I’ve been drawn to names such as [name_f]Eurydice[/name_f] and Godeliva for quite some time now. But in an age of Lilys and Avas, I wonder if they’re really appropriate. So, with that in mind, just out of curiosity, would YOU ever use an over the top name like [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] or [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f]? Or would you be more inclined to stick to simpler choices?
I don’t find names like [name_f]Eurydice[/name_f] and [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] over the top at all. [name_u]True[/name_u] the name trend is heavily focussed on short names, but that does not mean you have to do the same. If it makes you uncomfortable you can always use a short nickname to go with the longer names you like. (Godeliva - [name_f]Liv[/name_f] or [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] - [name_f]Mia[/name_f]) But I myself have a long name(which was never shortened), as does my OH, so my inclination goes towards names such as [name_f]Cressida[/name_f], [name_f]Sidonie[/name_f], [name_f]Constance[/name_f], [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] etc. and Hermoine could have easily been among them if not for HP.
Well first of all, I dont find [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] THAT over the top considering the popularity of [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m].
But, for me I think what would be the deciding factor is my boyfriend/fiance/husband at the time. And that’s because I like both over the top as well as “simple” name. So if he liked more “over the top” names as you put it, then I wouldnt have a problem using them in an age where [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s are so popular. But if he liked more traditional names, I wouldn’t have a problem with that either. [name_m]Just[/name_m] as long as it wasn’t super popular. I’d probably want to try and avoid the top 25 at least.
I would possibly use my over the top names (that aren’t very over the top)
[name_f]Clementine[/name_f]
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Henrietta[/name_f]
[name_f]Theodora[/name_f]
[name_f]Augusta[/name_f]
I have quite a lot of names on my list that most likely would be considered over the top, but that I’d gladly use. I think ‘over the top’ means different things to different people. [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f], and [name_f]Eurydice[/name_f] are all names I like and would use if I loved them enough.
Yeah definitely. I dont see a problem with any of the names that you listed. I would use [name_f]Eurydice[/name_f] is an heartbeat if I didnt love [name_m]Orpheus[/name_m] more.
I’d hardly consider any of the names in this thread [name_m]OTT[/name_m], but I think that comes down to personal opinion. What makes a name over the top??
I think of [name_m]OTT[/name_m] to be celeb like shock value names: [name_f]Moon[/name_f] Unit, [name_m]Pilot[/name_m] Inspektor, etc. I think of names like [name_m]Jagger[/name_m] and [name_u]Lennon[/name_u] as [name_m]OTT[/name_m] because they seem like extreme fan-based names. Or names like [name_f]Khaleesi[/name_f] or [name_f]Katniss[/name_f].
I don’t think of names that are uncommon, but still legitimate names as [name_m]OTT[/name_m].
It really depends upon the name ([name_f]Eulalia[/name_f] is fine, [name_f]Euphemia[/name_f] is not), but for the most part, I don’t think I personally would. There are a lot of [name_m]OTT[/name_m] names which are quite nice to look at, but I would personally feel quite pretentious if I actually used them. If it sounds silly when I yell it out, or when I imagine myself introducing my future child as that, I definitely wouldn’t use it. This is just me personally, but I would feel ridiculous yelling for [name_f]Iphigenia[/name_f] / [name_f]Euphemia[/name_f] / [name_f]Godiva[/name_f] / Adephagia / Ekecheiria / Cymopoleia / Clytemnestra / [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f] / Amphitrite / Promethea / Epimethea / Hippolyta / [name_f]Bathsheba[/name_f] / [name_f]Eurydice[/name_f] / etc. to get inside and do their homework. If I feel ridiculous, I don’t imagine that my child would have a very different sentiment about their name.
It’s so much easier to say you’d use an “over the top” name before you actually have to name a real baby. I really like names like [name_f]Cressida[/name_f], [name_f]Araminta[/name_f], [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f] and [name_u]Seren[/name_u] and [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] and [name_f]Bellatrix[/name_f] but I know I wouldn’t actually use them on a real baby (if if they’re really not that over the top!).
Well, ‘over the top’ means something different to everybody, as you can see. I don’t think any of the names you listed are over the top, though I would never use [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] because of the association. Personally, I’m done with the Lilys and Avas as there are just so many! I really like when people are brave enough to be more original instead of just copycats in an already cookie-cutter culture (yes, I’m talking directly to a lot of nameberries, too).
Yes, I’d happily use what some might consider some “over the top” names for a girl, as long as they had a simple nickname e.g.
[name_f]Amaryllis[/name_f] - [name_f]Lissie[/name_f]
[name_f]Cassia[/name_f] - [name_u]Cass[/name_u]
[name_f]Cressida[/name_f] - [name_f]Cressie[/name_f]
[name_f]Cosima[/name_f] - [name_f]Coco[/name_f]
[name_f]Iolanthe[/name_f] - [name_f]Yoli[/name_f]
[name_f]Xanthe[/name_f] - [name_m]Xan[/name_m] or Xanth
Yes! A lot of the names I love are over the top, and I’m not too scared to use any of them (as first names or middle names)! My name taste is pretty “out there” to most people. I would use both [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] (love!) and [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] if I felt like they were “the one”. I’d use [name_f]Eurydice[/name_f] and Godeliva too. I definitely don’t think it’s inappropriate to use any of these names. If you like them, use them. I personally would rather have/use a remarkable, unusual name, than a common, “normal” name that everyone’s already heard and seen a bunch of times. That’s just me. 
Yes, completely!! There’s every chance I will wind up putting [name_f]Daenerys[/name_f] or Ellaria on a birth certificate someday. I don’t think they’re ridiculous or over the top - or if they are, they’re no more so than [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] or [name_f]Athena[/name_f]. And yet I know many Berries would ridicule me for loving [name_f]Daenerys[/name_f] if I asked for their honest opinions. Not that it’ll stop me! 
Ask twenty people about this subject and you’ll get twenty answers - so go with your own instincts. If you are proud of it, there’s no reason your child shouldn’t be.
Probably not. I prefer names that are more traditional, but on the more uncommon side, or names that used to be big in past eras that have faded in popularity.
When I think of a name like [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f], [name_f]Godiva[/name_f], [name_m]Seraphim[/name_m] or [name_f]Jessamina[/name_f], I think of a woman who is probably half fairy and who wouldn’t be out of place in a Final [name_f]Fantasy[/name_f] game.
Go ahead and call me boring, but I highly prefer traditional names.
Many of my preferred names would be considered [name_m]OTT[/name_m] by some NBs… of course, I did not choose these names because of their uniqueness but because they captured my imagination & heart…in contrast, if names like [name_f]Jane[/name_f] or [name_f]Jill[/name_f] had the same effect on me I would choose them also but they don’t. So, at the end of the day you need to follow your heart in deciding on a name for your child be it a comparatively ‘[name_m]OTT[/name_m]’ one or a simple one…however, like others have stated, I don’t think [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] is [name_m]OTT[/name_m] at all and nor is [name_f]Zenovia[/name_f]…but [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] is a rather “brave” choice in my books.
I found myself getting tired of over the top names pretty quikly. They are lovely names but I realize that one day I’m not going to have the most perfectly mannered child, that just runs around in pretty dresses, paints like van Gogh and is reads [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] at age 4 but I’m propable going to have a child that throws tantrums in the supermarket, screams when you tell them to go home on the playground, ruins her pretty dresses and want to read Peppa Pig for the 400th time even if she’s already 6.
So while I like these over-the-top names for “imaginary” children (as in the children I think of when I read such names), I don’t think that “Iphgenia, take your finger out of your nose” or “[name_f]Godiva[/name_f], stop eating like a pig” work for me.
The getting tired thing is that at one point they’re special but the more you think about them, the more they pop up on here, the more they start sounding boring, and long, and over-the-top.
So I tend to opt for simple names, that don’t feel like your naming a magical fairy princess from the woods of Norway but a human being who isn’t actually as well behaved or special as a special name might make you think.
There are some names that I would use, however, I would never go [name_u]Berry[/name_u]-over-the-top and name my child, Euphgenia [name_f]Godiva[/name_f] [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] [name_f]Valencia[/name_f] as while the child will be special to me, they are just not that special and would probably “hate” me for not giving them one normal name, changing their name to “[name_f]Nia[/name_f]” at 18.
Ps. Neither [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] or [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] seem like over the top names to me unless their full names are [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] Iphgenia [name_f]Eurydice[/name_f] or [name_f]Zenobia[/name_f] [name_f]Godiva[/name_f] [name_f]Cressida[/name_f].
I’d use some, as long as they fit my old fashioned, vintage style, like [name_f]Arabella[/name_f], [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f], [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Evelina[/name_f] (which I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] but it’s my best friend’s top choice for a girl, so best if I don’t use it, hahaha), [name_f]Juliette[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f], etc. Otherwise, I’m not a huge lover of frilly names. I think I’d be more likely to use them as middle names ([name_f]Martha[/name_f] [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f], [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] [name_f]Arabella[/name_f]) than as firsts though.
If there was a name that I loved like that, chances are that my husband wouldn’t like it, so there would go that.
If it was just my own choice, then if I loved it, I’d use it. I’d just probably call the kid by a shorter nickname.
I would use one as long as I knew the child could pull it off.
“Over-the-top” means different things for different people. I would use more “unusual” names if they met all of the following criteria:
- Didn’t cause a child any embarassment, shame or guilt
- Didn’t offend any group, culture , religion etc…
- Wasn’t a “bad” word in any language
- There wasn’t a negative association or notorious person in the news with the name
All that is needed to avoid the above pitfalls is for parents to do a little research on a particular name.