Leoben?

[Mrs Eleflump]

Ok...opinions please!

I'm 29 weeks, so plenty time to come up with a name, and we don't know what we're having, so this may not even be an issue if baby turns out to be a girl, but we haven't discussed names much at all.

A couple of years ago when we were having a semi-serious, semi-silly conversation about baby names, Hubby floated the idea of naming a boy Leoben.

The name comes from battlestar Galactica, and is the name of one of the minor characters, but it also appears to be a 'real' name in itself, i.e. not just made up for the show. It's pronounced with the emphasis on the middle syllable, so 'Lee-OH-ben' rather than 'LEO-ben'.

I wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but he mentioned it again a couple of weeks ago, so it's still in his head, which makes me think he's got it as a serious contender.

I'm not sure what I think about it, it's so unusual, I don't know if it's too unusual for me. I wouldn't like it shortened to Lee or Ben, though Leo I could live with.

Our surname is quite long, it's a Mc___ name with three syllables, so don't know if a three-syllable first name would flow properly, though hubby also has three syllables in his first name and it goes fine.

My problem is that there are very, very few names for either gender that I like enough to use, so I know I'm going to be majorly picky and difficult about it I do like the more classic traditional names, e.g. Anna has been my favourite for a girl for a few years now. I really struggle badly with boy's names, though. I don't think there's a single one I like enough to use!

Anyway, what does everyone think?

 

[maisie78]

Whilst it wouldn't be my choice I am a great believer in you using a name you love and nevermind what others think. I don't think it is too far 'out there' and nothing about the name could get him picked on so why not?

We have struggled massively with boy names too so our shortlist is incredibly short, in fact it has one name on it lol

 

[Eleanor ace]

I think it's OK, and it gives him different nn options- Leo and Ben are both nice

 

[emyandpotato]

I quite like it actually. But then my favourite name at the moment is Arlo so my taste is maybe not that normal.

 

[CanadianMaple]

Not a fan. Sorry.

 

[steph.]

I first read it as Leo-Ben which I didn't like, but pronouncing it Lee-OH-ben makes it sound nice.

 

[MommyFirefly]

I'm a huge Battlestar Galactica fan so I really like this. I don't feel like it sounds far out or 'out there' though. You have two very classic nickname possibilities too.

 

[MariposaTam]

I definitely like the name better when pronounced Le-OH-Ben, but when I looked at it the first time I thought Leo-Ben.

I think it's pretty cool, not crazy out there but still unique. I say if you like it, go for it!

 

[Paloma123]

I like it!! X

 

[AngelofTroy]

I like it! And I love battlestar too!

 

[vocado]

I like it.

 

[hopeandpray]

I don't like it. It just sounds like a 2 names smushed together. People will pronounce it wrong all the time.

 

[Mrs Eleflump]

Thanks for all the feedback so far ladies, it's really helpful. Good to get opinions from the wider world

hopeandpray, this is one of my concerns with it, that people would pronounce it wrong. As someone whose first name is constantly spelled wrong myself, I don't want my LOs to have trouble with their names...they're going to have enough with their surname, lol.

As I say, I'm not sure how serious hubby is about it, as we've yet to have a proper names discussion in relation to this LO as a real person (as opposed to a discussion about naming a hypothetical child we hadn't conceived yet), I'm just trying to work out my feelings towards the name in the event that it comes up as a serious candidate on hubby's list.

 

[Pielette]

I'm not sure about it myself, I think you would have people mispronouncing it a lot. I do think it looks like pushing two names together which is a bit odd - though it is a 'real' name, I think people would assume it wasn't and that would upset me.

But on the other hand it gives two nice nicknames, and I do like something a bit different. It might be a grower of a name. When picking Milo's name I really wasn't sure about Milo but as time went on I grew to absolutely love it. I'd keep sounding it in your head and see how it feels

 

[MrsKChicago]

There's nothing really wrong with it, but there are a few things that would rule it out for me. First, it will absolutely be mispronounced and misspelled. I'm usually really good at figuring out name pronunciation, but I was staring at it for awhile trying out different options til I finally just gave up and read your post. And it's almost definitely going to be shortened at some point to Leo or Ben. If you can't live with the nicknames, don't use the name. On the other hand, it passes my weird name rule - all weird names should have a more normal alternative, and the Leo or Ben nickname gives him that option if he wants it.

 

[THart]

Not to my taste, but if you like it then go for it.

 

[staralfur]

I'm not particularly fond of it though I love the name Leo.

I will say that I am a fan of sci-fi inspired names, however, so that earns it some cool points.

 

[pinkribbon]

I don't like it. It just sounds like a 2 names smushed together. People will pronounce it wrong all the time.

I agree, sorry.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

It looks like someone couldn't spell lebanon, sorry. They look different but that was my first thought!

 

[Mrs Eleflump]

Lol, to all those apologising to me, don't worry about it - as I said in previous posts it's not my choice of name, it's something hubby's mentioned a few times and I'm not sold on it, so was seeking others' opinions. It's not like you're all destroying my favourite name ever! If I was sold on using it if bump turns out to be a boy, I wouldn't have felt the need to post