Okay regret is too strong of a word but can someone talk me off the ledge here? I named my son Milo in 2019. I always thought of it as an old man name- not a popular one but in a similar vein to old man names that I love like Louie, Otis, George, Arlo, etc… but I’m realizing that most people do not see Milo as an old man name but as a trendy new name.
He was very close to being named Louie so I’ve had moments over the last 3 years of thinking maybe I should have named him Louie. But he always looked more like a Milo to us. He would’ve been Louis Alfred Van Cleve but is
Milo Alfred Van Cleve. Trendy new names aren’t my thing and now I’m worried I missed my opportunity to give him a strong name more reflective of my tastes.
Sometimes too I worry that Louie would’ve been better as I could name a girl Maya (which I love and wouldn’t do with similar sounding Milo) which I think goes well with Louie. If Milo does have a sister, it will be Lucy, which I would not have done with Louie. But if he has a brother, I’d definitely do Louie this time and I like the way Milo and Louie together.
I’m obviously not going to change his name. But would appreciate a little feedback on why milo is an awesome name
Also, I mean no offense to more trendy names. I love so many of them. I just wanted a more classic name. And I’m not sure if I misunderstood the name or if people in general misunderstand the name. I think what could be is that there were more men named Milo in the 20s, but it was still probably not a very popular name so people don’t know it has a vintage quality and see it as a new name of the 2000s.
I live in the deep [name_u]South[/name_u], and I’ve yet to meet someone who is [name_u]Milo[/name_u] other than me (and I am 65). I am seeing far more occupation names like [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] and [name_u]Banks[/name_u] (my son is a childcare worker) along with the Jacks and Olivers. Maybe in more urban areas?
I (obviously) think [name_u]Milo[/name_u] is a great name, and [name_u]Milo[/name_u] [name_m]Alfred[/name_m] is beautiful.
[name_u]Milo[/name_u] is an awesome name! It does have old-man-name vibes, but feels modern too - very much in the same way that say, [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] or [name_m]Otis[/name_m] does! It’s sharp, cool and fun, versatile and lovely
[name_u]Louie[/name_u] is a great name too, but, like [name_u]Milo[/name_u], it’s kind of on trend now Neither name strikes me as ‘new’, just more - newly well-known? Newly well-loved?
I think [name_u]Milo[/name_u] is one of those names that can bridge a few different styles easily. I love how it sounds with your last name and his middle—both [name_m]Alfred[/name_m] and [name_u]Van[/name_u] Cleeve sound very strong and fusty to me, so have a sort of vintage vibe already built in there.
I think there are big positives to using a name that people generally find fresh and appealing, too. [name_u]Milo[/name_u] sounds so energetic and friendly—it’s trending for good reason. I also love vintage names and have used two that are not at all back yet, and I have gotten a couple rude reactions from the unenlightened
Overall, I think sometimes babies just really pick their own names. It’s happened to me twice—I ended up feeling like it was out of my hands almost. And even when I’ve gone through periods of overthinking the past (I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have more kids after our first for a period, and was sad I hadn’t been able to express more of what I love name-wise with just one kid to name) it’s brought me peace to remember that in those powerful transitional times around each child’s birth, I felt irresistibly drawn towards the names I ended up giving them.
I understand your concern completely. After naming my son after my grandfather, an old name I had never heard, I quickly found out there were 2 others at our church named that and we live in small town.
That said, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. [name_u]Milo[/name_u] still feels vintage and an “old man” name to me. I know of one young [name_u]Milo[/name_u] (in the 3rd grade) despite the statistics, and he was named after a gentleman in his mid-80s. I know of none near either of my son’s ages or in their classes/sports teams/etc.
Personally, I think [name_u]Milo[/name_u] and [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] make an adorable sibset! And I like [name_u]Milo[/name_u] better than [name_u]Louie[/name_u]. I am happy to hopefully provide you with some reassurance in your choice. I think it totally depends on your area. [name_u]Milo[/name_u] is a perfect choice!
I can understand what you mean about it being somewhat trendy, if I were to hear about someone named [name_u]Milo[/name_u] I would probably assume they were younger, though it’s certainly not trendy on the Tyler/Aiden/Ethan level to the point where I would be really surprised to find out they were older. I can imagine it fitting an older person very nicely as well. This is just based on my personal experience, but I see it as “trendy” in kind of a more unique way as probably most young people I’ve encountered named [name_u]Milo[/name_u] are older teens who have it as a nickname they chose for themself (many of them being transgender or otherwise queer, though I’m not a part of those communities so I can’t say as to whether it’s thought of as a stereotypically queer name). I’ve also encountered a few girls with the name. So while it’s somewhat “modern” in some sense, I kind of doubt there will be 2 other boys named [name_u]Milo[/name_u] in his class or anything like that.
Also it’s worth noting that I’ve been hearing [name_u]Louie[/name_u] around a lot more recently, and though I still view it as more vintage and unusual, I could definitely see that changing in the next few years, so I don’t know if that would’ve been significantly better anyway.
All that being said, I think [name_u]Milo[/name_u] is a very nice name and still has a bit of an unexpected quality to it, even with its newfound popularity. It’s also my cat’s name (I was obsessed with the movie [name_u]Milo[/name_u] and [name_m]Otis[/name_m] when I was little), so it has nothing but positive associations for me.
Yea, nothing against the trans community at all but this is the exact comment made that made me start to doubt I made the right choice. I’m also not in love with the idea of it being a girls name as well. I don’t like it having a feminine quality.
If it makes you feel better, I wouldn’t personally view it as a feminine name, when I first heard it used on a girl I was pretty surprised. And while I have encountered a couple LGBT+ people named [name_u]Milo[/name_u], I certainly wouldn’t assume or even suspect that someone was LGBT+ just because their name was [name_u]Milo[/name_u], and I very much doubt anyone else would either. It’s not a name I’d see as having major LGBT+ implications like, say, [name_u]Ash[/name_u] or [name_u]Elliott[/name_u].
I apologize if my comment made you feel more worried about it, I was thinking you were concerned about trendiness as in it becoming a popular baby name recently. I still view it as more of an old-fashioned name that’s caught on slightly more in recent years rather than a modern, trendy name.
Aw. thank you! And no worries at all! yea I didn’t want to come out and say that the main reason I was reaching out was because a mom in a recent play group said it was very popular in the trans community because I don’t want to sound like I have some sort of phobia. I didn’t name him [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] for that exact reason because I knew more girl Charlies than boy Charlies. But I’m sure even [name_u]Louie[/name_u] would be a good transition name as there are more girl Lou’s than ever before. I just wanted him to have a strong, old man-ish, masculine name and I guess I’m realizing that not everyone sees milo like I did.
Neither name strikes me as ‘new’, just more - newly well-known? Newly well-loved?
