f], [name_u]Ruby[/name_u], [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_f]Kate[/name_f], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Stella[/name_f], [name_m]Jack[/name_m], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], [name_m]Xavier[/name_m], [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m], [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m], [name_u]Jude[/name_u]) but ended up falling for anyway. Some names were on the edge of my radar for a while before I suddenly really looked at them realized how gorgeous and perfect they were ([name_f]Thea[/name_f], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Iris[/name_f], [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m], [name_m]Simon[/name_m], [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]). Others I absolutely detested and have come around to appreciate, even if I couldn’t see using them myself ([name_m]Ramone[/name_m]/[name_f]Ramona[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], [name_f]Frances[/name_f], [name_m]Baxter[/name_m], [name_m]Milo[/name_m], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m]). So, short answer: yes.
Lots of names have grown on me over the years. I, too, use to think classic names were boring, but now I think many of them are beautiful.
Girls:
[name_f]Amelia[/name_f]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
[name_f]Stella[/name_f]
[name_f]Madeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Edith[/name_f]
Boys:
[name_u]James[/name_u]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u] (Dislike this name on a girl)
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m]
[name_m]Xavier[/name_m]
I was not into classic names at all as a teenager, but nineteenth-century literature taught me to love them; how could I sustain my hatred of [name_f]Anne[/name_f] after getting to know [name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_u]Elliot[/name_u]? [name_f]Claire[/name_f] was so common among my cohort I would have been happy if I never saw it again; yet I’m loving it as a middle right now. And I would never have thought in a million years that I could be fond of [name_f]Ethel[/name_f], and yet…
Completely! I buy bored with brands, move on – or even occasionally We meet up with someone that spoils an identity personally. And after that I adore new brands.