Which Place Name Is More Usable?

I love three obvious place names: [name_m]Boston[/name_m], [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], and [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u]. I love the mythology of the phoenix which I think adds a little more to the name, but I think it’s my least favorite of the three. Which name is more usable in life, do you think? Would you be embarrassed to introduce your son with any of these names? Could you take a man seriously with any of the names?

[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u].

I knew of a girl named [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], and I think its usable for a boy too. [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] is a little out there and [name_m]Boston[/name_m] is too obvious

[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] is the most known as a name. [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] only because of [name_u]Reese[/name_u] Witherspoon. [name_m]Boston[/name_m] doesn’t feel like a name to me.

I think [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] and [name_m]Boston[/name_m] work as names. I know a little boy named [name_m]Boston[/name_m].

I personally wouldn’t use place names at all. As an Australian I might have a different take on things. I don’t see [name_m]Boston[/name_m] as a first name, maybe a middle. [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] is definitely more uncommon for a name (but there was obviously the poet Tennesse [name_m]Williams[/name_m]) but at first glance I would take someone called [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] more seriously than [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. To me it feel more masculine, earthy, rugged and grounded, for want of better words. They are all unusual names so I think the parents would have to be in love with the name and be very confident in their choice to pull it off. What nickname would you use for [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u]? Also I’ve just noticed that [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] is quite a handful to write.

[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], because of the mythology which conjures up some wonderful imagery for me, I think is most usable. But the other two are okay too, I just first and foremost think of the places (and [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] [name_m]Williams[/name_m]), and I’m not personally a huge fan of [name_m]Boston[/name_m] in particular, so I’d be far more inclined to use [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. I am incredibly biased towards [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] since it’s one of my favourite names. I’d take all of them seriously though.

I wouldn’t take a man seriously with any of these names. [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] I think is only usable as a middle on a girl and the other two just aren’t names to me.

That’s the difficulty I noticed with the names–lack of nickname options–not that a name needs to have a nickname. I hate having my name shortened. [name_u]Nick[/name_u] could work for [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u].

I know there’s always the option of using them as middle names. I was just wondering on the use of them as first names.

I would say [name_m]Pheonix[/name_m]!
However, I know a little boy named [name_m]Boston[/name_m] and it fits him pretty well! I’m so used to hearing it as the little boy’s name that it became normal to me…

I know of a [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] and I have a friend who loves [name_m]Boston[/name_m]. They are wearable for me, I can see them on a man.

I’m from [name_m]Boston[/name_m] so hearing it as a name sounds uncomfortable to me. That said, Fenway, Revere, Allston are all [name_m]Boston[/name_m] related names of children I know. In [name_m]Boston[/name_m].

I really like [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] as a name. I agree that it is a long name but I think it is unique and awesome. [name_m]Tenn[/name_m] / [name_m]Tenny[/name_m] could be a nn.

[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] is a great name as well but as a place name it lacks luster. I would use it for the mythological reasons only. Of course I don’t know your connections to [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. A burning, rejuvenating bird is a pretty cool namesake.

Any of them is usable. I would rank them in order of my preference and thoughts on usability as

  1. [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u]
  2. [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]
  3. [name_m]Boston[/name_m]

Best of luck!

[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] is the most useable and I really like it.
I think [name_m]Boston[/name_m] is getting pretty close to mainstream use seeing as it fits so well with all the [name_u]Ashton[/name_u]/[name_u]Mason[/name_u] etc names.
[name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] - no way! Or maybe that’s just my reaction as a non-American.

[name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] is the name I would use; somehow it has more gravity than the other two, neither of which are my style.

  1. [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]- I love this name
  2. [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u]- I’ve heard of this name, on a girl though…?
  3. [name_m]Boston[/name_m]- [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t like

I have no connection to any of the places. I love the mythology of the phoenix (and its [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] connection :D), I love the history of [name_m]Boston[/name_m] and have always wanted to visit, and I think [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] is a beautiful state.

Of the three, [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. If you don’t like [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] though, [name_m]Boston[/name_m] probably works best. I know of someone named [name_m]Boston[/name_m]. To me [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] is a mouthful to write and say plus it doesn’t have any nicknames I can easily spot (Ness? Ten?). And, I am reminded of the awful pick-up line, “Are you from [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u]? Because you’re the only ten-I-see.”

[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. For me the other two are definitely places only, and I would wonder why someone would use it as a name if I came across it on a person.

Out of the three, I like [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] the most because it has that strong, Southern feel to it with a historical literary connection. That said, it’s a pretty heavy name for a child.

The only [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] I ever met in real life was a girl, and I’ve heard of boys being called [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], but it sounds a bit hippy dippy to my ear.

I’m from [name_m]Boston[/name_m] so I can’t really imagine that name on a person. It seems a bit too obvious for a place name.