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HelpRe: Names we never warmed up to... why do you love / like them?
in reply to a message by erb816
Most of those, I don't dislike, but I am not really fond of them either. They're OK.
I still am not in love with Brittany, but I did start warming up to it, around the time when it stopped sounding like a yuppie brat's name, because it was the name of a lot of perfectly nice ordinary women. I don't care for other spellings of it, but none of them are worse than the names Whitney or Courtney. I still dislike them as names, despite having had a lovely friend named Courtney.
Nicole is a spiffy name. I started to like it more when I realized I really like Nicola. I didn't like Nicole when I was younger because it was the name of some classmates I didn't like. Now I feel like Nicole is like Lauren. Smart and reliable, even if sometimes shallow
Angie is fun. I like it, maybe because of the impression of a really cool Angie (short for Angelique) I knew when I was a kid. It's like Annie + Gigi. A little bit abrasive, but in a good way. I like Angela too, it's a strong name, but I dislike prissy, anemic Angelina.
Names I don't see any appeal of (but don't really dislike):
Taylor
Owen
Alexis
Nathan
Connor
Ariel
Mason
Emmeline
Cora
Theresa
Kurt / Curtis
Heidi
Warren
Stuart
- mirfak
I still am not in love with Brittany, but I did start warming up to it, around the time when it stopped sounding like a yuppie brat's name, because it was the name of a lot of perfectly nice ordinary women. I don't care for other spellings of it, but none of them are worse than the names Whitney or Courtney. I still dislike them as names, despite having had a lovely friend named Courtney.
Nicole is a spiffy name. I started to like it more when I realized I really like Nicola. I didn't like Nicole when I was younger because it was the name of some classmates I didn't like. Now I feel like Nicole is like Lauren. Smart and reliable, even if sometimes shallow
Angie is fun. I like it, maybe because of the impression of a really cool Angie (short for Angelique) I knew when I was a kid. It's like Annie + Gigi. A little bit abrasive, but in a good way. I like Angela too, it's a strong name, but I dislike prissy, anemic Angelina.
Names I don't see any appeal of (but don't really dislike):
Taylor
Owen
Alexis
Nathan
Connor
Ariel
Mason
Emmeline
Cora
Theresa
Kurt / Curtis
Heidi
Warren
Stuart
- mirfak
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Replies
It's funny that you mentioned Whitney as a feminine name in this as well, since I actually like Whitney - or, at least, don't mind it. I used to really like it, because it was one of those "originally a surname but not too surname-y" names (i.e. not a "son" or occupational name) that seemed really sophisticated on a woman (to me). Maybe the glamorous, starlet persona of Whitney Houston had something to do with this (although revelations regarding her personal life seem to have been... um, anything but).
We have the same history and overall outlook regarding Nicole. I will say, though, that the Laurens made a better impression on me, which is why I still kind of like Lauren today (despite its ubiquity).
For the names you shared:
Taylor has that long-A leading sound that a lot of people favor (Aidan, Adrian, Ava... Jayden), and maybe sounds the most like a name of all the "occupational surnames as personal names." Even though its popularity spiked far greater with feminine usage, I still perceive it as a masculine name, though.
Owen is soft without being too soft, if you catch my drift. That long-O provides a necessary punch. I go back and forth regarding whether I prefer Owen or Rowan.
Nathan's fun! I used to disregard it because I'm not as fond of the nickname Nate - but that's more likely to come about with Nathaniel than Nathan. It might help that I remember Nathan as a friendly, fat cat my stepmom had for many years.
Is Ariel here a masculine or feminine name? I know in Hebrew it's masculine, but I can't shake the mermaid. That said, Ariel's English pronunciation is specified on BtN as EHR-ee-əl or AR-ee-əl, and both remind me of Arial font (or an aerial). I've actually always pronounced it ehr-ee-EL, and thus preferred the Arielle spelling.
Emmeline is pretty to me, but then again I like many -ine names. It strikes me as "storybook romantic." The only downside is the ubiquity of Emily and Emma likely causing some confusion regarding a real life Emmeline.
We have the same history and overall outlook regarding Nicole. I will say, though, that the Laurens made a better impression on me, which is why I still kind of like Lauren today (despite its ubiquity).
For the names you shared:
Taylor has that long-A leading sound that a lot of people favor (Aidan, Adrian, Ava... Jayden), and maybe sounds the most like a name of all the "occupational surnames as personal names." Even though its popularity spiked far greater with feminine usage, I still perceive it as a masculine name, though.
Owen is soft without being too soft, if you catch my drift. That long-O provides a necessary punch. I go back and forth regarding whether I prefer Owen or Rowan.
Nathan's fun! I used to disregard it because I'm not as fond of the nickname Nate - but that's more likely to come about with Nathaniel than Nathan. It might help that I remember Nathan as a friendly, fat cat my stepmom had for many years.
Is Ariel here a masculine or feminine name? I know in Hebrew it's masculine, but I can't shake the mermaid. That said, Ariel's English pronunciation is specified on BtN as EHR-ee-əl or AR-ee-əl, and both remind me of Arial font (or an aerial). I've actually always pronounced it ehr-ee-EL, and thus preferred the Arielle spelling.
Emmeline is pretty to me, but then again I like many -ine names. It strikes me as "storybook romantic." The only downside is the ubiquity of Emily and Emma likely causing some confusion regarding a real life Emmeline.
This message was edited 10/10/2022, 7:36 AM
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