1. I like it. It's not a favorite but I'd be happy to see it in RL. I like the nickname
Bas / Baz, and that's saying something since there aren't a lot of nicknames that I particularly like.
2. I pronounce the herb (not spice, to be nitpicky) BAY-zil, but the name BA-zil since it's primarily used as a name in Britain and that's the way it's pronounced there...BAY-zil as a name sounds very strange to me, and I don't like it.
3. Great for a boy. Very British, and therefore matches well (in my head) with names like
Oliver,
Simon,
Rupert,
Nigel,
Neville,
Edmund,
Percy, etc.
4. Totally a boy's name to me. I don't like it for girls at all, and would go for
Bryony or
Betony instead (also plants, also with the B sound).
I like
Flip as a nn for
Philippa, but I wouldn't use it as a given name (or even a set nn) since it reminds me of both flippant and flip-flop. Anaconda as a name is terrible...like naming a child Python or Piranha. What's wrong with
Amanda? All I can say is I hope there was a
reason for the character having such a strange name.