Why doesn't anybody like...?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2006
Why doesn't anybody like...?
34
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 4:11pm

...the name London for a boy? Ok, so we have tried out a bunch of different names, combinations of names, polls, opinions, and it appears everyone truly dislikes the name London for a boy? They say it sounds feminine or strange. My husband and I regardless keep going back to it no matter how many other great names there are out there so there must be a reason it is sticking? We thought of Quinton, Pierce, Westin (nn West), etc. but kept jumping back to the one that we originally fell in love with...hmmm...sigh.

I guess the point of this last message is just to ask for more clarification and to ask what people think or feel when they hear the name. Whether it really sounds like a city when you hear it. Like, "hi, my name is Los Angeles". Or, if it works the way it sounds like Florence or Dakota (as a name)?

Does it really sound as bad as if we were to call our son Zurich or New York? Why is it any different than calling a baby girl Giorgia or Savannah?

We don't like Lyndon or Landon or Londan or other variations. Actually, to us those variations sound even more feminine or as if we are spelling London incorrectly.

We live in Switzerland and have been in Europe for 10 years. We eventually will be moving back to the States which is a main reason we wanted to get some feedback. We realize that we have to be thoughtful about whether the child will like his name or fit in...I am so grateful for this website and for people's honesty. It is the responsible thing to do (consider how the name sounds to others or how it might affect the child growing up) so thanks to those who voted or gave input.

But, we are just so torn. We love it but we don't want our child teased or left with a girl's name.

What makes the name London so awful for a boy? Or, awful as a name in general? Maybe we just aren't hearing it like everyone else.

Thanks for your help and feedback. Looking forward to reading your comments :)

I also posted this under the 'boys' category

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-04-2006
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 4:21pm
I actually like the name London. I picture a handsome, rugged type of guy. The bottom line is that if you and your dh love it, don't pay attention to what others think. It'll drive you batty :)

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    &n

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-08-2006
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 4:55pm

lol I also like the name London for a boy..a picture a guy like Jude Law with that name ..I have no idea why.

If you and your dh love it, stick with it!
Good luck :)

Candace
EDD June 17/06, b/g? twins

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 5:19pm

I do think of London as a fem. name. It's a very rare name but I would imagine a girl if I heard it. I don't know why I feel that way ... maybe I've only heard it on girls ... but I'm not sure. I also don't know why I don't care for it even on a girl. Some place names work & some don't work as people names. It's not an extrememly offensive name - there are certainly worse names than London - but I just don't care for it.

That said, if you & your dh do love the name & keep going back to it I do suggest you go w/ the name. We were at a loss to name our 4th son 3 years ago. I finally came up w/ a unique name that was the only one we both really liked. Well, it didn't "fit" w/ our other sons' names & I got mostly neg feedback on this site & we finally chickened out & named him something else. To this day we regret our decision & wish we'd have just given him the unique name that no one liked except us! We even call him that unique name every once in awhile. Of course he has no idea (he's 2 1/2) what we're talking about but we have fun & do wish we'd have stuck w/ our loved name.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2005
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 6:21pm

My dislike for London has nothing to do with gender. In fact, were I forced to name a child London, I'd use it for a boy. I don't think it sounds girly or would be better on a girl, I just dislike the name.


To me, it is a city. I dislike place names in general. The only ones that don't bother me are the places that were names first -- ie Georgia and Virginia are states named for Queens. They aren't favorites of mine, but they are long-established as names and don't seem as much a place as Savannah or Dallas or Houston or London.


London and Paris are particular irritants of mine for a reason that doesn't apply here since you live in Europe. But MANY of the people I've talked to (online and in person) who named their children --



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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 6:45pm

Well first of all let me say I do think it's great that you are considering how others hear/perceive the name.

One of the main problems I have with London as a name is that it is an extremely well-known place (not akin to, say, naming my son Easton after the small city I was born in but not many others have heard of, KWIM?). Also, I dislike it when people give their children common place names if they have no connection to that particular place. I felt the same way when a friend (who was born in NY and lived her whole life in PA) named her daughter Savannah, just because she thought it "sounded pretty." On the other hand, I also know a family originally from Texas (but relocated to PA) who named their son Dallas, and that seemed perfectly natural, because it was done as a tribute to the city they still felt such an attachment to. You did mention having lived in Europe for 10 years now ... have you ever lived in or near London? Do you have a special attachment to the city itself? If so, you could simply explain that as your reason for choosing the name anytime people seem perplexed by it. However, if you have no such connection and your only reason is that it sounds nice, I'd probably keep looking.

Also, as far as the femininity of the name, I don't think it's London persay that gives off a feminine vibe. It's probably more the trend of using such names for girls (probably because people tend to be more creative with girl names and more traditional with boys). For example, if you saw Paris, Savannah, Georgia or Virginia, you would naturally assume all were most likely girls. Throw London on the same list and many would probably assume the same of this place name.

HTH

~Kelli


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-28-2003
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 6:57pm

Well, I actually loathe the name London on a girl, which is where I hear it most often. It has gone up about 300 spots on th US social security list in the last 6 years, it looks like it is going to be a big up and comer for girls. I do think it sounds like a boys name however, it reminds me of London Fletcher who plays in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills. So to me the name London either sounds like a baby girl with pretentious parents or a huge hulking black linebacker.

If you honestly love the name, use it. London is much better than some of the crappy names I hear daily. Would it be percieved as a weird name in Europe though? I lived there for a time (in France) and rarely heard the kind of place names that you hear in the US.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-09-2005
Fri, 03-10-2006 - 11:22pm
For me, the main reason that I don't like it is because I find it COMPLETELY feminine. Even so, I don't like it on a girl either, although I would prefer it on that gender. It sounds very snobby to me, and as if the parents are trying too hard to be trendy (although I know that's not the case with you, that's just what I think when I hear the name).

                             
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-16-2004
Sat, 03-11-2006 - 7:25am

London, to me is a every American name, I am an European and for me London is the capitol of UK and

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2005
Sat, 03-11-2006 - 9:52am

My first impression: the parents are trying to give their child a "different" name just for the sake of being different. To me, London is one of those names that lots of parents are independently chosing at the same time to be different, so that it in fact becomes trendy.

It reminds me of the name Paris, which really seems flighty, probably because of Paris Hilton.

Unless there's some overriding reason to name the child after a place, these place names give off the impression that that parents are only thinking of a "cool" name for their baby that makes them look "cool", rather than thinking about what it would be like to be a baby, toddler, child, teenager and grown-up with that name. The fact that a lot of parents are naming their daughters London won't help a boy with the name, imo.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-21-2004
Sat, 03-11-2006 - 2:00pm
I don't dislike the name. It's not my style, but it's also not my child! It's definitely one of the best "named after a city" names I've heard and I certainly see it more for a boy than a girl. You sound incredibly passionate about the name and I think you should go for it. No one is going to pick on him or make fun of him (ok, maybe the occasional "Look kids... Big Ben" reference... but kids will be kids and that will happen with every name) for having it.

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