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HelpRe: My favourite English & Celtic names
in reply to a message by Felie
US English perspective here:
Aderyn - I like it, but the "yn" ending could make it sound like a trendy name in the US.
Aenor - I like it, it sounds a little mysterious and regal but not too dramatic to use.
Aife / Aoife - I like it, but I think it looks better than it sounds. I especially like the look of Aoife.
Aileen - The "een" ending is dated here. I think Aileen (and Coleen, and maybe Kathleen) sound less dated than some of the others (Noreen, Doreen, Loreene, etc.) but I think this name would be lumped in with those "mom/grandma" names. I've never actually met an Aileen, but I do know an Eileen. All the een/ene people I know are grandma aged, except for one Kathleen who is younger.
Aisling - I like the way this looks, but i think most people here don't know how to pronounce it. The only person I've met in the US with a related name was named Aislinn but pronounced in an Americanized way (like Ace-lin).
Alastrina (v. Alastriona) - I love Alastriona. I know Alastrina would be easier for people to pronounce, but Trina is a somewhat dated name/nickname here and I really like how Alastriona looks. I've never met one but I had a friend who used to go by this name online so that's where I learned how to pronounce it. I think the name Hermione could be used to explain the 'o' in Alastriona to Americans because everyone learned how to pronounce Hermione when Harry Potter was popular, so they learned to make the little "uh" sound that's not even a full syllable.
Alice - I like this. It definitely has a vintage and cute feel. It will make people think of Alice in Wonderland. I think it might be coming back, but it's more common on older people in my experience. I've also met a lot of cats named Alice. People here would consider Alice as a baby name to be cute and sweet. It's definitely dated, but not in a bad way. I think it's also whimsical and it reminds me of lace and tea parties.
Alyssa - This name was very popular among my generation (90's babies). It would be very dated on a baby now. I actually like the sound, but it's heavily associated with my high school days.
Amber - This was already dated when I was born and I think it still is. I know one Amber who is a little younger than me, otherwise I think they were mostly born in the 80's. I like the name though, and if you don't mind it being dated I think it's nice. The imagery of brown-gold and the idea of finding things preserved in amber makes it interesting, and the sound honestly doesn't follow a dated pattern. I also like Ember, which isn't dated but sounds similar.
Amberly - This one I think is too dated. It's like a combination of an 80's trend with a 90's trend, both are dated but they also clash with each other. It sounds fine without any of the baggage but I don't think the datedness of this one is ignorable.
Amice - This one looks weird to me. I've never met one, and I would have to look up the pronunciation (right now I wouldn't even be able to guess if it's 3 syllables or 2, or where the emphasis is, or which sounds the vowels make.) The word "mice" pops out at me.
Amity - I've seen this but I'm not sure where. My brain wants to say "Amity Jane" but I think it's just confused about "Calamity Jane" lol. It's not my style, but it is interesting and I think I'd be happy to see it on a kid. Reminds me of Verity, which I like better.
Angharad - I love this one! But again, I don't think most people here would be able to pronounce it. I'm not even sure if I'm pronouncing it right. The only place I've seen this besides the mythology reference is in The Blue Sword (the main character is Angharad, Harry for short, later becomes Harimad).
April - It's cute, and I like the idea of a spring name, but in practice it's a little overdone. It's not dated but I think it's become too much of a "normal name" to really carry the springtime imagery like it wants to. It has too much preppy or poppy ("ditzy" maybe?? but that sounds harsher than what I mean).
Aspen - I think a lot of people would say the same thing about Aspen as I did about April, but I like Aspen anyway. I haven't really seen it get overused, even though a lot of people talk about it. Both April and Aspen sound blond to me. I'd consider this a light, airy kind of nature name like Lily (even though it's a tree, it's a light kind of tree I guess.) The only problem is that the first syllable is "ass" and if you name your baby Aspen it might come back to bite them in the... you know.
Astoria - It sounds like a good character name, but in real life it sounds too much like a place name. There's also the problem of Tori, which is a nickname I would want to avoid. Story would be a cute nickname though.
Autumn - It's a little dated, but I've seen it used on several generations and it never really sounds out of place. The word itself is a little awkward, and the "um" ending doesn't sound feminine, but people are used to Autumn as a girl name. The "mn" is a little weird, but autumn is a common word that everyone learns to spell so it doesn't really cause any problems.
Avalon - I really wish this worked better as a name because I like the sound and Arthurian legend, but at least where I live it's taken on the sound of a brand name and it's annoying. Like I'd still be happy to meet someone named Avalon but my mind would also be full of companies and locations. The first one I thought of was "Avalon Organics" but right now if I google Avalon the suggestions are for companies like interior design, flooring, apartments, etc. It's so overused in brand names that it's almost ruined for a person.
Avril - It's nice and chipper and springy, but everyone here will think of Avril Lavigne and try to say it with that awkward Advil-like pronunciation that Avril Lavigne uses. (Come on people! You don't have to use the French "r" but can you at least TRY with the "il"?)
Azure - I like this. It's a color everyone's familiar with but it still sounds namey (not like being named Green or Blue). The sound is pretty and elegant without being OTT. That z sound might be hard for some people to say but it is used in common words like vision, fusion, etc.
Aderyn - I like it, but the "yn" ending could make it sound like a trendy name in the US.
Aenor - I like it, it sounds a little mysterious and regal but not too dramatic to use.
Aife / Aoife - I like it, but I think it looks better than it sounds. I especially like the look of Aoife.
Aileen - The "een" ending is dated here. I think Aileen (and Coleen, and maybe Kathleen) sound less dated than some of the others (Noreen, Doreen, Loreene, etc.) but I think this name would be lumped in with those "mom/grandma" names. I've never actually met an Aileen, but I do know an Eileen. All the een/ene people I know are grandma aged, except for one Kathleen who is younger.
Aisling - I like the way this looks, but i think most people here don't know how to pronounce it. The only person I've met in the US with a related name was named Aislinn but pronounced in an Americanized way (like Ace-lin).
Alastrina (v. Alastriona) - I love Alastriona. I know Alastrina would be easier for people to pronounce, but Trina is a somewhat dated name/nickname here and I really like how Alastriona looks. I've never met one but I had a friend who used to go by this name online so that's where I learned how to pronounce it. I think the name Hermione could be used to explain the 'o' in Alastriona to Americans because everyone learned how to pronounce Hermione when Harry Potter was popular, so they learned to make the little "uh" sound that's not even a full syllable.
Alice - I like this. It definitely has a vintage and cute feel. It will make people think of Alice in Wonderland. I think it might be coming back, but it's more common on older people in my experience. I've also met a lot of cats named Alice. People here would consider Alice as a baby name to be cute and sweet. It's definitely dated, but not in a bad way. I think it's also whimsical and it reminds me of lace and tea parties.
Alyssa - This name was very popular among my generation (90's babies). It would be very dated on a baby now. I actually like the sound, but it's heavily associated with my high school days.
Amber - This was already dated when I was born and I think it still is. I know one Amber who is a little younger than me, otherwise I think they were mostly born in the 80's. I like the name though, and if you don't mind it being dated I think it's nice. The imagery of brown-gold and the idea of finding things preserved in amber makes it interesting, and the sound honestly doesn't follow a dated pattern. I also like Ember, which isn't dated but sounds similar.
Amberly - This one I think is too dated. It's like a combination of an 80's trend with a 90's trend, both are dated but they also clash with each other. It sounds fine without any of the baggage but I don't think the datedness of this one is ignorable.
Amice - This one looks weird to me. I've never met one, and I would have to look up the pronunciation (right now I wouldn't even be able to guess if it's 3 syllables or 2, or where the emphasis is, or which sounds the vowels make.) The word "mice" pops out at me.
Amity - I've seen this but I'm not sure where. My brain wants to say "Amity Jane" but I think it's just confused about "Calamity Jane" lol. It's not my style, but it is interesting and I think I'd be happy to see it on a kid. Reminds me of Verity, which I like better.
Angharad - I love this one! But again, I don't think most people here would be able to pronounce it. I'm not even sure if I'm pronouncing it right. The only place I've seen this besides the mythology reference is in The Blue Sword (the main character is Angharad, Harry for short, later becomes Harimad).
April - It's cute, and I like the idea of a spring name, but in practice it's a little overdone. It's not dated but I think it's become too much of a "normal name" to really carry the springtime imagery like it wants to. It has too much preppy or poppy ("ditzy" maybe?? but that sounds harsher than what I mean).
Aspen - I think a lot of people would say the same thing about Aspen as I did about April, but I like Aspen anyway. I haven't really seen it get overused, even though a lot of people talk about it. Both April and Aspen sound blond to me. I'd consider this a light, airy kind of nature name like Lily (even though it's a tree, it's a light kind of tree I guess.) The only problem is that the first syllable is "ass" and if you name your baby Aspen it might come back to bite them in the... you know.
Astoria - It sounds like a good character name, but in real life it sounds too much like a place name. There's also the problem of Tori, which is a nickname I would want to avoid. Story would be a cute nickname though.
Autumn - It's a little dated, but I've seen it used on several generations and it never really sounds out of place. The word itself is a little awkward, and the "um" ending doesn't sound feminine, but people are used to Autumn as a girl name. The "mn" is a little weird, but autumn is a common word that everyone learns to spell so it doesn't really cause any problems.
Avalon - I really wish this worked better as a name because I like the sound and Arthurian legend, but at least where I live it's taken on the sound of a brand name and it's annoying. Like I'd still be happy to meet someone named Avalon but my mind would also be full of companies and locations. The first one I thought of was "Avalon Organics" but right now if I google Avalon the suggestions are for companies like interior design, flooring, apartments, etc. It's so overused in brand names that it's almost ruined for a person.
Avril - It's nice and chipper and springy, but everyone here will think of Avril Lavigne and try to say it with that awkward Advil-like pronunciation that Avril Lavigne uses. (Come on people! You don't have to use the French "r" but can you at least TRY with the "il"?)
Azure - I like this. It's a color everyone's familiar with but it still sounds namey (not like being named Green or Blue). The sound is pretty and elegant without being OTT. That z sound might be hard for some people to say but it is used in common words like vision, fusion, etc.
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