# What are you favorite (first) names? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808 "2008-10-07T04:47:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![taterbug3918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@taterbug3918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taterbug3918)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/41 "2008-10-08T05:51:08Z")
> [@Pollux\_Oil](#): > > For girls, I like Bianca and Tayler, specifically spelled that way. I also like the name Bristol for a girl but I think I’m the only one that thinks of that as a name for a girl. 😛 > > For boys, I really like A names for some reason. Alistair, Aloysius, Asher are all favorites. Arturo too. Hah, no offense but I’m a girl and my name is Tayl **O** r - and I saw your spelling and went, “Gah!!” 🙂 Its too much like “Tyler” and I absolutely hate that name because people always seem to want to call me that… Asher is a fantastic name. My names: I’ve always been very fond of “J” names for boys: \*James (best friend just named her son that, gr) \*Jerry (not Jerold, just Jerry on its own) \*Jack \*Julian \*Jesse (a family name). However, I absolutely adore Oliver and if I ever have a son, that will be his name. Girls: \*Natalie \*Bethany \*Layne \*Rowena ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/42 "2008-10-08T06:20:10Z")
Boys names are easy: something that conveys strength, like Vulkan, or Caesar. Girls names you have to be a little more careful with. Chastity is nice, but may be a little too obvious. Prunella, Agnes, Ethel or Mabel can also do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/43 "2008-10-08T09:44:32Z")
Boy names: Jack (can be a nickname for John) Liam Michael Xavier Girl names: Mary-Anastasia Cliodhna Alexandria Rowan Thvia ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/44 "2008-10-08T09:53:32Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Well, I guess we have to get married now. I’ve been talking about naming my potential daughters Nemesis and Nike for years, while my friends just shake their heads in consternation. Either you’re kidding me, or you know me in real life and are messing with my head. There can’t be two of us. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/45 "2008-10-08T09:55:58Z")
I love Melody for a girl’s name, and funnily enough, I quite like the name Ivan for a boy. If the woman who wanted to bear my children had triplets, then I’d have a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/46 "2008-10-08T10:58:41Z")
Alexandra/Alexander. The full names, not the short versions. Cassandra Clarissa Jasmine Glory Melody Galadriel ( not that I’d actually name someone after a character ) Xavier ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/47 "2008-10-08T11:54:36Z")
> [@Pixilated](#): > > Alexandria My daughter’s name is Alexandra and it always bugs the hell out of me when people say Alexandria. That’s a city! Besides, my daughter’s other name is Victoria and when you put it all together that’s just too many ia’s. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/48 "2008-10-08T12:51:17Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Xavier I picked Francis Xavier as my Confirmation name so I could have an X in my name. It’s what happens when 12 year old kids are allowed give themselves a new name. In the '80s apparently Madonna was a common Confirmation name for girls. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/49 "2008-10-08T13:20:40Z")
Matthew and Claudia. My son is Matthew. He would have been Claudia if he was a girl, although my husband didn’t like it and we’d agree upon Diana. I was going to sneak it on the birth certificate. Later, when we were trying again, he agreed to it because I had had a miscarriage and he was being kind to me. As for my son’s name, my sister mildly admires that I got to use my lifelong favorite name for boys. If we had twin girls they would have been Georgia and Enza after their grandfathers George and Enzo. It’s not that I revere my father and father in law so much, I just thought it would have been cool. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/50 "2008-10-08T13:31:32Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > I named my daughter Annabel because I thought it was such a beautiful name. I get a lot of compliments on it… As well you should. Look up, if you haven’t already, Don Henley’s lullaby for his daughter. The song (from the album _Inside Job_) and the little girl are both called “Annabel.” ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/51 "2008-10-08T13:36:40Z")
I love the name Siobhan, but I wouldn’t saddle my kid with it because it would always get mangled. Other girls names include Bridget (my confirmation name), Madeleine, Corinna, and Alice. Boys: Nicholas, Aidan, Tristan. ---
**Author:** ![Sqwerticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Sqwerticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqwerticus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/52 "2008-10-08T17:01:30Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > I love the name Siobhan, but I wouldn’t saddle my kid with it because it would always get mangled. As a Siobhan, I can confirm that it does get mangled. Not a big deal though, as far as I’m concerned - I like the sound of it, and often people are interested in how and why it’s spelled that way. It can be a bit of a pain when you also have a tricky surname, and you want to give a name to book a taxi or reserve a table at restaurant. Much International Alphabetting ensues. Or I lie. I love the name Aobh (Aeve) but think for your average Brit (I live in Dorset) it’s a trickier one than even Siobhan. I’m not really a fan of picking a ‘foreign’ name and then altering it for the convenience of the masses. And I say that as the English born offspring of Irish parents. I am inordinantly fond of the names Jo or Alex for either a boy or a girl. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/53 "2008-10-08T17:10:23Z")
Nick. I thought of it one morning while shaving. But seriously folks… I have always thought the name Roxanne was way cool. Long before The Police popularized it I had a vision of what a Roxanne would look like. Sting wasn’t far off. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/54 "2008-10-08T19:33:02Z")
> [@Sqwerticus](#): > > As a Siobhan, I can confirm that it does get mangled. Not a big deal though, as far as I’m concerned - I like the sound of it, and often people are interested in how and why it’s spelled that way. It can be a bit of a pain when you also have a tricky surname, and you want to give a name to book a taxi or reserve a table at restaurant. Much International Alphabetting ensues. Or I lie. > > I love the name Aobh (Aeve) but think for your average Brit (I live in Dorset) it’s a trickier one than even Siobhan. I’m not really a fan of picking a ‘foreign’ name and then altering it for the convenience of the masses. And I say that as the English born offspring of Irish parents. > > I am inordinantly fond of the names Jo or Alex for either a boy or a girl. My friend Siobhan is Irish of Asian extraction and in England she was always getting called things like “Sy-ob-han”. It’s more common there than it used to be though. I think it’s a loverly name. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/55 "2008-10-08T19:36:21Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > My friend Siobhan is Irish of Asian extraction and in England she was always getting called things like “Sy-ob-han”. It’s more common there than it used to be though. I think it’s a loverly name. It’s pronounced Sher-vorn, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/56 "2008-10-08T19:42:02Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > It’s pronounced Sher-vorn, isn’t it? Nope, it’s Sha-VAHN. ---
**Author:** ![Sqwerticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Sqwerticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqwerticus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/57 "2008-10-08T20:12:50Z")
I say ‘Shvawn’ - almost a single syllable. That’s what I prefer to be called. That’s how my Waterford mother says it too. Sigh-oh-ban is very popular, but my recent favourite was Slobodan, as the person thought I was ‘one of those Polish workers’. I’d rather people gave it an enthusiastic go and get it wildly wrong than mumble incoherently, which is the other popular option. ---
**Author:** ![SpecialAgentJem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@SpecialAgentJem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpecialAgentJem)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/58 "2008-10-08T22:34:16Z")
Guy names I love : Toby Coby Girl names I love: Georgina (which is actually my middle name) and Morley (as a boy or girl name) Im sure there are more but I think Im too tired to think - if that at all makes sense?! Tbc! ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/59 "2008-10-08T23:09:55Z")
Girls: Paige Ashlee Rachael Ainsley Jessi Sara and my personal favorite, 'licia. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808/60 "2008-10-09T00:44:46Z")
Boy: Joseph Toby Girl: Kara Jane [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-favorite-first-names/466808.md?page=4)