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I wouldn't use it, or any name that attempts to thrust a personality attribute onto a person. The poor kid might not want to be a maverick; he might be a nice, tame, gentle, conforming sort. Merrick, Emeric or Madoc are much better options, imo.

It's a word. And not the best word either. Reminds me of all those jokes about the little girl who hears her father and uncles discussing a financial scandal and names her new dolly Felony because it sounds so pretty ...

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Where I live, there was a top-ranking athlete a few years ago named Merrick. Like Eric with an M. That seems (a) close enough and (b) a whole lot better - what do you think?

All I think of is Sarah Palin. It sounds kind of ridiculous to me for a person's name, too much of an epithet. I definitely don't think it would be usable in most areas, either.

I think that it's unusable, but if you really love it then it could make for an okay middle name. If I remember correctly, it started popping up more as a name around the 2008 elections when it began to get tossed around as a part of political rhetoric, and that makes it less appealing as a name to me. I think that the meaning of the word is also rather loaded. I don't think that being a "maverick" is neccessarily a bad thing, but I do think that being named Maverick would make it hard for you to be taken seriously in certain situations.

the term Maverick applies to loose cattle/wild horses that need to be roped or gathered, I have a hard time seeing it on a person outside of the movie Top Gun or in the liberal sense of calling someone a maverick in their industry or career field.

Great name for a horse, good name for a dog, completely silly and ridiculous on a human being unless you're in a movie about Navy pilots and it's your callsign.

I think it used to be the name of a chocolate bar. It does sound like more of a brand name or character name to me, but it wouldn't be ridiculous on a child.

When I was really young I went though a "dark" name phase. I thought Maverick was pretty cool. I rather despise the name now and I even have a 1.5 year old cousin named Maverick.

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I don't think it's usable at all. I can't imagine anyone will take him seriously when he's older.

My little brother (13) has a friend named Maverick. That being said, my brother (a name-nerd in the making) told me the kid's name because he thought I'd find it as bizarre as he did, and I did. On an unrelated note, his sister's name is Falcon. The kids at school call her "Talon-Birdie-Feather". Sometimes, they call her "Hootie" after the school's mascot, a screech owl.

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Anyway, I can see the appeal of Maverick. If the kid I knew wasn't such a wild child, the name might actually grow on me, but I'd still consider it to be a major GP. It's alright, but it doesn't quite do it for me.

No, not usable. I would have to try to not laugh at someone who told me they named their kid Maverick. Then when they went away I would laugh. It seems silly and tacky. Fine for a GP, but not on a real person.

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I love that movie, though. :)