I don’t mean to offend, but I think this could be an interesting and comic discussion.
I have never liked the “common” names: Sarah, Emily, Joseph, Michael, etc. Every third person I meet has one of those names and they’ve just become so mundane.
As for the best (and I’m certain others do not like them), I like Delilah a lot, and then French names like Genevieve and Colette.
Parents in France recently tried to name their baby Nutella. The naming judge shot them down. Not sure what their backup plan was. Maybe it was Hazel Nut… 
I have been aware of this law in France since graduate school. My French boyfriend’s father and his 2nd wife had a baby and they wanted to call her Swan. This name was also shot down by the judge back in 1985.
I had a relative whose name was Augusta. That’s bad enough. But to add insult to injury (the parents had not been in the US long and asked the Dr. for a suggestion to name her)… the Dr had an unkind sense of humor… as their last name was… Wind. Yup that was her name. Augusta Wind.
@jym626 I adore the name Augusta by itself, actually. It’s different.
Some parents need to have the names shot down. Apple? Really?
I would never name a child an unusual or what may be an unpopular name. Its too hard to live with, IMO, and its their life, not ours. Sorry, but no Gertrude, Edna, and I’d say no to Delila, Bessie, Mildred, Clarence, Norbert or Norman, Elmer, Clyde, Leroy. Just- no.
I like plain, simple, classic names, and I think those are fair descriptions of my kids’ names. Can’t go wrong. My own first name (no, it’s not Pizza) is kind of a dated name as you don’t see it on anyone under 40, but it’s a “normal” name.
I despise the name Gianna with every fiber of my being. My daughter takes great enjoyment in telling me that will be the name of her first child.
To be fair, it’s been all but butchered by English speakers in America, naming their kids Gianna and pronouncing it Jee-Ah-Nah. I like the original Italian pronounciation, Jahn-Ah, but that’s seldom used here.
Simple rule for me: No unusual pronunciations or spellings that will cause the child trouble or aggravation in the future.
I foresee much subtle racism in this thread.
Anyway, I have a name that is almost always a nickname. I’ve spent my life hearing “But what’s your REAL name?” It doesn’t irritate me all that much anymore but it drove me nuts as a kid. I’ve grown to accept it. (Never met anyone else with my name on their birth certificate)
There are names that I absolutely adore and ones I refuse to give my kids. I love names that can be or shortened to be gender-neutral like Alex, Jordan, Mac(Kayla, Kenzie, etc), etc.
ETA: My man of honor and my fiance both have the same name but their full names are spelled differently. MOH has a very unusual spelling for both his first and middle name- he’s just used to it being misspelled and doesn’t much care anymore.
I know an Emma Rose. That is pretty
“I foresee much subtle racism in this thread.”
Disliking made-up names or gimmicky spellings of names isn’t racist.
“I had a relative whose name was Augusta.”
I do also. And her mother’s name is Hyacinth. I like both of those names.
We have had a rash of babies in my family the last two years. So far we have Austin, Mara, Sara, Adam, Asher, Blake, Mason and Madison. Blake and Madison are both girls.
All names are made-up, PizzaGirl.
And as a historian and hobby genealogist, you’d be amazed at what our very white ancestors named their children… and were completely fine 100 years ago but would be revolting now.
“Anyway, I have a name that is almost always a nickname. I’ve spent my life hearing “But what’s your REAL name?” It doesn’t irritate me all that much anymore but it drove me nuts as a kid. I’ve grown to accept it. (Never met anyone else with my name on their birth certificate)”
My first mane is not nickname-able, and my kids’ names aren’t either, which was deliberate. (Not that they can’t be shortened affectionately, but there is no “official” nickname like Peggy for Margaret or Sue for Susan. ) Though I suppose I’m dating myself with those names, which aren’t heard much today!
I don’t like it when parents give their kids rhyming or other names that go together in a cutesy way.
Also, parents should think about giving their kids names that are almost identical, down to middle initials. A partner at my last firm and his twin brother, who is an important professional in finance, used the same travel provider and their names were so close and so unusual, along with identical birth dates had trouble for a long time with having their reservations and bills mixed up.
Very few people pronounce my name correctly. It isn’t exactly a difficult name either , but most people just assume it is pronounced like a name that is similar , but spelled differently. And my husband, being Swedish has a fairly common name, but people always spell it wrong , even if we spell it out ( like one would do when someone is searching a data base and spelling counts )
I am not going to list names I dislike because I feel confident that it will offend…
My D and her H are expecting their first child but are keeping the baby’s name to themselves until the birth – actually a good idea, since people will weigh in and everyone will have a different opinion. Let them just accept the parental decision, which I hope will be a good one. In any event, I really do think a child makes his or her own name impression eventually.
But I still give a lot of thought to this topic. H and I have a simple, fairly common last name (not Smith, but not too far in range from its predominance as a last name.) Now I appreciate, as I did not when we named our kids, that with a common last name you may want a less common first name. We gave our son a classic name which we loved and went well with our last name, but there must be hundreds by the SAME full name when it is Googled. (One of the past presidents of the college he attended had the very same first and last names, so some staffers thought my S was a relative of that guy.)
My son-in-law, on the other hand, has such a unique first name that I can get him via Google with only his first name! Yes, Googling his first name brings up … HIM! (Wonderful when my D was first dating him and we had yet to meet!) Plus it is only five letters and two syllables and it is spelled phonetically and I like it, and it works well with his somewhat common last name. He is happy with it as well.
So if I were to name my son these days I would give him a name that we liked, but would differentiate him more. (In other words, if my last name were “Smith” I would not name my son “John.”)
P.S. I am not a fan of “junior” as IMO two same names in the same household only makes complications. Let’s keep identities individual.
I’ve done genealogy. I know what my ancestors’ names were. They were names reflecting their ethnicity. Not sure what you mean?