A community for those interested in names. Your posts are welcome so long as they stay on the topic of names and remain civil
Baby Names
Alright, nerds, plz gather round my digital campfire - I need brutal honesty. No sugar-coating allowed. Plz give me first impressions (is the name too trendy? pretentious? a horrible idea?).
We don't know the gender (we're opting to be surprised!)
Boys:
Abraham
Ernest
Douglas
Julian (or should it be Julien?)
Phineas
Girls:
Roxanna
Waverly
Francine (but I loathe the nn Fran. Is it doomed?)
Avalon
Meriwether
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Q&A
Avalon and Meriwether should be removed.
Avalon reminds me of Avon ladies and Abaddon who is an angel of the abyss. Avalon is also the island where King Arthur got Excalibur. Actually, the more I’m talking about it, the more I like it so nevermind.
Meriwether is just unappealing to me. I can’t picture a child/adult/old person with that name.
Totally agree with you. The only Avalon I know is the small airport in Melbourne, Australia. Meriwether is very unappealing. I do have Spanish friend with the name Meritxell though. Very unique but very spanish (with Spanish pronounciation).
Yeah they are both awful.
The airport is in the middle of nowhere and to get there you have to drive through a lot of creepy darkness
Hahaha damnit it reminds me of my time in Melbourne. I hate that airport - once flying through that airport is enough
Mereweather and Waverley are also Australian suburbs.
I was going to mention the airport and then was like nah no one in this subreddit will even know what I'm talking about 😂
Oh no, plenty of folks have booked domestic thinking they were leaving from Tullamarine, only to find out there is absolutely no chance of making their Avalon departure once they arrive.
Avalon is a beautiful beachy suburb in Sydney, if we're after a positive association
Avalon is also a Toyota vehicle in the states
Might as well name your kid Camry or Corolla!
It’s also a beach town in NJ
Disagree, I know a young Avalon and I never think of Avon or Abaddon. I do think of the Mists of Avalon and King Arthur, it's a very fantasy feeling name. if she hates it there's Ava right there.
I actually really like Avalon. But when I suggested it to my husband, he said it reminded him of the city on Catalina Island near Los Angeles.
Avalon is also a beach town down the nj shore.
If this matters to you OP, the author of Mists of Avalon was later revealed to be a child abuser and to have enabled other people to abuse children as well.
I know a baby Avalon and I really like the name.
Lmao while you talked yourself into Avalon I was sitting here being like ‘everything you’re saying is good?!’
Honestly same. Tho for me it makes me think of Spyro 😭
Like, the OG Spyros. 1/2/3, from the PS1. I remember absolutely no other names from those games(I first played them when I was about 5) but I do remember Avalon. It was either the name of a world or the name of that… satyr chick? Was she a satyr? Fuck idk lmao lol
Avalar was the name of the world in Spyro 2.
If you liked Spyro (I grew up on those games, were probably the exact same age) I highly recommend purchasing the Reignited Trilogy. All 3 games in one, it was so nostalgic to play 🥹
That and it will almost certainly get shortened to Merri, which will get mistaken for Mary.
I always wanted to name a little girl Avalon, because of the Roxy Music album. Then Ava got popular and I decided against it.
Or Mickey Avalon, and the my dick song.
Someone PLEASE name a baby Misty Avalon
Where I live, Merriweather is the name of the local concert venue 💀
its also the name of the Blue fairy godmother in Sleeping Beauty
That was my first thought with the name.
Where I live Merriweather is the name on many historical landmarks along the Lewis and Clark Trail that Merriweather Lewis and William Clark headed. It was a masculine name historically.
This is my association too.
What is Abaddon? Is that a religious thing? I like Avalon for the King Arthur reference, but maybe it's not a good choice.
Abandon has a similar meaning to Hell/the Bad Place after death. It is a Biblical term.
Boys:
Abraham: Religious or older Jewish man.
Ernest: Southerner sitting on the porch w/ a hound dog.
Douglas: Neighborhood kid I knew growing up.
Julian (or should it be Julien?): Love and the nn Jules is a fav.
Phineas: Trendy thanks to Billie E.
Girls:
Roxanna: a show girl goes by Roxie (thanks Sting/Police for ruining the name)
Waverly: absolutely not, too trendy
Francine (but I loathe the nn Fran. Is it doomed?): can call her Frankie (not a fan of the name but out of your list this is best)
Avalon: fantasy core
Meriwether: your maiden name
Who's Billie E? Looked it up and is it Billie Eilish the singer?
Also yeah - was worried about that with Roxanna.
Meriwether isn't my maiden name but I get what you mean.
Billie Eilish has a brother named Phineas. Personally, I think more people in their 20’s would think of the show Phineas and Ferb more than Billie Eilish’s brother. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to use, though. Especially because he could go by Phin/Finn.
with that spelling i think the show, with finneas i think the brother
Phineas and Ferb. My mind went right to that too lol xD
It makes me think of Phineas Gage.
Was that the guy that got a spike through his skull and survived but his whole personality changed?
Ah, found a fellow sufferer in the wild lol. If I had a dollar for every time Phineas Gage was mentioned in past lectures... I might have been able to afford a house by now, who knows?
Phineas just reminds me of the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb.
Yes the singer, I'd assume that you were a huge fan.
Phineas nn would be so cute if it was Fin!
Meriwether is the name of one of the fairies in Sleeping Beauty. (the other 2 being Flora and Fauna)
“Julien” (with an E) is a Carly Rae Jepsen song, which is neat because 1) they’ll have a good song with their name in it, and 2) 99.9% of the population will never make that connection so they won’t have it sung to them constantly
It’s also the spelling of King Julien from Madagascar, who is a very specific (and annoying, imo) character.
also any kid named Julien is guaranteed to get called Julian all the time
This take is spot on. I would agree with all of these.
Perfect. All of this.
Abraham- Religious Jew
Ernest- you’ve heard of crazy cat lady. this is crazy cat man
Douglas- works in IT and has a bald spot at the top of his head. cheeto dust on his keyboard. lives in his mothers basement
Julian- I like this actually. Julien looks ugly to me. Looks like Julienne as in the cutting method.
Phineas- and Ferb
Roxanna- I just hear Rock. Agree with the other comment about horse girl. You just know Roxanna loves her horse
Waverly- Just doesn’t sound like a name
Francine- Fran and Franny are inevitable and the latter sounds like Fanny
Avalon- Sounds like a sports and outdoors wear company. Also doesn’t sound like a name. Reminds me of like duathlon and triathlon etc
Meriweather- absolutely not. Merry weather?? Will probs also get called Meri for short (I mean, it won’t be weather) and judging by your name style that’s probably too basic. I would personally bully a child with this name.
Hope this helps!
Waverly - a place or street name like the wizards of waverly place
Yeah we have a Waverly apartment building in my city.
100% (side note I forgot about Wizards of Waverly place. That was a good show haha)
It was a name in the novel and film ‘The Joy Luck Club’ so it immediately makes me think Chinese American. I personally dislike the name, mostly because as a Korean American the certain names my group fixated on got annoying. It was Grace and Jenny for Korean girls in the 90’s.
This is what I thought of as well. On one hand, all names are made up and I know I'm being judgemental, but the whole thing was that it's the kind of name someone chooses when they don't speak the language and don't know any better.. and it does have that vibe to me. Like, I knew kids in this position growing up and they were (lightly) the butt of the joke in a way I'msure got old real fast. Immigrant parents who didn't have enough grasp of the culture coming here to know that Johnson isn't a first name.
It's not spelt the same but this is all I can think of: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_Waverley_railway_station
I’m dying over your “Ernest”. All those cats are polydactyl, too!
I just wanted to let you know that I got that reference and enjoyed it
😂😂 harsh, but not uncalled for
I have a useless uncle Doug and you definitely hit the nail on the head (except for the having a job part), really made me laugh!
The most real comment in this sub
I wholeheartedly agree with every single point lol. Also my husband’s grandpa was an Ernest, and can confirm, 100% crazy cat man
“I would personally bully a child with this name” has me ROLLING.
LMAO. I love these - so so vivid. Okay.
Phineas and Fern? are they celebrities?
Also why have multiple people said Roxanna = horse girl?!? What reference is that?
Meriwether - I was hoping she'd be called Meri but LMAO you might be right. too basic.
Phineas and Ferb was a kids cartoon from a few years back. Two kids who get up to shenanigans. Personally I don’t like either. Julian is by far the best boy name on the list.
Also if you like Meri for a girl, why not Meredith?
P&F also rules out Perry, the platypus lol
Or Merryn? Or Merida?
Typo haha meant Ferb. It used to be quite a popular cartoon- because Phineas is relatively unheard of it’s my only association. Roxanna I saw the other comment and as soon as I read it, it just stuck.
Would Marigold work as an alternative to Meriweather? Similar starting sound, naturey, but (imo) nicer sounding and is recognizable as a first name.
I also really like Miriam, and I know one whose nickname is Miri, which I think is really pretty and cool.
Meriwether is often used as a bit of a derogatory term, too. A merryweather friend, for example, is only a friend when the ginger is good. Merryweather cyclists/joggers, etc, is a way of saying they're not really committed and only do it when the sun is shining.
I'm pretty sure the phrase you're thinking of is "a fair weather friend" not a merryweather friend 😂
Waverly is also a linen company
Thank you. You said everything I couldn’t write. And Ferb was the best.😭
This Douglas breakdown is spot on for the three Doug’s I’ve known.
I completely agree with you on every single name.
Abraham: old Hasidic man
Ernest: positively ancient, and “ern” is such an ugly sound
Douglas: kinda middle-aged but not bad, I might be tickled to meet a baby Douglas BUT Doug is a no
Julian: very nice; Julien is okay if you’re French I guess but he’ll cooooonstantly have to correct people
Phineas: pretentious but you could do worse
Roxanna: decent but Roxie is terrible
Waverly: awful trendy nonsense
Francine: ugly; you probably can’t avoid Fran
Avalon: patchouli-smelling hippie who will try to read your palm
Meriwether: lolololol no