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Re: "Old Man" Names
Your bonus question first: I think you can, but if you use, say, the Spanish form, you'd best be Hispanic, otherwise you look like a fool trying to get away with using Adolf by splitting hairs. I have actually met an Adolfo; he was a nurse who assisted when I had my eye operated on about ten years ago. He was Puerto Rican or Cuban, and I don't mind saying he was just as handsome as a movie star. Very nice, too. I felt kind of sorry for him for having Adolf in his name, but he carried it better than Mr. and Mrs. Miller-Flaherty of Cornfed Acres, Iowa could pull it off with their son. lolClifford: Cliff is kind of retro swashbuckling. Clifford now is associated with Big Red Dogs.
Elmo: Little Red Muppets With Shrieky Baby Voices Who Hijacked Sesame Street.
Abner: Ugly.
Elmore: Feels like a last name. I do like Elmore Leonard's books.
Homer: D'oh!
Grover: Lovable furry old.
Wilmer: Ugly, but there was a very nice elderly custodian in my high school who everybody loved.
Millard: Sounds creepy somehow.
Orville: Could be cute on a cat or dog.
Linus: I don't really think of this as an old-man name; I just think of the little guy with the blanket.
Herb: Comical, fun, but I sure wouldn't use it.
Nigel: Very stereotypical elite British.
Edgar: Creepy, mustache-twirling villain.
Kermit: Hi ho, this is Kermit the Frog! I actually like the name, but the frog is mine and most everybody else's first and strongest (often only) association.
Otto: Seems possible it could have a minor hipster vogue. It sounds like a big fat, belching guy.
Elwood: P. Blues.
Basil: Nigel's crony.
Rudolph: The Red-nosed Reindeer.
Milton: There's a town here in Delaware named this. My best friend's father is also named this.
Gus: Hipsters seem to love it. It makes me think of a huge, lazy, flatulent dog.
Elmer: This is pretty common on old men around here. It makes me think of Fudd and glue.You're entitled to your own opinions. You're not entitled to your own facts. -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
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