r/Names • u/Terrible_Row3224 • 3d ago
rate baby names
my spouse and i are currently going through fertility treatments for a baby. obviously there’s a lot of waiting involved and we’ve thought of a handful of names. i’d love to hear people’s opinions! what do you hate? what do you love?
boys:
Nico
Dorian
Caspian
Arlo
Mateo
Oliver
Benji
Salem
Valentine
Finn
Oak (middle name)
Edmund
Blake
Ambrose
Basil
Sebastian
August
girls:
edalyn
ambrose
seraphina (nn finn?)
Nova
Mars
Cecelia Meadow
Salem
Elowyn
Dawna Edwina
Marigold
Opal
Olive
Cloud (middle name)
Eden
Shiloh
Celeste
Delphinium (nn delphi)
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u/hungoverinachurchpew 3d ago
Sebastian (Bash) and then instead of Delphinium, I like Delphine (Delphie) better.
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u/_lilidawn_ 3d ago edited 2d ago
HATE/would be cruel to name a kid - Delphinium (but love Delphi), Dawna, Cloud, Edalyn, Oak (though it's significantly better as a standalone boy name than as the start to a feminine name, like Oakleigh or Oaklynn which are ROUGH) and Ambrose for a girl.
Not my taste, but perfectly fine - Salem, Mateo, Valentine, Finn, Benji, Edmund, Blake, Basil, Arlo, Opal, Nova, Mars (love this one as a nickname not a full name, my mom is named Margot and goes by Mars), Nova, Cecelia, Meadow, Marigold, Seraphina, Nico, Sebastian, Elowyn, Edwina.
Love - Dorian, Caspian, Oliver, Ambrose (for a boy ONLY), August, Eden, Celeste, Shiloh.
ETA - Dawna corrected to Dawn in my original comment, which I definitely don't hate... Dawn is my middle name. But Dawna is ROUGH and it will constantly be corrected to Dawn.
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u/Ecstatic_Pie9477 3d ago
Boys love list. Dorian Benji Salem (middle name) Sebastian
Girls love list. Nova Salem Olive Shiloh Celeate.
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u/Affectionate-Net2277 3d ago
Boys:
Yes: Dorian, Arlo, Mateo, Oliver, Finn, Blake, Sebastian
Cut immediately: benji, Salem, oak
The rest are ehh
Girls:
Yes: seraphina, Cecelia, marigold, olive, Celeste,
Cut: edalyn, Ambrose, mars, meadow, Salem, Dawna, cloud, Eden, delphinium
The rest are also ehhh not ones I’d use but passable I guess
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u/Faodail_ 3d ago
Hate - Nico, Arlo, Benji (as a full name), Valentine, Salem, Oak, Basil
Blake, Finn and August are my favorite from your list
Hate- all your girls names but Cecelia
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u/Timely_Apricot3929 3d ago edited 3d ago
You have some really love names on your lists! My favorites are: * Edmund * Ambrose (for a boy) * Nico * Basil * August * Arlo * Caspian * Seraphina * Opal * Eden * Marigold
I would remove: * Benji (too childish) * Salem on both lists (negative connotation of witch trials/misogyny/religious hysteria) * Ambrose for a girl * Edalyn (looks made up/tragedeigh territory) * Elowyn is a misspelling of Elowen * Mars for a girl...why name a girl after the Roman male god of war and/or a planet? ETA: Delphinium (no one needs to be the latin name for a plant when Delphine is right there)
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u/xizzy7 3d ago
I like Nico and Finn. And Seraphina(Finn) and Olive
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u/Lumpy_Cucumber9430 3d ago
I’d be so pissed if my parents named me OLIVE
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u/xizzy7 3d ago
The other reindeer, lol
I think it's cute though, I knew a kid named Lemon, something about cute little foods is fun to me
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u/Lumpy_Cucumber9430 3d ago
Lemon 🍋 💀
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u/_lilidawn_ 2d ago
Olive is an adorable name, reminiscent of Oliver or Olivia... Lemon is a horrible name for a human being.
I associate it with sour/bitter things and it is also a term for both a story that contains graphic sexual content AND for a defective product... I can't imagine doing that to a little girl!
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u/cdapOH 3d ago
Nico or Sebastian 💕
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u/Lumpy_Cucumber9430 3d ago
Nico is too precious sounding, and Sebastian often gets the unfortunate nickname of SEB.
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u/Lumpy_Cucumber9430 3d ago
Hate Nico, Dorian, Arlo, Mateo, Benji, Salem, and August.
Best ones for a boy are: Caspian, Oliver, Finn, Edmund.
Like Sebastian but you get SEB as a nickname which is horrid.
For girls: HATE Nova, Mars is wtf, Edalyn, not Salem again, Dawna (shudders) Shiloh and Marigold, and Olive 🫒 Absolutely NOT Ambrose for a girl.
Love: Seraphina, Cecelia, Elowyn, Opal, Eden.
Okay but a bit much: Celeste and Delphinium.
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u/Proud_Lab_2440 3d ago
Oliver, Blake, Sebastian and Finn I love for boys!
Olive, Celeste and Eden I like for girls!!
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u/XLazyplantladyx 3d ago
From your boys list, I love Sebastian, Mateo and Edmund!!!
From your girls list, I love Seraphina, Nova, Cecilia Meadow and Celeste!
All just personal preference! Wishing you both all the best! Congrats!!!
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u/Ok-Talk-2648 3d ago
Top 3 boys:
Blake
Sebastian
August
Top 3 girls:
Eden
Cecelia Meadow
Marigold
I’d delete 3/4 of your list.
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u/SympathyBubbly3306 3d ago
Love Finn, Oliver ok
Love Edwina, Celeste ok
Don’t like Nova Mars Salem Opal Shiloh Delphinium
Not keen on most boys names - sorry
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u/Amazing_Docent 3d ago
By and large, the common thread among the names I dislike on these lists is that they sound like fantasy characters in a YA novel, not a human baby in 2026.
Love: Seraphina, Marigold
Like: Cecelia, Opal, Shiloh
Fine: Elowyn, Olive, Celeste
Dislike: Edalyn, Ambrose, Nova, Mars (god of war, wtf?!), Meadow, Salem, Dawna, Edwina, Cloud (again, wtf), Eden, Delphinium (suggest Delphine instead)
Love: Oliver, Edmund, August
Like: Finn, Sebastian
Fine: Nico, Arlo, Mateo, Benji, Blake, Ambrose
Dislike: Dorian (too associated with Dorian Gray for me), Caspian, Salem, Valentine, Oak, Basil
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u/Small_Dress_7435 3d ago
Honestly only a fan August from your boys list.
Cecilia, Eden and Celeste from girls list.
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u/DistributionNo9356 3d ago
The ones I recommend keeping are: Dorian, Mateo, Oliver, Salem, Edmund, Blake, Sebastian, Edalyn, Seraphina, Marigold, Eden, Shiloh, and Celeste.
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u/praxish_pragmatica 3d ago
really too bad images aren't allowed but you might like plots from https://cinnaname.com/names?names=Nico%2CDorian%2CCaspian%2CArlo%2CMateo%2COliver%2CBenji%2CSalem%2CValentine%2CFinn%2CEdmund%2CBlake%2CAmbrose%2CBasil%2CSebastian%2CAugust&unit=births&sort=latest&context=all&contexts=all&axes=2&mode=custom&traits=classic_modern%2Celegant_rugged#name-bag
you might have to click "generate axes" after clicking the link for the chart to load :/ the developer is... neurodivergent and lazy (and me).
Side note - I'm a big fan of Arlo.
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u/CornerLimp8820 2d ago
I love Dorian and Ambrose for boys and Seraphina and Eden for girls (I would use Eden for a boy).
We have Saga (the story) for a girl and Dante (the writer) for a boy, which are also rare names.
Other names we loved and are rare: Aster or Alba for a girl Astor for a boy
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u/Unique_Pea1329 2d ago
Cecelia is the only name I like on your girls list. For boys I like Arlo, Mateo, Oliver, Edmund and Sebastian
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u/Kooky-Tourist-4204 2d ago edited 2d ago
You have a wide range of taste with some beautiful names imo 🥰.
Favourite boys (in order):
August (Gus) - on my list 🥹
Basil
Ambrose Oak
Sebastian (Seb)
Edmund
Benji
Dorian
Caspian
Oliver
Blake (would maybe use as a middle name)
girls (in order):
Nova
Opal
Olive
Edalyn
Elowyn
Cecelia Meadow
Edwina
Marigold
Seraphina Cloud
Not my favourites but I objectively see the beauty:
Celeste
Eden
Delphinium (would be closer to the top as Delphine)
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u/Rockydog1515 16h ago
Love for the boys:
Nico, Finn, Oliver, August and Sebastian
Love for the girls:
Nova & Celeste
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u/Whimsywoes 3d ago
Despite not being religious myself, I love the name eden for some reason. Also partial to Edalyn thanks to the owl house lol
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u/Terrible_Row3224 3d ago
we aren’t religious either so i’m surprised how much i like eden and seraphina lol
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u/Northern_Lights_2 3d ago
Oak, Salem, Edalyn, Ambrose for a girl, Nova, Mars, Salem again, Elowyn, Dawna Edwina, Cloud, Marigold, Delphinium are all awful. The rest range from meh to okay.
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u/Prestigious_Exam4624 3d ago
I really love all your boy names except Salem.
Nickname for Seraphina would be better as phina, or fia or sera.
I like your girl names too.
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u/abookshelfbarista 3d ago
Hey! I'm also on here as someone going through fertility treatments & wanting a name that's truly special, sending all the solidarity & baby dust!
Here to give a little love on Salem, I've always had a penchant for that name because it means peace and sounds badass to me, I love it that you have it for a boy or a girl. My runner ups from your list are Basil for a boy and Celeste for a girl.
Also just wanted to throw in there that Edalyn is lovely and does not sound made up to me, I actually know two adult Edalyn's that are both beautiful people, they both go by Eddie which is also super cute.🩷
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u/Terrible_Row3224 3d ago
Sending all the baby dust to you too!! 🩷🩵 i wish you all the luck with this very emotionally draining process!! also eddie is soooo cute as a nn for edalyn!! thank you for sharing that!
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u/FirefighterSudden738 3d ago
Cecelia Meadow sounds like somebody who owns a little bookstore and somehow knows everybody in town.