Atticus and Clementine made the great migration. Loretta and Otis went from fogey to hipster in the blink of an eye when chosen by Sarah Jessica Parker and Tobey Maguire. This, my friends, is a trend to watch.
As we dive further and further into the quest for an unusual, yet legitimate name for our child, the questions pop up: how unusual is too unusual? Is it on the right side of the line for a comeback?
I see this all the time in my line of work. Dad has fallen for Cletus and wants to convince mom that it still holds its Ancient Greek clout. Mom wants to resurrect great-grandmother Beulah‘s name for their first child. It’s only a slight permutation from Bella, right?
So lets take this to a vote. Onto what side of the line do these fall? Are they cool and funky, or cruel and unusual? For yourself, does location and the culture come into play when choosing a name?
From YOUR vantage point, are these HIPSTER or HICKSTER?
Girls
Alma
Bernadette
Beulah
Dinah
Edna
Ethel
Eunice
Henrietta
Inez
Jemima
Lenore
Mavis
Myrtle
Viola
Winona
Boys
Barnabas
Casper
Chester
Cyril
Grover
Homer
Jarvis
Jethro
Leland
Myron
Rex
Roscoe
Rufus
Waylon
Zeke
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
Great question. From my vantage point here are the ones with a cool/potentially cool vibe:
Girls: (much shorter list than the boys)
Dinah (reminds me of Lilah)
Lenore (maybe??)
Viola
Winona
Boys:
Casper
Homer
Jethro (on the fence)
Rex
Roscoe
Rufus
Waylon
Zeke
For me, “hip” means I would use it or wouldn’t mind seeing someone else use it. “Hick” means I would still cringe to hear of anyone using it.
Hick:
Chester (forever “the molester”)
Barnabas (just too much)
Homer (Simpson)
Grover (furry blue Muppet)
Jethro (toothless banjo-picker)
Zeke (ditto, but Ezekiel could work)
Edna
Ethel
Eunice
Mavis
Myrtle
(all of the above should be confined to a rest home)
Jemima (I know this name has its fans, but I can’t get past the “mammy” connotation)
All the rest are potentially usable, especially Leland, Lenore, Alma, Inez, Viola, and Winona, as long as it’s not spelled Wynonna.
For girls, I think these are cool or cool adjacent:
Alma
Henrietta
Inez
Mavis
For boys:
Jarvis
Roscoe
Waylon
Zeke
Henrietta
Jemima
Viola
Barnabas
Jarvis
Rufus
Zeke
(I don’t think these are hipster or hickster – they have a sort of geek chic to them though).
Cool and getting cooler:
Inez, Jemima, Chester, Roscoe.
I had 2 great aunts, sisters, named Myrtle and Mae. Myrtle was affectionately called Mutt, we loved our Aunts Mutt & Mae, they were sweet. Also in that family-Stewart Calvin, Blondie Rosemund, Dixie, Harmon and Knox. All pretty darn cool in this age.
We have Leland and Dinah on our short list actually! But we are “hipsters” raised in the country, so it hardly answers your question.
I like Dinah and Jemima, Casper, Jarvis, Rex and Zeke. But how interesting to see how widely all the commenters’ opinions vary! I can’t think of a common thread that links the ones I like, so I can’t even justify my own choices, I just go with my gut reaction. But that’s such a haphazard way to make decisions, and it can change quickly, so I kind of wish I had a better system.
Hipster:
Jemima
Dinah
Viola
Winona
Casper
Rex
Rufus
The rest spell “hickster”
Hipster:
Viola
Henrietta
Winona
Dinah
Casper
Waylon
Leland
and I have some fascination with Jethro.
Hmmmm … hipster feels a little different in Washington DC. They look the same at first glance, and the values are similar, but there’s a different vibe – more analytical, more likely to have lived internationally, insanely well-educated. (The prototypical DC hipster must be my neighbor, a South American poet with a PhD and a thing for skateboards & vinyl. His kid’s name? Seamus.)
I think you’d hear Alma and Dinah here, maybe Viola, but not the others. Possibly Bernadette, but only around Catholic University.
For the boys, I’d say you might hear Barnabas, Chester, Cyril, Homer, Leland, Rufus – possibly Rex. I know a few kids with jazz-inspired names, and music-inspired in general are big.
Am I missing hickster pockets in DC?
Pelicolina, Blondie Rosemund rocks!
How interesting that you say this, because as I said above, I love Dinah and Leland and currently live in DC. I agree that education and music are hugely important here and influence names.
I had the same thought about Bernadette: not hipster, Catholic. But I live less than a mile from CUA.
We’re going to try this again with a decidedly less Catholic group of names.
I LOVE Grover. Too bad Oscar is at the top of my boys list!
Hipster Girls and Boys
Dinah, Jemima, Lenore, and Viola plus Jarvis, Leland, Rex, Rufus and Zeke
Hickster Girls and Boys, likely due to my Deep South upbringing!
Alma, Beulah, Mavis and Myrtle plus Jethro, Roscoe, and Waylon
Forever Elderly Relatives: Edna, Ethel, Eunice, Cyril and Myron
Meh: Bernadette, Henrietta, Inez, Barnabas and Chester
There’s just one: Winona (OK, so there are 2, both spelled with a “y”), Casper (the friendly ghost), Grover (the furry blue monster) and Homer (Simpson)
Ugh. Take it from me: I grew up in Texas, in a small town, in a Baptist church. These are hick, not hip. I was aghast when SJP named her daughter Loretta. It screams First Lady of Country Music, whose husband was a cheating moonshiner.
I know hipster is supposed to come off as “edgy and geeky-cool” but usually it feels more forced and trying too hard. In other words:
Lenore, Mavis, Myrtle, Viola, Winona, Dinah
Barnabas, Casper, Homer, Jarvis, Leland, Roscoe, Rufus, Waylon, Zeke
A lot of the other names feel more traditionally Catholic than “hick.”
I can totally see hipster parents around here (Auckland, NZ) using ALL of these names! For the hipsters, it seems like the more old-fogey the name sounds, the cooler it is! Jemima, Viola and Casper are actually totally mainstream and common here now. And I have also met little ones named Henrietta, Jethro, Rex, Roscoe and Rufus.
So interesting about trends in New Zealand! You guys tend to be much more adventurous down there. Feel free to write a post some time for us.
Fun question. I guess it depends on how one defines a hipster these days. Assuming that included in this hipster spectrum are punk-ish, rockabilly, tough guys and gals, I sure know some hipsters who love, love, love their clunky cowboy/girl names, and some of these names really are charming, I think. But can’t any of these names be hipster, even the really hick ones, as long as they’re ironic? That tells me kind of what makes or breaks them for me: If it’s so obviously hillbilly AND totally hip, then I’m afraid it may be good in an ironic way and thus either a hipster cliche or a hick name or both?
As for my take on which ones I find truly wearable and which are just too toothless for even the most irony-inspired, I’ll preface with the fact that I’m *from the south*, and it’s funny that you mention location, b/c there are names I would totally use in *most* places, but not if I ever thought I’d be moving back home. In the context of the small town south, some names sound a little too hillbilly. When we ponder baby names, husband (not a southerner) and I always say them in the various southern accents of people back home to see how they’ll sound. That said, we take into account our not living there; a few visits back home aren’t going to rob us of an otherwise good name! As I ponder the list, though, I realize how much having lived in the South takes a lot of these off the table for me, personally.
So…Totally awesome for people other than hillbillies and totally cliche, trying-to-hard hipsters:
Bernadette (I think it’ll be a name-nerd hit over the next few years!)
Dinah (didn’t know a lot of them in the south. it doesn’t feel very hick to me anymore.)
Edna (can’t get over some associations, personally, but it seems like it could take off?)
Ethel (beaUtiful sound, just needs to be taken back from old associations.)
Henrietta (totally ripe and super awesome.)
Jemima (I love it, but no one in the south can do this for a very, very long time.)
Mavis (??? Now Mable, I think, hits the right tone: not too hillbilly, not too ironic/cliche, genuinely pretty and nice. Mavis, too? With the right middle name I think this could be golden.)
Myrtle (here’s one that is perfectly beautiful sounding to my ear when I disassociate it from certain affiliations, but the associations are just too strong. I love names that end in -tle, -ple, etc, and Myr- is just a beautiful sound, so these sounds together are quite beautiful, I think, but for now I just see false teeth plopping into a glass and pink sponge rollers. If I saw an adorable baby girl with a perfect middle name, though, I’d be a changed woman. )
Viola (I mean, anything ending in -ola is going to sound really twangy down south, but I think it’s fabulous elsewhere!)
Winona (so great.)
Barnabas
Casper
Chester (not really hillbilly, but I don’t like it)
Cyril (While I never actually knew one, I think this would get ruined in the South. but someone in New York could pull it off.)
Grover
Leland
Myron (a bit Milo-esque, and it’s quirky enough to get over the -on ending for a boy)
Rex (feels southern, not hick)
Zeke ( I knew of none, not even any older men)
and the following, IMO, are country-cool, and thus par for the hipster course, but given my southern origins, they will continue to ring a bit redneck to me, and I wonder if they go the way of hipster cliche?:
Roscoe
Rufus
Waylon ( and I really almost want to ban all boy names ending in -n)
Eunice (theoretically, I should love this name: a U sound meets Alice. but it seems a bit… maybe a bit before it’s time? heck, it could be the next Ursula, but for now it seems to be trying too hard.)
Beulah
And being from the South, I just can’t go there with these…ever..too hillbilly, or too ironic, either way, not good for me:
Homer
Jarvis
Jethro
My two cents…not saying I would use any of these – but the ones I marked as “hip” I could imagine as kiddos where I live (which is in the South, so take my opinion with a grain of salt!)
Girls
Alma – hip
Bernadette – hip
Beulah – hip (family name for me)
Dinah – hip
Edna – hick
Ethel – hick
Eunice – hick
Henrietta – hip
Inez – hip
Jemima – hip
Lenore – hip
Mavis – super hip
Myrtle – hick
Viola – hip
Winona – wanna be hip
Boys
Barnabas – hip
Casper – hip
Chester – hip
Cyril – hip
Grover – love this – hip
Homer – hick
Jarvis – hick
Jethro – so hick it is hip
Leland – hick
Myron – hick
Rex – hip
Roscoe – hip
Rufus – hip
Waylon – hick
Zeke – hick
Hickster Girls
Dinah
Edna
Ethel
Eunice
Inez
Lenore
Mavis
Myrtle
Winona
Hipster Girls:
Alma
Bernadette
Beulah
Henrietta
Jemima
Viola
Hickster Boys
Barnabas
Chester
Cyril
Grover
Homer
Jethro
Leland
Myron
Rex
Roscoe
Waylon
Hipster Boys:
Casper
Jarvis
Rufus
Zeke
Alma- Hip
Bernadette- Hick
Beulah- Hick
Dinah- Hip
Edna- Hick
Ethel-Hip
Eunice-Hick
Henrietta-can go either way
Inez-Hip
Jemima- Maple Syrup. Can see it being hip if not for the brand
Lenore- Hick
Mavis- Hip
Myrtle- Hick
Viola- Hip (Love love love)
Winona- Hip
Boys
Barnabas- Hip
Casper- Hip
Chester- Hick
Cyril- Hip
Grover- Sesame Street, hick
Homer- Simpson, though hip
Jarvis- Hick
Jethro- Hip
Leland- Hick
Myron- hick
Rex- Hip
Roscoe- Hip
Rufus- Hip
Waylon- Hick
Zeke- Hip
Alma – Hip
Bernadette – Hip
Beulah – Hick
Dinah – Hip
Edna – Hip
Ethel – Hick
Eunice – Hick
Henrietta – Hip
Inez – Hick
Jemima – Hick
Lenore – Hip
Mavis – Hip
Myrtle – Hick
Viola – Hip
Winona – Hick
Barnabas – Hip
Casper – Hip
Chester – Hick
Cyril – Hip
Grover – Hick
Homer – Hip
Jarvis – Hick
Jethro – Hip
Leland – Hip
Myron – Hick
Rex – Hip
Roscoe – Hip
Rufus – Hip
Waylon – Hick
Zeke – BOTH! It’s really cool, but dorky at the same time.. Hmm..
Another southerner here – here’s my opinions!
Girls:
Alma – hip
Bernadette – hip
Beulah – hick
Dinah – hick
Edna – hick
Ethel – hip
Eunice – hick
Henrietta – hip
Inez – hip
Jemima – hip
Lenore – hip
Mavis – hip
Myrtle – hick
Viola – hip
Winona – hip
Boys:
Barnabas – hip
Casper – hip
Chester – hip
Cyril- hip
Grover – hip
Homer – hick
Jarvis – hick
Jethro – hip
Leland – hick
Myron – hick
Rex – hip
Roscoe – hip
Rufus – hip
Waylon – hip
Zeke – hip
I LOVE Bernadette and Myrtle. They’re family names, and if this baby had been a girl, both would have been serious middle name contenders.
I want to love Jemima, but I can’t get the pancake syrup connotation out of my head!
For the boys, I love Jarvis! It makes me think of one of my favorite books, “Cry, the Beloved Country” which is quite a long ways from hicksville! I think Zeke and Rex have great potential too.
My Mother’s name is Loretta, and I love it and would love to use it as a first or middle for a daughter someday, but my mother, who hates her name, thinks it makes her sound much older than she is….she thinks her parents used it a generation too late…said she cannot believe I would “saddle a child with that wretched name”. What’s especially funny is that she is one of 4 girls….Anne, Joan, Loretta, and Mary….which one of thses doesn’t belong? i think she’s the lucky one, she thinks otherwise.
HIP
Alma
Henrietta
Inez – love, but prefer the Ines spelling
Viola
Barnabas – Barney’s quite a cute nickname
Casper
Grover – love, love, love, despite (and also because of) the Sesame Street association
Jarvis
Rex
Rufus
HICK
Bernadette
Beulah (makes me think of ‘Ferris Bueller’ – ‘Bueller, Bueller, Bueller…’)
Dinah
Myrtle – might make the transition one day, but I don’t see it happening for a while yet…
Chester
Homer – love it, but not ready for a comeback yet, thanks to Homer Simpson
Jethro – almost hipster, but I have an aversion to most ‘J’ names, and it has a slightly try-hard/’bogan’ (as we say in Australia) ring to it
Leland – makes me immediately think of Leland Palmer from ‘Twin Peaks’
Myron – never heard this name before, but it sounds like a brand of medicine to me!
Roscoe – sounds too much like a surname, one of my pet name hates
Waylon – too close to Wayne
Zeke
BORDERLINE
Edna – very old lady, but I expect it will make a comeback soon enough
Ethel – as above
Eunice – borderline, but could make the leap eventually
Jemima – I like it, but know two or three Jemima’s where I live (in Sydney, Australia), so doesn’t feel that ‘new’
Lenore
Mavis – kind of undecided on this one
Winona
Cyril – borderline
So true about that fine line…although maybe it’s because the trend is still (arguably) evolving that the line is so fine? Maybe in 10-15 years when the hipster hype is farther removed (when the current crop of hipsters are out of their baby-making years) the line will be more clearly defined. Maybe not. ☺
A couple of these were tough to categorize (Winona, Jethro, Jarvis, Jemima, and Edna), but here are my gut reactions…
Hickster
Bernadette
Dinah
Edna (needs to be dusted off, but could be spunky)
Ethel
Eunice
Myrtle
Barnabas
Grover
Homer (will always be “doh!” for me)
Jarvis
Leland (really like the sound)
Myron
Hipster
Alma (LOVE this)
Beulah
Henrietta
Inez
Jemima (not in the U.S.)
Lenore
Mavis
Viola
Winona (Winnie)
Casper (ghost schmost…love this)
Chester
Cyril
Jethro
Rex
Roscoe
Rufus
Waylon (feels hick, but can totally see it in the hipster crowd)
Zeke
with being born and raised in the Midwest (Go Iowa!) I see where these names would walk the line between hip and hick. Here are my choices that seem hip in the midwest
Mavis
Viola
Winona
Jarvis
Leland
Rex
Rocoe
Rufus
Waylon
Zeke
ps I don’t know anyone naming their children these names.
It’s so exciting that so many of the names read differently for you. I suspected that might be the case.
This makes a good case for how names change over time. Even ten years ago many of these would have been unthinkable, and some in my opinion still are.
None of the girls names struck me as particularly “hick” or “hip”; they’re just old-fashioned. I think we’re still a world away from embracing Beulah (it’s that long U), though. I think Viola, Winona, and Dinah have the best shots of becoming hip.
The boys names struck me as mostly “hick”, with Jarvis, Jethro [Leroy Gibbs], Leland [Stanford], Rex, and Zeke most likely making the “hip” list.
I’m not answering the original questions but just thought I’d add this. My grandma’s sister’s name was Winona but she always went by Nonie. A sweet nn, I think. Her husband’s name was Jack. Jack and Nonie. Cute. Pennsylvania hicks from years past but I could totally see these as hipster names today.
See, I have a Nona, and so when my southern family tries to nn her Nonie, I correct them. I should lighten up, but I can hear Ellie Mae Clampet in my aunts voice–”No-NEE!!!” Plus, we picked short names with no nn potential, or so we thought.
Another Southerner here, who unfortunately knows a lot of these names!
I agree with quite a few people on things like Homer, Jethro, Jemima, Grover and the TV connections that just make it impossible to get past!
There are only 4 that I would consider using:
Bernadette
Henrietta
Leland (but like Loudon SO much better)
Rex
Some of the names are just awful. People need to remember that you’re only naming the kid, THEY are the ones who have to carry the name with them their entire lives!
Without reading any other comments, here’s how I shake them out. I tend to like the ones I put in the hipster category more, but I’m pretty sure I’m not really a hipster.
Hipster: Bernadette, Beulah, Dinah, Edna, Ethel, Eunice, Henrietta, Jemima, Mavis, Myrtle
Hickster: Alma, Inez, Lenore, Violam Winona
Hipster: Barnabas, Casper, Cyril, Grover, Homer, Myron, Rex, Rufus, Zeke
Hickster: Chester, Jarvis, Jethro, Leland, Roscoe, Waylon
Great list. I have a 3 year old named Lenore, although we spell it Lenoir so I don’t think it’s hickish.
Although, my other daughters are Vada and Georgie so maybe hickish is my style. ha!
Location and culture are definitely important. While I don’t think you should veto a name you love just because it seems too different in your small, traditional town, the type of names you’re exposed to on a daily basis definitely affect your naming style. If I grew up in rural Texas I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like the same names as I do, having actually grown up in Britain, among a good deal of vintage (and vintage eccentric) choices.
But, while I don’t like to admit to such narrow-mindedness, there are some on your list which I’d categorise as ‘hick’.
Alma – hip
Bernadette – hip
Beulah – hick (it’s actually more that I just can’t get over the idea that it sounds like someone being sick. Apologies for the visual.)
Dinah – hip (love!)
Edna – hip (love Edie, saves it from The Simpsons vibe)
Ethel – hip
Eunice – hip, but bad (the nerdy girl in films is always named Eunice, and juvenile as it is I just can’t shake that association)
Henrietta – hip
Inez – neither (not hip, but not hick, just you’re average sort of name)
Jemima – hip
Lenore – hip
Mavis – hip
Myrtle – hip (I want to like it, but Moaning Myrtle, and The Great Gatsby, conspire against it.)
Viola – hip
Winona – hip
Barnabas – hip
Casper – hip
Chester – hip (fits right in with the surname names trend)
Cyril – hip
Grover – hip (see Chester)
Homer – hip (I really, really want to like it. But … The Simpsons)
Jarvis – hip
Jethro – hip
Leland – hick
Myron – hick (I’ve never heard of this one – it feels mean to pass such judgement immediately, but there you go)
Rex – hip
Roscoe – hip
Rufus – hip
Waylon – hip, but bad (see Eunice)
Zeke – neither (I feel like this one has gone past ‘hip’, and now sits somewhere near ‘established, friendly Biblical choices’ such as Noah and Zack)
Before reading other comments, here’s my take:
Girls
Alma – potentially hip
Bernadette – potentially hip
Beulah – only for the more daring hipsters
Dinah – neither hip nor hick, just kind of meh
Edna – no. just, no.
Ethel – only for the more daring hipsters
Eunice – see Edna
Henrietta – hip
Inez – neither hip nor hick, just kind of meh
Jemima – hip
Lenore – hip
Mavis – for the more daring hipsters
Myrtle – for the more daring hipsters
Viola – hip
Winona – hip
Boys
Barnabas – hip
Casper – hip
Chester – hick (or maybe not hick, just bad)
Cyril – hip
Grover – see Chester
Homer – hick
Jarvis – potentially hip
Jethro – hip
Leland – potentially hip
Myron – neither hick nor hip, just geeky (and not in a good way)
Rex – hip (I guess, although it’s still a dog name to me)
Roscoe – hip
Rufus – see Rex
Waylon – hick
Zeke – potentially hip
Alma – hickster
Bernadette – hipster
Beulah – hickster
Dinah – neither IMO
Edna – hickster
Ethel – hickster
Eunice – hickster
Henrietta – hipster
Inez – hipster
Jemima – torn
Lenore – hipster
Mavis – torn
Myrtle – hickster
Viola – hipster
Winona – hipster
Boys
Barnabas – hipster
Casper – hipster
Chester – hipster (esp. when using nn Chet)
Cyril – hipster
Grover – hickster
Homer – torn
Jarvis – hipster
Jethro – hipster
Leland – hickster
Myron – more like nerdster
Rex – hipster
Roscoe – hipster
Rufus – hipster (and, alas, couldn’t talk hubby into it – it was my grandfather’s name and I’ve always loved it’s quirky charm)
Waylon – hipster
Zeke – hipster
I would have thought Luella would have made your list… It is my grandmothers name and I really “want” to use it… Everywhere I see it listed on a website it is given the hipster hickster lable… am I brave enough? hmmmmm
These names seem hipster to me:
Alma
Bernadette- borderline
Beulah- one good celebrity namesake could catapult it into the spotlight
Edna- borderline
Henrietta- popularity in Europe makes it sound hipster to me
Inez
Jemima
Lenore
Myrtle
Viola- I actually really love this name
Boys
Barnabas
Casper
Homer- borderline; could be really cool
Jethro- borderline
Roscoe
Zeke
I realize Oklahoma isn’t considered the South, but we have an abundance of hicks and rednecks here. However, most of our locals aren’t using old and stereotypically hick names. Although I do know four Ezekiels, three of whom go by Zeke, and I knew one couple who named their baby Roscoe. ( I will forever picture Roscoe P. Coaltrain from The Dukes of Hazard.) Our rednecks like to get “Kre8tive” with spelling, use once-popular-now-common-and-boring, names, blend names or just plain make them up.
I love love love the name Beulah, but I don’t think I would ever actually use it. Viola was my great-grandmother’s name, and although I’m not in love with it, I will be using it if I ever have another daughter.
Girls:
Alma – Not fond of this.
Bernadette – Good name, helped along by Bernadette Peters
Beulah – I find the byoo sound unattractive
Dinah – Cool!
Edna – Not yet…
Ethel – I can actually see why this was a hit. Could see it revived in 10-15 yrs.
Eunice – Ugh. Ugliest of the Eu- names. Prefer Eulalie/-a, Eugenie/-a, Eudora.
Henrietta – I like it! Hattie is adorable.
Inez – Why not just go with Agnes?
Jemima – LOVE. Absolutely not hick.
Lenore – I like, though I prefer Eleanor/Ellinor.
Mavis – I can see the promise, sort of similar to Ava, but I’m not crazy about it.
Myrtle – If only for Moaning Myrtle of Harry Potter! Otherwise, I like it.
Viola – So stunning. Great alternative to Violet.
Winona – I immidiately think of the actress. Sort of a “Madonna name” to me…associated primarily with one person. Good way to get Winnie, though.
Boys:
Barnabas – Barnaby is better — lighter.
Casper – Yes! Why don’t we just forget about the friendly ghost. Maybe Caspar spelling would help.
Chester – I find this very cute.
Cyril – I keep hearing “shrill”.
Grover – I like it!
Homer – When thinking of original famous holder, not Simpson.
Jarvis – Sort of jarring.
Jethro – Yes! Love the spunky O ending.
Leland – Sophisticated sounding.
Myron – My only qualm is that I know a steak restaurant by this name, which makes it hard for me to picture on a child.
Rex – Would make an awesome mn.
Roscoe – I adore this!
Rufus – Ditto!
Waylon – Eww.
Zeke – Seems too passe.
Alma – I don’t like, but I could see it being “hipster”
Bernadette – could be hip. I kind of like this name, very Catholic.
Beulah hick. Hope it stays away.
Dinah – definitely hip. This is a nice name.
Edna – hick
Ethel – hick.
Eunice – hick
Henrietta – has possibilities. Hip.
Inez – hip.
Jemima – hip. I like this name, and can dissociate from syrup references.
Lenore – hip.
Mavis – I think it’s hick, but I can see hipster types using it.
Myrtle – hick.
Viola – either. It’s not ugly, just old-fashioned and reminds of an instrument.
Winona – hip. Nothing really wrong with this name.
Boys
Barnabas – I suppose it’s hip but I don’t like it.
Casper – hip. Don’t like so much myself.
Chester – hick to me but I think some may find it hip.
Cyril – same as above
Grover – same as above. Furry blue muppet r to me. .
Homer – same as above. I don’t like it at all.
Jarvis – hip. I think it is OK.
Jethro – hip. Sort of interesting.
Leland – hip/hick. Not sure.
Myron – hick.
Rex – hip. I think it’s usable.
Roscoe – hip. Not too bad.
Rufus – probably hip. not to my taste though.
Waylon – hick. I think it’s awful.
Zeke – hip.
I like a lot of these, but I grew up in a hick town and moved to the hipster capitol of Brooklyn once I reached adulthood- so i guess whether the name is hick or hipster I would like it, wouldn’t I? Bernadette, Dinah & Inez are all nice and I like Roscoe and Leland too. But I like pretty much any name that can become Lee. That’s probably the hick in me I reckon.
Totally late to the game here, but: It is funny to me was non-southerners think is hick. My husband and I both grew up in Alabama – him in the “big city” and me in the backwoods. Our family is still there, we spend a lot of time there, but as adults, we’re educated hipster academics in a creative field. So “hickster” is exactly the kind of names we like. Hipster with a southern twist. Most of these don’t scream Southern to me (not in the way double names do). Jemima is lovely, but to me, completely unusable in the US. I wouldn’t go there. Besides that, most of these are hip, not hick, and very usable. Especially in the boy category. Hick to me is Taylen, Shaylen, McShaynee, Brylee… whatever made up smooshed name they have. At least those are the kind of names all my hillbilly relatives use.
From my P.O.V., Alma could never work as a girl’s name–I live among a heavily LDS (Mormon) population, and Alma is a male name in the Book of Mormon. So culture definitely plays into that one for me–my culture, not southern culture. I’d never name a boy that, either. On the girls’ list, I really only like VIOLA—very pretty name!!! LENORE is cool if only for The Raven connotation…although I like Lenora better. The rest are hickster in my book–I knew a grumpy old woman who lived across the street named Beulah, and Dinah just makes me think of the Working on the Railroad song. As for the boys’ names, Jethro and Leland are both hipster, and the rest are hickster. I must be really picky….
Alma – I was going to make the same point about Alma as the previous poster – to me, it’s a Book of Mormon MALE name. Also, interestingly, my LDS Grandmother’s first name, but she was named after her father (both are Alma Dean). SO, hick name to me.
Bernadette – Borderline. I have a secret liking for it, but am far too terrified of “Bernie” to even consider it.
Beulah – Not cute. I don’t think either hicks or hipsters would use this – but hipsters would be more likely to, just because we don’t expect it.
Dinah – Hip! Darling. Reminds me of the cat in Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, it’s a Biblical name that doesn’t have a great story (not as negative as, say, Delilah, but she does get raped).
Edna – Gross. Hipsters will use it for precisely that reason.
Ethel – Borderline. Makes me think of “ether” so I’m not a fan. Definitely grandmotherly.
Eunice- Yeah, it’s always the nerd-girl’s name in the movies. Hipster but not hip.
Henrietta – Hip for sure! Ettie or Etta, so cute.
Inez – Hip
Jemima – Hip, but the syrup thing is unfortunately slightly racist.
Lenore – Cute and hip. Also Lenora. \
Mavis – Can’t hear this without thinking “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” – is that just me? But Hipster.
Myrtle – Moaning Myrtle. Hipster for sure but not hip.
Viola – Hipster and hip – just lovely.
Winona – No. Hipster but not hip.
Boys
Barnabas – Hipster
Casper – Hip
Chester – Hipster
Cyril – Hip and Hipster
Grover – Hipster. Sesame Street has not died down enough for this one yet.
Homer – Love the literary connection, hate the cartoon one. Hick.
Jarvis – I don’t even know.
Jethro – Hipster!
Leland – Hipster and hick. I can see it both ways.
Myron – Hipster
Rex – Hipster and I like it
Roscoe – Hipster, and it’s a dog name to me.
Rufus – Hipster but not hip. To my mind, it is the stereotypical name for a rabbit. All male rabbits ever are named Rufus. Does anyone else get that from this name?
Waylon – Like Leland.
Zeke – Hipster and hip!