Wow, your GPs don’t really seem like GPs at all! The only one I find unusable is [name_m]Heinrich[/name_m], because it makes me think of the Heimlich maneuver- not even a bad thing, just odd. My favourites are [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], [name_f]Birgitta[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_u]August[/name_u], and [name_m]Forrest[/name_m].
My GPs tend to be random words (in English or other languages) or names of places (most of which I haven’t I been to). Some of them are:
Boys:
[name_f]Amalfi[/name_f] (as in [name_f]Amalfi[/name_f] coast)
Ampersand (& sign)
Capellini (a type of pasta)
Fiumicino (an airport)
Romanov (royal house of [name_f]Russia[/name_f])
Girls:
[name_f]Andorra[/name_f] (a country)
[name_f]Caledonia[/name_f] (refers to [name_f]Scotland[/name_f])
Epithet
Paprika
Swansea (city in [name_m]Wales[/name_m])
A few too boyish for a girl types
[name_u]Quincy[/name_u]
[name_u]Mica[/name_u]
And a couple that could have pronunciation issues or feel unusable for pop-culture reasons
[name_f]Thais[/name_f]
[name_f]Allegra[/name_f]
[name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
[name_f]Anais[/name_f]
Quite unusable but I still love it! Can you imagine? People would call her Whistle and then when she said “no… THISTLE” they would say… “like the weed?”
I agree with PP - I don’t see most of your names as GP at all! Also agree that [name_m]Heinrich[/name_m] is the only one I take issue with. My favorites: [name_u]Wren[/name_u], [name_u]Delaney[/name_u], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_u]Kai[/name_u], [name_m]Abel[/name_m], [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m], [name_m]Forrest[/name_m]. But the rest of them I like just fine, too!
I also think most of your gps are usuable except [name_m]Heinrich[/name_m] because it makes me think of [name_m]Heinrich[/name_m] Himmler.
My guilty pleasures are…
Odolette, [name_f]Eulalia[/name_f], Briseis, [name_m]Perseus[/name_m], Charon, [name_m]Homer[/name_m], [name_m]Heracles[/name_m], [name_m]Remus[/name_m], [name_m]Eros[/name_m] because they’re a bit ‘out there’ or have strong/bad associations
[name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Isobel[/name_f], [name_m]Joshua[/name_m], [name_m]Jenson[/name_m], [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] because they’re trendy/very popular
I love the name [name_u]Wren[/name_u]! But I especially love [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m], though its very unrelated to my girls’ names. I love the letter W with boys, I’d probably name him [name_u]Walker[/name_u]
I agree with other berries that you have some lovely names on your GP list! : )
I have a few guilty pleasure names.
Girls
[name_f]Isolde[/name_f] - I love, love, love this name. However, as I have mentioned before my DH’s youngest brother’s name is [name_u]Tristan[/name_u], so it’s totally out : (
[name_f]Allegra[/name_f] - Gorgeous name, but especially where I am from in the southwest U.S. (where allergies are prevalent) I would get the, “You mean like the allergy medicine?”
[name_f]Liesl[/name_f] - Have always loved the movie The Sound of [name_f]Music[/name_f], but I think there would be too many issues with pronouncing it where I live.
[name_f]Francesca[/name_f] - Stunning name. The only reason it is on GP list is because it is totally unsuitable with our last name.
[name_f]Natalia[/name_f] - Beautiful, but my cousin has a little girl named [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], too close for my comfort.
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] - Now, this doesn’t really seem like it should be a guilty pleasure name, but for us it is. My DH and his family had a dog when we were in high school named [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], and she was absolutely crazy, we never did like the dog, and unfortunately, I can’t name my child that b/c of that silly dog.
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] - This is on the GP list because DH turned it down flat. He was not feeling this name, I even told her we could use the nn [name_f]Evie[/name_f] (when we do have children, none yet), and his reaction was, then why don’t you just name a baby [name_f]Evie[/name_f]? So it’s on the GP list for us.
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] - [name_f]Adore[/name_f] it! But we have a relative with a little girl named [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], so it’s out for us.
Boys
[name_m]Tiberius[/name_m] - [name_f]Love[/name_f] it! But maybe a little overwhelming as a first name, I think it could work as a middle name.
[name_m]Amadeus[/name_m] - DH and I both adore it, but think it’s just a little much for a first name.
[name_m]Maximus[/name_m] - Same as [name_m]Tiberius[/name_m] and [name_m]Amadeus[/name_m].
[name_m]Orlando[/name_m] - Swoon! [name_m]Orlando[/name_m] is such a handsome name, however, our last name does not work with this at all.
[name_m]Dante[/name_m] - Same as [name_m]Orlando[/name_m].
[name_m]Rodrigo[/name_m] - Have loved this name for a while, however, since I knew it didn’t work with our last name, I named our pet quail this.
[name_m]Augustus[/name_m] - This is one of the GP names that I would possibly use for a little one, the only issue I have with it is I do not like the nn [name_u]Gus[/name_u]. I would want him to be [name_m]Augustus[/name_m], and we don’t always have control over what our kids get nicknamed.
[name_m]Woodrow[/name_m] - DH and I both love this, however, we do not want to deal with the nn [name_m]Woody[/name_m] and especially with our last name there could be major teasing potential.
[name_u]River[/name_u] (for a girl):
Its my favourite name but I’m worried about more practical aspects of this-for my children, especially for my future daughters I want them to be taken seriously in the academic/business/professional worlds if thats where they choose to go.
[name_m]Samson[/name_m]:
I’m in love with the [name_f]Regina[/name_f] Spektor song, as well one of my favourite musicians from my hometown has the last name ‘[name_m]Samson[/name_m],’ which makes it doubly special, however I dislike the biblical connection.
[name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]:
This is my name and also a family name, I’d like to use it but I’m struggling with nicknames as I do not like [name_f]Evie[/name_f].
(Nicknames would be necessary as at least two people already use the full name in the family, also many people pronounce it the english way and I really prefer the french way or not at all ha ha).
I wonder if [name_f]Neve[/name_f] could be an option here!
I actually have [name_u]Delaney[/name_u] on my normal list, and [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] on my own GP list but only because it’s biblical and I’m an atheist. I’d say all of your GPs, except maybe [name_m]Heinrich[/name_m] as others have said, would be usable.
My GPs are:
Girls:
Ones I’d actually maybe consider using-
[name_f]Crimson[/name_f]
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] (it’s only on my GPs because I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me)
[name_f]Cameo[/name_f]
[name_u]Hero[/name_u]
[name_f]Lotus[/name_f]
Oasis
[name_f]Tuesday[/name_f]
[name_f]Wednesday[/name_f]
[name_f]Monday[/name_f]
[name_f]Rebekah[/name_f]/[name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] (apparently [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] was my “almost name”, and I liked it even before I knew that)
[name_f]Marenka[/name_f]
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] (variation of a family name; possibly as a middle)
[name_f]Judith[/name_f]
Ones I wouldn’t use-
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f] (I can use [name_f]Mira[/name_f] or [name_f]Mara[/name_f] instead)
[name_f]Jezebel[/name_f]
[name_f]Jinx[/name_f]
[name_u]Dominique[/name_u]
Your GP list is full of nice, usable options! I’d totally love to see an [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], [name_f]Gloria[/name_f], [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_u]August[/name_u] or [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] running around!
Girls:
[name_f]Allegra[/name_f] (Allergies run in my family, and I’ve been on the medication [name_f]Allegra[/name_f] for years! Any kid of mine very well end up in the same boat.)
[name_f]Anastasie[/name_f]
Annevieve
[name_f]Bellatrix[/name_f]
[name_f]Evangelina[/name_f]
Gloriana
[name_u]Hero[/name_u]
[name_u]Juniper[/name_u]
Kielo
[name_f]Leocadia[/name_f]
Lucelia
[name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
Mnemosyne
[name_u]November[/name_u]
[name_f]Olympia[/name_f]
Pasiphae
[name_f]Riona[/name_f] ([name_m]Just[/name_m] too similar to the more popular [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] to be practical)
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f] (popularity)
Tisiphone
[name_f]Wednesday[/name_f]
My taste in boys names doesn’t tend to get too over the top (I like primarily Biblical names, and I’m inclined to use any of those as long as there’s a viable/more popular nickname), but I’ve loved Ares for such a long time that it deserves a mention here.
All of your names are very wearable ([name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] in particular swoon), @nj45
My guilty pleasure names:
Bloodraven: As a middle, obviously. It’s the alias of Brynden [name_m]Rivers[/name_m] (the half-brother of Shiera Seastar - how beautiful is that) from ASOIAF. I just think it’s badass.
[name_m]Ramses[/name_m]: I worry this might be too grand (lol). It’s such a beautiful name though.
Viserys: Another ASOIAF name with really bad namesakes. It’s one of GRRM’s most handsome creations though.
[name_f]Jezebel[/name_f]: Need I say more? The associations to this name are really dreadful, but the name itself is gorgeous.
Katla: [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] Lindgren-dragon from The Brothers Lionheart (Bröderna Lejonhjärta), owned by the main antagonist, Tengil, who use her to terrorise Nangijala. I really love both Katla and Tengil (the names, not the characters, lol), but I was lethally afraid of both when I read Bröderna Lejonhjärta as a child.
[name_f]Marie[/name_f]-Bonaparte: This one is so out there and I know it (hence why I have it on my GP list). I just think that the names compliment each other so well. And [name_m]Napoleon[/name_m] aside, Bonaparte is a lovely and regal name, isn’t it?
Scheherazade: Is a lot of name. But the One Thousand and One Nights is just wonderful. I really love it a lot.
Vilhelmiinannguaq: If you think Scheherazade is a lot of name, then you haven’t heard of the Greenlandic Vilhelmiinannguaq just yet. It’s basically the Kalaallisut spelling of the Danish Vilhelmine and perfect if you want your child to hate you. I still love it though.
