[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers]
I guarantee you these names are not common in the UK, unless perhaps you’re at an OAP convention.
[/QUOTE]
What’s an OAP convention?
Are any people named “Algernon”, in the UK anymore? :eek:
[QUOTE=DrDeth]
And how do you pronounce it? 
I have always said “ee-an”.
[/QUOTE]
I believe it is supposed to be pronounced “ee-an,” as you say.
The aforementioned Ian Ziering, of Beverly Hills 90201 fame, pronounces it “eye-an,” which I have never heard anywhere else. Sounds weird to me.
[QUOTE=RealityChuck]
Colin (though that’s becoming more popular in the US)
[/QUOTE]
I know several, aside from myself.
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
Perhaps the Americans could pick out any unfamiliar ones in the top 100 for babies:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asp
[/QUOTE]
“Callum”???
[QUOTE=Ethilrist]
“Callum”???
[/QUOTE]
I have a cousin named Callum.
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
Perhaps the Americans could pick out any unfamiliar ones in the top 100 for babies:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asp
[/QUOTE]
Well, I can’t say as I’ve ever met an Oliver, though it doesn’t sound as out-of-place to me as most of the other names mentioned in this thread. I’ve never even heard of the name Callum, which ranked between 15 and 19 for the last five years. I think anyone named Alfie (#18 in '03) would get teased a lot in school over here. I’ve never met an American Connor, though I think it wouldn’t sound so unusual anymore, what with the fashion for Celtic names Sarahfeena mentioned. There are also several near the bottom of the list that I’ve never heard of: Rhys (how is that pronounced?), Aidan, Declan, Kieron, Jayden.
A quick glance over the top girls’ names turns up only one or two that sound odd to me, though I can’t imagine Eve ranking nearly so high in the U.S. as it does in the U.K.
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
Yep. Perhaps not as popular for babies as it once was, but not an old-people name in the way that some of those listed are (Basil & Rupert - and Evelyn is now mostly female and not very popular even as that)
Perhaps the Americans could pick out any unfamiliar ones in the top 100 for babies:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asp
[/QUOTE]
From that list, I would say Alfie, Archie, Harvey and Lewis are unpopular but not unknown, and Reece (spelled that way instead of Reese) and Finlay/Finley are very rare.
I’ve got one friend and two pupils all named Callum (or Calum).
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
Perhaps the Americans could pick out any unfamiliar ones in the top 100 for babies:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asp
[/QUOTE]
The only ones that strike me are Callum and Alfie. I would have thought that Alfie was short for Alfred, but apparently not.
And twickster, OAP seems to be “old-age pensioners” or something like that.
[QUOTE=The Weird One]
Rhys (how is that pronounced?)
[/quote]
The first syllable of ‘rhesus’.
I’m surprised you’ve not come across these, given the popularity of other celtic names in America.
I know a few Liams, but it’s mostly used as a diminutive for William.
[QUOTE=Kitchen Wench]
Not uncommon in the US, but definitely uncommon in the Midwest, Ian often gets mispronounced as “eye-an”…
[/QUOTE]
“Hey, Eye-an, get the eye-talian dressing.”
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
I’ve got one friend and two pupils all named Callum (or Calum).
[/QUOTE]
Errrr, I meant to add “all of Scottish parentage”!
[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
The first syllable of ‘rhesus’.
I’m surprised you’ve not come across these, given the popularity of other celtic names in America.
[/QUOTE]
There used to be a guy on the Weather Channel here who is named Declan Cannon. That was the first time I’d ever heard the name. And I’ve never run across anyone here named Rhys, I suspect because no one knows how to pronounce it. John Rhys-Davies is one of my favorite actors though so I managed to figure it out.
Elvis Costello’s real name is Declan Mcmanus.
Huh. A brief browse turns up Elvis Costello’s real name - Declan.
Dammit, Wee Bairn!!!
Ian is the name that causes confusion and misspelling around here. I haven’t noticed anywhere near as many American Tonys or Lees as there are in UK.
Graham seems to be a lot more common in the UK than in the US.
And in the “UK male name = US female name” category, we have Evelyn, Vivian, and Hilary.