Leon or Lionel

DH and I were talking about names we like recently and [name]Leon[/name] got brought up, as it is his mother’s maiden name (she is from Portugal and DH was born there) and would be a great way to honor her. I like it, but am not crazy about it because in [name]America[/name] is feel like it has a “redneck” connotation or something, (does anyone else feel this way? and i don’t mean to offend anyone with the redneck comment, I’m Texan born and bred & just didn’t know how else to describe it!) but thought that if we chose another name in the “[name]Leo[/name]” family we could still honor her. I came across [name]Lionel[/name] on the “[name]Royal[/name] Names” list and loved it, as it feels hip but still has that classic feel we love in names. FYI: [name]Leo[/name] and [name]Leopold[/name] are not an option. They remind DH of [name]Leo[/name] Dicaprio, which I have no problem with :), but he loathes them.

[name]Leon[/name] or [name]Lionel[/name]? And which ones go better with our top names?

Boys:

[name]Theodore[/name] nn [name]Teddy[/name]
[name]Cormac[/name] nn [name]Mac[/name]
[name]Rufus[/name]
[name]Henry[/name] nn [name]Hal[/name]
[name]Oliver[/name] nn [name]Ollie[/name]
[name]Joshua[/name]

Girls:

[name]Harriet[/name] nn [name]Hattie[/name]
[name]Philippa[/name] nn [name]Pippa[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Lucy[/name]

I have been really digging [name]Leon[/name] lately. I think [name]Leone[/name] would also make a great middle name for a boy or [name]Leonie[/name] for a girl. [name]Leon[/name] is a very hip name in Europe and maybe it will catch on here. [name]Lionel[/name] makes me think of a lion or a trainset.

I love both [name]Leon[/name] and [name]Lionel[/name]. I think [name]Lionel[/name] goes slightly better with your other names though. I dont get the “redneck” image at all when I hear the name [name]Leon[/name]. I’ve met plently of rednecks and none were named [name]Leon[/name]. [name]Lionel[/name] does have a little more spunk and substance than [name]Leon[/name] does. Plus, if you dont want the name [name]Leo[/name], you might not want to choose [name]Leon[/name].

[name]Lionel[/name]!

[name]Lionel[/name] for sure!

I think it goes beautifully with [name]Theodore[/name], [name]Rufus[/name], [name]Henry[/name], [name]Oliver[/name] & all of your girls names.
Seeing as you posted a list, just want to say I [name]LOVE[/name]: [name]Theodore[/name] nn [name]Teddy[/name] & [name]Eleanor[/name]. They are my top 2 names. I also love your entire girls list, as well as [name]Lionel[/name] & [name]Rufus[/name], and I really like [name]Henry[/name], [name]Oliver[/name] & [name]Cormac[/name].

I like both names a lot, but I slightly prefer [name]Leon[/name] because I can’t ever quite shake the [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Richie[/name] association.

I’ve only known two [name]Leons[/name] in my life, and both were from South [name]America[/name] (and Spanish-speaking), so I don’t have the redneck association at all for this name. Instead, it just has a Spanish connotation for me.

I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Lionel[/name]! That would definitely be my pick. I think it would go great with [name]Rufus[/name], [name]Oliver[/name], [name]Harriet[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name], and [name]Beatrix[/name].