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I was at school with a very ordinary girl named Merlin. I was quite glad that there was something surprising about her. I would never think of using it myself for any human; could work for a cat or perhaps a horse.

I just picture the Disney version of Merlin unfortunately, and Merlin as an old man.
I’d pick something else if I wanted an Arthurian name.

If I met a man named Merlin I'd probably think it was more nerdy, rather than handsome. Like meeting someone named Lancelot or Anakin or Galadriel. Kinda cool, but nerdy and niche.

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I kinda like it ... however I am aware it's associated with a handsome actor playing some tv character, and that always puts me off guy names. I feel like it's sorta gross, if a person is considering names for a baby, and evaluates names for their opposite sex too much based on sex-appeal. It's one reason why I didn't seriously consider several guynames I really like and think are handsome, for my son when he was born.

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Also I like the sound of "Merlin," in theory, more as a name for a gal. It sounds a bit like Marilyn, and not a lot like any familiar guy names. Of course it's a GP, and the name Merlin is obviously masculine - but my enjoyment of imagining "what if" it were really originally a gal name, like Marilyn, kinda messes up my ability to enjoy it as a name for a baby boy.

This message was edited 10/27/2023, 1:18 AM

I don't like it at all

I love it. Arthurian reference, falcon reference, and it actually has a fairly "current" structure ([some syllable]+in fits with a lot of popular names even though the "Merl" part has old man vibes).

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I probably wouldn't use it as a first name for a baby because it still makes me think of someone with a long white beard, but I've seen it on regular people a few times and I definitely like it.

Other than the Arthurian connection have seen it used successfully as a character name by Roger Zelazny. Have never seen it in rl, but it would not surprise me and it's a dam site better than some of the trend names going.

I LOVE this name. I associate it with the BBC series of the same name which I also adore, and his actor Colin Morgan who did a fantastic job on the role. 💜