New Post
Search
HelpRe: "fresh" vs. familiar
in reply to a message by mirfak
would want to be named if I were being born this year:
Fidel - no one except Castro; I don't associate it with him, though
Clay - I know I've seen it IRL, but not that often and I don't think of anyone specific; I'm more familiar with it as a word
Vespasian - I guess I've only heard this in Latin class; it just popped into my head
Hieronymus - just Bosch, though the sounds are familiar in character names
Yves - a couple people I've heard/read about, plus one character in a book; I didn't start liking it until after reading the book
Velma - two characters, Scooby Doo and Chicago
Veda - a grandfather had an Aunt Veda
Tirzah - I feel like I've met one or two, but can't remember when/where, plus a couple characters
Renata - I think I've met or heard about at least one IRL, but no one comes to mind, no characters either...
Minerve - I started liking it after seeing it used for a character in a book; I've seen Minerva more, but I don't like that enough to use
more likely to use on a baby (I wouldn't mind being named these either, but they feel less specific to me for whatever reason):
Dmitri - I have a (female) friend called Demi; plus (including various spellings) at least 2 characters and Mendeleev
Timaeus - I think 2 characters, and I've met several guys called Ty or Tim.
Isidore - just the saint, plus it's sort of like Isabelle / Isabella and Salvatore / Salvador (I've met a couple of each and heard of more)
Absalom - a couple characters, other characters with a similar sounding name, plus I've met Abe, Saul, Abby
Raphael - I feel like I must have met some, but I only remember a guy named Rafi right now; lots of people/characters I've never met
Phaedra - I think I've just heard it in a song; plus there's characters with the *dra (Kendra, Cassandra, Sandra), and I have a couple of Aunt Fays
Viviana - it feels familiar but no one really comes to mind
Octavia - at least 4 people I've never met, one being a modern day child
Maeve - it feels familiar but no one really comes to mind
Ernestine - a grandfather had an Aunt Ernestine, and I know an Ernesto
Something like Ana or Oliver could fit me okay, but those wouldn't feel unique to me in the way that I'd prefer my name did. I’d at least want something familiar enough that it’s recognizably a name, that I could imagine introducing myself as without feeling awkward, so I think familiar sounds are the most important thing to me, which is one reason I pick a lot of names with V, t/d, or el sounds.
There are some names that I've always liked and have always been familiar with (a couple are Joseph and Jenny). There are some I've always been familiar with but dislike anyway (Hannah and Michael). There are some names I didn’t like to begin with because I didn’t love the sound by itself plus was unfamiliar with them, but then after meeting toddlers named those, I thought they were adorable (a couple examples are Sterling and Gustave). There are feminine names like Agnes and Lorne / Lorna that I thought were hideous and then completely changed my mind about, after reading a book or watching a movie. I used to think Linda was boring and dated, but I recently met a 25 year old Lynda, and she changed my mind about it. There are some popular names that I was familiar with but didn’t like before they were extremely common, that I’m more neutral on as a result of seeing them so often (Emma and Mason). Then there are some popular names that I used to like but don’t like much anymore, as a result of seeing them so often, like Ava and Gabriel. And if I liked a name I was relatively unfamiliar with, and then met an annoying person named that, I’d like the name less instead of more (this happened recently with Cecil), but something like meeting a pleasant Gardenia (I have) would just convince me it (and by extension, maybe another rare name containing a gar or deen sound) could be likable/usable.
It really just depends on the name and the person or people I meet who have it.
Fidel - no one except Castro; I don't associate it with him, though
Clay - I know I've seen it IRL, but not that often and I don't think of anyone specific; I'm more familiar with it as a word
Vespasian - I guess I've only heard this in Latin class; it just popped into my head
Hieronymus - just Bosch, though the sounds are familiar in character names
Yves - a couple people I've heard/read about, plus one character in a book; I didn't start liking it until after reading the book
Velma - two characters, Scooby Doo and Chicago
Veda - a grandfather had an Aunt Veda
Tirzah - I feel like I've met one or two, but can't remember when/where, plus a couple characters
Renata - I think I've met or heard about at least one IRL, but no one comes to mind, no characters either...
Minerve - I started liking it after seeing it used for a character in a book; I've seen Minerva more, but I don't like that enough to use
more likely to use on a baby (I wouldn't mind being named these either, but they feel less specific to me for whatever reason):
Dmitri - I have a (female) friend called Demi; plus (including various spellings) at least 2 characters and Mendeleev
Timaeus - I think 2 characters, and I've met several guys called Ty or Tim.
Isidore - just the saint, plus it's sort of like Isabelle / Isabella and Salvatore / Salvador (I've met a couple of each and heard of more)
Absalom - a couple characters, other characters with a similar sounding name, plus I've met Abe, Saul, Abby
Raphael - I feel like I must have met some, but I only remember a guy named Rafi right now; lots of people/characters I've never met
Phaedra - I think I've just heard it in a song; plus there's characters with the *dra (Kendra, Cassandra, Sandra), and I have a couple of Aunt Fays
Viviana - it feels familiar but no one really comes to mind
Octavia - at least 4 people I've never met, one being a modern day child
Maeve - it feels familiar but no one really comes to mind
Ernestine - a grandfather had an Aunt Ernestine, and I know an Ernesto
Something like Ana or Oliver could fit me okay, but those wouldn't feel unique to me in the way that I'd prefer my name did. I’d at least want something familiar enough that it’s recognizably a name, that I could imagine introducing myself as without feeling awkward, so I think familiar sounds are the most important thing to me, which is one reason I pick a lot of names with V, t/d, or el sounds.
There are some names that I've always liked and have always been familiar with (a couple are Joseph and Jenny). There are some I've always been familiar with but dislike anyway (Hannah and Michael). There are some names I didn’t like to begin with because I didn’t love the sound by itself plus was unfamiliar with them, but then after meeting toddlers named those, I thought they were adorable (a couple examples are Sterling and Gustave). There are feminine names like Agnes and Lorne / Lorna that I thought were hideous and then completely changed my mind about, after reading a book or watching a movie. I used to think Linda was boring and dated, but I recently met a 25 year old Lynda, and she changed my mind about it. There are some popular names that I was familiar with but didn’t like before they were extremely common, that I’m more neutral on as a result of seeing them so often (Emma and Mason). Then there are some popular names that I used to like but don’t like much anymore, as a result of seeing them so often, like Ava and Gabriel. And if I liked a name I was relatively unfamiliar with, and then met an annoying person named that, I’d like the name less instead of more (this happened recently with Cecil), but something like meeting a pleasant Gardenia (I have) would just convince me it (and by extension, maybe another rare name containing a gar or deen sound) could be likable/usable.
It really just depends on the name and the person or people I meet who have it.
This message was edited 8/14/2018, 2:26 PM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1