We are having a baby boy next month and we still can’t decide on our list. Part of the problem is that I’m a teacher so I have associations with many names. We want his name to go well with big sister, [name_f]Isla[/name_f]. Help!
Here’s our short list:
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m] - We love this but it’s also the name of my brother-in-law’s dog. He lives in a different state, though, and we only see them once every year (at most).
[name_u]Owen[/name_u] - boy in school (not in my class) that is notorious
[name_m]Liam[/name_m] - second cousin just named her son this but I rarely see her
[name_m]Milo[/name_m]
[name_m]Miles[/name_m]
[name_m]Xander[/name_m] (could be short for [name_m]Alexander[/name_m], but I like [name_m]Xander[/name_m] more)
[name_m]Graham[/name_m]
[name_m]Lucas[/name_m]
[name_u]Evan[/name_u]
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m]-very handsome name, I like it with [name_f]Isla[/name_f].
[name_u]Owen[/name_u]-I like it, but not if it has bad connotations.
[name_m]Liam[/name_m]-getting VERY popular.
[name_m]Milo[/name_m]-the repeating ‘eye-l’ sound in [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_m]Milo[/name_m] is offputting to me.
[name_m]Miles[/name_m]-same as [name_m]Milo[/name_m] .
[name_m]Xander[/name_m]-eh.
[name_m]Graham[/name_m]-my favorite with [name_f]Isla[/name_f], the name feels very pulled together, somehow.
[name_m]Lucas[/name_m]-okay, but there are a lot of them on the playground these days.
[name_u]Evan[/name_u]-my second choice.
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m] or [name_m]Lucas[/name_m] would be by top two choices from your list. I always want to pair [name_f]Isla[/name_f] with an L name or a name containing an L because [name_f]Isla[/name_f] is so… lilting!
The only ones on the list I’m not super crazy about are [name_m]Graham[/name_m] and [name_m]Milo[/name_m]. [name_m]Milo[/name_m] does sound too similar because of that long I sound + the L. (I like the L, but not with the same vowel sound) And [name_m]Graham[/name_m] seems too stoic next to [name_f]Isla[/name_f].
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] is an uncommon name, its unique, but not so unique that it makes people cringe at the sound of it. You should go with a boy’s name similar to that
Ex.
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_u]Dexter[/name_u] (nn. [name_m]Dex[/name_m])
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] (nn. [name_m]Dez[/name_m] or [name_m]Des[/name_m])
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_m]Callum[/name_m]
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_u]Bradley[/name_u] (nn. [name_m]Brad[/name_m]? If you like that sort of thing…)
I absolutely love your choices!
Though vowel names can be a tongue twister, I think they sound good.
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m] can have a nn of [name_u]Ollie[/name_u] I guess, so when you see the brother-in-law’s dog, you can tell the difference.
My two faves from your list would be [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] and [name_m]Xander[/name_m] with [name_f]Isla[/name_f] ( though I prefer the spelling “[name_m]Zander[/name_m]”)
Out of your short list, I like [name_u]Evan[/name_u] and [name_m]Graham[/name_m]. You may want to consider spelling [name_m]Graham[/name_m] the Scottish way which is [name_m]Graeme[/name_m].
If you are open to suggestions you could try out another Scottish name. [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] or [name_m]Harris[/name_m] would keep the Scottish island theme going.