Would you use a name despite a meh meaning?

because i was today years old when i found out that Rosamund means horse protection and i’m a little underwhelmed by that.

Cora “maiden” isn’t that exciting either, but that name i adore so much that i don’t really care.

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I would still use it, yes.

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To me, a good meaning is a plus; but a neutral one isn’t a dealbreaker.

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I’d always stick to what I love, no matter if the meaning isn’t perfect :slight_smile:

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I am not bothered by name meanings, unless the meaning is something outright negative. Personally I think those are quite good meanings! (I love horses, and Kore/Cora was a title of the goddess Persephone.)

I place much more importance on personal meaning than the name’s etymology (which few people will even know). I think people who aren’t name nerds are more likely to associate [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] with roses than horses.

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that’s wonderful, i didn’t know!

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I think meanings are cute but not a lot of people would know the meaning without going out of their way to look it up. For me it’s more about the name itself.

However I have been put off by names when their meanings are really bad, I considered [name_f]Lola[/name_f] but don’t like how it means sorrows and don’t really like how [name_f]Mara[/name_f] means bitter. But if the meaning is just “meh” to you then I would overlook it.

I would use the name that I love without caring about the meaning too much. I would prefer a more positive meaning over a negative one but unless the meaning is absolutely horrible then I wouldn’t use it.

Good meanings are definitely a nice plus, but except for the person who has the name, probably only name-nerds would even notice a negative name meaning. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if they do, it’s not like they’d say, “Oh, I have a really good friend named [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]. It’s a shame her name means blind!” Associations are much more important to me than etymological meanings. That said, I wouldn’t use something with a really bad meaning. Ex. [name_m]Casimir[/name_m], though a fantastic name, means “destroyer of the peace”. :grimacing:

I literally never care about the meaning of a name unless it’s meant to be an honor because of that, sure it’s a plus if it’s a cool meaning but if it’s bad I usually don’t really care about it, it’s not like the meaning of a name is gonna determine how a person acts, someone named [name_f]Marceline[/name_f] isn’t gonna end up being warlike just because that’s what the name means, y’know? Also like @choupette said with [name_f]Cora[/name_f], my first association is always [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] because she’s also called Kora/Kore, and even a name as gorgeous as [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] could always have multiple meanings where some arn’t the best

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I think maiden is a lovely meaning. Plus Cora/Kora was another name for [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] so you have the association with the goddess. I agree that [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] meaning is a bit naff. What a shame as it’s a lovely name. It would put me off a little but if your love for the name outweighs your quest for a name with a good meaning then I’d say use it.

There are very few name meanings I would avoid, honestly… anything I find offensive or disturbing because of my faith, and anything that means bald. :rofl: [name_u]Early[/name_u] balding is a trend in my family and I wouldn’t want to make my [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] into a self-fulfilling prophecy, lovely as [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] is. lol.

I’m with @ethelmary - a good meaning is a plus; a neutral one isn’t a dealbreaker.

A lot of my favorites have some sort of religious significance, because it’s meaningful to me, but even the ones that don’t really don’t put me off at all.

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I mean, the Nameberry page for [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] says " Another, literal, translation of the name’s meaning is ‘rose of the world.’ ", which I think is a lovely interpretation if meaning is really important to you. However, I think horse protection is fine, lots of young girls go through a horse phase, I certainly know I would have loved that meaning as a child!

But at the end of the day, like @ethelmary said very eloquently, a neutral name meaning is not a dealbreaker to me either.

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Meanings can be fun and interesting, but for sure aren’t the only thing I consider! Like many others have said, personal significance comes first. [name_f]Desdemona[/name_f], for example, means ill-starred which isn’t the best meaning, but it’s important to me so I’d use it anyways. Besides, so few people really know name meanings.

[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] and [name_f]Cora[/name_f] are both great, I hope the meanings don’t ruin them for you!

Unless it was an absolutely negative meaning, I wouldn’t really care if a name I loved had a ‘meh’ meaning. In fact, one of my favourite names is [name_f]Cecily[/name_f], which means “blind”. It’s nice if a name does have a cool meaning, but I agree with what @liberty.mairead said that only name-nerds would really notice a negative name meaning.

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For me a ‘meh’ meaning isn’t the end of the world just like the rest of the berries are saying as long as I love the name that to me that’s the most important. I think if the meaning is really negative then it may make me reconsider but if I loved [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] I wouldn’t be put off by the meaning ‘horse protection’ or similar the meaning ‘maiden’ for [name_f]Cora[/name_f]. On another note though I know you think they are meh but I think they are actually nice meanings! I absolutely love horses and maiden feels delicate. I say stick with them!

None. Meaning is EVERYTHING.

I’d honestly only care about a name’s meaning if it’s a language (or translated to a language) I actually know.

If a name’s meaning comes from a root word of a language I’m not familiar with, it wouldn’t bother me at all.

I would definitely still use it! I’m not super concerned with meanings, personally. To me, it’s an added bonus if my favorite names have nice meanings, but not a necessity.

I would still use it! [name_f]My[/name_f] own name has a ‘meh’ meaning, and I absolutely love my name – I would be sad if my parents had chosen not to use it solely because of the meaning.