Names.....again !!

[Lake James]

Hi guys

Have been playing around with names for months now and keep coming back to one.  Thing is it was a very famous film character !!  I'm think Forrest.  I want something outdoorsy and it goes well with my surname - James.   Also if thinking about the film, is it so bad to be likened to such an awesome character ?

So Forrest James ? Thoughts? Will I forever hear the words "run forrest run" or is the film in the past enough now ?

[KamTheMan]

I know someone named Forrest and the movie is never mentioned. Just a cool name!!

[Lake James]

Awesome that's the kind of thing I want to hear

[zero.cool.crash.override]

I think that movie is old enough by now that the name is safe to use.  It's a good name. 

[Bimmer Guy]

Hi guys

Have been playing around with names for months now and keep coming back to one.  Thing is it was a very famous film character !!  I'm think Forrest.  I want something outdoorsy and it goes well with my surname - James.   Also if thinking about the film, is it so bad to be likened to such an awesome character ?

So Forrest James ? Thoughts? Will I forever hear the words "run forrest run" or is the film in the past enough now ?

Hi, Lake.  I still think of the movie and hear, "Run, Forrest run!", in my head every time I hear the name.  However, I wonder if you will get different answers based on the age of the person you ask.  The movie came out in 1994.  I am 45 years old (just had a birthday 3 days ago..ugh, getting old!), so I was 24 years old.  I saw the movie when it came out and I don't know anyone by the name, Forrest.  Subsequently, I am going to think of it.

I think if you are in your 20's or even early 30's, many (most?, especially if you are in your 20's), of the people in your age group aren't going to think of it.  However, over time the people that know you will think of you and not Forrest Gump.  Therefore, if you love the name, I would go with it.

[Contravene]

Forrest James has a great ring to it. I think it depends on your age. I know a kid named Forrest, and by kid I mean he's 17, so his peers probably aren't all that familiar with the movie and the name works for him. If you're in your mid thirties and up though the movie references will be a lot more common.

[Lake James]

I'm a spritely 37 so yeah, from the age of that film!! However I do agree that overtime people will associate it more with me and less with Mr Gump.  I also think that if people do still continue to make that link to the film, that really he was a pretty good character

[Magpie-Mind]

I would make the link between the name and the character, but only because it was one of my favourite films growing up. I have a lot of affection for that film.

But I think in general, folks will just associate it with you. And if it does make them think of the film, I am sure they'll only be thinking nice things as it makes me.

[Contravene]

Well, you could also look at it this way then; since you were born years before the movie came out people will understand that your name is original and that you wouldn't have been named after the main character. It's still referenced a lot in pop culture so I'm sure you'll hear the "run" phrase a few times but it shouldn't be a big deal.

[Dex]

I think Forrest is a great name. I'm early thirties and I do think of the movie but as other people said, people won't associate it to the movie for long. Plus, there a lot of names that are associated with movies or shows and lots of people who share those names. It no big deal. My legal name is Dexter so I get a LOT of comments of "Like the show!" To which I usually answer "yeah, but I promise I'm not a serial killer" haha. I did NOT choose it based on the show, I just have a strong affinity for names that contain an "x". It doesn't bother me when people mention it, it's a good conversation starter

[Lake James]

Thanks everyone.  This feedback is so helpful.  There is another option to throw into the mix.  River.

So it's either Forrest James or River James ?

[Lake James]

Might do a poll actually 

[AbeLane]

Personally I wouldn't worry about people making a connection to the movie. No matter what name you pick, there are so many movies/books out there that your bound to be picking a name someone else has used before too.

For example. I picked the name Abraham. And my middle name starts with an L. So I may sometimes get called Abraham Lincoln. I already get some "Honest Abe's" but it's not something that bugs me. I had a few TV show connections for my birthname too actually. Usually people only do it once when they first meet me, after that it looses it's new-ness and people don't repeat it or anything.

[Bimmer Guy]

Thanks everyone.  This feedback is so helpful.  There is another option to throw into the mix.  River.

So it's either Forrest James or River James ?

River James sounds really fake.  I am not even really sure what I mean by that, but it sounds like a character, not a real person.  Or the title of a book of a character.

Forrest James for sure between those two.

[Daydreamer]

Forrest James sounds really good.

[Arch]

You should choose the name you like, but I think that Forrest James is too hard to say. I get tongue-tangled between the "st" and the "j."