Friday Faves (a little late)

what if I were Romeo in black jeans 

what if I was Heathcliff, it's no myth 

maybe she's just looking for 

someone to dance with

This song came on the radio the other day, and it reminded me of a couple secret favorites of mine, Romeo and Heathcliff. 

Both belong to tragic romantic boys, which is immensely appealing to a sucker like me (I'm also a sucker for slightly-cheesy really catchy one-hit pop wonders from the 90s, apparently) — but those connections push them into the "just too much" category, I think. Of course, paired with the right first or middle name, they could be toned down enough to suit an actual, non-moor wandering, non-double suiciding boy.

But I really do like them both as names, even without their literary histories. A post on the Babynames.com message boards got me thinking about my other current guilty pleasure names. 

I came up with — 

Duke — from the Latin dux for "leader," I usually try and stay away from title names. This one's a guilty pleasure because despite the fact that it brings to mind a ridiculous hierarchy and manages to sound like a dog name all at once, I sort of find it charming. I mean, people like Luke, and the sounds aren't that dissimilar. If we want to really get guilty, I kind of like Baron, too 

Loudon — file this one under "too hipster." I'd be embarrassed to use this one because it'd feel like I was throwing my musical taste in my child's face. However, I'm not even a huge fan of Mr. Wainwright —  he and his family just happen to have lovely names, all around. From elements meaning "low hill"

Carla — this one's a guilty pleasure because it's so dated, plus it's one I used to really dislike. Funny how names come around like that. I wouldn't be surprised to see this used more in the future — after all, it's still quite popular in both Spain, where it's top 10, and France, where it's in the top 150

Dot — just Dot. While I like Dorothy, it's never been a favorite, and Dot has an entirely different feel to it. Is it too incomplete? Better suited to an animal, like Duke? Duke and Dot would be pretty fabulous kitten friends, actually


So that's my confession — what are your guilty pleasures?