Thoughts on Ludovic, Octavian, Julius and Lucian for a baby?

[LimeslemonsPomegranates]

I am contemplating these for my short list.

Ludovic (Ludo):
Name of a family friend. It is a very ordinary name in France and Canada, it has the neutrality of a name like Michael, but is the French equivalent of Gary in terms of Gen X baby name popularity and is now almost completely unused for babies in France. Most people have probably heard of it as it has been used in low numbers in the UK for centuries and also via Ben Fogle's son. Is it still useable here for this generation? Alternative French form of Ludwig/Louis. Really the full name is just a way to shortcut to the cute Ludo (I quite like Labyrinth).

Octavian? I assume some sort of eighth association is needed to use this, 8th day of the month or 8th child, is it useable outside of that context?

Julius: I knew an intelligent and thoughtful Julius so generally positive associations for me, but that was a much older generation and names change in how they are used and perceived. Any positive or negative associations?

Lucian: Will it be Lucy?

Also if you had to choose between Ranulph and Edmund, which would you choose?

Thank you

Ludovic - unusual but I like it,

Octavian - very Jacob Rhys Mogg, not keen

Julius - really like, unusual but not weird and people know how to spell and say it

Lucien - really like it, (reminds me of The Liver Birds- showing my age) , nn could be Luce, Luke , Luck,

Like both Randolph and EDmund

I would choose Edmund. Not big fan of Ranulph.

I wouldn't worry about Lucian being nn Lucy, once they meet your son, they won't even think of Lucy. I prefer Lucius tho.

I think Octavian is way too pompous to be used even if it's 8th day of month or 8th child. I also think of first roman emperor, who was Julius Caesar's nephew.

I personally prefer Julian over Julius, to me Julius is just a Caesar, but I understand there might be bad association with this. How about Florian or Dorian?

I do love Ludovic and I think you can pull it off. But if you only plan to call him Ludo, then I would use just Ludo.

Are you based in the UK?
Ludovic is OK, wouldn't strike me as particularly strange. Ludo sounds a bit like it might be a dog's name (Black Labrador). Makes me think of Ludovic Kennedy.

Octavian - I know one and he's an adult and from a central european country and says it as Oct-av-yan not Oct-ay-vian. I think Skoda Octavia.

Julius - would think it was an elderly Afro-Caribbean man. Julius in EastEnders.

Lucian - Lucy-Ann. Our Lucien in The Liver Birds.

I'd only shortlist Ludovic from those and would add names like Casimir or Michael instead.

@Silverbirchleaf , the surname of the person you mentioned is Rees-Mogg. I hadn't read your post when I mentioned Our Lucien.

Edmund = handsome name.

Of the others, I like Ludovic and Octavius.

Ludo
or Julian (not Julius)

Ludo/Ludovic is my favourite by far.

Octavian is a lot, and also likely to get misspelled as the more common Octavia. (If you like Octavian and Julius, how about Augustus?)

I'm not mad on Edmund but that may be because it's an ex's name. Ranulph is good but will be mistaken for Randolph (as it has been on this thread). I also worry that a name with only one well-known namesake is a bit of a hostage to fortune.

I know a Lucien it’s pronounced loosh-uhn kind of and he definitely doesn’t get calls Lucy or Luci-anne.

Most people say Lucy-an.

I love Ludo, mainly because of Labyrinth.

I have two friends whose dogs are called Ludo

I like Edmund. Ludovic not bad. The rest all sound too pretentious to me. Sorry.

I really like Ludo(vic). Also like Julius and Lucian. Not mad keen on Octavian.

I know a Lucian and nobody calls him Lucy.

I like them all except Octavian

With names like that just make sure they attend a private school and not the local comp

I'm with the PP said all are great apart from Octavian which has definite Rees Mogg vibes.

Very roman republicky!

I like Octavian though it does sound very grand. Ludo (Ludovic) is quite cool but a bit pet name like. Julius I’m not a fan of but maybe because I knew a pompous one. I prefer Julian. Lucian I prefer the spelling Lucien but I think it’s nice.

Edmund is lovely.
Ranulph is dreadful sorry. There are few names I’d hate to be called more than this.
Much prefer Julian to Julius.
Octavian is a bit much.
Ludovic is ok but might seem a bit odd if no foreign ancestry.
I don’t love Lucian but I think the more likely nickname is Luce. It is open to bullying with Lucy though.

Lucien was on my boys list, he can easily be a Lu or Luke. Octavia was on my girls l list. No number 8 assocs. Only heard of Octavian for a boy recently else it would've been in the list. For clarity though I have a Castiel so my choices aren't mainstream

Oh and Edmund for pronunciations reasons a

These names are so Mumsnet pretentious 😁

The only one I like is Edmund

Crikey, I hate them all, sorry! They sound incredibly pompous.

How about something a bit less fanciful, like eg

Cosmo
Terence
Horatio
Lysander
Zebedee?

Ludo and Julius are lovely names!

I think they sound worse as a group than they would individually. In reality the only one on its own that would cause a 👀 in me would be Octavian which is, I’m sorry, ridiculously pompous.

All the others have charm and individuality without being silly. Do give some thought to the friendship group the lad is likely to have though.

Anselm and Sixtus are 2 of Rees-Mogg’s children, lucky kids. Not Octavian.