Silly names not just the forte of dazzling urbanites?

[Sheilbh]

Very selectively though. You won't hear a mother calling for her Percy, Stanley, Ethel, Myrtle, Martha, Roy, Victor, Bertha or Hattie in the playground.

My aunts and uncles born in the 20s to 40s were called Queenie, Emmie, Minnie, Rose, Victor, Lilian, Joyce, George, John, Peggy and Brenda, you don't see any of them much either.

True enough.  In my family - sort of grandparents generation - I had three Kittys (two Kathleens and a Catherine), a couple of Cathys, a Sylvia, a Jackie and a Norma.  Those names haven't come back into fashion, if they ever were in fashion.

[Capetan Mihali]

How does "Leon" strike everybody?  It was my grandfather's name, might be nice to reuse it on a son someday.  And what about "Eugene"?  Too old-fashioned?

I think I'd like to go with "Pauline" for a girl.

[HVC]

Whne i hear Leon i think wise old black guy. Eugene makes me think Eugene Levy. Pauline makes me think post op tranny

[Barrister]

Part of me wanted to use the name Gord, and of course call him Gordie.  My dad's older brother was Gordie.

But who the hell names their kid Gord these days?



Just think - some day in the future everyone will think names like Madison, Mackenzie, Jackson and Liam as being old people names, te same way we think of Ethel or Leon...

[Valmy]

That's another Scots thing. It's quite common for first name's to be mother's maiden names.

Is it?  Ah got it that explains alot.

Though I think putting Maiden names in names is pretty common for the English as well yes?

Boys names typically stay more constant (well more constant than Girls) but Girls names are absurdly trendy.  You can pretty easily assume a woman named 'Donna' is a Boomer for example.

[Valmy]

John is an uncommon name in England?

Yes, it has gone from the most popular name in the UK - it's my Dad's name - to 94th male name. I don't know a single child called John.
http://www.babynames.co.uk/popular-baby-names#name1=John

That is an unspeakably awful tragedy.

[merithyn]

Part of me wanted to use the name Gord, and of course call him Gordie.  My dad's older brother was Gordie.

But who the hell names their kid Gord these days?



Just think - some day in the future everyone will think names like Madison, Mackenzie, Jackson and Liam as being old people names, te same way we think of Ethel or Leon...

Gordon isn't a bad name, though. I've recently heard a kid called that around here. He must have been around 3 or 4 and running around the office mall I work at. Mom started out with "Gordie" then quickly progressed to "Gordon David!" 

I was thinking of that the other day, actually. It'll be strange to hear my grandkids say things like, "Mary is so old fashioned!" when it was the most popular name the year that I was born. So much so that most of the Marys and Marias that I went to school with went by their middle names instead. Of course, that may just be a Catholic thing. Dunno.

[Valmy]

Maybe by the time your Grandkids come along it will be a popular name again 

[Valmy]

Our most Siegesque of Presidents.

Do not talk badly of our nations greatest President

Besides 21 would be too old and fat for Siege.

[dps]

How does "Leon" strike everybody?  It was my grandfather's name, might be nice to reuse it on a son someday.  And what about "Eugene"?  Too old-fashioned?

I think I'd like to go with "Pauline" for a girl.

When I hear "Leon", I think of The Professional;  for "Eugene", I think of The Order of the Stick. 

Don't have any particular reaction at all to "Pauline".  Well, on reflection, either The Perils of Pauline or "Jethrine", but I actually had to think on it for a while.  The reactions to the boys' names came while I was still reading your post.

[derspiess]

How does "Leon" strike everybody?  It was my grandfather's name, might be nice to reuse it on a son someday.  And what about "Eugene"?  Too old-fashioned?

I think I'd like to go with "Pauline" for a girl.

My grandpa's middle name was Leon.  Can't figure out how that name got used in rural southwest Ohio.

[derspiess]

When I hear "Leon", I think of The Professional;  for "Eugene", I think of The Order of the Stick. 

Don't have any particular reaction at all to "Pauline".  Well, on reflection, either The Perils of Pauline or "Jethrine", but I actually had to think on it for a while.  The reactions to the boys' names came while I was still reading your post.

We had a couple old ladies at my church named Pauline, so that's what comes to mind for me.

[merithyn]

How does "Leon" strike everybody?  It was my grandfather's name, might be nice to reuse it on a son someday.  And what about "Eugene"?  Too old-fashioned?

I think I'd like to go with "Pauline" for a girl.

My uncle and cousin were named Eugene, and both went by Gene. To me, Eugene and Leon are both old men names, and there's not really any way to soften them. Pauline is an old ladies' name to me, too, now that I think on it.

But I'm going to offer you the advice I offer everyone who's considering what to name their child: If you like a name, use it. Don't tell anyone what you're thinking until after you've signed the birth certificate and sent it on the way. Everyone has an opinion, but in the end, the parents are the only ones whose opinions should matter at all.

Vetting it out to people is just asking for every horrible story ever told about why that particular name is no good. "I went to school with this kid named Leon who ate his bugers and played with himself during naptime. I wouldn't EVER name my kid that!" 

[garbon]

I think Leon sounds nice. Eugene, not so much.

[Capetan Mihali]

Middle names is a whole other story.  I have a last name for a middle name.  Growing up with mostly Italian-American friends, they all had first names for middle names, so I always felt a little weird about it.