UK berries, I want to know your opinion on [name_f]Honey[/name_f]. Is it useable in real life?
[name_f]My[/name_f] partner and I really like the name [name_f]Honey[/name_f], but we had dismissed it with the worry that it can be used as a term of endearment and might be a little awkward at work. We put it to the back of our minds and thought perhaps is would work as a middle. Then we watched the olympics, and the swimmer [name_f]Honey[/name_f] made us reconsider it. It wasn’t odd when people interviewed her, just a more unique sounding name that stood out to us (in a positive way).
I have met only one [name_f]Honey[/name_f] in real life, and she had dark hair and fair skin, and I thought the name really suited her.
What do you think of the name? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think it’s too brave to use in real life? Would it be better as a middle spot?
[name_f]Happy[/name_f] to hear everyone’s opinions, just thought I’d ask UK perspective as that’s where we’re based and gives a good idea of usability here. 
I think it’s usable!
It’s not quite the same scenario, but I’m from Greece and I know women named [name_f]Agapi[/name_f] which is our word for “love” and also a term of endearment (like how you’d call your children or partner “love” in English) and it never seemed odd to me!
I personally wouldn’t be brave enough to use [name_f]Honey[/name_f], but I think it’s doable! I know women in the UK with other out-there word names (one of my professors at my uni was named Moon!) who never had any negative reactions to them. [name_f]Honey[/name_f] is a bit trickier since it’s also a term of endearment, but I think it can be done as a first name!
Another idea could be [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f], etc. with [name_f]Honey[/name_f] as a nickname!
That’s good to hear! I think if it wasn’t a term of endearment I wouldn’t even question it. It’s not a term my partner and I use so doesn’t seem too odd to us, just aware others do use it. It’s good to know others are using similar names that are terms of endearment though. I love that your professor was called [name_f]Moon[/name_f]!
I think because I’m quite shy/awkward I worry about the confidence of pulling off a name like [name_f]Honey[/name_f]. I will have a look at possible longer forms though, as that might be a nice middle ground. 
I think maybe the next time you order coffee and the barista asks for your name, use Honey and see how it feels.
Also, fwiw, you can always use Honey as a term of endearment, like, that can be what you call your daughter while avoiding possible awkward situations with other people.
I absolutely adore a good word name, and I’m a firm believer in most names growing up with their bearer, but [name_f]Honey[/name_f] doesn’t quite work for me. It feels more along the lines of naming a child [name_f]Sweetie[/name_f], [name_f]Baby[/name_f], Hun, etc. which seems infantilizing, especially for a girl. I tend to think of middle names as a free for all, though, so it could totally work as a middle!
This is a good idea, I will have to try this out.
I don’t have so much of an issue with it being used on teens/adults actually. The [name_f]Honey[/name_f] I met and the others I’ve heard of have been teens or young adults, so not as worried about it growing with the child. I guess my main issue is it being a term of endearment for others. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner and I don’t really use any of the usual terms of endearment like [name_f]Honey[/name_f], [name_f]Sweetie[/name_f] etc. so I guess we don’t see it in that way, just aware the others might, which is why it’s good to get lots of opinions. I think middle name is a good idea though, and we’d probably be more likely to use it as a middle.
I’m in the UK and I’ve known five or six Honeys at this point - two young children, three or four teens. I say this just to demonstrate that it is being used, that teachers and other students were just calling the kids by their name, none of them were using an alternative name, and it was pretty easy to just call them by it. I don’t know, once I see something as a name on an actual person, I begin to disassociate it from the word (in that context at least) and it just becomes a name. I guess I’ve worked with kids called [name_m]Angel[/name_m], [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f], [name_f]Dolly[/name_f], and [name_m]Favour[/name_m] too, and you sort of just go with it?
I think it’s usable - and I don’t really hear ‘Honey’ being thrown around as a general pet name here very much either - though maybe that’s just where I am regionally?
Statistics wise, it’s in the Top 400, and has ranked in the Top 200 in previous years. Right now, it ranks alongside [name_f]Fern[/name_f], [name_f]Katie[/name_f], [name_f]Juniper[/name_f], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], [name_f]Arwen[/name_f], [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_f]Ember[/name_f], [name_f]Lois[/name_f] and [name_f]Lacey[/name_f] in terms of popularity.
I think it all depends on how comfortable you feel when you imagine shouting the name out, if there’s another name you love just as much, a name it would work as a nickname for, and how much you love it
I’m in the UK, and I think it’s usable
I’ve known a Honey, she used to go to my Middle School
It’s a really gorgeous name but all depends on you and your partner and what your both comfortable with. If your nervous about how it will sound ect perhaps use Honey as a middle option. But, if your heart set on it, use it as a first 
Have a lovely day
Sorry, I’m not sure if I was clear – I meant more so because it feels like a term of endearment, not that it couldn’t work on a teen or adult, but just because this term of endearment is inherently used in a non-formal context that could be infantilizing or romanticized depending on the context, if that makes any sense. Like a name that a parent uses for a child or a romantic partner uses for a significant other, so it feels kind of odd to imagine saying it as someone’s name who you aren’t close with.
However, I fully understand that it is also a word beyond that, so I completely see how it works as a name! 
It also helps that it’s much more popular in other places, which brings it some “validity,” for lack of a better word.
Knowing it’s being used makes me feel more confident with it. I guess I am overthinking it because if I taught one I’d be so excited to hear it. I have taught children with some unique names and after a while they just become their name and you forget the associations you had with it.
I didn’t realise it had been so high up in the statistics, [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] and [name_f]Juniper[/name_f] are names on our list too, so that must just be the sort of area we’re drawn to popularity wise 
In terms of pet name, I actually don’t hear it much near me at all. I do however hear ‘hun’ when I visit the county I grew up in (you could probably guess which 
). Although I only ever go there to visit my parents. I sort of assumed it would be used quite a lot across the UK, but perhaps it isn’t so much. In which case it would be more usable.
I do really like it, and I think knowing it’s being used makes me feel a lot happier to use it. We go back and forth between using it as a first or a middle name. Did the [name_f]Honey[/name_f] you knew get any comments on her name, or was it generally well received?
Thank you, I hope you have a good day too
Oh sorry I misunderstood. I do worry about the awkwardness for those who aren’t related to them calling them [name_f]Honey[/name_f]. But after reading some other comments it appears as though it’s being used a little more in the UK than I realised which like you say makes it feel more ‘valid’ or usable.
I am not a fan of it as a first name. Though, I understand that it is used to some degree, including in the UK and it isn’t “offensive” or decisively “off-limits.”
Still, I would feel extremely uncomfortable to hear my old white man boss call a young woman “Honey.”
I call my pets and some of the really little kids I babysit terms of endearment (honey, honey bun, etc.) and so to my ear it does feel infantilizing. I also hear people use “hun/honey” passive aggressively (like someone is being rude and another person is like "Alright hun 
").
No problem
The [name_f]Honey[/name_f] I knew generally got lots of positive comments on her name, which I remember thinking was really sweet and nice of people since it would make her day.
I typically heard her name get well received, so I don’t know whether she got any bad comments (I hope not because why would someone do that?) But, I personally never heard anyone be critical or rude towards her or her name which is good
I hope this has helped you and your partner, wishing you both the best
I don’t associate the passive aggressive ‘alright hun’ with the name [name_f]Honey[/name_f] at all. To me [name_f]Honey[/name_f] has very positive associations. Plus I think if someone’s going to say that/be mean they’ll do it regardless of your name.
I do understand the being uncomfortable using it, so it’s good to hear different views and how common that reaction would be.
Thank you, that’s really helpful to know! I’m glad she got lots of positive comments on her name.
Thank you
No problem
I’m not from the UK but a couple years ago I met a teenage girl called [name_f]Honey[/name_f] and didn’t think it was weird or too cutesy in real life. It was just her name and she really suited it.
Now I think [name_f]Honey[/name_f] is gorgeous and definitely wearable.
It’s lovely to hear it’s being used in real life and it definitely helps to make it feel more wearable.