Just 8 random questions about...names!

Hi there!

The last couple of days I’ve read a lot pet peeves, favorite boy/girl names, favorite sibsets,etc. So I’ve come up with 8 random questions about…names! Feel free to answer them all, or as many as you’d like! Please do give some more informations about you choices, I’d love to hear it! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Note: please be respectful towards one another at all times! Everyone has different tastes and opinions, thats what makes Nameberry such an interesting place!

Love, Ruth

What is…

  1. your favorite name from a different culture, religion or mythology?
  2. a name you love, but are too afraid to tell family/friends because you think they’ll judge you?
  3. a nameberry favorite that you actually don’t like?
  4. something you love about your own name?
  5. a name you love, but everyone else on nameberry seems te dislike?
  6. a name a friend or family member chose for their baby, that you actually don’t like?
  7. your favorite gender neutral name?
  8. your biggest pet peeve!

I’ll start…

  1. Freydís - it’s a Norse, Icelandic name meaning noblewoman :butterfly:
    Nour - an Arabic name meaning light

  2. Skadi - it’s really out of the box and has a harsh sound, but for some reason I love it! :leaves:

  3. Milo - just doesn’t do it for me :thinking:

  4. I love that’s it’s unique for someone my age (early 20s) and it has a lovely meaning; compassionate friend :yellow_heart:

  5. Hermione - gives me really whimsical vibes, and I’m a big Harry Potter fan, haha :sunflower:

  6. Michael - just not my style :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

  7. Ezra - I think for a girl I would go with Esra, feels more feminine to me! :honeybee:

  8. When people put too much pressure on giving their children matching names, wether it’s first letters, syllables, stylistically, etc. All your children are individuals, so I feel like giving them names that match all the above criteria, you kinda take away what makes their names personal and special for each individual child.

7 Likes
  1. [name_f]Josepha[/name_f] :grin: I’m not [name_m]German[/name_m] nor Christian. It’s my favourite name though, not just favourite foreign name
  2. All of them because it’s just weird to collect names you won’t ever use
  3. Maeve. Can’t see the appeal.
  4. Umm… it’s simple. Not sure if that’s a good thing but anyway
  5. So many of them… maybe Hrotsvitha
  6. Duru
  7. [name_u]Laurie[/name_u] (:grin:) or [name_u]Valentine[/name_u]
  8. When siblings have the variants of same name. No [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] & [name_u]James[/name_u], please :persevere:
2 Likes

1. What is your favorite name from a different culture, religion of mythology?
Quite a few! [name_f]Rivkah[/name_f] (Hebrew), [name_u]Yael[/name_u] (Hebrew), [name_m]Khamisi[/name_m] (Swahili) and [name_m]Taavi[/name_m] (Finnish) come to mind right now

2. What is a name you love, but are too afraid to tell family/friends because you think they’ll judge you?
Not so many really, I try not to let others talk me out of my favourite names … but one I can think of is [name_u]River[/name_u], which I really quite like on a boy, but my dad doesn’t like it at all, so … I feel uncomfortable talking to him about the name

3. What is a nameberry favorite that you actually don’t like?
[name_f]Violet[/name_f] (I just see ‘violent’), [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] (really trying hard to like [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] but not quite there yet)

4. What is something you love about your own name?
It works well internationally, so I don’t get many mispronunciations, which I’m grateful for.

5. What is a name you love, but everyone else on nameberry seems to dislike?
[name_m]Otis[/name_m] (always ends up at the bottom of my polls but some people do like it), [name_m]Clive[/name_m], and [name_m]Clarence[/name_m] maybe

6. What is a name a friend or family member chose for their baby, that you actually don’t like?
[name_f]Ava[/name_f] – although it’s cute on her

7. What is your favorite gender neutral name?
Loads … [name_u]Willow[/name_u], [name_u]Clove[/name_u] and [name_u]Poet[/name_u] come to mind

8. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Definitely seconding yours and Laurie’s – and also, when somebody asks ‘does this work as a honour name for …’. Of course, some honour names are just anything but obvious, but if you spend time looking for a name you feel honours somebody you want to honour, then the intention to honour and the love is there and that is a honour in itself. I recently saw ‘if you want it to be a honour name it is’ on a poll and I was so happy! This is something not everybody might agree with, but it’s something Nameberry has taught me. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
  1. [name_f]Saraswati[/name_f] — Hindu goddess of music, art and wisdom

  2. [name_f]Tigerlily[/name_f] — amazing fierce sound and cool nickname potential but negative associations

  3. [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] — It’s just a bit nothing-y to me, which is weird because I love O ending names normally

  4. I love that it’s simple, international, and doesn’t give any preconceptions about me

  5. [name_m]Dougray[/name_m] — so cool and quirky, with a half-rugged, half-refined sound

  6. [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] — Two acquaintances have named their daughters this in the past year, it’s a good name but just not my style

  7. Of the ones I actually like equally on both sexes, [name_u]Sol[/name_u] or [name_u]Wren[/name_u] :sunny: :bird:

  8. Unusual spellings of popular names, when they’re chosen specifically to make the name more “unique”. I have nothing against novel spellings for any other reason, but choosing to spell [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] in an unusual way doesn’t change the fact that the name sounds the same as the top girls’ name of the moment. When it’s a common name with a predominant spelling, this just seems to unnecessarily complicate things for the parent, child and everyone else, without actually making the name feel any more uncommon.

8 Likes

Wow, couldn’t agree more!

4 Likes
  1. Well, I am Russian so most of the my nameberry western favourites may be counted haha. I also adore some Spanish and Italian names: Orlando & Mariella are my current crushes!

  2. Seraphim & Musa (g) because of them being too outlandish here.

  3. Atlas. It is fine, just not my cup of tea.

  4. It is not very popular among my generation yet is common enough to not be mispronounced all the time.

  5. Don’t have such a name probably.

  6. Timofey. It is a good name but sounds really bad with his father’s name and surname.

  7. Morgan and Rowan!

  8. I don’t like it when siblings have the same initials so you can’t discern them with only surname and first letter given. I also don’t like it when parents call a child a name with a well-established nickname, and then they are offended if someone uses it.

1 Like
  1. [name_u]Atlas[/name_u] - a name from Greek mythology meaning ‘bearer of the heavens’

  2. I’ve actually shown my whole list to my family, and they’ve vetoed most of them :sweat_smile:, but one that I’d actually love to use is [name_f]Wildrose[/name_f], but they all agree that it’s too much!

  3. [name_u]Jasper[/name_u] - I don’t understand the love for this name. Probably because I live in an area where anyone called [name_u]Jasper[/name_u] would be bullied relentlessly.

  4. I love that my name has links to my Welsh roots, and also honours my great aunt, as it’s her middle name. I really love [name_m]Wales[/name_m], and with my name I fit right in :grin:

  5. [name_f]Fauna[/name_f] - I wouldn’t say everyone dislikes it, but I don’t see it around so much. I think it’s very sweet and deserves morr recognition.

  6. I actually can’t think of one! I’d have to say [name_u]Tristan[/name_u], since it’s the only one not on my list, even though it’s a lovely, handsome name.

  7. [name_u]River[/name_u] - I also love [name_u]Sage[/name_u], but I prefer it more for a girl, whereas [name_u]River[/name_u] I would use on either gender.

  8. [name_u]Unique[/name_u] spellings, but I think this is one that most people dislike!

1 Like
  1. your favorite name from a different culture, religion or mythology? chihiro “thousand questions”
  2. a name you love, but are too afraid to tell family/friends because you think they’ll judge you? josephine
  3. a nameberry favorite that you actually don’t like? alice (i don’t hate it, but i don’t view it as a classic either). for a boy, julian.
  4. something you love about your own name? literary connection
  5. a name you love, but everyone else on nameberry seems to dislike? julia. i don’t think most berries share my love for it.
  6. a name a friend or family member chose for their baby, that you actually don’t like? agh, this is hard. i guess the name trevor.
  7. your favorite gender neutral name? august :sunny: :sunny: :sunny:
  8. your biggest pet peeve! when people say lily is childish, even though lily tomlin wears the name beautifully and there’s great lore and history refuting that stereotype :sparkling_heart: but more generally speaking, i find anglicized irish names a little odd.
1 Like

I’m so loving the interactive posts lately. So much fun :slight_smile: These are great questions!

1. Your favorite name from a different culture, religion, or mythology?
This question is so difficult to answer because my names are all over the place. Afrikaans, [name_f]English[/name_f], Icelandic, Finnish, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Slavic… The list goes on for over 300 more origins…! I think today, right now I have to say [name_f]Abeni[/name_f]. [name_f]Abeni[/name_f] is of Yoruba origin and means “we asked for her, now she is ours” but a close second is [name_f]Pipaluk[/name_f], which is Greenlandic and means “sweet little thing who belongs to me”! Aren’t they just so lovely?
2. A name you love but are too afraid to tell family/friends because you think they’ll judge you?
For the longest time, Evaluna! It’s my absolute #1 name, but I was so afraid of what people would think. The name is so dear to me, that any [name_f]Evaluna[/name_f] slander would be taken extremely personally. I began sharing the name with people in my real life recently, but I’ve been met with mostly positive responses, which has been great! A few raised eyebrows and confused looks, but no one has shrunk backward in disgust yet!
3. a Nameberry favorite that you actually don’t like?
Nothing springs straight to my mind… But if I have to pick one, my first instinct is to go with August. It just feels overdone to me, and I never pick it on any polls, even if the flow is good! It’s a fine name, it’s just not something I’d ever go for.
4. Something you love about your own name?
Um, is it wrong to say everything? I love the name my parents picked for me. So much. The meaning. The flow. The popularity level. The sound. The associations. It suits me better than literally any other names on the planet. I wouldn’t change it for anything! (That sounds so egotistical, but I spent many years of my life hating my name, only to realize about a year ago that my name is awesome.)
5. A name you love, but everyone else on Nameberry seems to dislike?
So many! [name_m]Hosea[/name_m], [name_m]Igor[/name_m], [name_m]Lajos[/name_m], [name_m]Oisin[/name_m], [name_m]Oskar[/name_m], [name_m]Sigmund[/name_m], [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m], [name_f]Adriana[/name_f], [name_f]Alaska[/name_f], [name_f]Behati[/name_f], [name_f]Elska[/name_f], [name_f]Eydis[/name_f], [name_f]Karolina[/name_f], Karsia, [name_f]Olga[/name_f], Savannah…
6. A name a friend or family member chose for their baby, that you actually don’t like?
Maybe I’m biased, but my friends have good taste! Literally, nothing is jumping out at me…!
7. Your favorite gender neutral name?
Briar! Roscoe!
8. Your biggest pet peeves!

  • When people pronounce Madeleine/Madeline/Madelyn etc. with the “line” ending. It sounds so much harsher than the other pronunciations!
  • When people chuck extra letters on the ends of names (Norah, [name_u]Stellar[/name_u], etc…)
  • When people use the word “trashy” to describe a name they dislike
  • When people say [name_u]James[/name_u] is a bad name for girls :frowning:

Oddly specific pet peeve…

When people ask in the quick poll thread if a name is “their vibe” and I’ve already voted that the name is “not a vibe” and I think the name is their vibe but I don’t want them to think that I think their names have bad vibes and that I hate their names so I end up changing my vote to the name being “a vibe” even though I don’t like it and don’t even know what “vibe” means when it comes to names because the definition varies so very much from person to person.

4 Likes

1. your favorite name from a different culture, religion or mythology?
I don’t actively research names from other cultures but I LOVE to come across them in the threads! Maybe [name_f]Calliope[/name_f] or [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] for mythology

2. a name you love, but are too afraid to tell family/friends because you think they’ll judge you?
Most of my list :joy: my family like top 10-20 names, so I might get away with [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f], [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] and [name_f]Callie[/name_f], possibly Aurelia. Not so much [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f], [name_f]Rosalia[/name_f], [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f], [name_f]Suki[/name_f], [name_f]Heidi[/name_f]

3. a nameberry favorite that you actually don’t like?
[name_m]Theodore[/name_m] and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] off the top of my head, but there’s a few

4. something you love about your own name?
It’s uncommon in the sense I haven’t met another, but it’s familiar, recognisable and easy to spell

5. a name you love, but everyone else on nameberry seems to dislike?
I wouldn’t say dislike as such, but [name_u]Emmett[/name_u], [name_u]Koa[/name_u] and [name_m]Orlando[/name_m] don’t get enough love

6. a name a friend or family member chose for their baby, that you actually don’t like?
[name_f]My[/name_f] sister is a [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], and there’s 3 in her class, she was originally going to be a [name_f]Sienna[/name_f] which I’d much prefer. [name_f]Lottie[/name_f], I’d prefer [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] nn Lottie. Recently seen [name_u]Bleu[/name_u] as a middle, why not Blue?

7. your favorite gender neutral name?
[name_u]Eden[/name_u], [name_u]Sasha[/name_u], [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] or [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] (Though I have [name_u]Eden[/name_u] on my girls list and [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] on my boys, so maybe the other 2 as completely gender neutral)

8. your biggest pet peeve!
Complicating spellings for no reason, or the K/C switching. I know a K.hl03 and a K0l.e sibset which bugs me

2 Likes
  1. Rosmerta. A goddess of fertility and abundance in Gallo-Roman religion.
  2. Probably still [name_f]Rosmerta[/name_f], or maybe even [name_f]Calliope[/name_f], because of the pronunciation issues from where I live.
  3. Atticus.
  4. It suits me well. I see it as eccentric and old-fashioned.
  5. Rosmerta. Elspeth. Basilie. Hosea.
  6. [name_f]Valencia[/name_f], initially. But I kinda like it now.
  7. Lately, Sparrow.
  8. When people openly mock names they dislike.
2 Likes
  1. Mariposa is Spanish and I love it
  2. A lot but probably Cleopatra
  3. Alice is one of them I guess, just way too popular where I live that as lost it’s charm
  4. I actually like my name a lot and think that it suits me very well, one thing that I love is the amount of nicknames I can go by
  5. Gertrude, I actually really like it but no one else seems to do as well
  6. Probably Ana just because I have to many friends and family with that name that I don’t know how to refer to them anymore
  7. I really like a lot but some that I like on boys and girls equally: Rowan, Jordan, Dylan, Willow, Ezra, …
  8. When parents give their kids the same first name and then only change the middle, I know 3 sisters: Ana Maria, Ana Filipa and Ana Rosa;
    Also when people don’t like a name and talk trash about it like if you don’t like it don’t use it but if no one asked for your opinion why say something bad about someone else’s name?
2 Likes

your favorite name from a different culture, religion or mythology?
So hard!
Culture: [name_f]Priya[/name_f], [name_f]Catalina[/name_f], or [name_f]Halina[/name_f]
Mythology: [name_u]Mars[/name_u]
a name you love, but are too afraid to tell family/friends because you think they’ll judge you?
[name_f]Waterlily[/name_f] :,)
a nameberry favorite that you actually don’t like?
Not sure if it’s a favourite but maybe Eliza? She and I just don’t vibe together very well.
something you love about your own name?
I never thought [name_f]Grace[/name_f] was anything special until an adult began to talk about how lovely it was that it’s a virtue. So I like that! As well as my name’s combined meaning ‘graciouss and youthful’.
a name you love, but everyone else on nameberry seems te dislike?
Oh, I’m not sure! Maybe Fen?
a name a friend or family member chose for their baby, that you actually don’t like?
Hmm, I wouldn’t say I dislike it but my cousins name is Hen.ry, which isn’t really my favourite.
your favorite gender neutral name?
[name_u]Eden[/name_u], [name_u]Blair[/name_u], and Briar.
your biggest pet peeve!
When people say a name feels ‘childish’ or ‘unprofessional’. I just don’t really find it necessary, people with ‘unprofessional’ names can still achieve great things and do well in life.

2 Likes

What is…

1. your favorite name from a different culture, religion or mythology?
From a different religion probably Bodhi or Metta. I’ve just always loved their meanings. Another name from a different culture I love is Aoife.

2. a name you love, but are too afraid to tell family/friends because you think they’ll judge you?
Umm. Like all of them :joy:🥲 But I think I’m most fearful for what they’ll think of Juniper and Cove. I also love Wilbur, and I feel like that won’t go over well.

3. a nameberry favorite that you actually don’t like?
Sylvester “Sly”. It’s cute for other people, just nms. I prefer Silas “Si”.

4. something you love about your own name?
It’s classic, easy to pronounce, and very soft. I also love that it’s in the Bible.

5. a name you love, but everyone else on nameberry seems to dislike?
I feel like NO ONE ever talks about Pippa :pleading_face:

6. a name a friend or family member chose for their baby, that you actually don’t like?
This hasn’t happened yet, but my closest friend loves the names Jordan and Brandon for her children. Cute for her, I could just never :joy:

7. your favorite gender neutral name?
I love so many, but my oldest favorite is Rowan so I’ll have to go with that. I tend to like gender neutral names on boys :relieved:

8. your biggest pet peeve!
I don’t know if this is even relevant, but when people announce their baby’s name before it is born! Like howww? I would have ideas and I understand knowing the vibe and having a good name chosen but I would have to meet them first !

3 Likes
  1. I don’t know about just one, but currently I loving [name_f]Mirai[/name_f] and [name_f]Zuwena[/name_f],
  2. Saga. It is sort of a word name, but I love the strong G.
  3. [name_f]Primrose[/name_f] I guess.
  4. I like how it is familiar, and simple, and people usually spell it right on the first or second try…
  5. I’ll come edit this later if I find one.
  6. I have a little cousin [name_u]Jaden[/name_u], though I don’t know the spelling. I think the only problem is association and hearing it so often.
  7. [name_u]Kelly[/name_u], if it counts as gender neutral, and I would prefer it on a boy. Sadly it might not be usable these days…
  8. the -leigh at the end of names.
1 Like
  1. I love so many names from other cultures! I’m going to go with [name_f]Kalila[/name_f] (Arabic) and Sarala (Indian) because I never see them mentioned
  2. Hmm [name_u]Firefly[/name_u], [name_f]Wisteria[/name_f], Stiorra, [name_f]Mehetabel[/name_f], [name_f]Tirzah[/name_f], Æthelflæd, Eanflæd
  3. [name_u]Oliver[/name_u], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_u]Marlowe[/name_u], [name_f]Lilith[/name_f], [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] (There are probably others)
  4. The meaning
  5. Hmm [name_f]Bleuenn[/name_f] maybe
  6. [name_f]Elara[/name_f], [name_f]Bethany[/name_f]
  7. [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
  8. [name_u]Wyn[/name_u] endings on girls on originally Welsh names (unless they are authentic Cornish names)
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I love Hermione! And Freydís! Also not a massive fan of Milo! (Maybe because of the Tweenies)

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Finally another [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] lover!
Freydís has been my favorite for a while now, will hopefully use it someday!

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I love [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], I saw on the nameberry birth announcements recently there was a [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] [name_f]Georgia[/name_f] Bea! So gorgeous

Also love Cove!

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I actually think there’s a few of us on here, I’ve definitely seen it on a few polls on the quick poll thread!

1 Like