Your favourite names (in any language)

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linguanima
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Your favourite names (in any language)

Postby linguanima » 2008-02-25, 10:00

Don't know if a similar post has been around but guys, what are your favourite male and female names? I'll start with mine:

Male

Raphael - NOT because of the song by Carla Bruni, so I don't care if there is a tréma on the e or not... bien que la version avec le tréma m'ensorcelle certainement. I love this name in any language.
Anthony - also Antonio, but not Antoine.
Vincent - also Vincenzo.
Nicholas - also its shortened form, Nick; Nico, Νίκος, etc.
Yves - is Ivo the Portuguese version of this name? I like it too.
Leandro - such a handsome name!
Ralph
Alexander - yes, my name! I usually get called Alex though which sounds nice too. Also like it in other languages.
Stephen - also when it's Steven, Stefan, Stefanos. The French version Étienne is particularly lovely.
Frédéric - also Federico
Francesco - also the Spanish Francisco.
Daniel - sounds so sweet in English!
Kieran
Shane
William - NOT as the G-words in Romance languages. I also adore the Greek version, Βασσίλης
Θάνος
Xavier - also when it becomes Javier in Spanish; I can't resist the charm of the throaty jota.
Edward - It sounds regal.
Phillip - also in other languages.

Female

Isabelle - absolutely my favourite girls name. Also when it becomes Isabel or Isabella.
Annabelle
Élodie - probably because it rhymes with mélodie, it sounds beautiful.
Sophie - Sofia too
Solène - sounds so elegant.
Elizabeth - NOT when it becomes Lizzy or Liz.
Yvonne - sounds poetic to me.
Sylvia
Catherine
Yvette
Ashley - I know it's unisex but it sounds nicer on girls.
Jessica
Helen - also Helena, Elena, Hélène, Eleni
Christina - Christine too.
Eva
Stella - a star is definitely cute!
Stephanie
Tamara
Amira - love this Arabic name that means 'princess'.
Clara
Fiona - it makes me think of flowers for some reason.
Edith
Cassandra - ominous, but sounds beautiful.

I also like compound names. The French have a lot of them.

To be continued... still in search of beautiful names.
Last edited by linguanima on 2008-02-25, 11:01, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby Levo » 2008-02-25, 10:41

I know a Polish girl whose favorite name in the whole world is: Ákos (Aakosh more or less) it is a Hungarian male name.

Many like Attila/Atilla over here, but it can never be my favorite with its unhungarian sounding - mixed vowels in the same word, weird.

Personally, I like Swedish male names the most.
Nils, Leif, Sven...

Tünde, Hajnalka are maybe my favorite Hungarian female names.

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Postby Varislintu » 2008-02-25, 10:48

There is already a thread about what people would name their kids:

http://home.unilang.org/main/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7921

Aren't favourite names sort of the same thing?

EDIT: Actually, I guess not because this thread is about names in any language. So carry on :P.
Last edited by Varislintu on 2008-02-25, 10:52, edited 2 times in total.

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Postby linguanima » 2008-02-25, 10:50

My apologies... :oops:

But that's a thread from 3 years ago!

Please let us do it again...
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Postby linguanima » 2008-02-25, 10:58

Levo wrote:I know a Polish girl whose favorite name in the whole world is: Ákos (Aakosh more or less) it is a Hungarian male name.


It is indeed a lovely-sounding name!! If the guy that has that name is hot it'll be perfect!

Levo wrote:Many like Attila/Atilla over here, but it can never be my favorite with its unhungarian sounding - mixed vowels in the same word, weird.


Isn't it historically significant, given Attila the Hun?

Levo wrote:Personally, I like Swedish male names the most.
Nils, Leif, Sven...


Yes, Sven... That was the name of a cute Belgian guy I met in Italy.
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Postby Tenebrarum » 2008-02-25, 11:55

Male:
Daniel
Draven
Firenze
Johann
Markus
Sean (English)
Viktor
Xavier / Javier

Female:
Esmeralda
Felicity
Ivy
Kayla
Pristine
Selene
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Postby DelBoy » 2008-02-25, 12:26

Draven wrote:Male:

Sean (English)




:shock: :evil:

Seán is Irish :wink:
The British Isles are awesome - I know, I live there - but Ireland is not a part of them. K thnx bai!

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Postby Śrāmaṇera » 2008-02-25, 13:17

Male : Sólvin
Solal

Female : Setsuko
Chloé

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Postby Tenebrarum » 2008-02-25, 14:04

DelBoy wrote:Seán is Irish :wink:

Okay okay :lol: I meant "English pronunciation" :wink: I picked English because only a few people understand Irish orthography.
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Postby Bjarn » 2008-02-25, 15:05

Oh I like the name Attila!

Names I like all tend to be scandinavian for the most part.

Boy names:
Bjarki
Einar
Ilmari
Emil
Linus
Aeschere
Breca
Patrick(alternatively I also like Pádraig)
Jonne
Marek
Niila

Girl names:
Ragna
Janina(pronounced like y)
Magnhild
Siobhan
Sirje(I knew a girl with this name and no one could pronounce it right :lol: )

Draven: Kayla is my real name! :)
Last edited by Bjarn on 2008-02-25, 15:10, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby DelBoy » 2008-02-25, 15:09

Draven wrote:
DelBoy wrote:Seán is Irish :wink:

Okay okay :lol: I meant "English pronunciation" :wink: I picked English because only a few people understand Irish orthography.


Good point, but again, the orthography (despite the fact that non-Irish people don't use the accent) is Irish rather than English too :lol:
If Sean was to be pronounced according to English orthography, I would pronounce it as /si:n/ :D
The British Isles are awesome - I know, I live there - but Ireland is not a part of them. K thnx bai!

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Postby kalemiye » 2008-02-25, 15:32

Male:
Cemal

Female:
Ayse
Not available

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Postby Lazar Taxon » 2008-02-25, 15:47

Male
Thomas
Leo
Adam
Gabriel
Lazar

Female
Julia
Alyssa
Angela
Hannah
Abigail
Native: [flag=]en-us[/flag] Good: [flag=]es[/flag] [flag=]fr[/flag] Okay: [flag=]de[/flag] [flag=]la[/flag] Beginning: [flag=]it[/flag] Interested in: [flag=]he[/flag] [flag=]hi[/flag] [flag=]ru[/flag]

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Postby Æren » 2008-02-25, 16:35

My favourites are (not divided by sex, sorry):
Igor
Karen
Mikko
Eleazar
João
Nataliya
Tatyana
Krasimir*
Lachezar*
Krasen*

I surely have other that I like but can't think for them now :oops:
* these are Bulgarian
:<3: [flag=]pt [/flag] [flag=]es-ES [/flag] [flag=]fr [/flag]
:D [flag=]uk [/flag] [flag=]no[/flag] [flag=]lt[/flag] [flag=]de-AT[/flag]
:? [flag=]fa [/flag] [flag=]tl[/flag] [flag=]tr [/flag] [flag=]cs[/flag] [flag=]ja[/flag] [flag=]he [/flag]
:para: [flag=]ir [/flag] [flag=]hu [/flag]

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Postby Zorba » 2008-02-25, 18:44

Sebastian (+ derivatives), Frederick (+derivatives), Christopher (+derivatives), Salman, Sunil, Lucas, Lloyd, Sergio (+derivatives), Clive, Fyodor (but not Theodore), Kazimir, Vladimir, Vyacheslav, Miroslav, Florian, Martin ( + derivatives), Silvio, Luis (but not really Louis or Lewis), Sylvester, Lorcan, Sándor, Gwyn, Elisha.

Catherine (+ derivatives), Diana/Diane, Carmel, Sarmite, Teresa / Therese, Chihiro, Myrtle, Myra, Myriam, Gwyneth, Oluchi, Lesley, Violet/a (but not Vi), Lyuda / Lyudmila, Sareka, Shura, Dorothy, Sinead, Lynn, Marilyn, Ruth, Marisol, Francesca (and Fran, but not Frannie or Fanny ;)), Alana, Christina

(I wouldn't inflict any of these on my kids - expect the more normal ones like Catherine, Martin, Diane or Fred - but I like hearing them)

Oh, and 'Stella' is one of my least favorite names and I never think of a star when I hear it, just a nasty tasteless lager and/or stiletto heels.

It's funny how your tastes change about these things. I remember going shopping with my Mum to a big department store in Belfast when we were little and the store assistant's name badge said 'Attracta'. I thought that was the most beautiful-sounding, exotic name I'd ever heard, and I thought the woman really suited it. Now I think it's sharp and kitsch as hell.

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Postby Hunef » 2008-02-25, 21:28

Bjarn wrote:Oh I like the name Attila!

And the Scandinavian version Atle? Here's the Swedish icebreaker with that name (obviously):
    Image]
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Postby Bjarn » 2008-02-25, 22:30

More like the Hun. :)
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Postby Levo » 2008-02-25, 23:36

Then I prefer Attila as well :)

Linguanima, yes, this name comes from the Huns. We have several names from Hun language, a female name: Réka. But it also lacks vowel harmony :)

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Postby AlienDiscoDuck » 2008-02-26, 0:05

'Réka' sounds a little like 'Rekha', which is a female name in India.
Hmmm...I also love Hungarian names. 'Ákos' and 'András' are probably my favourites - they sound really cool and exotic to me. :D
I once met a German guy named Mirko - I thought that was the coolest name ever! I believe the name is originally South Slavic, right?

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Postby Tenebrarum » 2008-02-26, 7:30

DelBoy wrote:If Sean was to be pronounced according to English orthography, I would pronounce it as /si:n/ :D

Yes, you're right. But then English orthography can be anything - it's multilayered and tends to stay true to the external source. The basic Anglo-Saxon layer can't explain why words like massacre or schnitzel are pronounced they way they are.


Bjarn wrote:Draven: Kayla is my real name! :)

I've always thought Kayla is a wild and strong, yet unmistakably feminine name. Like, Wolf-girl is comin' at cha !!! :lol:
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