ariel alexandra sounds nice. i don't think it's extravagant at all, but then i come from a place where everybody has at least two names (my own daughter has four...), and those are often the most horrendous combinations. ariel alexandra would fit in perfectly and sound nice at the same time

i wish i could decide on a good name for myself. i like my female name too much to really want to change it. and it's hard to find a male equivalent that suits me. if possible, i'd use takayuki, since i like and somehow grew attached to this name. but since i'm not japanese, that would be a little weird. it would have to be something that can be traced back to old norse, at least

i'm somewhat glad that i also have a male name for my daughter. i've told her when she fantasized about being a boy that she has a name that she can use. sadly or luckily - i'm not sure which - she doesn't want to be oscar...

Quote from: Taka on October 14, 2012, 11:45:07 AM
i wish i could decide on a good name for myself. i like my female name too much to really want to change it. and it's hard to find a male equivalent that suits me. if possible, i'd use takayuki, since i like and somehow grew attached to this name. but since i'm not japanese, that would be a little weird. it would have to be something that can be traced back to old norse, at least

If you don't like the standard male names with Old Norse roots, you can go straight to Old Norse:

Taka is Old Norse for the verb 'Touch'.
Taka is Old Norse for the verb 'Undertake'.
Thakka is Old Norse for the verb 'Thank' (I think; those Norse letters always throw me)

Here's a link to a nice little English-Old Norse dictionary I used to look those up:
http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/language/English-Old_Norse.pdf

Some other nice Old Norse words for use as male names:
Tre' - tree; beam; log.
Sky - cloud.
Karl - man; common man.
Land - country; land.
Gil - ravine.
Mark - sign; token.
Saga - story.

and one of my favorite Old Norse words:
Men - treasure; jewel.

I must have spent months trying to decide on my name, although luckily since I was a kid everyone used to call me Ally. So it's still can be used a short for my new name. My own new name that I've chosen has the same origins as well as meaning of my birth name so I am happy about it.

The sites I found most helpfull were:

http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/
Awesome site that gives you what names were popular when you were born as well as origin. But a bit difficult to use the site. Extremely good site as it covers everything.

http://www.babynames.com/
Simple site to help with names, gives origins but doesn't tell you what names were popular when you were born which can be very important to some.

Hope this helps

♥hugs and good luck♥

I vote for classy yet common.  You don't want your name to sound like a porn star! I'd go exotic only if you are exotic.  I, alas, am quite boring, so I have a common name.

Jay

Quote from: MadelineB on October 14, 2012, 01:33:28 PM
[...]

ah, sorry, i should have been a little more specific in my writings... i'm norwegian, so there are certaing names that are good and others that are not. the "taka" i use now is japanese and could mean falcon/hawk/high/noble. and neither of your suggestions would work for a name for me since the meaning is important to me. and of course the popularity in norway...

i'd like to have a name that begins with "arn", but none of the male versions sound good to me. and just arn isn't an option either. i think i'll end up on "endre", it would even go well with the name that my parents gave me. not that i can change my name right now, but just so i have something to use when the time comes

When you bring this old topic back to live
I already have Andrea in my documents

oh... nice name

I would say that if you are very worried about people getting overly curious or nosy about your name then go for something common. It's more likely to be overlooked and a lot of people I know have gone with something extravagant that was a little too attention getting.

Choosing a foreign name is actually a really good compromise between the two. It may raise an eyebrow for being unique, but any uniqueness will be chalked up to descent or heredity, rather than the individual. Plus foreign names are attractive.

I went for a name that's not too common, but also not unusual by a long shot. One of the classics that's been about for a longggg time but hasn't ever gone away. I think things like that can be pretty nice. Something maybe one kid per grade would have, but there's always that kid.

Ariel was also in my plans, since it works in both ways. Like Ariel Rot, the singer.

My birth name is Bradley, but that's not a huge secret.  When people ask me what I'm changing my name to I tell them, "Bradley!  I'll be a girl named Bradley!"  Though I did think of some names along the lines of Bridgette and Bristine and Brittany and so-on-and-so-forth... nothing clicked!  Names are really hard.

Quote from: harmonic_dissonance on October 25, 2012, 04:52:39 PM
My birth name is Bradley, but that's not a huge secret.  When people ask me what I'm changing my name to I tell them, "Bradley!  I'll be a girl named Bradley!"  Though I did think of some names along the lines of Bridgette and Bristine and Brittany and so-on-and-so-forth... nothing clicked!  Names are really hard.

Bradley is fine (like the fighting vehicle!)
You would also do well as:
Brandy (the strong sweet and sophisticated liquor made from grapes)
Hailey (bright, quick, and quixotic, like the comet)
Chance (you make your own luck, and follow your own star)
Harmony (you don't sing what everyone else does, but your contrasting voice brings beauty)

Wow thanks for those names!  I'd never considered any of those!  They all look good... hmmm!

Quote from: harmonic_dissonance on October 26, 2012, 05:18:25 AM
Wow thanks for those names!  I'd never considered any of those!  They all look good... hmmm!

Women with "men's" names is not totally unheard of.  A few years ago there was a popular actress named Miss Michael Learned.

I was lucky enough to have a unisex, androgenous nickname from the time I was a small child.  I always preferred the "Jamie" variant, rather than "Jimmy."  I still cringe when I hear that.

haha that funny casue the first name we came up for me was andrea becasue my middle name is andrew. i like andrea but then we came up with the perfect name for me... ready.... Shannon Nicole

How much do you like standing around and spelling out your name?  Because if your going for anything more complex than "Ed" or "Bob" or "Mary" - you're going to get to spend a lot of time doing just that.  Or you'll run into people who find the entire exotic/extravagant name thing a bother and not use it at all.