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Ilyria is okay, but there's a city where I live (Ohio) called Elyria, which I'm assuming is similar, so if I were to use this name, it'd be the E spelling.

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As for your other names, I've rated them and relisted them in order of preference.

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Ariel (9/10) - This one is the best and most usable, but it only gets a 9 because I like it better for girls.

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Francisco (8/10) - Love the association with San Francisco, California (well, more importantly St. Francis himself and the Shakespeare character lol)! It's one of my dream places to visit. Yet, I hate plain old Francis, so an 8 from me.

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Toby (8/10) - Probably an unpopular opinion, but I love this, especially as a nickname for Tobias!

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Lysander (7/10) - This is a GP of mine, so while I love the sound, I'd never have the guts to use it.

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Corin (6/10) - I like it, but as Corinne, and on a girl. It only gets a 6 because like someone else said, people would think Corin was a girl named Corinne. lol

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Caius (5/10) - It makes me think of what you get on your fingers when you play guitar really hard (callouses).

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Alonso (1/10) - I just don't care for this name.

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Amiens (0/10) - It's one letter off from "aliens".

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Horatio (0/10) - Sounds like an old-man name.

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Sampson (0/10) - Sometimes, I like surnamey names, but this is NOT one of them!

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Regan (10/10)
Valeria (10/10)
Luciana (10/10)
Tamora (9/10)
Cressida (8/10)
Francisca (8/10)
Desdemona (7/10)
Charmian (2/10)
Nerissa (0/10)

I love everything about Illyria - and would consider it a blessing for anyone to have that name, yet I admit a special fondness for Twelfth Night.

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My favorites from your list are:

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Ariel - (I love Ariel!)
Caius
Corin
Horatio
Lysander
Toby
Charmian
Cressida
Nerissa
Regan
Tamora

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A few others I happen to love are Cymbeline, Polixenes, Florizel, Thaisa, Lysimachus, Autolycus--though the "Auto" portion might bring difficulties now-a-days, Perdita, Mopsa, Phrynia--and I absolutely LOVE Lychorida - please see the following quotation from Pericles.

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Thou God of this great vast, rebuke these surges,
Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou, that hast
Upon the winds command, bind them in brass,
Having call'd them from the deep. O! still
Thy deafening, dreadful thunders; gently quench
Thy nimble, sulphurous flashes. O! how Lychorida,
How does my queen? Thou stormest venomously;
Wilt thou spit all thyself? The seaman's whistle
Is as a whisper in the ears of death,
Unheard. Lychorida! Lucina, O!
Divinest patroness, and midwife gentle
To those that cry by night, convey thy deity
Aboard our dancing boat; make swift the pangs
Of my queen's travails!

This message was edited 10/23/2017, 4:13 AM

Illyria is actually really cool, imo, but getting people to spell it correctly might be a bit of a trial. I actually associate it with the TV show "Angel" more than I do with Shakespeare, to be honest (Illyria is the demonic entity that takes over Winifred Burkle, a.k.a. "Fred").

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As for the others...

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Alonso - "Allons-y, Alonso!" ("Dr. Who" joke.)
Amiens - I'm guessing it's "uh-MEEN" in French? Shakespeare has it as "a-mee-INZ," probably, it's been a while since I've read "As You Like It." Not personally a fan.
Ariel - I know it has historically been masculine, but I only picture a little mermaid when I see Ariel.
Caius - I actually like Caius! And it sort of fits in with a lot of other trending names at the moment.
Corin - Since it's probably pronounced the same as Corinne, it sounds feminine to me.
Francisco - Still commonly used today, mainly by Hispanic people. If I were Hispanic, I'd actually consider this for a boy.
Horatio - That first syllable... can't get past it.
Lysander - Cool name, would consider.
Sampson - I don't really like any "Sam-" names. Don't like Sam, sorry.
Toby - Feels childish... although I am warming up to Tobias. But not Toby.

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Charmian - Hehe, outside of "Antony & Cleopatra" I often mistakenly read this as Charmaine. Then, when I realize it's actually Charmian, I think of Charmin toilet paper, lol!
Cressida - Lovely name. It's on my PNL.
Desdemona - I like it quite a but, although that "demon" right in the middle can be off-putting.
Francisca - Gorgeous. I actually like this better than Francesca, which I do encounter even as an Anglophone in everyday life.
Luciana - Pretty. I'm more used to the Italian pronunciation, "loo-TSHAN-ah," though.
Nerissa - Lovely name.
Regan - Blech! Even though it's from my favorite Shakespeare play, blech!
Tamora - Makes me think of the author Tamora Pierce. I prefer Tamara anyway. In fact, if we're talking "Titus Andronicus," I'd take Lavinia over any of them!
Valeria - Very pretty. I mainly associate this with "Conan the Barbarian," though. ("Do you wanna live forever?")

My mother actually has a Corin (m) in her class and when I was helping her organize her papers I called him Corinne and she had to correct me!

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Illyria, though Shakespearean, looks very odd and trendy to me. It's a bit of a mouthful as well, and I'm not sure whether to pronounce is Ih-lahr-ee-uh or Ih-leer-ee-uh

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I like Alonso, Ariel (m), Caius, Cressida (kind of), Desdemona (GP), Luciana, and Nerissa.

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Cousin used to have a girlfriend named Valeria. His dad used to call her Malaria.

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I don't get the appeal of Lysander. I think it looks and sounds weird and I always just hear the "lice" part.

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Dislike Toby. I do like Tobias but it'd be automatically shortened to Toby.