I’ve heard of the ‘anal’ connection with [name]Lana[/name], but it wouldn’t stop me using it. It’s one of my favourites. It’s pretty and simple, and has a ring of vintage Hollywood-glamour about it which I just love (although my profile image of early-[name]Nancy[/name] Sinatra sort of gives that away).
I love the name [name]Jude[/name] as a nickname and I think it’s a really amzing name meaning ‘happy/praise’. I had thought about [name]Judah[/name] but like [name]Jonas[/name] instead of [name]Jonah[/name] and [name]Tobias[/name] instead of [name]Tobiah[/name], I much prefer [name]Judas[/name] to [name]Judah[/name]; except, I cannot call a son [name]Judas[/name] due to the whole [name]Judas[/name]/[name]Jesus[/name] association. Same goes with Lucifer. Lucy I liked for a girl but if I hear ‘JuicyLucy’ Loose Lucy’ or ‘Lucykaboosey’ one more time, I will commit crime D:
[name]Madeline[/name] is another I personally couldn’t use due to [name]Madeline[/name] McCann connotations. There are a lot of gaelic names I love but can’t use due to the political state of my country and opinions of local older people.
I also ADORE the names Sweeney (little hero) and Todd (fox)…but “These are my sons: Sweeney and Todd” or worse “This is my son, Sweeney Todd (LN)” somehow I don’t think would go down to well.
I never thought about [name]Lana[/name] spelled backward… I do remember in American Pie (was it?) where some guy says [name]Naomi[/name] spelled backwards is “I moan” and that turned me off that name.
I loved the name [name]Ariel[/name] growing up (pre-little Mermaid) but it has been ruined by the [name]Little[/name] Mermaid.
I recently suggested [name]Eleanor[/name], nn [name]Nelly[/name] to my husband and he said no way b/c of the rapper [name]Nelly[/name] (we live in St. [name]Louis[/name] so it’s even worse : (
This may sound incredibly ignorant, but why would the name [name]India[/name] be offensive? I’ve heard of more than one [name]India[/name] in my small town, and I live in Wisconsin. People have been saying they’re afraid of naming their kid [name]India[/name], but I was just wondering why.
[name]Dorian[/name] from [name]Dorian[/name] [name]Gray[/name]
I [name]LOVE[/name] the name [name]Dorian[/name]. And I would still consider using it…but I know some people might have a hard time getting over the character connotations.
Most of my animals have… unusable names.
[name]One[/name] of my cats’ names is [name]Desdemona[/name]. I felt fine using it for an animal but for a person would be a little bit different. I wouldn’t use it for a person because 1. of the [name]Othello[/name] character. Brutally murdered and all that. 2. It means ‘misery’. Meaning doesn’t really mean much t me, but still. 3. It has ‘demon’ right in the center of the name. It’s distracting.
A few years ago I had two sibling cats that passed away within a year of each other and their names were Viscera (blood and guts and all that) & Carrion (dead meat, carcass). I named them when I was 7. lol
Pets are fun to put unusable names on but if I met a person with those names, I’d be shocked.
I agree with everyone about [name]Lolita[/name], which is so sad because I adore the name. Honestly, the character alone wouldn’t turn me off, it’s the fact that society miss-uses it to refer to everything sexually preconscious; I know that any child names [name]Lolita[/name] would be tormented.
(I say miss-uses under the circumstances that [name]Dolores[/name] [name]Haze[/name] was quite frankly raped. She was the victim, despite what most people thought when the book was first published. Sadly, people still hold onto the old fashioned and sexist view of her character and turned it into a derogatory term. Anyway, I digress).
- [name]Duana[/name] - too many possible pronunciations; don’t like [name]DWAIN[/name]-uh and Doo-[name]WAYNE[/name]-uh
- [name]Priscilla[/name] - “priss” connotations; “old” meaning
- [name]Petronella[/name] - love it, but possible associations include petrol, petrochemical and citronella
- [name]Plenty[/name] of old Germanic names - I know people in general tend to hate this category. I don’t have kids, but I suppose this is something to consider even when naming characters.
[name]Lolita[/name] as a nn for [name]Dolores[/name] is one I can’t use, either! 
That said, at some point the associations will wear off. The book and its fame may always be around because it is a modern classic, but the associations won’t be there forever. Like [name]Silas[/name] Marner - people still know the book but the associations are no longer stuck to [name]Silas[/name].
Another one for me is [name]Medea[/name]. Unusable since 300BCE.
[name]Medea[/name] tops this list for me too. Such a pretty name…
[name]Ebeneezer[/name], not offensive per say, but DH looks at me like I’ve lost my mind when I suggest it, love the nn [name]Eben[/name].
Another I love is [name]Sharona[/name], but cannot get past the minorly offensive song lyrics.
@amberdaydream this is completly off topic but what does “BCE” stand for? I’m intrigued.
Before Common [name]Era[/name] / Before [name]Christian[/name] [name]Era[/name].
ETA: Essentially, it’s just a more modern way of saying BC; has the same usage - they both refer to the same time period.
[name]Lolita[/name] for sure. [name]Love[/name] the name but yeah, totally not usable. To add insult to injury, I found out last year that it used to be a family name until the book was published and ruined it forever.
[name]Lilith[/name] is the other taboo name that I love. Pretty name but I just can’t get past the whole killing babies part of the legend surrounding it.
[name]Lolita[/name] is a gorgeous name, really. And I love the spunky sound of [name]Jezebel[/name], but society unfortunately…
I also really like [name]Roxanne[/name], but I’m a little bit wary of using it since I grew up listening to the song about [name]Roxanne[/name] the prostitute. (Doesn’t usually stop me, though.)
Harlot. [name]Harlow[/name] can help…
and Nymphet…
I agree with others that [name]Lolita[/name] is such a stunning name, but the stigma is just too strong… I’m tempted to encourage people to use it, only for the right reasons of course that they love the name and not the connatations. And because it will be the child who shapes it with their own personality. But that would be cruel to the child, society will probably be cruel so I’m sad to pass this aside.
I like the name [name]Lolita[/name], and I never associated it with the book, I associate it with the Japanese clothing style:
So that’s what keeps me from using it…
[name]Giselle[/name]. Its so pretty, but I mentioned it to my husband who made a face at me. He told me to think about the first syllable. Now its ruined.
Also, [name]Ivy[/name]. Poisin [name]Ivy[/name], anyone?
@amberdaydream thanks! I was thinking “before [name]Christ[/name]…existed?!..no that can’t be right!” 