How old is too old?

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Hello! Another spotlighter joining.

I don't have any children, but I would love to have some in future. I've always liked hypothesising about baby names although my taste has often been questioned. I like masculine names for boys, but I'm not quite as picky with girls. I do like names that I think will age well. Here are my favourites:

Boys:
Havelock (my absolute favourite name of all time that I've been summarily forbidden by friends and family from naming any future children, probably with good reason)
Sebastian
Erik (I prefer this spelling, but perhaps "Eric" would be easier?)
Hallam
Adam

Girls:
Alice
Bella (I loved these names long before Twilight came out, but now I'm not sure if they're salvageable, especially as a set)
Lucy
Gwendolyn ("Gwen")
Astrid (Uncertain about using it on a child, but I love it)
Morgan (I'm not sure whether I love it or hate it. There was a post on it recently, and I agree with every single reply: its absolutely badass, but I've always associated it with a boy)

Love/hate? Any suggestions on other names I might like?

Comments

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

I like Sebastian, Alice, Lucy and Gwendolyn.

[eveyalecia.livejournal.com]

I like Havelock-- it's unusual but not horribly so. I think it's a great name for a man, but needs a nickname for a young boy.

I also like Sebastian, Erik (I don't think the spelling makes much of a difference), Alice, and Gwendolyn.

I kind of hate Astrid (sorry!) but it's been pretty popular lately.

Morgan has always struck me as a boy's name, but I think it works fine for girls too. It is a very masculine sounding name.

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Haha I'm glad somebody else likes it! I guess Lock could be a reasonable nickname (I know lots of Lachlans with "Lach" as a nn pronounced like "Lock").

I've never met an Astrid, but I'm just dubious because it always make me think of Astrid and Hiccup - and even though How To Train Your Dragon was a great movie, I wouldn't want to think of it every time I said their name!

[edwardina.livejournal.com]

I think the "Lach" nn works just fine for Havelock.

[rosabelle.livejournal.com]

I like:

Sebastian
Alice
Lucy
Gwendolyn
Astrid
Morgan

I think both spellings of Eric/Erik are equally common? I've known an equal amount of both, anyway.

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Oh really? I haven't known any Erics, but I always thought "Eric" was more common. It probably depends a lot on where you're from: I don't think its a particularly popular name when I live. I just love how it sounds!

[fangirlism]

Erik (I prefer this spelling, but perhaps "Eric" would be easier?)

This is usually the opposite of what I normally say, but please go with Eric. I'm an Erika, and it's been "Erika with a k" my whole life, and while I joke about my spelling being the best spelling, it's gotten annoying going, "No, no, with a k" for almost 26 years.

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Mmm, that was my worry. =( Although I always thought Erika was spelled with a k! I've only ever known one though, so perhaps I'm just biased. Definitely the best spelling though. =)

[fangirlism]

Might depend on where you're from? In some countries (Germany, Spanish speaking countries, Japan) Erika is the most common/only spelling. In the US, it's second to Erica.

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Probably. I'm from Australia, and there are people from all over where I live so there is a lot of diversity in names.

[edwardina.livejournal.com]

I know a woman with the nerve to be named Ericka.

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Icon win! XD

I'm a sucker for the "k"s - I love how "Ericka" looks! Still, I imagine she would have to spell it out all the time.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I like:

Sebastian
Adam
Gwendolyn
Astrid
Morgan (but I love it on a boy)

[roxtarrr.livejournal.com]

Not sure how I feel about Havelock. Want to like it but I think it's something that would have to grow on you.

Love Sebastian and Lucy.

The only Morgan I've ever known is a girl so I've always thought of it is a girls name.

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

There's a town not too far from here called Havelock. I've always loved the sound of it, but have never considered it for a human name. It's certainly interesting.

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

I discovered it as a name first and a town second. It is really old, and it was pretty unpopular as a name even when it was around, so I'm not sure I'd use it on an actual child. I just love it! =)

[ringsandcoffee.livejournal.com]

I've known boys named Eric and Erik. My cousin is Erich, and a few students of mine have been Erick.

I have met one Astrid, she's in her late 40s now I think. She pronounced it "estrid" though.

My cousin and a little girl I baby-sat were both Morgan. It wasn't till middle school I met a boy named Morgan. So, it's a girl name to me.

[iantosgal.livejournal.com]

I love Astrid :) It's lovely.

I gotta admit that I hate the name Sebastian. My cousin is called Sebastian and I HATE it. There's just something about it.

But I like Adam and Erik, Astrid and Bella are very nice. Have you considered Deacon or Haden? Just throwing those out because they're old names that I like :)

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I hadn't given Sebastian much thought until recently. I tutor one of my old courses at my uni, and this year I had a mature-age student named Sebastian. He was really cool and it changed my perception of the name a little - it still reminds me of the arts a lot (I don't know, associations with characters from books I guess?), but I think it ages really nicely. Although... Sebastian from The Little Mermaid is pretty well known. >.<

Ooh, I quite like Deacon. Not such a fan of Haden.

[iantosgal.livejournal.com]

Lol, I hadn't actually thought of Sebastian fron the little mermaid! I think one of the reasons I hate it is because my granny had a dog called Seb (short for Sebastian apparently) and I just found it so weird that my auntie then named her child Sebastian and calls him Sebbie...it's just too much of a link to the dog for me lol!

I really like Deacon too :)

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see what you mean. There's no way I could name my kid after a well known pet. I'm also not a fan of the nn Seb - I much prefer Bastian (which is a name on its own! Maybe that would be better if I want to avoid Seb... hmmm).

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

I also just realised that both Eric and Sebastian are main characters from the little mermaid. Perhaps I won't use them both!

[iantosgal.livejournal.com]

No I don't like Seb as a nickname either...and not just because it was the name of the dog! lol!

Hahaha! Yeah probably not wise to go for two characters from the little mermaid lol!

[unboundvoice.livejournal.com]

Love the name Lucy!! It was going to be my sons name if he had been a girl of course. The first boy name you wrote, I mistakenly read for "have-a-look" since it was on the cut lol

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

I'm glad people like Lucy. The only time I've mentioned it to my boyfriend his immediate response was "Lucy Goosey", which was unfortunate.

Haha, yeah, I'm not sure if I'd have used Havelock on my kids even if it didn't have my whole family's disapproval. Too many annoying sing-along nicknames.

[spaceandclouds.livejournal.com]

I love Astrid! It's one of my favorite girl's names as well. I also like Alice, and none of the others are bad in my opinion :).

Where'd you find Havelock? I don't hate it, it just sounds a little like...a mangled "have a look" ;)

[banded-becky.livejournal.com]

I originally found it in a book: its the first name of Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Under further investigation, I discovered that it is a real name, albeit a fairly unpopular and extremely old one. I think its more common as a surname. There are a lot of towns called Havelock, and I've found it on some really old gravestones.

Whenever I mention it my family like to say, "Have-lock, will travel".

[spaceandclouds.livejournal.com]

Haha, nice. I guess it's cool that it's such an old name. The more I see it the more I like it, actually :)

[hermione-vader.livejournal.com]

I like:

Sebastian
Erik
Adam

Lucy
Gwendolyn
Morgan

"Eric," "Erik," and "Erick" are all in the Top 1000 in the U.S. right now, but only "Eric" is in the Top 100. "Erick" comes second and "Erik" comes third.

[raze--the-rose.livejournal.com]

I'm not really against Havelock. Though as somebody else pointed out, for a young boy you might need to find a nickname.

I completely agree with you on the spelling of Erik, but that's possibly because I just think "c" is the most useless letter in the alphabet. And it would probably originally have been spelled with the rune corresponding to "k" anyways...

I also love names beginning with "Gwen", though I'm not a fan of Astrid.

[chillinbabejodi.livejournal.com]

I LIKE:
Sebastian
Adam
Alice
Lucy

[hilzarie.livejournal.com]

I heart Havelock. Mostly because I heart Vetinari. I'm glad someone else does, too. :)

I also heart Bella, mostly because my middle name is Belle, and I refuse to read the twilight books because they've kinda made it so I can't name my kid any variation thereof, even though it's a family name.

[seizansha.livejournal.com]

i like Havelock, it's old and odd in a good way! you could be sneaky with it like my lil sis was with her last son. they wanted to use Atticus, but considering their location, her in-laws opinion and any nn would sound stupid they used it as his middle name. Ryan Atticus - we joke about his built-in rockstar name.

[pixie-bones.livejournal.com]

I love Sebastian, and like Lucy.
Gwendolyn and Alice are okay. Astrid...I used to hate, but it has been growing on me the past couple of years. :)

[hesmagicandmyth.livejournal.com]

I like your boy names with the exception of Adam. Adam just seems boring, especially next to to the rest of them.
There is nothing hard about the spelling Erik. Use it over Eric any day.

Girls:
Alice -Alice is okay, but the medieval Alys spelling is cooler.
Bella -I'm not sure if it's salvageable anymore either. Also it's SUPER popular.
Lucy -eh.
Gwendolyn ("Gwen") -not my style.
Astrid -This is my favourite from your girls' list.
Morgan -boy name. :( Not cool on a girl at all.


I'm not sure I would be much help with your girls' list, but here's some to consider for your boys' list:
Edmond / Edmund
Esmond
Cyril (pronounced SEER-el)
Julian / Julius
Emil
Hugh / Hugo
Rupert
Barnaby / Barnabas
Per / Pier / Piers
Marius
Anders
Titus
Declan
Willoughby
Sigurd / Sigmund
Nels
Rune
Viggo
Emrys
Callum
Amedee (ah-mey-DAY) / Amedeo (uh-MAY-dee-o)
Ezra
Atticus
Marek
Eben
Marlowe
Somerset
Hadley
Bridger
Simon
Jude
Gavin
Basil
Bruno
Leopold
Merrill
Torsten

[satunian.livejournal.com]

Morgan's a fairly unisex name, and heard on girls quite often... I think it works better as a girls' name, actually. Perhaps because when I first heard it, it WAS a girls' name.
Whether you prefer it on a boy or on a girl is one thing, but it's definitely not "not cool on a girl at all"

[satunian.livejournal.com]

Also, according to Nymbler.com, Morgan ranks #416 for boys' names, and #46 for girls' names. And my baby name book ranks it at 23 for girls' names in 1997.

[satunian.livejournal.com]

In this community we've discovered names waaaaaay more horrible than Havelock. It's weird and unusual, but not horrible at all. I can see it working well on a child, especially with a decent nickname, and I can see it aging well onto a young man, and an older gentleman. If you like it so much, use it!

I love Morgan, Lucy and Bella, though I know what you mean about it still being salvageable, thanks Twilight :\)
Astrid and Gwendolyn are nice too. Alice is meh for me, not a fan, but it's not a bad name.

Your boys names are ok - I like Adam and Erik. I prefer Eric but I don't think Erik is too weird or a problem (I had a teacher in 8th grade with this name. He was kinda weird, but the name still fit nicely). I don't like Hallam, and I've never really gotten into Sebastian. It seems fairly popular (well received, not sure how frequently it's actually used though) especially in this community but it's one of those names I just never really "got". It never struck me as a "manly" name.

[thatwriterashe.livejournal.com]

Love;

Sebastian, Erik, Gewndolyn, Astrid.

:)