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Help[Opinions] British names
What names do you consider to be entirely British? Would it be odd to use these names say, in America or Sweden? Just wondering.
My idea of very British names:
Imogen
Nigel
Penelope
Harry
Winston
Edwin
Beatrix
My idea of very British names:
Imogen
Nigel
Penelope
Harry
Winston
Edwin
Beatrix
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
Since you mentioned Sweden...
Imogen - I'm afraid it resembles the word 'omogen' too much, which means immature.
Nigel - This would be pronounced Nee-gel with a hard 'g', not so attractive for Swedish parents, 'igel' means leach.
Penelope - Shorter names are in vogue right now, so no.
Harry - This could very well be used, and has been.
Winston - Possibly, it could happen, I'm just not that fond of it...
Edwin - Surely.
Beatrix - Beatrice is used, but the letter 'x' isn't so popular.
I couldn't say about entirely British sounding names, but I guess I consider these names to be quite British; well, English, Welsh and Scottish:
Archie
Tamsin
Philippa, Pippa
Roger
Raymond
Lwellyn
Desmond
Kitty
Prunella
Colin
Bertie
Mary
Tilly
etc.
Imogen - I'm afraid it resembles the word 'omogen' too much, which means immature.
Nigel - This would be pronounced Nee-gel with a hard 'g', not so attractive for Swedish parents, 'igel' means leach.
Penelope - Shorter names are in vogue right now, so no.
Harry - This could very well be used, and has been.
Winston - Possibly, it could happen, I'm just not that fond of it...
Edwin - Surely.
Beatrix - Beatrice is used, but the letter 'x' isn't so popular.
I couldn't say about entirely British sounding names, but I guess I consider these names to be quite British; well, English, Welsh and Scottish:
Archie
Tamsin
Philippa, Pippa
Roger
Raymond
Lwellyn
Desmond
Kitty
Prunella
Colin
Bertie
Mary
Tilly
etc.
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None of those seem "too British" to use. The most British one in my opinion is Nigel, and I know a Nigel here in America and it suits him wonderfully. I also plan on using Imogen myself. When I think of really British names Nigel, Neville, Ian, Basil and Edmund always come to mind. Fiona, too, though I know it's Irish. I know an English Fiona, so that is probably why.
This message was edited 7/4/2007, 10:20 AM
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actually if you look closer you will see that penelope is an ancient greek name which is used very often in greece today.so i wouldn't exactly call it a british name. no offence just fyi
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Oh, no offense taken. I agree with jeziana though when she says it is associated with the Brits.
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it's always nice to exchange views. it's what forums are for! take care
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we know Penelope is a Greek name, and a beautiful one, but some people just associate the bearers as British. My friends Aunt Jenny, who is now 30, was going to be named Penelope, but this was changed to Jenny. In Jenny's words "I'm so glad I wasn't a Penelope. It's posh, stupid, and no one would ever say it right - just like that Pers-ef-phone" I giggled, and would never admit to her that, being a name nerd, I know it as Persephone :)
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I'm English and I agree with you about Imogen, Nigel, Penelope, Harry and Beatrix. (Nigel is a bit dated though)
Winston is a name (like Reginald) which I have seen used more in the black / Jamaican community. Edwin is really not popular here at all.
IMO nicknames as first names like Millie and Alfie are very 'British'
Winston is a name (like Reginald) which I have seen used more in the black / Jamaican community. Edwin is really not popular here at all.
IMO nicknames as first names like Millie and Alfie are very 'British'
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The popularity list in England is full of them!
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Seems to me this is also common in the New England area
I have relatives in Pennsylvania, New York and Boston. They all do this -ee thing. Cliffy, Kurty, Jackie, etc - all grown men. Bostonians refer to state troopers as "staties." It sounds so childish to me!
I have relatives in Pennsylvania, New York and Boston. They all do this -ee thing. Cliffy, Kurty, Jackie, etc - all grown men. Bostonians refer to state troopers as "staties." It sounds so childish to me!
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Just off the top of my head:
Harriet
Winston
Rupert
Fiona
Alfie (God, I hate this name!)
Neville
Nigel
Archibald
Basil
Reginald (though I also consider this a black American name)
Annabelle
Imogen
Beryl
Most of these are either very oudtated (how many Nevilles under the age of 60 could you find, even in Britain?) And most have never been popular in the US anyway, like Rupert, which will probably never catch on. So it wold be a bit odd to see most of these in the US, although Annabelle and Fiona have gained some use with certain types of people.
Harriet
Winston
Rupert
Fiona
Alfie (God, I hate this name!)
Neville
Nigel
Archibald
Basil
Reginald (though I also consider this a black American name)
Annabelle
Imogen
Beryl
Most of these are either very oudtated (how many Nevilles under the age of 60 could you find, even in Britain?) And most have never been popular in the US anyway, like Rupert, which will probably never catch on. So it wold be a bit odd to see most of these in the US, although Annabelle and Fiona have gained some use with certain types of people.
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You never know... Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies) has certainly increased the name's recognition in the US, even if only a bit. I personally know two preteen girls who swoon over young Mr. Grint, and could be influenced thereby to use the name on a son in ten years or so, especially if the young man transitions to a successful adult career.
You never know.
You never know.
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lol, one never knows, do one?
I've never seen the Harry Potter movies so I was not aware of Rupert Grint. The only Ruperts I know of are Murdoch, Holmes (The Ina Colada song) and this old radio commercial for a used auto-parts store (probably a chop-shop, now I think about it) which featured a goofy country-bumpkin character named Rupert. "Hey thay-er!" he'd shout to start the ad.
I've never seen the Harry Potter movies so I was not aware of Rupert Grint. The only Ruperts I know of are Murdoch, Holmes (The Ina Colada song) and this old radio commercial for a used auto-parts store (probably a chop-shop, now I think about it) which featured a goofy country-bumpkin character named Rupert. "Hey thay-er!" he'd shout to start the ad.
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Harriet: I think of this as American because it reminds me of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Rupert: I agree, this seems very British to me. I never knew it was not popular in Britain though.
Alfie: This reminds me of that hairy creature that used to have it's own TV program.
Neville: Again, very British but I didn't know it wasn't popular.
Nigel: Oh, this is a good one. It reminds me of the character on the TV show Frasier.
Archibald: Very british. Is this one popular at all? Is it even in the top 1000's in Britain?
Basil: I rank this with Herb, which I also see as a Brit name.
Reginald: This is a butler name to me. You mention that it reminds you of a black American name, which I suppose is true. The black people I know with the name Reginald always go by Reggie though.
Beryl: I always thought this was from a germanic language. Eh, you learn something new every day.
Rupert: I agree, this seems very British to me. I never knew it was not popular in Britain though.
Alfie: This reminds me of that hairy creature that used to have it's own TV program.
Neville: Again, very British but I didn't know it wasn't popular.
Nigel: Oh, this is a good one. It reminds me of the character on the TV show Frasier.
Archibald: Very british. Is this one popular at all? Is it even in the top 1000's in Britain?
Basil: I rank this with Herb, which I also see as a Brit name.
Reginald: This is a butler name to me. You mention that it reminds you of a black American name, which I suppose is true. The black people I know with the name Reginald always go by Reggie though.
Beryl: I always thought this was from a germanic language. Eh, you learn something new every day.
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A comment from a Brit chic...
Harriet: still mildly popular in some parts of the UK today.
Rupert: Never met a Rupert, it's very "upperclass" and I live in a middle class very British Asian sort of area...
Alfie: trendy.
Neville: Not popular at all today, though it may make a comeback, due to popular character Neville Longbottom (or so I've been told)
Nigel: never met one myself, though I've seen a fair few on TV.
Archibald: to me, this is what someone would think a British person would be called, though in reality they are a Jack with sisters Chloe and Ellie.
Basil: there's a popular kids TV show called Basil Brush, where Basil is a puppet fox. I still love the name though, as a GP. I don't think many kids are called Basil though.
Reginald: Nope. Reggie I've heard of though.
Beryl: sweet old lady name, I do love it.
Names I personally associate with Britain:
Ellie, as a full name (they are everywhere!)
Freya, Imogen, Ruby, Ava, Emma (off the top of my head) have been on the rise recently. Chloe was no 1 for a few years, and is very popular among the sub-culture we know and "love" as chavs (which you can find on wikipedia if you really can be bothered). Jack has been no 1 for years, so the UK equivalent of Jacob.
But most names I encounter are Asian or Eastern European, so I'm not a good representative of the whole country.
Harriet: still mildly popular in some parts of the UK today.
Rupert: Never met a Rupert, it's very "upperclass" and I live in a middle class very British Asian sort of area...
Alfie: trendy.
Neville: Not popular at all today, though it may make a comeback, due to popular character Neville Longbottom (or so I've been told)
Nigel: never met one myself, though I've seen a fair few on TV.
Archibald: to me, this is what someone would think a British person would be called, though in reality they are a Jack with sisters Chloe and Ellie.
Basil: there's a popular kids TV show called Basil Brush, where Basil is a puppet fox. I still love the name though, as a GP. I don't think many kids are called Basil though.
Reginald: Nope. Reggie I've heard of though.
Beryl: sweet old lady name, I do love it.
Names I personally associate with Britain:
Ellie, as a full name (they are everywhere!)
Freya, Imogen, Ruby, Ava, Emma (off the top of my head) have been on the rise recently. Chloe was no 1 for a few years, and is very popular among the sub-culture we know and "love" as chavs (which you can find on wikipedia if you really can be bothered). Jack has been no 1 for years, so the UK equivalent of Jacob.
But most names I encounter are Asian or Eastern European, so I'm not a good representative of the whole country.
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The only young Neville I ever heard of was the kid in the Fig Newton commericals. lol
Alf, the TV character (I loved him! I think I had a stuffed Alf) got his name from the initials for Alien Life Form, or so I'm told.
I don't think Archibald has been used much in Britain for a VERY long time. I understand that Archive is popular there now though. I can't picture a young Archie either. ALl I picture, in fact, is Archie Bunker.
As for Rupert: well, I've heard it is somewhat popular with upwardly-mobile British parents. Idony in fact, some time ago, ina discussion of the Madeleine McCann case, made a comment about yuppie parents taking little Rupert and Francesca to nice restaurants so they could throw sundried tomato and rocket salad everywhere. lol I guess the kind of parents in UK who'd use Rupert are kind of like the American ones who'd use Annabelle and Fiona. :)
Alf, the TV character (I loved him! I think I had a stuffed Alf) got his name from the initials for Alien Life Form, or so I'm told.
I don't think Archibald has been used much in Britain for a VERY long time. I understand that Archive is popular there now though. I can't picture a young Archie either. ALl I picture, in fact, is Archie Bunker.
As for Rupert: well, I've heard it is somewhat popular with upwardly-mobile British parents. Idony in fact, some time ago, ina discussion of the Madeleine McCann case, made a comment about yuppie parents taking little Rupert and Francesca to nice restaurants so they could throw sundried tomato and rocket salad everywhere. lol I guess the kind of parents in UK who'd use Rupert are kind of like the American ones who'd use Annabelle and Fiona. :)
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Well, again, you never know
One of the most important second-tier characters in HP is Harry's good friend and ally Neville Longbottom. So, like I said...
And your mention of little Rupert and Francesca made me totally laugh out loud; I have another association with Rupert I'd forgotten all about. When my little Sophie, who's about to turn seven in August, was, oh, I think about two years old, she was still nursing, and having to share with newborn Gideon. She announced one afternoon that she'd named my breasts. "They're Rupert and Joanna, mommy," she said, clearly pleased with herself. "Rupert's on the right. Gideon can only have Rupert, 'cause they're both boys. I get Joanna."
And Sophie had never even heard of Rupert Grint!
:-D
One of the most important second-tier characters in HP is Harry's good friend and ally Neville Longbottom. So, like I said...
And your mention of little Rupert and Francesca made me totally laugh out loud; I have another association with Rupert I'd forgotten all about. When my little Sophie, who's about to turn seven in August, was, oh, I think about two years old, she was still nursing, and having to share with newborn Gideon. She announced one afternoon that she'd named my breasts. "They're Rupert and Joanna, mommy," she said, clearly pleased with herself. "Rupert's on the right. Gideon can only have Rupert, 'cause they're both boys. I get Joanna."
And Sophie had never even heard of Rupert Grint!
:-D
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I'm an American living in England, and those are some beautiful british names :) The only one that strikes me as 'too british' is Nigel, maybe Winston as well as it does conjur butler images for me ;)
Imogen is a common welsh name, but I never thought of it as such, and my son has a welsh/celtic first name - Owen - and my American family loves it.
From your list, my favorite is Edwin, it's one of my top 5 boy names :)
Imogen is a common welsh name, but I never thought of it as such, and my son has a welsh/celtic first name - Owen - and my American family loves it.
From your list, my favorite is Edwin, it's one of my top 5 boy names :)
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I think that's true, about Imogen, Shakespeare did like coming up with names - quite a few are credited to him.
I checked with my British husband - Edwin, which as I said is a name I love, was the name of a king of Northumberland so it's much better known in northern England that in the south and it hasn't been mainstream for a while, but still very English sounding I think.
The kre8tive streak has certainly come over here though - in an art class for under 5s at the local library there was a 'Reychelle', 'Devonte', 'Owais' - many of the older British names are dying, though apparetly Olivia and Jack are still number 1 and seem quite British to me - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=184 shows you the top 100 names going back years.
I checked with my British husband - Edwin, which as I said is a name I love, was the name of a king of Northumberland so it's much better known in northern England that in the south and it hasn't been mainstream for a while, but still very English sounding I think.
The kre8tive streak has certainly come over here though - in an art class for under 5s at the local library there was a 'Reychelle', 'Devonte', 'Owais' - many of the older British names are dying, though apparetly Olivia and Jack are still number 1 and seem quite British to me - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=184 shows you the top 100 names going back years.
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