I think most of yours are pretty useable really. The only ones I really don’t like are [name_f]Vada[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], [name_m]Forrest[/name_m] and [name_m]Gideon[/name_m]. But you could probably still get away with them.
[name_u]Wren[/name_u] is really growing on me!
Mine are:
Ishtar
Leviathan
[name_f]Xanthe[/name_f]
[name_u]Ever[/name_u]
[name_f]Esther[/name_f]
Katana
Keit
Scimitar
[name_u]Zola[/name_u] (for a girl. I wanted it for this baby, but it’s too manly apparently )
[name_u]Hunter[/name_u]
Farah
And probably others I’m currently forgetting. I love weird names.
one person’s guilty pleasure just sounds like a normal name to someone else!
I love the name [name_f]Taffeta[/name_f] with [name_u]Taffy[/name_u] as a nickname, but it is not appropriate for a human being: prom dress fabric from the 50’s and a soft candy.
I also love [name_f]Cricket[/name_f] and [name_m]Skipper[/name_m] and other chirpy names.
I like big clunky names like [name_m]Cadwallader[/name_m].
And I also love the name [name_f]Hortense[/name_f].
For girls I like…
[name_f]Tigerlily[/name_f]
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_f]Delilah[/name_f]
[name_f]Ondine[/name_f]
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
And for a boy I like
[name_m]Lorcan[/name_m]
I don’t really have any guilty pleasures… maybe a list of Turkish names (like [name_m]Mehmet[/name_m]. I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f] the name [name_m]Mehmet[/name_m]!), and I only consider them GPs because I’m not Turkish, and I’ve never been to Turkey (I’m thinking about moving to [name_m]Cyprus[/name_m] late next year, though).
My Basque favourites are not GPs, but I know my very Canadian SO isn’t on-board lol.
From your list, I love:
[name_f]Faye[/name_f] (totally underused and under-appreciated!)
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] (saw a kid on tv with this name a few weeks ago and remarked out-loud “Awwww, her name is [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]! That’s so sweet!” and while I’m a namenerd I don’t generally make it known in social situation in my day-to-day life)
[name_u]August[/name_u]
[name_m]Fletcher[/name_m] (I think I like the meaning more than the sound, though)
[name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] (a trendier one I really like)
I like:
[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Magdalene[/name_f]
[name_f]Gloria[/name_f]
[name_f]Birgitta[/name_f]
I’m neutral on:
[name_u]Wren[/name_u]
[name_u]Delaney[/name_u]
[name_u]Fallon[/name_u]
[name_u]Kai[/name_u]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u]
ETA: I do have a GP that I realized- Carlemany. I could not, in good faith, give my child the Catalan form of Charlemagne as a given name. I think it’s super cool, but completely impractical, even if I moved back to Catalan-speaking Spain.
[name_f]India[/name_f] - it’s so beautiful and I love [name_f]Indy[/name_f] as a nickname, but alas…
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] - lovely, quirky name with one fabulous fictional namesake, but [name_f]Cora[/name_f] will always have my heart
Stark - I have a deep, undying love for the House of Stark in Game of Thrones and it’s the middle name of a beloved family member, but the dictionary definition of stark makes this unusable for me. (I’ve got [name_u]Winter[/name_u] and [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] on my list instead. ;))
Castiel - beautiful name but too tied to the (amazing) character for a nerd like me… plus [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] and [name_u]Dean[/name_u] are both high on my list already
Of your girl GPs I adore [name_u]Wren[/name_u], [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f], [name_f]Faye[/name_f], and [name_f]Gloria[/name_f] (all of which I would use as a middle, but not a first). From your boys, I love love love [name_m]Gideon[/name_m].
These are mine–a very few I would actually consider for firsts, but almost all of them I would use as a middle.
[name_f]Elanor[/name_f] (b/c of the spelling)
[name_f]Lark[/name_f]
Sepia
[name_f]Primrose[/name_f]
[name_f]Astoria[/name_f]
[name_f]Anthea[/name_f]
[name_f]Azalea[/name_f]
[name_f]Marigold[/name_f]
[name_u]Juniper[/name_u]
Miriel
[name_f]Eowyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Fern[/name_f]
I suppose I have a few that I am not yet courageous enough to admit as a valid possibility for a child, despite my sincere love for them (Although I could possibly get away with them as middle names):
GIRLS:
[name_f]Khaleesi[/name_f] - I love the way it sounds and how fun it is to say, but it looks too ethnic on paper and strongly attached to Game of Thrones, of which I am not a huge fan…
Drucilda / Drusilda - For me this is SO much fun to say, and prettier than [name_f]Drusilla[/name_f], but still a bit too ugly stepsister to use in real life
Amarynthe - A name I made up which I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f], but I promised myself I would never use a made up name.
Fairweather - I just think it’s gorgeous, but probably too hippie to ever use.
[name_f]Tigerlily[/name_f] - I love this name and I love Disney, I just don’t think I could use it.
BOYS:
There are many names that I love the sound of, how fun they are to say and how they look on paper, they are just a little too heavy for a modern boy to carry, e.g [name_m]Xerxes[/name_m], [name_m]Helios[/name_m], [name_m]Odysseus[/name_m], Theodosius, Leonidus
[name_m]Sherlock[/name_m] - Because there is only one.
[name_m]Sherlock[/name_m] is my guilty pleasure oops my fangirl is showing ( I adore BBC’s show [name_m]Sherlock[/name_m])
[name_u]Hollis[/name_u]- a family name I love but I’m not sure
Wilhemina- another family name but the problem is it’s too close to my sisters name and the name itself is a mouthful
[name_m]Matteo[/name_m]- don’t think I’ll ever bring myself to use it
[name_f]Astrid[/name_f]- so pretty but it’s a bit out there for me
My guilty pleasure names are:
(G) Arsinoë- (Ar-sin-noh-ay), first bit sounds a bit like ‘Ae’, and once someone said it and it sounded like 'Ae in your way’ plus it’s difficult to pronounce/ spell
(B) [name_m]Ptolemy[/name_m]- Again could be some pronunciation but in particular spelling problems.
Lupus- I like that it means wolf, but I think it’s also the name of a disease so no way.
[name_m]Sherlock[/name_m]- I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f] the BBC show and I’m reading the books, but the reason why it can never be used is obvious.
[name_f]Amelia[/name_f]- In reference to [name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who (another BBC show that I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f]), but too normal for me.
[name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m]- I hate the fact it can (and probably will) be shortened to [name_m]Nathan[/name_m] or [name_m]Nate[/name_m], which are both nicknames I really don’t like.
[name_m]Sebastian[/name_m]- Same reason as [name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m].
Girls:
[name_f]Isabeau[/name_f]
[name_f]Christabelle[/name_f]
Gwenhamara
[name_f]Lilliana[/name_f]
[name_f]Veronique[/name_f]
[name_f]Lura[/name_f] (I had a teacher many years ago names [name_f]Lura[/name_f] [name_f]Belle[/name_f]).
)
oops my fangirl is showing ( I adore BBC’s show [name_m]Sherlock[/name_m])