(no subject)

[kilobites.livejournal.com]

I was reading "Beyond Jennifer and Jason, Madison and Montana" and found a list of names that are defined as 'so far out, they will always be out', and I was wondering if any of the names appealed to anyone here!


Girls
Bertha
Beulah
Doris
Ethel
Eunice
Gertrude
Gladys
Hester
Hortense
Irma
Mildred
Myrna
Selma
Shirley
Themla
Velma
Verda
Wanda

Boys
Adolph
Alvin
Arnold
Bernard
Bertram
Burton
Earl
Edgar
Edwin
Elmer
Franklin
Herbert
Herman
Huburt
Hyman (yikes!)
Irving
Julius
Leon
Lester
Marvin
Maurice
Melvin
Mervyn
Milton
Mortimer
Myron
Osbert
Oswald
Rudolph
Seymour
Sheldon
Sherman
Stanley
Wilbur
Wilfred


If you had to use one of these for each gender, which would you use? For girls, I'd probably use Selma, and for boys, probably Mortimer (I actually like that name!)

Comments

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I don't think Julius is all that weird. I'd probably use that and Mildred.

[samaside.livejournal.com]

I don't think that Stanley, Leon, Julius, Irving, or Franklin are weird at all.

[madamesolitaire.livejournal.com]

Hester and Sheldon. Sheldon is actually sort-of cute.

[amspeck-myworld.livejournal.com]

Franklin is our top boy's name for the next boy :P

Though not on my top lists, I also like Rudolf, Edwin, Edgar, and Bernard (with the UK pronounciation) for boys and Shirley, Irma, and Mildred.

Wilfred is one of my top guilty pleasures (I would so use it if it wasn't for the poet Owen Wilfred when I already have a son named Owen...).

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

My mom's name is Gertrude. She goes by Trudy though, which I like, and which I think would be cute on a little girl.

I don't mind Shirley, Edwin, or Irving. They'd have to be on the right sort of person though.

[sweet-light.livejournal.com]

funny, my friend just posted this:
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/index.ssf?/base/news-0/122923112231930.xml&coll=3&thispage=1

[mrsduryee.livejournal.com]

That is really sick. Ick ick ick.

It doesn't help that the couple isn't really contributing anything to society, living off of social security, etc.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Ha, I just saw that on another community, it's really making the rounds. Those people are sick.

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

I actually love Shirley.

I hate all the other names, though. I guess if I had to use one of the boys' names it would be Leon.

[laminy.livejournal.com]

I could see using Selma, because of Selma Blair. For family reasons, I wouldn't be opposed to using Beulah, for a middle name anyway. Ethel's not too bad.

If I had to use one of the boy names, it'd probably be Sheldon.

[chirpygirly.livejournal.com]

The only girl names I would use and that's only if I was forced to, would be Selma and Shirley.

I'd have no problem using the boy names, Edgar and Sheldon though.

[aimeewins.livejournal.com]

I don't mind Shirley or Leon.
and my friend just named her son Herbert...

[heatherpantss.livejournal.com]

Burton isn't a bad name at all! I know a girl named Doris.

To me, a worse name is Orilla. It's my grandmother's middle name. Ew.

[mrsduryee.livejournal.com]

I would be willing to use the following:

Girls
Doris - I like this name. It's very Grandma.
Selma - I LOVE this. It seems modern to me
Wanda - I know a couple of Wandas, actually. It is becoming a pretty name to me, actually.

Boys
Burton - maybe hip snowboarder parents like this name
Edgar - not uncommon in Hispanic cultures. I kind of like it.
Edwin - I know a little boy named Edwin. He goes by Eddy.
Franklin - Very presidential, not odd at all, esp. as a middle name
Irving - I love this name.
Julius - not odd at all
Leon - seems normal to me
Milton - I know a teenager named Milton; it's v. literary
Oswald - I adore a famous man named Oswald Chambers.
Sheldon - I like this.
Stanley - I don't like this, but it seems normal.

[wistfuljen.livejournal.com]

I have always liked the name Beulah- it was my Finnish great-grandmother's name. I don't know if I would ever use it, but I love the sound of it.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I actually kind of like Mildred. For boys, I like Bertram, Edgar, and Mortimer. I wouldn't use any of them, though.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

Okay, I like Ethel. And Edwin is a wonderful name, as are Julius and Seymour and Wilfred.

Though the others I kinda agree with. They're just awkward.

[soulsplinter8.livejournal.com]

I've known guys named Edgar, Edwin, Leon, and Stanley...so those names just seem normal to me. I actually really like Edgar. I also like Alvin, Bertram, Milton (this one because of the poet), and Sheldon.

Julius is a family name, and I would consider using it as a middle name for that reason.

As for the girls' names...I think they're all pretty dreadful. The only one I even remotely like is Shirley, because I knew a lovely lady named Shirley. And because of the Anne of Green Gables connotations. :o)

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

Gertrude
Shirley

Bernard
Franklin
Irving
Julius
Leon (pronounced lee-IN)

[patsfan610.livejournal.com]

i have an aunt named Doris
the only name i might use is Julius
or maybe Edwin

[ber-waves-of.livejournal.com]

My friend just named her baby Esther.

[ringsandcoffee.livejournal.com]

My mom (age 65) is Ethel. My dad (73) is Adolf, but he was born in Germany and was named after a king or some royal figure, I forgot what he told me. I never thought they were that bad, and not nearly as bad as the names invented nowadays.

I do sort of like Shirley, Bernard, Leon, and Stanley. Oh, and Mortimer for a pet.

[ironqueen.livejournal.com]

I like Hester, Shirley, Velma, Edgar, Irving, and Wilfred. My grandmother and great-grandmother were both named Ethel.

If I had to choose, I'd pick Shirley and Edgar. I hate the nickname Ed though.

[corielcries.livejournal.com]

I don't mind most of those, but Bernard is actually on my list of names I like. Probably would never use it, but I like it just the same. =]

[bmwbabe007.livejournal.com]

Ironically, I have a friend named Irma, a great aunt named Mildred, and my grandfather is Lester!

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

How is that ironic?

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

Velma makes me think of Velma Kelly in Chicago. :)

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I like:

Mildred, Bernard, Bertram, Earl, Edwin, Julius, Sheldon

Some of these are my least favourite names ever, though, especially Gertrude. Ewww.

[istytehcrawk.livejournal.com]

I'd use Myrna and Franklin or Stanley.

[raisintree.livejournal.com]

I actually LOVE Edwin and Julius. Not out at all.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

I don't like Bertha personally, but I don't think it's awful. I've known two: an old German woman and a middle aged woman from Columbia.

Part of me kind of likes Gertrude and Hester. I think Hester is mostly because I like The Scarlet Letter. ;)

I think Bertram is a great name! The only problem is that I don't really like the nn Bert.
Edgar - kind of like.
Franklin - I like the sound of Franklin but I dislike Frank.
Herbert - was one of my favorite names, when I was in 6th grade, because of H.G. Wells.
Julius - Prefer Julian, but nothing wrong with it.
Leon - don't like, but it's my friend's brother's middle name.
Sheldon - Eh, okay. I can see it being used.

[the-theorist.livejournal.com]

Best baby name book ever!!!

For boys I still kinda like Franklin and Sheldon.

Maybe Shirley for a middle name for girls.

[0o-faerie.livejournal.com]

I'd use Doris & Julius! I think those are cute names, actually. Lester is nice too.

[girlsteve.livejournal.com]

Those are some of my least favourite names right there, although I do quite like Franklin and Leon (rather surprised they're on the list, actually.

If I had to pick a girls name I'd pick Shirley.

[murderprotocol.livejournal.com]

My great-grandfather's name was Huburt. I actually don't mind Mildred, and I love Velma and Myron - I think I'd consider using Myron to be honest.

I despise the name Sheldon with all my being, though.

[snailrevolution.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of most of the girl names, although I do like Myrna. The boy names are really not that bad. I'd consider Edgar, Bernard, and Sheldon.

[linds-ayyy.livejournal.com]

I think Julius is still relatively non-out...
I think I would use that and Ethel. I had a great-grandmother named Ethel.

[unmowngrass.livejournal.com]

The not-bad ones, imo, are: Doris, Ethel, Gladys, Irma, Shirley, Arnold, Bernard, Edwin, Hubert, Julius, Stanley, Wilfred. Of that list I really like Arnold and Edwin, and Ethel is my Grandmother's name so I may pinch it in the future. Most of these names are grandparent names. Some are fading quickly, and not getting picked up by the next generation down, BUT, I reckon, give it one more generation, and they will come back in fashion. With people living longer etc it is not uncommon for people to see their great-grandchildren born. And few people want to name their child after someone still living. My cousin Jack, who is 6ft 6in in his socks is still going to be known as "little Jack" for the rest of his life because he was named after our still-living grandfather Jack, and that, I think, makes my arguement perfectly. But, the names of relatives who have died, and perhaps another generation has passed since then, make good names, IMO. Because it has a connection to the family, but not so that the two people will get compared. (Or confused.) So for example, two of my grandparents died before I was born, my parents didn't want to use those names because it was too soon, but I actually really want the full name (first & middle combo exactly the same) from both of them, because it's not too soon for me. But I don't want any of the names of people I personally have known, even if they are now dead :-)

Which comes back to my point - give it another generation or so and they will probably come back in fashion.

[lickystyx.livejournal.com]

I actually know quite a few people with names from this list...

Bertha (a cousin)
Beulah (a cousin)
Ethel (neighbor)
Gladys (aunt)
Irma (a cousin)
Shirley (my fathers ex-wife)
Thelma and Velma (twins, my mothers best friend and her sister)
Wanda (a cousin)
Alvin (uncle)
Bertram (a cousin)
Burton (went to school with him)
Earl (my grandfather, my uncle, my brothers middle name, my son's middle name)
Edwin (my sweetie's name)
Elmer (uncle)
Herbert (my sweetie's fathers name)
Hubert (my sweetie's uncle's name)
Maurice (went to school with him)
Melvin (a cousin)
Milton (a cousin)
Wilfred (a friend of the family, and I also went to school with a Wilfred)