[name_m]Hi[/name_m] Berries! Final exams are coming up once again so that means I’m somehow magically drawn to names again (third time this happened, I don’t know how or why)
Initially I had a different idea for a thread, but perhaps this is more fun than just satisfying my personal curiosity…
I am interested in hearing reasons that made you stop liking, or considering (not the same thing) ‘a’ name. From the superficial to the profound, what happened.
There’s been a recent thread on this subject which you might enjoy.
Yes - I used to love [name_f]Megan[/name_f], [name_f]Tania[/name_f] and [name_f]Sadie[/name_f], and was certain I would use them if I ever had daughters. Now that I’m older and will soon be trying for an actual child, I’m finding I’m drawn to longer, more ‘feminine’ names, for want of a better word. I still like those names, but they just don’t pack the same punch as names like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] now 
[name_f]Violet[/name_f] was my #2 girl name for a long time, sometimes coming close to being #1. I loved it because it honored my mom plus a couple other things. Now I think it’s getting too popular. It’s sweet and all but loses its appeal when it became everyone’s favorite girl name. I still love it as a middle name though.
Same thing happened to [name_m]Leo[/name_m]. It too honored but the popularity jumps weren’t worth the honor factor. Not sure if I would use it as a middle.
The name [name_u]Aidan[/name_u]. I love everything about it, from the sound to the meaning, but it’s just become so popular that I don’t think I’d ever entertain the idea of using it. Popularity doesn’t usually deter me from liking names, but it does when I can’t count on one hand all the baby Aidans I know of.
I adored the name [name_m]Connor[/name_m] for years. One day, a friend of mine who I had not talked about names with before (so she didn’t know I loved it), asked what names my partner likes. I said, he likes the name [name_m]Connor[/name_m]. And, my friend’s response was, “Oh, he would. That name just screams white male.” I really didn’t know what to make of that, and I have not been able to shake the feeling that [name_m]Connor[/name_m] sounds like some sort of white supremacist name, now. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if that’s not what she meant. And even if she is the only person who thinks that. I just can’t get it out of my head now.
Besides the ones I said on the other thread, [name_f]Katja[/name_f]/[name_f]Katya[/name_f]/[name_f]Katia[/name_f] was another one that was on my top list. It’s too close to my own name for me to feel comfortable giving it to a child, but I still love it.
My main one is [name_f]Astrid[/name_f], which I LOVED and was set on for daughter #2. Then DH and I watched through “The Office” US and I just can’t anymore. It’s such a shame and such a stupid reason to go off a name, but I’ve tried and failed to conjure back up the feelings I used to have for [name_f]Astrid[/name_f]. I fear it’s been ruined for me forever. 
I understand. Have had the same thing happen to me for a few names. Maybe watch [name_m]How[/name_m] to Train Your Dragon in an attempt to reverse the association effect. There’s a girl named [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] in that movie, she’s spunky and fun… probably not the most useful comment, but anything I can try and suggest to help you redeem a name you once loved. 
As for my name, [name_f]Roselle[/name_f]. I love love loved it so much… but had so many negative responses to it that I basically dropped it for the very lovable [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]. Came up with the best combo that I could for the name, ([name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] [name_u]Vesper[/name_u] [name_f]Faith[/name_f]) and have come to love [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] nearly as much,. However, I might suggest the name [name_f]Roselle[/name_f] to my siblings and my children, lol.
Haha, As-tird! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)
But seriously, it sucks when a name you absolutely [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] gets ruined because of a reason like that. And [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] really is such a pretty name!
I’ve had so many name loves ruined by students, so choosing names has become very hard! With DD, our boy name would have been [name_m]Jacob[/name_m], but since then I’ve worked one-on-one with a [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] and I just can’t bring myself to name my boy that!
Haha, thanks for the tip! I’ve never seen “[name_m]How[/name_m] to Train Your Dragon” - maybe that’s the cure I need. 
FWIW, I prefer [name_f]Roselle[/name_f] over [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]. It feels darker and more mysterious to me, for some reason. I can’t understand why it would get so many negative reactions - it feels like exactly the kind of soft, feminine, very unusual choice which would be a hit. Plus you could call her [name_f]Ro[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] or [name_f]Zella[/name_f], all of which are gorgeous!
You had to go there… But yes, you hit nail on the head. Plus [name_u]Jan[/name_u] Levenson - just no.
RE:
FWIW, I prefer [name_f]Roselle[/name_f] over [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]. It feels darker and more mysterious to me, for some reason. I can’t understand why it would get so many negative reactions - it feels like exactly the kind of soft, feminine, very unusual choice which would be a hit. Plus you could call her [name_f]Ro[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] or [name_f]Zella[/name_f], all of which are gorgeous!
Wow, thank you! Can’t belive I have found another person who likes the name. Yeah, I thought the same thing (why it wasn’t a trendy [name_f]Rose[/name_f] name?). Considering, yes, lots of great nicks and that it’s a combo of Two super trendy and classic names. It seems that most of the general population likes both [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Elle[/name_f] (right now). So what’s wrong with [name_f]Roselle[/name_f]?
I had [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] on my list, and I still really love how handsome it sounds, but cannot use it as it’s my sisters ex-boyfriends name and it was really messy/abusive relationship so I cannot shake that association.
Two girls names I’ve stopped considering were [name_f]Novalie[/name_f]/Novalee and [name_f]Annalie[/name_f]. My boyfriend pointed out the word Oval in [name_f]Novalie[/name_f] and now it sticks out like a sore thumb. My boyfriend also pointed out that [name_f]Annalie[/name_f] sounded like Anally so there went that. (There was also an episode of Family [name_m]Guy[/name_m] were Quagmire has a daughter named [name_f]Annalie[/name_f] for the purpose of sounding similar to Anally, according to my boyfriend)
This happens a lot to me, every so often! For the longest time, I wanted to name a daughter [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. I thought it was such a beautiful name and it came from one of my favorite book series. Now…I still like it, but it doesn’t hold that same “magic” to me as it did before. I guess maybe we will keep it on the list, but it’s not a top contender anymore. Same with [name_f]Lydia[/name_f].
I love the name [name_f]Beth[/name_f], but cannot use it because it’s my mother-in-law’s middle name, and…well…The Walking Dead association. My husband forced me into watching the show, and the one person I liked ([name_f]Beth[/name_f])…well…yeah. She didn’t make it.
[name_m]Walter[/name_m] clashes with our last name. [name_m]Brian[/name_m] is a very lazy boy I work with. [name_m]Paul[/name_m] paired with our last name sounds like ‘[name_m]Paul[/name_m] [name_u]Walker[/name_u]’=bad (I don’t mind the guy, but my gosh so many people picked up on the similarity and it got annoying).
My main ones would be [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m], and [name_u]Simone[/name_u].
[name_m]Henry[/name_m] is a name I’ve loved since I was a child. At that time it was rarely used. Now it is so common near where I live that i don’t know if I’d use it. Still might - it’t not out of the running entirely. [name_m]Just[/name_m] feels less special somehow.
[name_m]Frederick[/name_m] because I mentioned it to my dad once and he literally shit all over it. I will never bring up names with him again. He said he HATES the name and then said it in this icky voice. Now it’s all I think of when I think of [name_m]Frederick[/name_m]. Oh well I like [name_m]Cedric[/name_m] better anyways - but I won’t be running that one by him.
[name_u]Simone[/name_u] was my favourite girls name for a few years and I always thought it would be the name of my first daughter should I have one. It’s not that I hate it now and there was no catalyst - I just sort of fell out of love with the sound of the name. I haven’t strayed too far away as my top girl’s name now is [name_f]Celeste[/name_f]. They are quite similar.
For a long time we loved the name [name_f]Lida[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] for a girl but now that we are expecting it is completely off the list for a number of reasons. We have a close friend named [name_f]Grace[/name_f], but after we announced all of our female friends and relatives became a little obsessed with having their name used. It was incredibly bizarre but we decided it would be best to just take all of their names off the table. That coupled with my mother singing [name_f]Lida[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] at the top of her lungs any time [name_f]Lida[/name_f] was mentioned helped eliminate the name entirely. Fortunately, there are countless beautiful names out there to choose from!
I’ve always adored the name [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f] and was sure that I would use it as a middle were I to conceive a girl, though I simply cannot any more as I recently discovered that the [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f] was a ship they used as a secret torture centre in Pinochet’s dictatorship of Chile, which my mother grew up in.
Bringing back a dead thread for the heart-wrenching tale of all of the names I’ve desperately wanted to use… but then ended up using them for a character, thus condemning them to the Unusable Bin forever. (RE: [name_f]Cara[/name_f], [name_u]Alex[/name_u], [name_m]Dominic[/name_m], [name_u]Carter[/name_u], [name_u]Porter[/name_u], [name_u]Akiva[/name_u], [name_f]Avalon[/name_f], [name_u]Evan[/name_u], [name_f]Lida[/name_f], [name_u]Halley[/name_u], [name_m]Knox[/name_m], and [name_f]Maggie[/name_f].)
That is so sad! 
What a dark world.
When I first joined nameberry, my name style was so very different; I liked a lot of elaborate Greek names. I used to just love [name_m]Nikasios[/name_m] and [name_m]Nicasio[/name_m] but they just became too much of a mouthful to say. On the flip side, I really loved [name_m]Rupert[/name_m], but I can’t love the pert sound. So away it goes!
[name_m]Gregory[/name_m] was an odd-ball. I never thought I would like it, until I did. So it didn’t surprise me when suddenly the charm it gained so quickly was lost so soon.
[name_f]Viveca[/name_f] was a name I really was set on using for the future. But after I kept saying it, it sort of tired me out. It’s not something you can say softly and subtly, which bothered me. It commands attention a little too well, so I took it off my list for now.
[name_f]Nicolette[/name_f] was a favorite but then I realized how much it sounds like nicotine + cigarette.
[name_f]Cosima[/name_f] is a name I have a love-hate relationship with! I love the way it looks and the meaning… but I hate almost every pronunciation… it’s too blocky and clunky for me.
names I love haven’t changed much, just more that I now have had many friends name their little ones those same names.
Most of my favorites I am no longer considering have to do with not flowing with my last name (which is a word-name starting with S) - unfortunately, I love names with S’s.
I also want to avoid word names unfortunately.
[name_f]Elise[/name_f], [name_u]Sage[/name_u], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], Soren, Alexis, [name_f]Saskia[/name_f] … just don’t work with my last name.
Also, [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] and [name_f]Emily[/name_f] – too many friends and family with these names now in the last few years.