What names do you love, but wouldn’t name your own kids (for whatever reasons)?
[name]Evangeline[/name] and [name]Genevieve[/name]. [name]Both[/name] utterly gorgeous, but I can’t actually imagine myself saying them over and over. It feels too regal for me, or something.
[name]Arabella[/name] and [name]Cecily[/name]. [name]Both[/name] seem completely stunning to me, and I really like their literary connections, yet they seem a bit too much for a modern child. Also, I fear what my parents and others would say if I were to name my child either of these names. I like that they can be shortened to [name]Ari[/name] and Ceci, though, and I like the sound of them together. I would do something like [name]Arabella[/name] [name]Margaret[/name] and [name]Cecily[/name] [name]Catherine[/name] to balance out the feminine frills of the first names…
[name]Annabelle[/name], believe it or not, because as cute and classic as it is, I can’t imagine [name]Annabelle[/name] as a grown-up name!
[name]Avis[/name] and [name]Portia[/name] – I think they both have a very feminine yet strong sound, but the brand name connection is too obvious.
[name]Chanel[/name] and [name]Elspeth[/name] for girls, [name]Axel[/name] and [name]Talan[/name] for boys.
[name]Chanel[/name] because of the designer line [name]Coco[/name] [name]Chanel[/name] which is huge all over the world. [name]Elspeth[/name] even though I love it, it has a harsh look and people would probably mistake her for an [name]Elizabeth[/name] all the time. Plus [name]MIL[/name] to be is named [name]Elizabeth[/name] and I don’t want to name my daughter after her. I [name]LOVE[/name] the nn [name]Elsa[/name], though. [name]May[/name] just use [name]Elsa[/name] as a FN.
[name]Axel[/name] because of the car part and also because of [name]Axl[/name] [name]Rose[/name]. [name]Talan[/name] because of the ‘claw’ association.
I just came across Aponi, which means butterfly in native american (not sure which tribe). I love this for a middle name in the right context.
I’ve also always loved [name]Francesca[/name] but seems too Italian and frilly for my last name.
Last names can be quite limiting, don’t you think?!
I also used to love [name]Lauren[/name], [name]Breanne[/name], and [name]Renae[/name] as a kid, though they seem dated now.
[name]Poesy[/name] - maybe I’d be that crazy sometimes in the future, though
[name]Bella[/name] - I think it’s just gorgeous. I hope that in five, ten years, everybody will forgot about Twilight
[name]Ophelia[/name] - character too depressing
[name]Echo[/name] - it’s too crazy, but I love the sound of it
[name]Hero[/name] - same here
[name]Emma[/name] - it’s too popular, shame
[name]Isabeau[/name] - I love it, but the beau ending is too boyish for me
[name]Penelope[/name] - I love the sound of it, but it means “a duck”
[name]Sophia[/name] - too popular
[name]Bartholomew[/name] - too complicated? I don’t know
[name]Leander[/name]
[name]James[/name] - too popular
[name]Homer[/name] - sadly, first association is the one with Simpsons
[name]Aidan[/name] - way too popular
I like [name]Penelope[/name] because of the meaning “a duck” but I don’t like th sound of it. LOL
[name]Jezebel[/name] - I love the look and sound of it but could never use it because of the bad association in the bible.
[name]Pandora[/name]- I just think that in about 5th grade when you learn about greek history having a girl in the class named [name]PANDORA[/name] as in pandora’s box would not be the best thing…
[name]Olivia[/name] and [name]Ava[/name]- way to popular.
What names would you use but can’t because it would be directly copying a friend or relative?
One of mine, [name]Melody[/name]. And, [name]Elodie[/name] seems too close. [name]Love[/name] them both - particularly [name]Elodie[/name]!
Yes, love these both but the popularity is diluting them!
Similarly to [name]Sarah[/name] and [name]Jessica[/name] in the 80s. Although, I think [name]Sarah[/name] really weathers popularity well. I think the [name]Sara[/name] spelling freshens it up though.
[name]Astrid[/name], [name]Hero[/name], [name]Pandora[/name] & [name]Leo[/name] ([name]Leo[/name] simply because I adore the name [name]Piper[/name], and the Charmed connection is too strong)
I [name]LOVE[/name]:
[name]Anouk[/name]
[name]Paloma[/name]
[name]Meade[/name]
All girl names. But my spouse has vetoed them and I can’t picture ever really using them.
[name]Evangeline[/name]- just a lot of name, and not great with my last name
[name]Daphne[/name]- hard to get past the daffy connection
[name]Verity[/name]- too out there
[name]Sophie[/name]- too popular
[name]Jude[/name]- I can see it skyrocketing in popularity
[name]River[/name]- I love it, but couldn’t see myself using it
[name]Deacon[/name]- a church officer
[name]Euan[/name]- I love the way it looks, not so much the way it sounds
[name]Christian[/name]- too, well, [name]Christian[/name]. Same with [name]Cruz[/name], [name]Croix[/name], [name]Cross[/name].
Also names like [name]Lark[/name] and [name]Snow[/name].
And [name]Bruin[/name]! I want a son named [name]Bruin[/name] but I know I’ll never “go there.”
Also I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Juliet[/name], but fear the day when my daughter finds out what happened to [name]Juliet[/name].
[name]Hadassah[/name] - I’m not Jewish but I love this name for some reason.
[name]Sophia[/name] – too popular
[name]Francesca[/name] – too Italian
[name]Madeline[/name] – too many versions of this name. Worried that it
wouldn’t be pronounced “Mad-uh-[name]LINE[/name]”
[name]Evelyn[/name] - I love this name but it blends too much with the
Katelyns, Madelyns, Jaylyns for me.
[name]Josephine[/name] - my sister’s already claimed it. 
[name]Adele[/name] — would honor a family member I don’t want to honor
[name]Katherine[/name] – worried about “[name]Kathy[/name]”, “[name]Kat[/name]” as nicknames
[name]Agnes[/name] - doens’t work with my last name
[name]Margaret[/name] - doesn’t work with my last name
[name]Oliver[/name] - doesn’t work with my last name
[name]Angus[/name] - husband only thinks of cows
[name]Peter[/name] - my husband says its slang meaning is not good
[name]Thomas[/name] - reminds me of a painful situation
[name]Benjamin[/name] – brother-in-law’s name
[name]Timothy[/name] – too close to [name]Kim[/name]
[name]Walter[/name] – don’t like the alliteration with my last name
[name]Sebastian[/name] – don’t like any of the nicknames
I am 50 years old now, so I’m not having any more kids.
Girls
[name]Alice[/name] - It ends in an “s” sound. My last name starts with a “ch” sound. Not a great combo. But [name]Alice[/name] is my second favorite name for a girl other than [name]Veronica[/name]. Of course my very favorite name for a girl is [name]Elizabeth[/name], but that has already been used in our family.
[name]Andrea[/name] - It has so many pronunciations. It would be great in the middle.
[name]Annika[/name] - I would probably name my daughter [name]Anna[/name] instead because I would worry that she would get tired of [name]Annika[/name]. The girl we know whose name is [name]Annika[/name] is so tired of her name.
[name]Brenna[/name] - I just love this name, but I think it is kind of dated. [name]Brynn[/name] is a great alternative, but I don’t think I could name my baby [name]Brynn[/name].
[name]Caroline[/name] - It’s getting a little bit dated, I think. But I just love it!
[name]Catherine[/name] - There are so many Katherines with the nn’s [name]Kate[/name] and [name]Katie[/name] that I would even hesitate to use [name]Catherine[/name] nn [name]Cate[/name]. But I love [name]Catherine[/name]/[name]Katherine[/name] so much.
[name]Gwendolyn[/name] - my daughter hates this name, but I think it’s cool.
[name]Millicent[/name] - Nobody in our family loves [name]Millicent[/name] except for me.
[name]Philippa[/name] nn [name]Pippa[/name] - I’m worried that she would be called pee pee. But I just love [name]Pippa[/name]! I know of one man in [name]England[/name] whose wife is named [name]Pippa[/name]. He calls her Pips.
[name]Rose[/name] - see the [name]Alice[/name] problem
Boys
[name]Chester[/name] - Not good with my last name.
[name]Harvey[/name] - ditto
[name]Julian[/name] - My niece is named [name]Julia[/name].
[name]Miles[/name] - I’m not excited about its meaning.
[name]Nicholas[/name] - For some reason the “s” at the end of [name]Nicholas[/name] doesn’t bother me with the “Ch” at the beginning of my last name. But [name]Nicholas[/name] has been so popular that it’s losing its luster. Sometimes I wish I had named my son [name]Nicholas[/name] because it’s just so handsome, and I love, love its meaning. But then we would have missed out on the name [name]Peter[/name] which is amazing. [name]Peter[/name] [name]Nicholas[/name] is great, but then we would have missed out on [name]Peter[/name] [name]Sebastian[/name] which is so gorgeous.
[name]Victor[/name] - This name is great, but it doesn’t sound the least bit British, Celtic, or Colonial or Southern American to me. That’s my background. For me, a baby’s name in my family should sound kind of like everyone else’s name in the family. If I named my daughter, say, [name]Vincent[/name] or [name]Victor[/name], I would worry that he might feel too unusual next to [name]Jane[/name], [name]Julia[/name], [name]Matthew[/name], [name]Peter[/name], [name]Laura[/name], [name]Alexander[/name], and [name]Sophia[/name]. But I do really love the name [name]Leo[/name]. [name]Leo[/name] is pretty different than all of the above cousin and sibling names. But I love [name]Leo[/name] so much that I wouldn’t think twice about using [name]Lionel[/name] nn [name]Leo[/name].
[name]William[/name] - [name]Love[/name] [name]William[/name]. But I have such a hard time thinking of a middle name for him. I thought of [name]Seth[/name]. But my husband hates the name [name]Seth[/name]. I have one Great Grandpa named [name]William[/name] and another named [name]Seth[/name].
Sorry, this post is starting to get really boring!
For girls, I love the name [name]Elizabeth[/name], but it sounds way too formal for me to ever use. Other than that, I can’t really think of anything.
For boys, there quite a few:
[name]Chauncey[/name] - love this name and I associate it with one of my favorite basketball players, but I always say that name in a French accent.
[name]Carmelo[/name] - again, I associate it with one of my favorite players, but I just don’t think anyone but [name]Carmelo[/name] [name]Anthony[/name] can pull that name off.
[name]Chester[/name]/[name]Dexter[/name] - love both names so much, but I just don’t think they sound like they could be taken seriously. Except [name]Dexter[/name], which is more usable than [name]Chester[/name].
[name]Christopher[/name] - I truly love this name, but it has the word [name]Christ[/name] in it. I could never, ever use any name associated with a religion or religious text, being an atheist and all.
[name]Aidan[/name] - even when I do have kids a few years down the road, this name will always be considered uber trendy. Plus, I don’t think it would age well.