Can a Name Be Plain and Fancy?
Earlier this year, I wrote a piece on the 20 questions all baby namers should ask to help zero in on the perfect name.
Question Number 1: Plain or fancy?
Meaning, do you want a name that’s plain, i.e. familiar, easy to pronounce and spell, relatively popular? A name like James or Liam, Sophia or even Sage?
Or do you want a fancy name: rare, exotic, unusual, unique?
Plain vs. fancy is a clear fork in the baby naming road, leading you down two very different paths of exploration.
But….what if you want a name that’s both?
A lot of people do. I did, back when I was naming babies.
And there are indeed lots of names that are both plain and fancy. There are also good and, uh, less good ways to combine these two disparate qualities in a single name.
Plain and Fancy Names Type #1
What makes them plain: Traditional names easy to spell and pronounce.
What makes them fancy: Rare and uncommon.
One kind of plain-and-fancy name is a traditional name, used over the centuries, that is rare or uncommon today. To qualify as plain, this name must be easy to spell and pronounce: Ozias, yes; Ozymandias, no. It should also have real history, used in the Bible or mythology or literature. But on the fancy side, it should also be quantifiably rare.
If your Baby Name DNA is Noble or Romantic, this is probably the kind of name you’re seeking. You also probably know that it’s harder to find than you might guess. A handful of examples:
Plain and Fancy Names Type #2
What makes them plain: Popular and trending.
Why they’re fancy: Not really names!
Another way to combine plain and fancy is with a name that’s NOT a conventional name but is familiar as a place, a word, or a surname. Given that this kind of name gets its fancy from its derivation, you can go a little more popular, but not TOO popular or trendy. And again, the name can’t be complicated to spell or pronounce.
For instance, Calla yes, Chrysanthemum no. Winter yes, Summer no. This is nothing against Chrysanthemum and Summer as names, but Chrysanthemum tips too far toward fancy, while Summer’s longtime popularity makes it too plain. Calla and Winter carry a good balance of plain and fancy.
Other names that work in this category of plain and fancy:
Plain and Fancy Names Type #3
Why they’re plain: Traditional names popular in other countries and cultures that are easy for English speakers to spell and pronounce.
What makes them fancy: They may not be new, but they’re new to us.
A third category of Plain and Fancy names are names that may be popular in other countries but are less familiar in the English-speaking world. These names can get sticky in terms of spelling and pronunciation. Plus, cultural appropriation can be a sensitive subject, so it helps to have a genuine connection to the culture or country where you’re getting the name.
In this category are some names that are popular in several different countries and cultures yet unfamiliar in the US and other English-speaking countries, so these can be good bets. Names of this type have been embraced and become popular in the US in recent years: We’re thinking of Luca, Kai, Remi, Liv, Enzo, Ayla, Zuri.
Examples of less familiar names that fit this category:
Plain and Fancy Names Type #4
Why they’re plain: Popular and trending.
What makes them fancy: Unusual spelling or pronunciation or alternate form.
Probably the most common way people try to combine plain and fancy in a single name, using a fancy version of a popular name, is also the one we are least likely to recommend.
Why? Because in this case, the plain and fancy qualities often cancel each other out. A popular name spelled or pronounced in an unusual way becomes confusing and difficult. And a fancified spelling or form may not make a name as special as you hope: Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaksyn, and Jaxxen all sound exactly like Jackson, and only compound the original name’s popularity.
In fact, most names in the Top 1000 are different spellings of each other. Here's a full list of popular names with spelling variations to show you just how prevalent spelling the practice is. Examples of this kind of plain-and-fancy name, from the Top 1000:
What's Your Fancy Name?
If you've got a plain name that you want to trade in for a fancy one, or a fancy name but you want one that's even fancier, try our quiz What's Your Fancy Name? It's all in fun, but it may also prove inspirational.