I actually think that [name]River[/name] is quite nice. But that’s beside the point I’m writing about. I’m 20 years old, and before reading your post I had no idea who [name]River[/name] [name]Phoenix[/name] was. I actually had to look him up on Wikipedia. If people my age don’t know who this person is, I wouldn’t worry about your son’s contemporaries, who are 20 years younger, having negative associations.
So if you really love this name, don’t let fear of negative associations stop you!
If this name is your all-time favorite and you and your other half love it, then go for it. But if you are having doubts, then you might consider using it as a middle name or using the Italian variant [name]Rio[/name] as so many others have suggested. [name]Rio[/name] is exotic, it means river, and it has a nice flow to it. Also, [name]River[/name] is sexually ambivalent and was used as a female character’s name somewhat recently in the movie [name]Serenity[/name] and sci-fi series Firefly.