names in Prep

[celtic--punk.livejournal.com]

so i just read Prep, a novel by Curtis Sittenfeld, for the 2nd time because I loved it so much, and there are lots of interesting names in the book. for those who havent read/heard about it, its about a girl who is a "female holden caulfield" at an east coast boarding school who doesnt fit in (she's from the midwest and on scholarship; reasons why she feels different) in my opinion, the choice of interesting/some odd names in the book kind of display what celebrities do as far as name choices go: picking out there names in order to show they stand out from others and, because of wealth, are somehow better. This theme, not just because of names, however, is prominent throughout the book (wealth)

anyway, names in the book, along with my own personal commentary,  what do you think?

GIRLS:

Lee (main character; I've heard of this spelling used for men; for girls i've always thought of it as "leigh"
Martha (too old womanish; plus I think of Martha Stewart, whom i dont like)
Dede (short for Deirdre Danielle; I really like Deirdre)
Aspeth (um, wtf? no)
Horton (again, no. i wouldnt name a girl with something that started with "hor""
Norie (dont like)
Clara (if its cl -ARE -uh, then i like it; cl-AIR- uh, dont like)
Sin- Jun (korean name)
Conchita (latina name)
Rufina (latina)
Gates (i really dont know where this came from; nouns as names do not appeal to me; dont like as all; might be worse than aspeth)
Hunter (boys name, and even as a boys name, i dont like it)
Tig (wtf again? didnt even mention as a nickname if it was one, pray to god it was)
Sage (nope - its a spice)
Robin (dont like)
Daphne (dont like)
Kaley (ok name, dont like dont hate; wouldnt use it for a child)
Adele (no- sounds too old)
Maisie (dont like at all)
Isolde (not really; didnt even like the story)
Jean (too old fashioned)
Gina (better than Jean, still dont like
Melodie (dont like; see noun as name)
Sohini (i think an Indian name)
Ginny (dont like)

BOYS

Cross (hate this name; if it was just Ross i would like it; even weirder, he is Jewish, so i have no idea why he would be named cross....)
McGrath (as a first name? no....)
Devin (no; I like Kevin. And I've heard of Devin for a girl as well. even as a girls name, i dont like it much more)
Aubrey (also a girls name, isnt it? dont like it much for either sex)
Henry (too old fashioned)
Darden (dont like)
Edmundo (nope)
Tullis (wtf? dont even know how to pronounce it, with a long or short U, either way, its weird)
Renny (dont like)
Alfie (dont like)
Arthur (dont like)
Niro (dont like; plus its the name of the dictatorial roman emperor that was a bad ruler and persecuted/killed christians- different spelling, but same pronunciation i guess)
Nicky (childish - my brothers name is Nicholas, but we stopped calling him Nicky after 2nd grade)
Mario (dont like - nintendo character)


so yea, i am all for unique names (i have one myself, but it is an ethnic name) but these did not appeal to me very much. just curious as to what everyone thinks (book readers or not)