Hello Berries!
I was wondering how many syllables you think a name can have before it is too long? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think a three syllable first name with a three syllable last name be too long? What about a four syllable name with a three syllable last name?
It’s just something I’ve been thinking about lately and wanted to hear your thoughts on.
I love long names, so for me, not many name combinations come across as being too long. [name_m]Just[/name_m] because you have a long last name doesn’t mean you need to limit yourself to only short names if it’s the longer names you love! I’d say for a standard first-middle-last combination, twelve syllables is probably the point when I’d say a name might be starting to get too long, which would still allow for each name to be four syllables each. Given that there aren’t a whole lot of names that are over four syllables, the sky is almost the limit!
I would say any given name more than five syllables or twelve letters is too long.
When you get tired just looking at it, that’s when it’s too long. Syllables are irrelevant because a short name can have lots of syllables, but anything that is over 10 letters long as well as being syllable-heavy, alongside a surname which is too, is too long. I think the name would have to be beyond ridiculous to get to the ‘too long’ point, though.
You mean just fn or middle(s) as well?
After 8 letters your getting towards ridiculous and at 10 it is just too long.
Totally depends on the names. But as a general rule, if you say the name out loud and it sounds like a full sentence rather than somebody’s name, it’s probably too long.
But you have lots of names in your signature that are 8+ letters - and one, [name_u]Willoughby[/name_u], that’s 10!
For me it’s more about how unusual/unfamiliar the name is that determines what is too long - [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] and [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f] don’t seem too long, but [name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f] and [name_u]Aoibheann[/name_u] do, despite being the same length. I like unusual names, but think they are easier to digest if they’re shorter - they can seem sort of indulgent otherwise. I don’t really think whether the last name determines anything - I’d think [name_m]Bartholomew[/name_m] is too long whether the surname is McClanahan or [name_u]Kim[/name_u]! That might be because my mother has a hyphenated last name with a double first name, though! So I’m used to it.
Depends on a name. The more ridiculous it is, the longer it gets. I do not think [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] or [name_f]Romilly[/name_f], which are in your signature, are too long.
It depends on each individual name. A name like [name_m]Bartholomew[/name_m] [name_m]Nicodemus[/name_m] seems longer to me than [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] [name_m]Amadeus[/name_m] but they both have the same syllable count.
My friend has a four-syllable first name, a two-syllable middle name and a three-syllable last name, and I’ve never found her name too long. In fact, I’ve always thought it quite beautiful.