I like the name Paul. It's very soft-sounding...not soft like fluffy but like a bell with a deep sort of mournful ring.:-) Tom is another nicely soft sound, I think. I had a book when I was little where this witch turns a frog into a prince and he's very upset. She tries to get him excited about being a prince by giving him a name and he doesn't like any of them. He says "Tom" sounds like something falling on the grass at night. I always thought he was right and I liked that (my father and brother are both Toms, though I've never called my brother that).

I used to not like the name Michael as a kid but I've grown to really like it--and Stephen. I know several Katherines--I think Katie is my favorite shortened version of that name, though.