Totally Undecided-HELP - pick your top 2 & least fave of these unusual/british names

Boy Names
1

So, we are 1 week away from delivery - and totally undecided! My favorite name for years was [name]Hugo[/name] (e.g., I named my cat - now deceased, that 13 years ago…). I still love it and was going to use it with this baby, BUT, with the movie and all, it has gotten insanely popular. Plus, everything thinks I am naming him after the movie, which is annoying. [name]One[/name] of the most important criteria for me is that a name be unique, so that kinda spoils it for me. However, we still like it. We also like a lot of other names and want something that evokes unusual, artistic, british, countryside, strong, intelligent, etc… Here are the names we have so far. Please let us know what 2 names are your favorites (and what kind of person they evoke for you), and which name is your least favorite. Also, feel free to make your own suggestions…

[name]Hugo[/name]
[name]Fielding[/name]
[name]Burl[/name]
Bixby
[name]Dashiell[/name]

2

I’m not sure what you mean about insanely popular. [name]Do[/name] you actually know lots of people using it or are you seeing it discussed in fora more? In the US at least it was last ranked 439 and is trending downward. While the movie may well give it a bump, it is way too far from many peoples’ taste in my opinion to spike too high. The highest it’s ever ranked is around 269. I never saw the movie and wouldn’t at all think you were naming him after the movie, and I think when the movie is less fresh, that will fade.

So, my favorites are [name]Hugo[/name] (like it, plus your love for it is clear) and [name]Dashiell[/name] (so handsome!).

My least favorite is [name]Burl[/name] - just sounds quite old mannish to me. Bixby and [name]Fielding[/name] aren’t my style but I like their sound, I could see them working.

Good luck!

3

I think [name]Burl[/name] is still heavily associated with singer [name]Burl[/name] [name]Ives[/name]. Also, on the [name]West[/name] Coast, it’s kind of a joke name, because of the coveted redwood burl, a type of wood made from redwood trees that have sustained injury. All up and down the [name]West[/name] Coast, there are little stands selling “Genuine Redwood [name]Burl[/name]” Furniture.

With [name]Fielding[/name] and [name]Dashiell[/name], there may be the assumption that you love the work of [name]Henry[/name] [name]Fielding[/name] and [name]Dashiell[/name] [name]Hammett[/name].

It may well be that you can get away with [name]Hugo[/name], although you are probably correct that there will be at least a little upward blip in it use. As the previous poster noted, the blip may not be that big.

You could also go with [name]Hugh[/name]/[name]Huw[/name].

Other possibilities:

[name]Griffin[/name]
[name]Montgomery[/name]
[name]Byron[/name] (this is kind of the ultimate British, artistic, countryside name)
[name]Fraser[/name]
[name]Blake[/name]
[name]Jago[/name]
[name]Lucien[/name]

4

My two favourites are [name]Dashiell[/name] and [name]Hugo[/name] and my least favourite is [name]Burl[/name].

5

Besides [name]Hugo[/name], [name]Dashiell[/name] is my favorite. They’re both very handsome and usable.

6

I love [name]Dashiell[/name] and [name]Hugo[/name]! I think [name]Dashiell[/name] [name]Hugo[/name] would be so handsome! I think both [name]Dashiell[/name] and [name]Hugo[/name] would be quirky, fun, smart. :). I would love to meet a [name]Hugo[/name] or [name]Dash[/name]. :slight_smile:

Good luck!

7

I absolutely [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Hugo[/name]… I guess I pretty much agree with everyone else. [name]Hugo[/name] and [name]Dashiell[/name] are great and [name]Burl[/name] is strange. That’s how I was told [name]Beryl[/name] is pronounced. I always thought that [name]Beryl[/name] was feminine and strange in general… :confused: I went to school with a guy whose last name was Bixby, so I really can’t see it as a first name. [name]Fielding[/name] is kind of cool too. It’s not something you hear all the time.

8

You’d like an “unusual, artistic, British, countryside, strong, intelligent” name? OK… breaking down your favorites…

[name]Hugo[/name]: this is in no way a British name. It’s given in [name]Britain[/name], sure, in the same way that [name]Jaden[/name] and [name]Enzo[/name] are given-- as a cultural import. The British form is the [name]Norman[/name] [name]Hugh[/name], or the Welsh [name]Huw[/name] as pointed out above. It does not read “pastoral” or countryside to me. And it certainly is not suffering from over-popularity; the majority of US Hugos are Hispanic and the name has been quietly given in the community for decades. Hipsters are starting to catch on to it. In 2011, exactly 202 little boys were named [name]Hugo[/name], spread out over >1 million births. So, if this is your favorite name, a name you’ve loved for years, by all means bestow it.

[name]Fielding[/name]: this hits all of your marks. “[name]Field[/name]” evokes the countryside, it’s a British surname, it strikes me as a rather patrician and/or literary name, and it’s unusual without being odd. 8 boys were named [name]Fielding[/name] last year.

[name]Burl[/name] this actually misses all of your marks. It suffers from the terribly unfashionable -url ending; it skews more huckster rube than fine country gentleman; and I could never imagine anyone in the UK carrying it.

Bixby: I like the quirky style of Bixby. It’s a British surname but decidedly nonpretentious, and it reminds me of [name]Bix[/name] Beiderbecke and therefore always carries a nice jazzy association. I think this one should stay under consideration.

[name]Dashiell[/name]: if you don’t want trendy, stay away from [name]Dashiell[/name]. This is the hipster name par excellence. My baby is in daycare with two of them. The SSA data does not reflect it, but if you live in [name]Brooklyn[/name], SF, [name]Santa[/name] [name]Monica[/name], [name]Austin[/name], Seattle, [name]Portland[/name] or other hipster pockets you will run into other little Dashes.

Other options:
[name]Lytton[/name] (as in Strachey)
Somerset (as in Maugham-- and a County in [name]England[/name])
[name]Auberon[/name] (as in Waugh, and [name]King[/name] of the Fairies in British folklore)
[name]Stirling[/name] (as in Castle/[name]Scotland[/name])
Strathmore (as in the ancient earls of Strathmore)
Linley (as in Viscount Linley)
Senneck (the medieval abbreviation of Sevenoaks, [name]Kent[/name])
Copley ([name]John[/name] Singleton Copley, American painter; derived from a copse of woods)

9

I love [name]Hugo[/name] the most!
I’m not sure of the exact popularity of [name]Hugo[/name] where you are, but I don’t think its booming anyway.

My middle name ([name]Lucy[/name]) was the name of a cat my mum had before I was born. She loved the name so much that she gave it to me :slight_smile: I don’t mind being partly named after a cat!

My second favourite from your list is [name]Dashiell[/name]. I’m a bit of a nut for typography/fonts and I love the way this looks written down. I like the option of “[name]Dash[/name]” for a nickname too.

My least favourite is [name]Burl[/name], which I’ve never seen before. It reminds me of “burly” which could be a potential nickname, which could be unfortunate if he’s not burly.

10

I love [name]Hugo[/name]!

Some suggestions:

[name]Calloway[/name]
[name]Emil[/name]
[name]Merrick[/name]
[name]Rigby[/name]
Kipling
[name]Rhett[/name]
[name]Gregor[/name]

11

I like the suggestion of [name]Dashiell[/name] [name]Hugo[/name]…such a strong handsome name!

[name]Bree[/name]

12

I love [name]Dashiell[/name]

13

My favorites are [name]Hugo[/name] and [name]Dashiell[/name]. I have a friend named [name]Burleigh[/name] who goes by [name]Biff[/name]–but he’s always deplored his name…I’d add [name]Montague[/name] to your list, could be nn’d [name]Monty[/name]. [name]Fielding[/name] is too difficult to say, and Bixby sounds like a pet name…

14

[name]Hugo[/name] - I think of [name]Hugo[/name] Weaving, a big fave of mine, but I can’t picture it on a little boy for some reason
[name]Fielding[/name] - Yes, this would grow on me.
[name]Burl[/name] - No… I think [name]Burly[/name], Curl, Barrel…
Bixby - Cute, if you’re ok with [name]Bix[/name] as a nn
[name]Dashiell[/name] - [name]Love[/name] the nn [name]Dash[/name], but it is gaining in popularity.

15

Bixby and [name]Fielding[/name] seem to match your criteria best, with Bixby winning my vote. It’s unexpected, with nn [name]Bix[/name] being completely wearable amongst little Maxes and Paxes and all the rest.

If [name]Hugo[/name] is the one you love, please use it. It’s a great name. While I’m sure it’ll see an upswing for a bit due to the movie and it’s fashionable “o” ending, he really should be named something that you love. [name]Just[/name] my two cents :slight_smile:

16

I wanted to pop back and add this tidbit…

from Dr. Seuss “Oh, the places you’ll go!”

“Be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or [name]Bray[/name]
or [name]Mordecai[/name] [name]Ali[/name] [name]Van[/name] [name]Allen[/name] O’[name]Shea[/name],
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!”

17

I like [name]Hugo[/name] or [name]Dashiell[/name].

18

You’re right about [name]Hugo[/name]; although in the US it’s ranked 439 (which is 613 births), it’s a mega hit in the rest of the world- top 10 in much of Europe; top 100 in most of the rest. It’s actually not in the top 100 yet in the UK, but it’s rising pretty fast. Having said that though…it’s a great name that was ignored for a long time in the English-speaking world, so if you love it, go for it!

[name]Dashiell[/name] is less common but more trendy than [name]Hugo[/name], if that makes sense. Which way would you pronounce it?
[name]Fielding[/name] is most decidely tied to [name]Henry[/name] and [name]James[/name]; are you fans?
Bixby would be brilliant if this is a family surname. I think of both the jazz connection with [name]Bix[/name] and the writer [name]Jerome[/name] Bixby. [name]Digby[/name] is a similar name that might go over a little better (Diggory and [name]Rigby[/name] also come to mind).
[name]Burl[/name] is definitely unexpected, but not at all British. I kind of like it; it sounds like an early 20th-century American name. [name]Bert[/name]/[name]Bertie[/name] is a much more British option, if that’s what you like.

Others that might appeal to you, based on your description: [name]Rufus[/name], [name]Wilfrid[/name], [name]Digby[/name], [name]Albie[/name] (or unrelated but similar [name]Alban[/name]), [name]Alfred[/name], [name]Barnaby[/name], [name]Rupert[/name], [name]Ivo[/name], [name]Jago[/name].

19

Well, my son is [name]Field[/name], so I think that’s the best one! I much prefer it over [name]Fielding[/name], too, which is odd-sounding to me, with the -ing ending. My other son is [name]Springer[/name], which I think also matches your criteria a bit.

I still think [name]Hugo[/name] is great, despite the movie’s appeal, and might I suggest Spade? Its connection to [name]Dashiell[/name] is that the protagonist of [name]Dashiell[/name] [name]Hammett[/name]'s 1930 novel “The Maltese [name]Falcon[/name]” is [name]Sam[/name] Spade, a fictional private detective (Spade also appeared in a few other short stories by [name]Hammett[/name]).

20

[name]Hugo[/name] I would have to say.