Henry: serious and wintry. I enjoy
Hal as a nickname.
Theda: reminiscent of
Bara, and thus vampish.
Charles: quite smug, but not unattractive. Makes me think of
Charles Ryder from
Brideshead Revisited.
Fern: not a very attractive sound, but atmospheric and Victorian.
George: solid, but unattractive. A sturdy farmer.
Marion: forlorn, romantic, lugubrious. I prefer
Marianne.
Hugh: breathy, reminiscent of
Laurie. I prefer
Hugo.
Emily: very boring, even though it's a close friend's name.
Dudley: makes me think of
Dudley Dursley. Umm it could work on a parakeet?
Augusta: adore this, as long as she doesn't go by
Gussie.
Everett: harsh, toffee-nosed. I'd rather meet a male
Evelyn.
Anna: timeless and beautiful but also very boring.
Royal: surprising and canine - or trendy celebrity.
Esther: bookish, sensible, with a great namesake.
Eleazar: slippery and unpleasant preacher in a 19th century church.
Mary: dull, but with an array of pleasant nicknames.
Avery: liquidy, forgettable, looks like a very... Something.
Stella: mawkish, mostly reminds me of
Philip Sidney.
Rufus: a boxer who was broken his nose more times than he can count.
Issa: hissy. Sounds like someone trying to say "it's a".
Rupert: slightly preferable to
Rufus, but sounds like he's
Robert with a bad cold.
Luella: silly, sounds like a heroine of an early telenovela.
Walter: curmudgeonly and a bit silly, like
Winston.
Cecelia: I love
Celia and
Cecilia. This spelling grates me.
Joseph: I don't enjoy it, but I like an idea of a
Joseph NN Seph (brother to
Persephone??)
Nelva: like
Melba - canned peaches - but somehow even less attractive.
Emery: very youthful, very flimsy, like
Avery, blends into two syllables.
Alice: I like
Alice very much. Sweet and enamel blue.
masculine list:
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124079feminine list:
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124080