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HelpIn defense of predictability... (but also wholeheartedly in favor of novelty)
in reply to a message by Array
To be fair, I think some of the people whose taste does fall decidedly outside of the Henry-August-Ava-Marina box don't really understand what compels anyone to work exclusively or near-exclusively from inside of it. Some people might just find themselves unable to move out of that kind of comfort zone or can't bring themselves to be daring. But others might find themselves unable to break out of that box because naming is a compromise, and can you really expect your I-like-Nathan-and-Jessica partner to go along with Ignatius Zimri? Very probably not, so why waste your time with it? As someone whose boyfriend has mentioned that he likes names like Nathan and Jessica (and other stuff that's "normal"), I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that I can get away with the likes of Atticus Tarquin or whatever.
This doesn't mean that I'm a fan of predictability, however. In fact, I feel like I'm being too predictable lately, and it's partly because I'm becoming increasingly annoyed with my own 'filler' middle names, like Violet, Juliet, and Delphine. I can trust them to work with most any name, but when I use them with most any name (and see them around the boards all the time), they get old. This is why we need more users who will suggest something novel - because personally, I don't want to get in a name rut, and who doesn't want to see a Euphemia Agnes Severina or what-have-you among all the Ava Graces, Eleanor Violets, and Rosemary Catherines?
I really wish posters with more unique tastes wouldn't go - they're the best part of this board. I don't want to let myself get talked into Maura Violet or Quentin Nathaniel if I could have Maura Guinevere or Quentin Emrys (or something even more adventurous than those) instead, you know?
This doesn't mean that I'm a fan of predictability, however. In fact, I feel like I'm being too predictable lately, and it's partly because I'm becoming increasingly annoyed with my own 'filler' middle names, like Violet, Juliet, and Delphine. I can trust them to work with most any name, but when I use them with most any name (and see them around the boards all the time), they get old. This is why we need more users who will suggest something novel - because personally, I don't want to get in a name rut, and who doesn't want to see a Euphemia Agnes Severina or what-have-you among all the Ava Graces, Eleanor Violets, and Rosemary Catherines?
I really wish posters with more unique tastes wouldn't go - they're the best part of this board. I don't want to let myself get talked into Maura Violet or Quentin Nathaniel if I could have Maura Guinevere or Quentin Emrys (or something even more adventurous than those) instead, you know?
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To clarify, since I feel my point may have been misinterpreted
I'm just trying to get another point of view out there. I feel like a lot of people are not really understanding where one another are coming from entirely, and I'm just giving my perspective on it.
I'd be happy to discuss any of the more outlandish names I mentioned (or even names more unconventional than those) with anyone seriously interested in them. I'd be happy to discuss them for myself if I were feeling a bit whimsical. But I think that most of the time the majority of this board wants to come up with something both distinguishable and workable: something that reflects their tastes while maintaining a subtlety that wouldn't shock, say, their partner. I'm not implying that unusual names (by board standards) are a waste of time in general, I just think that if I tried to take them seriously I'd be in for a serious letdown when I had kids. And for the most part, when I discuss names on this board, I discuss them with the intent of one day using them.
Plus, if I let myself get too caught up in the whimsy of unusual names, I fear that one day something along these lines might happen:
Me: "We're naming him Casimir Orion! Or if it's a girl she can be Lyra Hypatia Ruby!"
Him: "...how about Ethan? Or Ashley? Or a divorce?"
Well, okay, perhaps it wouldn't quite be like that on either end, but to be honest I just don't want to get myself too attached to names that I suspect most people would balk at, because when I get attached to things, it's painful for me to let go. So I try to maintain some sort of conventional usability in my combos. If that's a problem or if anyone thinks it makes me boring, well, I'm not sorry. I understand the appeal of unusual names and have felt myself called to them by their near-irresistible siren song before, but I can see why people are afraid to drift away from the more mainstream, too. You know, whatever, I'm just trying to point out that there are legitimate reasons to lean either way, and if we could all see that then maybe this place would be a lot more...well, chill.
I'm just trying to get another point of view out there. I feel like a lot of people are not really understanding where one another are coming from entirely, and I'm just giving my perspective on it.
I'd be happy to discuss any of the more outlandish names I mentioned (or even names more unconventional than those) with anyone seriously interested in them. I'd be happy to discuss them for myself if I were feeling a bit whimsical. But I think that most of the time the majority of this board wants to come up with something both distinguishable and workable: something that reflects their tastes while maintaining a subtlety that wouldn't shock, say, their partner. I'm not implying that unusual names (by board standards) are a waste of time in general, I just think that if I tried to take them seriously I'd be in for a serious letdown when I had kids. And for the most part, when I discuss names on this board, I discuss them with the intent of one day using them.
Plus, if I let myself get too caught up in the whimsy of unusual names, I fear that one day something along these lines might happen:
Me: "We're naming him Casimir Orion! Or if it's a girl she can be Lyra Hypatia Ruby!"
Him: "...how about Ethan? Or Ashley? Or a divorce?"
Well, okay, perhaps it wouldn't quite be like that on either end, but to be honest I just don't want to get myself too attached to names that I suspect most people would balk at, because when I get attached to things, it's painful for me to let go. So I try to maintain some sort of conventional usability in my combos. If that's a problem or if anyone thinks it makes me boring, well, I'm not sorry. I understand the appeal of unusual names and have felt myself called to them by their near-irresistible siren song before, but I can see why people are afraid to drift away from the more mainstream, too. You know, whatever, I'm just trying to point out that there are legitimate reasons to lean either way, and if we could all see that then maybe this place would be a lot more...well, chill.
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