Pretentious names please apply

General Name Discussion
21

Jenavieve makes me kinda puzzled, actually. What was wrong with [name]Genevieve[/name]?

Aaaanyway, I like so many of these suggestions. I’ve also scrapped one the argument against [name]Ptolemy[/name] was too much to ignore, especially considering how much my husband dislikes it.

sweet1792: hope you’re not mad about finding [name]Cassius[/name] on my list. I love it, actually.

thetxbelle: I like [name]Bryony[/name]. I don’t think it works with our last name, but I like it.

mermuse: I love your brain-dump list! Would you believe [name]Amarantha[/name] has been taken by a good friend? What were the odds of that?! lol.

Now, combos, anyone have any ideas? That’s where I fall down.

Using ideas I’ve stolen blatantly from this thread, which I am so happy I started, I have:

Boys
[name]Lysander[/name] [name]Phineas[/name]
[name]Peregrine[/name] [name]Hale[/name]
[name]Dashiell[/name] [name]Peregrine[/name]
[name]Cassius[/name] [name]Gideon[/name]
[name]Lazarus[/name] [name]Quentin[/name]
[name]Rex[/name] [name]Sterling[/name] (Okay, maybe not, but doesn’t he sound like a old-time radio-show hero?)

Okay obviously not going to have a [name]Lazarus[/name] and a [name]Lysander[/name], much less a kid answering to “[name]Dash[/name]” and another to “[name]Cash[/name]” this is just a list of ones I really like.

Girls
[name]Isis[/name] [name]Rosamund[/name]
[name]Marie[/name] [name]Laetitia[/name]
[name]Iolanthe[/name] [name]Thomasin[/name] & slightly more phonetic sister, [name]Iola[/name] [name]Tamsin[/name]
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Tabitha[/name]
[name]Imogen[/name] [name]Aurora[/name]

Likes? Dislikes? Other ideas?

22

Well, she picked Jenavieve so her daughter could be called [name]Jena[/name] for short. And I misspelled [name]Whitley[/name] earlier. Oh, and I’m not mad about [name]Cassius[/name] being on your list, I can see how people would think it pretentious, so I completely understand why it would be on your list.

I personally don’t find [name]Marie[/name] to be pretentious, unless you planned on telling everyone who asks her name that she was named after [name]Marie[/name] [name]Antoinette[/name], that would be both pretentious and annoying.

I think longer names can be seen as pretentious, mostly because you expect the other person not to call her/him by a nickname. It’s like always calling your kid [name]Maximillian[/name] (I find this to be a very pretentious name), and never calling him [name]Maxie[/name] or [name]Max[/name]. A girls name that I always think of (although I love it) is [name]Anneliese[/name] (or a variation). The obvious nickname would either be [name]Elise[/name], or [name]Ann[/name]/[name]Anna[/name]. I think most people would automatically assume you were the prissy type if you always wanted your child to be called [name]Anneliese[/name] or [name]Maximillian[/name].

23

My favorite names are extremely pretentious…but I love them.

24

Nearly all of my top girls names ([name]Isadora[/name], [name]Pandora[/name], [name]Seraphina[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name], [name]Ophelia[/name], [name]Arabella[/name], and [name]Persephone[/name]) are on this list. And I plan on using [name]Persephone[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name], [name]Seraphina[/name], [name]Isadora[/name] and [name]Arabella[/name]!

25

I know someone suggested [name]Felicia[/name] already but what about the alternative [name]Felicity[/name].

26

Honestly these strike me as some of the least pretentious listed in the thread since they are both alternative/misspellings that for me, downgrade the name.

27

Turns out my sister has pretentious taste too! I can’t use these because they’re hers and first cousins with shared names is weird even if they’re Top Ten names and downright bizarre with obscure ones. But I was amused to see how many of them popped up in this thread:

Girls
[name]Raphaela[/name] [name]Irene[/name]
[name]Lucinda[/name] [name]Ruth[/name]
[name]Penelope[/name] [name]Therese[/name] or [name]Theresa[/name] [name]Penelope[/name]

Boys
[name]Ezekiel[/name] [name]Hamish[/name]
[name]Tobias[/name] [name]Naphtali[/name]
[name]Alaric[/name] Zadkiel

They’re pretty good I thought, she’s much better at deciding on combos than I am.

28

Pretentious Names:
[name]Augustus[/name]
[name]Victoria[/name]
[name]Francesca[/name]
[name]Charles[/name]
[name]Teodora[/name]
[name]Patricia[/name]
[name]Primrose[/name]
Caprica
[name]Bentley[/name]
[name]Mercedes[/name]

29

[name]Lysander[/name] [name]Phineas[/name] - Great! I think [name]Lysander[/name] is one of the more wearable “pretentious” names for a boy. It’s also a [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] name, which for me would be a bonus. It’s only ever mentioned once in the books though, so most people won’t associate it with [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name].
[name]Peregrine[/name] [name]Hale[/name] - I like it, but not quite as much as [name]Lysander[/name]. [name]Hale[/name] is a preppy private boys’ school near where I live, so I really get the vibe you’re after from this name.
[name]Dashiell[/name] [name]Peregrine[/name] - I’m not really a fan of [name]Dashiell[/name], although I can’t quite put my finger on why. I also get more of a hipster feel from it than your other choices.
[name]Cassius[/name] [name]Gideon[/name] - [name]How[/name] would you pronounce [name]Cassius[/name]? Personally, I prefer the [name]CASS[/name]-ee-us pronunciation to [name]CASH[/name]-us. In general it’s not my favourite though.
[name]Lazarus[/name] [name]Quentin[/name] - [name]Love[/name] it! This name looks and sounds awesome – there’s something about the combination of letters in this name that just really appeals to me.
[name]Rex[/name] [name]Sterling[/name] - I would probably use [name]Sterling[/name] [name]Rex[/name] instead, as [name]Rex[/name] [name]Sterling[/name] runs together so it sounds like “wreck stirling”.

Girls
[name]Isis[/name] [name]Rosamund[/name] - Beautiful, love it!
[name]Marie[/name] [name]Laetitia[/name] - I’m afraid [name]Marie[/name] doesn’t excite me much, but [name]Laetitia[/name] does spice it up a bit.
[name]Iolanthe[/name] [name]Thomasin[/name] & slightly more phonetic sister, [name]Iola[/name] [name]Tamsin[/name] - I love, love, love [name]Iolanthe[/name] [name]Thomasin[/name]! In fact, if you use [name]Thomasin[/name] in any way, shape or form then I’ll love you forever! [name]Iola[/name] [name]Tamsin[/name] doesn’t quite have the same ring to me.
[name]Annabel[/name] [name]Tabitha[/name] - I like it, but it’s probably the most mainstream of your names. I prefer [name]Tabitha[/name] [name]Annabel[/name].
[name]Imogen[/name] [name]Aurora[/name] - Nice, but much more princessy than your other names.

30

A reverse for [name]Quentin[/name] [name]Lazarus[/name] would be amazing! [name]Isis[/name] [name]Rosamund[/name] is my favorite from the girls list, so elegant!

31

Not sure if I already replied but:

[name]Adair[/name] and [name]Atticus[/name] just scream pretentiousness to me. Like seriously so.

Also names that are all about honoring family members with no consideration that the child might not like being named [name]Agnes[/name] for example. I’m weird with honoring family with names. Sometimes I love it, most times I can’t stand it. I like it if it’s creatively done, or in a subtle way. Like giving the child the same middle name as their grandfather. But when it’s obvious, and there’s nothing “original” it bothers me and seem so pretentious.

32

[name]Atticus[/name] is safe from me. I’d probably be more likely to use Calpurnia. I know too many little boys (all really young) named [name]Atticus[/name].