r/Names

I was talking to an Italian coworker recently and he mentioned his brother Andrea.

For about half a second my brain went "wait, brother?" because every Andrea I've ever met has been a woman.

Then HE was confused when Nicola Coughlan came up, because apparently Nicola immediately reads male to him.

Now I've fallen down this rabbit hole of names that don't just get pronounced differently in another language, they basically change gender at customs.

Andrea. Nicola. Sasha can land very differently depending on where you are. Angel surprised me too.

I'm not really talking about names like Alex that already feel broadly unisex in English. I'm curious about names that feel overwhelmingly male in one country and overwhelmingly female somewhere else.

What are the best examples you know?

Please include the country/language because that's honestly the most interesting part.

My husband and I have different last names and have decided to hyphenate for our baby. I'm curious if anyone has ever run into any issues not sharing the last name of your child? I've heard from some friends this has happened before but I don't know how common or how much of an issue it is. I already have a hyphenated first name and would really rather not have a hyphenated last name too but I'll change my name if I have to.

Edit: This is not a question about whether or not I should hyphenate. It never was. We have had long and extensive conversations with each other and people with hyphenated last names from birth. My first name is hyphenated, I have dealt with many of the same issues since birth as well. I have done research, discussed alternatives, and taken all concerns into consideration. This is our decision and isn't up for debate at this time. The question is simply regarding any issues that may arise if my name is different than my child's and whether or not I should change my name. I really appreciate all experiences related to that.

Every time names like Heather, Jessica, Melissa, Kevin or Brian come up, someone inevitably says they feel "dated."

And... okay? Dated to when?

Most names are attached to a generation at some point. Hazel and Mabel spent decades sounding like somebody's grandmother before suddenly becoming adorable again. Today's perfectly current names are going to scream "born in the 2020s" eventually too.

I think people sometimes use "dated" when what they really mean is "I remember adults with this name from when I was a kid," which isn't the same thing as the name being bad.

Honestly, there's something kind of nice about meeting a little kid with a name that isn't trying very hard to signal what year they were born.

Obviously some names had such a massive peak that the association is hard to shake. But I'd still rather hear "this feels very 1987" than treat that as an automatic rejection.

What names do you think are considered dated right now but are actually perfectly usable?

I am having a tough time deciding on a name!

Liliana is so beautiful and such a perfect little girl name, but I wonder how it’ll age. My husband and oldest son like this name the best. I sometimes think the -Ana part sounds a little stuck up. I went to school with a Briana and every time she corrected people, she sounded stuck up.

I like Lilia, but worry about it looking like Lila. I like this name but maybe I just like it because it’s more uncommon.

I also don’t know the popularity of the ‘Lily’s’ in general. With so many versions of Lily, Lilian, Liliana, Lilia etc. it’s hard to know just how popular the name is. As an ‘Ashley’ growing up in peak Ashley’s, I don’t love the idea of a super common name. Does anyone have a grasp on how popular Lily-esque names are in the real world? Teachers, are you absolutely sick of seeing these names? I’ve always wanted a Lily, but now that the time is here, I’m just not sure!

What are your thoughts?

EDIT: we were going to name our oldest son Lillian if he were a girl. We always had Lillian as a girl name but I had two boys. When I found out I was pregnant again, I thought it would be easy, but my husband’s cousin (same last name, different school district, but same county) had a baby girl and named her Lillian. Total fluke. We aren’t comfortable using the same exact name so we looked into slightly different versions. We’re not close and only see each other at weddings and funerals, but we’re not taking someone else’s exact name.

So, my birth name is Richie, but I want to change it soon because think it should stay as a nickname, I need your help to find a name like Richard, Richwell, or Richmond but still has "Richie" as its nickname.

Just found out our next baby is a boy! We love first names like Archer, Archie, Charlie, Oscar, Alfie. The middle name would be James (family name). Our 2 year old daughter is called Maisie. What names pair well with that?

Hi everyone

I'm Portuguese, partner is English. Our first boy's name is Felix. We use the Portuguese pronunciation and spelling which can be challenging in the Uk! (But suits him)

We knew from the get go that Felix was the right name, but we're struggling so much with picking a name for his brother (due soon!).

We both like Xavier but since we can't agree on the pronunciation, it's a no go. We can't use names like Alex or Xander, or Atlas etc because they're in the family.

We were set on Tristan or Emrys but neither feel right. Partner loves Silas but I'm not a fan, he's also a fan of Lancelot but I'm not sure... You may see a theme here we like unusual names with strong meanings 🫣

Would love some suggestions that we may not have thought about!

On the SSN list, Sophia is #5 with 12,561 babies.
Sofia is #9 with 8,252 babies. The true total is 20,813 babies in 2025!

So, this name is clearly more popular than Olivia #1 with 13,544. Sophia/Sofia is the true #1 name in the U.S.

Not to mention Sophie #55 with 3,984

I wish they would combine them. Just saying! Fyi I know it’s been like this for years. My friend who named her daughter Katelyn (born I think in 1996) didn’t realize how popular it was. Then we looked at the ssn list and found all the variations of that name Caitlin, Katelin, etc.

I'm looking for a short, original brand name for a fashion/clothing retail business.

I want something with the same kind of feel bold, modern, clean and easy to remember.

What I'm looking for:

* Suitable for fashion, clothing or retail
* Bold and modern
* Short - ideally 5-8 letters
* Easy to pronounce and spell
* Easy for customers to remember
* Works internationally, especially in the UAE
* Sounds like a real brand, not a combination of random words
* Preferably an invented name with no obvious meaning
Exact-match .com domain must be available
* No alternative extensions like .net, .co, .shop, etc.

I'm specifically trying to avoid names that are already being used by brands, businesses, apps, websites or other companies.

If you suggest a name, I'd really appreciate it if you could check the exact name online and verify whether the .com is available before suggesting it.

I'm open to completely new/abstract names. The goal is something that could eventually become a strong, recognizable fashion brand.

What names would you suggest?

I was born on my family's Christmas tree farm. On Easter Sunday. Everyone in my extended family was pushing for me to be named something biblical because of those things. Well...my parents did decide to name me something biblical.

My name is Delilah 💀 My parents decided that I should have my villian arc at birth I guess.

We have 4 boys:
Henry Jude
Malcolm Arlo
Linus Casper
Sonny Laszlo

Had we had a girl, we considered Matilda, Janet, Agnes, Daphne

Whether girl or boy, I have no idea what the next babe would be called. What name do you think would fit into our brood?