What are your favorite names that go against the Nameberry grain? The ones that you know would get trashed if you asked about them?
ususally [name]Jackson[/name] (which I personally adore) gets trashed on this site… “too trendy” . “too popular”… “too last-namey”… always TOO something. I still and always will [name]LOVE[/name] it and my next ds will most likely be named [name]Jackson[/name] [name]Porter[/name]!!!
[name]Braedon[/name]. Spelled that way as a combo of my brothers, [name]Brae[/name] and [name]Brendon[/name]. Yes, I know. A smoosh. But I’d love to use it in the middle or something to honor them.
I also love Kuyper (pronounced [name]KY[/name]-per) but have gotten horrible responses that it sounds made up, even though it’s the name of a college and a surname. But I’m sure there would be pronunciation issues. And it rhymes with hyper. I still love the sound.
[name]Sloan[/name] for a boy, [name]Indira[/name] for a girl. I seem to like more unusual names, most nameberries seem to stick to the same 200 names.
Well I haven’t posted my boys list yet but I’m anticipating bad reactions to:
[name]Valdemar[/name]
[name]Pomeroy[/name]
[name]Reynard[/name]
[name]Bertram[/name]
[name]Emil[/name]
[name]Ivo[/name]
[name]Benoit[/name]
[name]Nicabar[/name]
[name]Gustav[/name]
You know names that many consider the equivalent to pasting a sign on their backs that say, “Kick me!”
Probably [name]Aidan[/name] and [name]Braden[/name] (stupid -aden trend!). Though I’ll probably get brownie points for spelling them correctly 
Haha, someone should compile a list of the top Nameberry love affair names so we can analyze why they continue to reemerge again and again.
The handful of unisex names I like for girls would probably top the list: [name]Bailey[/name], [name]Hadley[/name], [name]Harper[/name], and [name]Quinn[/name]
@lucky lindy…that would be fascinating! [name]Beatrix[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Vivienne[/name], [name]Violet[/name], [name]Clementine[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Milena[/name], [name]Rosalie[/name], [name]Clara[/name], and mn [name]Kate[/name] seem to show up on here A LOT
lucky lindy, i thought that was a great idea!
Most people strongly disliked [name]Ariadne[/name] (ah-ree-AHD-nee, approximately), mostly because they were confused by the pronunciation or its seeming similarity to the word arachnid (I heard that a couple of times at least). I did end up giving the name up, but it was my top name for a while. I met with constant resistance from people trying to figure what exactly they hated so much about it, haha!
Bettyblowtorch: I for one love some of those names! [name]Ivo[/name] is a personal fave.
Erm, I’m not sure, actually. I like fairly popular names, so I am always pretty sure I’ll hear “ugh [insert popular name here] is way too overdone!” It may be, but it’s not terribly overdone in my area, and popularity doesn’t bother me like most Berries. I really anticipated [name]Brody[/name] and [name]Spencer[/name] getting trashed; it wasn’t as bad as I thought, haha, but they’re not loved by everyone for sure.
[name]Bailey[/name] never gets the best love on here, either. There are a few that like it, but in general, most people aren’t fans of [name]Bailey[/name] on boys, urgh.
It’s mostly just popular names, though. I could talk all day about [name]Isabelle[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Lily[/name], [name]Hannah[/name], [name]Caleb[/name], [name]Jack[/name], etc., but most of them, especially the girls’ names, get not really trashed, but they’re not loved, on here, anyway.
Boy
Foxley
Linkin
Ender
[name]Huxley[/name]
[name]Korben[/name]
[name]Knight[/name]
[name]Radley[/name]
[name]Krispin[/name]
[name]Kaiden[/name]
Foxten
Zelden
Sublime
[name]Keifer[/name]
[name]Zen[/name]
[name]Phoenix[/name]
Zarek
Girls
[name]Galaxy[/name]
[name]Nova[/name]
[name]Mellony[/name]
[name]Sonnet[/name]
Alaska
[name]Halsey[/name]
[name]Emmalina[/name]
[name]Lyric[/name]
Jezabelle
[name]Zelda[/name]
I have several categories of bad:
“Boring” Bad Favourites: [name]Aidan[/name], [name]Jonathan[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Caitlin[/name], [name]Hannah[/name]. I don’t like any alternate spellings of these except perhaps [name]Jonathon[/name]. If [name]Hannah[/name] was [name]Annika[/name] and [name]Emily[/name] were [name]Emmeline[/name] I could probably slide back into Nameberry good graces but oh well.
“Too foreign” bad favourites: Apparently right after I get over being boring I’m immediately told no one will ever be able to spell/pronounce the kid’s name and it will be completely horrible and don’t I know the kid just wants a normal name?! Girls names like this: [name]Niamh[/name], [name]Keziah[/name], Siofra, [name]Katia[/name]. Soooo many boys names qualify, as only a few boys names are “normal enough” compared to girls, some of my too-foreign faves are: [name]Dmitri[/name], [name]Ilya[/name], [name]Eoin[/name]/[name]Eoghan[/name], Tadgh, [name]Zev[/name], Tzvi, [name]Hadriel[/name], Nehemya.
“Despite being historically male, I think they sound like girls names, therefore don’t use them for boys” - This one I’ve heard for [name]Ezra[/name], [name]Hanan[/name], [name]Linden[/name], [name]Asher[/name], [name]Eli[/name], [name]Ariel[/name], [name]Gabriel[/name]. I wouldn’t mind if they just said they know a girl by that name or whatever but the whole oh no now they’re tainted is weird to me.
So yeah I don’t find the middle ground that much - I either get too weird/ethnic or I buckle down and think of normal and like some very innocuous to “received as dull” names.
I love this thread. Nameberry definitely has a certain aesthetic when it comes to names. I think it’s the aural equivalent of Anthropologie – luxe without being preppy, quirky without being weird, and vintage without being fusty. Generally my tastes match up, but definitely not always.
Three of my favorites that are decidedly out of step with Nameberry tastes: [name]Rhiannon[/name], [name]Sasha[/name], and [name]Waldo[/name]. Yes, [name]Waldo[/name]. I absolutely adore [name]Waldo[/name]. But my number one Nameberry no-no name has to be [name]Susan[/name]. Not Nameberry-approved [name]Susannah[/name] or [name]Shoshannah[/name]: just plain, sweet, old-fashioned [name]Susan[/name]. [name]How[/name] cute would [name]Suzie[/name] be on a little girl?
This made me laugh, for real. It’s very true.
Oh, augusta_lee - a big one of mine is [name]Sasha[/name], too! I’ve always had a huge crush on that name.
[name]Just[/name] once, I want someone else to not love: [name]Beatrix[/name]/[name]Beatrice[/name], [name]Genevieve[/name], [name]Vivienne[/name], [name]Gwendolyn[/name]/-len, [name]Wren[/name], [name]Penelope[/name], [name]Hazel[/name]. I don’t like any of them, and am kind of tired of seeing them (there, I said it).
If it helps, I don’t like [name]Beatrix[/name]/[name]Beatrice[/name] or [name]Wren[/name] at ALL. I do like [name]Vivienne[/name], [name]Penelope[/name] and [name]Hazel[/name] though 
@augusta_lee- I completely agree, nameberry is a bit like the Anthropologie of baby naming sites.
My “non-Nameberry” names would probably be [name]Greyson[/name], [name]Gavin[/name], [name]Grady[/name], and [name]Finn[/name] for boys, [name]Jessica[/name], [name]Irene[/name], [name]Sheila[/name] (my mother’s name), and [name]Jolee[/name] for girls.
OH, and I just thought of another Nameberry cardinal sin – if I was to use the name [name]Esme[/name], I’d spell it [name]Esmay[/name]. Phonetic spelling PLUS an added y. [name]Aren[/name]'t I awful? I have a frequently mispronounced name myself, and ez-MEE makes me wince. So [name]Esmay[/name] it would be. [name]Judge[/name] away! 