Ugly Names that are Handsome

  1. Sheldon
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "steep-sided valley"
    • Description:

      Like Marvin and Melvin, Sheldon has been perceived as about as far out as you can get, though there are very pretty towns in Devon and Derbyshire that inspired it. Sheldon Lee Cooper is the lead nerd character on the TV hit The Big Bang Theory, giving the name a brainy image. Nickname Shel (as in Shel Silverstein, author of Where the Sidewalk Ends) could, in the modern world of nature name love, be seen as beach evoking.
  2. Orville
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "gold town"
    • Description:

      Only if you're an aviation buff or seriously addicted to popcorn.
  3. Bertrand
    • Origin:

      French from German
    • Meaning:

      "magnificent crow"
    • Description:

      This name of famed philosopher, mathematician and Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell becomes slightly more plausible with the French pronunciation, bare-TRAHN. Another noted bearer is French director and screenwriter Bertrand Tavernier.
  4. Melville
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "settlement on infertile land"
    • Description:

      All names ending in ville are in nowheresville.
  5. Duane
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "swarthy"
    • Description:

      An old Irish surname that was big in the 1960s, but would be an unexpected choice for a child now.
  6. Delbert
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "day-bright"
    • Description:

      Problematic, even if not for Dilbert.
  7. Elbert
    • Origin:

      English variation of Albert
    • Description:

      Rocking out on the porch with buddies Hubert, Norbert, and Osbert.

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