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Help"Old Man" Names
What do you think of these "old man" names? Fresh and ready for a comeback, or dated and ready to be kept in the closet another 75 years?
Clifford
Elmo
Abner
Elmore
Homer
Grover
Wilmer
Millard
Orville
Linus
Herb
Nigel
Edgar
Kermit
Otto
Elwood
Basil
Rudolph
Milton
Gus
Elmer
Bonus round! Do you think a name can be redeemed by using one of its alternatives instead? For example, instead of Adolph use Adolphus or Adolpho? Or do you think all names associated are also tainted?
Clifford
Elmo
Abner
Elmore
Homer
Grover
Wilmer
Millard
Orville
Linus
Herb
Nigel
Edgar
Kermit
Otto
Elwood
Basil
Rudolph
Milton
Gus
Elmer
Bonus round! Do you think a name can be redeemed by using one of its alternatives instead? For example, instead of Adolph use Adolphus or Adolpho? Or do you think all names associated are also tainted?
This message was edited 4/25/2017, 5:01 AM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
I like:
Linus
Otto
... and that's about it, lol!
Edgar isn't an old man name, though. I've met several guys my age (20s) named Edgar.
Also - and this might only be true in North America - but several of these names are still used by black people. Particularly Clifford and Nigel, in my experience (and you can probably add Walter and Jerome to the list).
Linus
Otto
... and that's about it, lol!
Edgar isn't an old man name, though. I've met several guys my age (20s) named Edgar.
Also - and this might only be true in North America - but several of these names are still used by black people. Particularly Clifford and Nigel, in my experience (and you can probably add Walter and Jerome to the list).
This message was edited 4/28/2017, 12:46 PM
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Clifford - nms
Elmo - too heavily associated with the Muppet
Abner - sounds very 1800s
Elmore - isn't this Rip Torn's real name? I think it is.
Homer - Homer Simpson, period.
Grover - again, a strong Muppet associataion, although probably less so with Percy Jackson fans since the series does have a character named Grover
Wilmer - ICK
Millard - sounds almost comically old-fashioned
Orville - ditto
Linus - makes me think of Linus from Peanuts
Herb - as a nn for Herbert, it's okay
Nigel - sounds very quintessentially British
Edgar - love it!
Kermit - the association with Kermit the Frog is way too strong for most people
Otto - love it!
Elwood - this is the name of the city that Arthur lives in on the cartoon of the same name
Basil - love it!
Rudolph - nms
Milton - I actually kinda like it
Gus - as a nn only
Elmer - I kinda like this one too
Elmo - too heavily associated with the Muppet
Abner - sounds very 1800s
Elmore - isn't this Rip Torn's real name? I think it is.
Homer - Homer Simpson, period.
Grover - again, a strong Muppet associataion, although probably less so with Percy Jackson fans since the series does have a character named Grover
Wilmer - ICK
Millard - sounds almost comically old-fashioned
Orville - ditto
Linus - makes me think of Linus from Peanuts
Herb - as a nn for Herbert, it's okay
Nigel - sounds very quintessentially British
Edgar - love it!
Kermit - the association with Kermit the Frog is way too strong for most people
Otto - love it!
Elwood - this is the name of the city that Arthur lives in on the cartoon of the same name
Basil - love it!
Rudolph - nms
Milton - I actually kinda like it
Gus - as a nn only
Elmer - I kinda like this one too
This message was edited 4/27/2017, 5:52 AM
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I love German names. Which are all old man names, as no one likes German names anymore. Not even in Germany. Especially not.
But old man names in English are awesome too!
Trending names are the absolute worst!
Why name your kid a trend that everyone else is following?
And NO Jayden, Cayden, Blayden, Crayden, Rayden, etc!
But old man names in English are awesome too!
Trending names are the absolute worst!
Why name your kid a trend that everyone else is following?
And NO Jayden, Cayden, Blayden, Crayden, Rayden, etc!
This message was edited 4/26/2017, 8:02 PM
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Hmm... A lot of these have strong fictional associations, so I wouldn't want to use them for a baby or a character.
Edgar is probably my favorite out of all of these.
Edgar is probably my favorite out of all of these.
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My favourites out of these are Clifford, Grover, Linus, Herb, Kermit, Otto, Elwood, Basil, and Milton. There's nothing wrong with wanting to use "dated" names if you want to.
As far as names with negative associations go, it really depends on the situation. I personally would not be comfortable using a direct variant of Adolf, but maybe a name variant with a less strong connection to a negative source would be okay.
As far as names with negative associations go, it really depends on the situation. I personally would not be comfortable using a direct variant of Adolf, but maybe a name variant with a less strong connection to a negative source would be okay.
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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. lol
Clifford: 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.
Clifford: 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.
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Can't answer. Most of them have never been in use where I live - the only ones I've ever met IRL are Clifford, Nigel and maybe Gus - I know an August, not from an English-speaking background, who tries unsuccessfully to get people to call him Gus. And of those I like Nigel, though I've got personal reasons for disliking the only two Nigels I've ever really known.
I once knew an Adolphus who was known as Dolphie. That alone is enough to put me right off. And I wouldn't try to redeem names with unsavoury previous owners - why bother, when there are so many good ones to choose from? And if it's a family name, then the mn position would be fine, tweaked or not.
I once knew an Adolphus who was known as Dolphie. That alone is enough to put me right off. And I wouldn't try to redeem names with unsavoury previous owners - why bother, when there are so many good ones to choose from? And if it's a family name, then the mn position would be fine, tweaked or not.
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