I'd be happy to see either of them used, but I'm not sure how well I can explain why. They both have a guy-who-maybe-wears-corduroy vibe?
Cillian seems more rhythmic and happy-go-lucky (and Irish).
Phineas seems softer yet sharper or more absentminded professor.
Cillian to me is kinda like
Damien,
Ronan,
Diarmuid,
Oscar,
Eoghan,
Ciaran,
Gili,
Cassian.
Phineas to me is kinda like
Timaeus,
Percival,
Cedric,
Silas,
Orion,
Thaddeus,
Leonidas,
Sebastian.
I'd maybe put them both in a group with
Julian and
Xavier, but they're more off-beat than those.
Also, I just like saying them. I have a preference for 3-syllable names, so that's part of it. I prefer
Phineas without a NN, but I'm not bothered by
Finn.
This message was edited 4/12/2020, 8:08 PM