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I actually kind of knew someone named Lancelot. Many years ago I worked at an amusement park and there was a young boy who had a panic attack. I honestly thought he was a girl due to the long hair. It wasn’t until his grandpa started calling him Lancelot that I realized he was a boy and thought “that’s quite the name”. Fast forward several years I was at Target and saw a teenaged boy with long hair in the electronics section. His mom came over and said “Lancelot, I’m going to the towel section.” I seriously think he was the same kid.

I would love to use Lancelot nn Lance. Merlin is too cartoonish.

Sure, I've seen Merlin IRL. It's a bird name and usage is related to Merle, which is dated but was popular at one point. Merlin's still used more than Peregrine in the US though not as much as Robin.

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Lance is still in the top 1000, but it seems somewhat humorously/cliche macho like Pierce. Lancelot would be a bit sillier, probably better for a horse, but it has been used, very rarely.

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I wonder sometimes if Galahad or Mordred are usable. I tend to think not very.

This message was edited 3/13/2024, 8:13 AM

There used to be quite a few Lance people running around, including a South African international cricketer; its use seems to have faded. Lancelot is longer and clumsier. I was at school with a girl named Merlin: she was an unremarkable person who might as well have been named Maureen or Florinda. Many worse names get used nowadays on a daily basis, so use them by all means.

I am practically obsessed with Athurian legend...so maybe I'm biased when I say that I love these names. Would I use them on son? No, I don't think that I would, but they're definitely guilty pleasure! One Arthurian name that I would use (other than Arthur) is Tristan; it's one of my favorite boy names.