Firstly, ike all of my naming “problems”, this one sounds ridiculous in my head, but I thought it was worth having a shot at this anyway. [name_f]My[/name_f] favourite boy’s name of all time is [name_m]Dougal[/name_m] (I have probably been in love with it for about 7 years), and yet recently, I’m having trouble imagining it on an ‘old’ person. [name_u]Baby[/name_u] and teenage Dougals come naturally to me, but after about 25, my mind goes blank. Does anyone have any idea on how to come to terms with this ‘anti-aging’ factor? Have you experienced it before? I love the name, but couldn’t bear to give my son a name that will not age along with him.
Secondly, to try to rekindle my love for [name_m]Dougal[/name_m], I have been searching Youtube for songs which have the same sort of feel as the name has for me. Are there any songs which feel dark, mysterious, sad but resonant and strong to you? (quite the list of adjectives there, got a tad carried away) “Iron [name_u]Sky[/name_u]” by [name_m]Paolo[/name_m] Nutini is one I have found, as well as the mournful Woodkid “[name_f]Happy[/name_f]” remix. Violins and bass is what I am envisaging, but whether such songs exist remains to be seen. Thank you berries, as always, for putting up with the endless imaginary rambles in which I seem to find myself…
[name_m]Dougal[/name_m] is new to me…maybe I’m pronouncing it wrong, but it sounds silly in my head. I have heard of surname [name_m]McDougal[/name_m]…is it like that (sans Mc-)?
Were you able to imagine it before or did you just not imagine it? I have this sort of theory that is why older parents tend to name more conservatively than younger ones. When you are young in general I think it’s hard to imagine being an adult and you tend to have some ideas about how it should be, but when you go out into the world you are interacting with a wider range of ages and you get a better sense of what it’s like to be older I think, through co-workers and the like. So you start to think about names in terms of how it would appear in middle or old age. When you are young, most people just spend time with peers their age, their parents and other authority figures, who are of course, old and stuffy and you as a young person have all the answers, if only they would just listen to you! But of course as you get older you realize that there is nothing new under the sun, so all those great ideas you had were thought of before and probably better …and of course things and people (and yourself, even) don’t end up being as straightforward as you thought. So, in general, I think older parents have seen or experienced complications with names as an adult person, rather than just as a child where say, having a really cutesy name is a boon, but as a middle aged person can be not so much.
So, there are names I’ve loved as a child and at the time I didn’t think about how it would age at all. Now that I do, my tastes haven’t changed completely but many of those names I once liked are now regulated to guilty pleasures.
However, I can totally see a middle aged [name_m]Dougal[/name_m] myself.
The only Dougals I know are middle-aged or older. Definitely an old man’s name to me! I’d have trouble seeing it on a baby myself. Funny how we all see names differently.
@charlieandperry1 - Thank you, I’m taking your advice and googling famous Dougals now; unfortunately, Father [name_m]Dougal[/name_m] (of whom I had never previously heard) seems to be the top result at the moment… Thank you again, and for the songs - I know I’m probably fretting needlessly, but that’s the namelover’s curse, I suppose!
@rkrd - [name_m]Dougal[/name_m] is DOO-guhl, not like [name_u]Douglas[/name_u] - I have never heard the surname [name_m]McDougal[/name_m], but it’s very probable that it’s pronounced the same, what with Mc- being son and all that.
@anaxandra - That’s a very interesting theory, and one I think sounds quite likely. However, I have always been able to imagine a ‘grown-up’ [name_m]Dougal[/name_m] before, and it’s only recently that I haven’t - maybe I’m gradually becoming more immature? What a dreadful thought… Thank you!
@spyri - Isn’t it funny? I have only ever met one (teenage) [name_m]Dougal[/name_m], so that might be why I’m seeing it differently, and, perhaps, wrongly. Thank you very much!
@truenature - Thank you for the reassurance, it seems most are in accordance with you!
What a dreadful thought… Thank you!