All the boy names I love ([name]Percival[/name], [name]Winston[/name], [name]Darcy[/name]…) would be bullied relentlessly in the playground. What do you think?
My husband and I had the same discussion about [name]Percy[/name]. I think [name]Percy[/name] and [name]Darcy[/name] are likely to be bullied. [name]Winston[/name] may have a bit more luck.
I’ve got to agree with trainoke. [name]Percy[/name] just sounds really wimpy and dorky. If your kid happened to be bigger and turned out to be a star athlete, then I’m sure they could carry the name off with no problem but if they had an average to smaller build and were in any way academic, I feel like it would just be setting them up for bullying (or at the very least feeling self-conscious). [name]Darcy[/name], I feel, is one of those names that women love but men don’t (basically because of Mr. [name]Darcy[/name]). A woman would hear that name and think “Oh, how romantic and dashing”, while a guy would hear that name and think, “What a wuss.” [name]Winston[/name] would probably go over better. It’s an older sounding name, but doesn’t have the same whiny sound as [name]Percy[/name] or [name]Darcy[/name]. Plus, the nickname [name]Win[/name] would be a bit of a boost.
Yes, I don’t care for [name]Percival[/name] or [name]Percy[/name]. My first thought is that it’s pretentious. Then I think of that awful guy from The [name]Green[/name] Mile. Then a cat.
I love [name]Percival[/name] and [name]Percy[/name], but I sort of share your fears. I think he would have to go to a school with lots of similarly “different” names for him to avoid getting at least some flack for it. I also really like [name]Darcy[/name], but gave it up for fear of it being considered feminine or wimpy. [name]Winston[/name], I think, would be better, although it probably depends on the area you’re in. If it helps, I think your other names (from your signature) should be fine.
I have similar problems with [name]Edmund[/name], [name]Willoughby[/name] and [name]Emrys[/name].
Honestely, I do. I think [name]Darcy[/name] would do the best in the real world. I also like the literary connection. If you really like [name]Percy[/name], what about [name]Pierce[/name]?
I love [name]Percival[/name]. Hate the nickname [name]Percy[/name], but I love [name]Percival[/name]. It has literary cred too as [name]Percival[/name] was one of [name]King[/name] [name]Arthur[/name]'s knights.
Honestly, as someone who works with children, I have never once (no matter how weird, unique, or just plain crazy a name was) heard anyone being bullied for their names. Never. I never saw it in school, and I don’t see it with any of the age groups I work with, and the kids never talk about it. I just think that with the extremely varied names kids are being given nowadays, it won’t really matter.
Besides, he could always be [name]Val[/name] or [name]Cal[/name]. Those could work and are both less “wimpy” than [name]Percy[/name].
As for [name]Winston[/name] and [name]Darcy[/name], I love [name]Darcy[/name] on a boy. It sounds so sort of darkly romantic. [name]Winston[/name] isn’t my style, but the nn [name]Win[/name] makes it work so much more.
I want to love [name]Percival[/name]/[name]Percy[/name]. The [name]Scarlet[/name] Pimpernel is one of my favorite pieces of literature ever, I think it’s genius, and [name]Percy[/name] Blakeney is hilarious. 
I go to that straightaway–honestly, I can’t really see why a [name]Percy[/name]/[name]Percival[/name] would be teased, but maybe it’s just my association? [name]Percy[/name] Blakeney was down-to-earth, hilarious, charming, easy to relate to (okay, maybe just easy to make fun of, lol), and yet he was this unexpected hero. I would think kids would love [name]Percy[/name] if they ever made the connection to him! Then again, in my area, it’s more common to have a name like [name]Danika[/name], [name]Dante[/name], Ivelisse, [name]Mariela[/name], [name]Tabatha[/name], or [name]Sebastian[/name] than [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Daniel[/name], [name]Sophie[/name], [name]Peter[/name], or [name]Edward[/name], so honestly, I think a [name]Percival[/name]/[name]Percy[/name] would fit right in. Besides, I think the kids growing up with him would just always see it as his name, they wouldn’t think it was weird or anything.
Oh, come on, have you never heard of [name]Percy[/name] [name]Jackson[/name]? It’ll be next generation [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]. This kid is boing to be the coolest kid ever, because there’s a [name]Percy[/name] in both [name]Percy[/name] [name]Jackson[/name] (duh) and [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]. I love this name.
It’s too bad because [name]Percival[/name] is a knight (and a noble one at that), but it just doesn’t translate well to today. I think of [name]Percy[/name] Weasley first of all, the only negative Weasley. Thanks for the reminder that the hero of The [name]Scarlett[/name] Pimpernel was named [name]Percy[/name], I had forgotten.
[name]Percy[/name] [name]Jackson[/name] is who kids will think of. They love that book series.
[name]Percival[/name] and [name]Percy[/name] rock. I think this business of someone getting beat up/bullied because of their name is in our heads. I have never encountered that in real life, and with children being given increasingly strange and “out there” names I don’t see why [name]Percy[/name] is unusable.
[name]Love[/name] both! Also really like [name]Darcy[/name]. D’Arcy looks a little more masculine.
Also maybe [name]Peregrine[/name] has a very similar sound while being tougher.
I think [name]Percy[/name] is sweet, kind of geeky-chic! To be honest, here in the UK boy’s names like [name]Archie[/name], [name]Stanley[/name], [name]Sidney[/name], [name]Arthur[/name] are all rising fast up the rankings and I don’t see a little [name]Percival[/name] ‘[name]Percy[/name]’ being any different to those names.
[name]Winston[/name] stands out as being slightly odd and also, the one I think it most likely to get teased for.
[name]Darcy[/name] is so handsome and unexpected on a boy but I don’t think it would on a girl here in the UK as when you add all the [name]Darcy[/name]'s and the other spelling variations together the name easily reaches the top 50 for girls.
I think of [name]Percy[/name] Weasley first, even though I know the other literary references. I think she picked it well…there’s something a little too “smart” about it for an actual person. I like the name, and it’s history but I think it’s a bit much for a child. [name]Darcy[/name] seems to be rising in popularity on both genders, but I think having a real-life Mr. [name]Darcy[/name] is also a lot of pressure. I actually know Winstons - and all of them have been jerks, lol. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your names. I do personally shy away from names that are very tired to great literary or mythological figures because I think it’s a lot to live up to and it can be hard to claim that name as your own.