Thoughts on these baby names and how well they travel abroad?

[radiantlilflower]

I'm wondering what everybody thinks about these names and who is likely to go for them? If he grows up and attends a state school and lives in a semi will he fit in or is it a name that isn't very universal/will potentially be seen as pretentious?

Magnus
Reggie
Fergus
Ivor
Maximus
Otto
Gus
Hector
Jude
Romeo
Keir
Rupert
Jasper
Charles (nn Charlie)
Rafe
Tobias

Also we move overseas from time to time for DH's work and the next one is likely to be the U.S, so will any of these names travel badly/have different associations abroad?

My sister ignored my pleas not to name my nephew Carter as I thought rhyming with farter it would be a nightmare.
He’s 10 now and has had no issues.

It probably depends on the group of kids you get. Some years do seem to be nicer than others.

I generally got the piss taken out of my last name. Several variations of unpleasantry able to be taken from that.

Does anyone actually use Keir?

Romeo is ridiculous and I'm not fond of Maximus.

The others are all fine - though I can imagine Rupert might not travel well/be easy to pronounce in every language.

I like:

Hector
Jude
Keir
and
Tobias nickname Toby

Fergus would go down well in areas with sizeable Irish populations in the US.

I love the name Keir but some may think it's a bit tainted now

I know a couple of Irish Ivors too, one in his 50s and one in his teens. It’s not really popular for Irish babies anymore though. I think the name was Norse originally.

Fergus is a very normal Irish name to me too, though again it’s not much used for babies nowadays.

Of Norse origin (Ivarr) via Welsh (Ifor).

exactly. we haven't got high school yet but I honestly don't know any kids that are bullied for their names. they're so diverse these days😄, from grandparents chic to mommy put random letters together but when everything is so multicoloured, no one stops to pick on teal for being a weird colour, it's just part of the painting.

You wouldn't know though probably. The teasing wouldn't be done in front of teachers or parents.

I was teased but I didn't mention it to my parents. It was either fairly mild (e.g. Cowbell because the surname was Cowell) or it was done by knobheads (e.g. Smelly Ellie).

Children will always find a way to mock others' names. It's more about the children than the names. A popular child can carry a 'nerdy' name but an unpopular child will be mocked regardless.

As an American living in the UK for many years now and having worked in schools here, I'd say your choices are very much the kind of names British parents choose and somewhat niche. So if he's living in a semi and going to state school in the UK, he'll be fine. Reggie and Magnus are my least favourite; Angus is better than Gus.
Most of these names are not well known in the US but if you are not living there permanently, it won't matter. They can all be pronounced at first glance. Keir/Rafe/Ivor are probably the most tricky for that.

If you are expecting to live abroad periodically, presumably your DS will go to English-speaking schools and mix with other ex-pats, both British and more international, so it might not matter, if you are posted to, say, Dubai or Hong Kong

If you want a more 'international' name, you'll need to choose a Biblical, Roman or Greek name: e.g. Thomas/Samuel/Matthew/Jude/Tobias, Julian/Marcus/Maximus (makes me think of Gladiator ...) , Alexander/Hector/Nicholas - these have local pronunciations in most of the western and some non-western languages.

Rupert is awful imo.

i like Magnus