I’ve been on a naming dilemma for about a month or two now. My husband and I rarely have the same taste going up to bat.
This our third, but first boy, and I have found that my husband tends to vehemently reject my favorite. I theorize that this is because he wants to be part of the naming process and doesn’t want to just pick MY name. Anyhow, I’ve learned the lesson from my two girls.
[name]Penn[/name] has been in contention for a while because we met at UPenn, but he quickly denied. I think he said he hated it.
[name]Boden[/name]/Bowden (pronounciation Boh-den) quickly became my favorite due to the ability to use Bodie as a nickname. So I have quietly let it be my favorite without tipping my hand too much. I had my list of names on the fridge but really didn’t push the issue much. Well, last night, he says what are we going to name him? He said, what’s our frontrunner? I said, what’s yours? He says Bodie. I said, that’s my favorite too. So I’m excited, but he is concerned that Bodie is made-up or sounds made up. I know that it not made up…I know of [name]Bode[/name] [name]Miller[/name], but I really don’t like that spelling and I also know it will get mispronounced down here as basically the way it’s written.
So what do you think? Does [name]Boden[/name] with a nn Bodie sound made up to you (even if it’s not)?
Sisters names are [name]Sadie[/name] and [name]Scarlett[/name].
Other names in contention are [name]Everett[/name] (concerned about -ett ending with [name]Scarlett[/name]), [name]Winston[/name], [name]Nash[/name].
Any and all suggestions/comments are welcome and appreciated.
There’s a boy in our [name]Little[/name] Gym class named [name]Boden[/name]. I don’t think it sounds made up at all, I think it’s a nice name. I also like your other names as well, [name]Nash[/name] and [name]Winston[/name]. I think [name]Nash[/name] sounds best with your girls names, though: [name]Sadie[/name], [name]Scarlett[/name] and [name]Nash[/name]. They all have the same flavor to me. But if [name]Boden[/name] is your favorite, who cares! I think when you love a name all the rules should go out the window!
I’m still not sure what pronunciation you’re going for. Is it ‘boh-den’ (boh rhymes with low) or ‘bow-den’ (bow rhymes with cow)? To me, yes it does sound made up and Bodie looks too much like the word body even though I know that’s not how you say it. I much prefer [name]Nash[/name] or [name]Winston[/name].
Remind me again, what does [name]Nash[/name] mean?
I do like [name]Winston[/name], but I really want a nn for such a formal name and [name]Win[/name] is appealing but not sure about it. Also, reminds me a bit of the cigarettes?
Seeing [name]Bodhi[/name] written that way it has a very international (buddhist) vibe to me. I just think that it’s jarring with [name]Scarlett[/name] and [name]Sadie[/name], which are distinctly American. Plus, I live in [name]Miami[/name] and the Hispanics will have never heard of that name, so they will really pronounce it just as it written. I can’t tell you how many times people try to pronounce [name]Sadie[/name] has Sah-dee or Sah-dee-eh. So I’m sure it will get Bodd-hi pronounciation. I don’t necessarily name my kids according to the popular culture down here but I prefer to avoid a name that will get butchered constantly. I mean, [name]Siobhan[/name] is perfectly genuine name, but I can only imagine the damage done it by any pronounciation attempts down here.
Having a friend with the last name Bowden, I’m going to go and say that it does not sound made up. If you love it go for it, Bodie is such a cute nickname.
Yeah, [name]Boden[/name]/Bowden definitely sounds very made-up and tryndee, I think due to its surname-y, 2-syllable, and -n ending qualities. It IS a legitimate surname, but it just sounds like another [name]Nolan[/name], [name]Logan[/name], [name]Owen[/name], or [name]Colton[/name]. I much prefer Bodie or, better yet, [name]Bodhi[/name]- they stand out much more.
I also love [name]Nash[/name] from your list and I think it sounds great with [name]Scarlett[/name] and [name]Sadie[/name]!
[name]Daisy[/name], I could see myself calling him primarily Bodie. I normally am of the thought that if you love a nn so much that you will use it all the time, why not name them the nn? I named my first [name]Sadie[/name], not [name]Sarah[/name], but this reason. Anyhow, using Bodie as the given name though I feel opens me up to made-up name more than [name]Boden[/name], which apparently is a legitimate name even if it doesn’t feel like one. Plus, I don’t know if Bodie will age well and maybe he’ll want to go by [name]Boden[/name] at some point. I know a girl who went by [name]Angie[/name] all throughout high school and college, but once she started law school went by [name]Angelica[/name]. Strikes me a bit odd, but I guess she felt she outgrew [name]Angie[/name].
[name]Boden[/name]/Bowden is most definitely not ‘made up.’ Made up = [name]Kyler[/name], [name]Tyleigh[/name], Shnajesty, etc. Bowden derives from [name]Baudouin[/name], more commonly known in modern English as “[name]Baldwin[/name].” It’s derived from the [name]German[/name] element ‘brave’ and was the name of several kings, including crusader-kings of Jerusalem in the 12th century.
It blends into modern naming practices, sure. There’s a reason little boys are being named [name]Aidan[/name] instead of Barsanuphius (both are saints from roughly the same period-- why was one name revived and not the other?).
Likewise, @daisy, [name]Nolan[/name], [name]Owen[/name] and [name]Logan[/name] are names with a long history (heard of [name]Owain[/name] Glyndwr?), and even [name]Colton[/name] is a long-established surname from the [name]North[/name] of [name]England[/name].
I think [name]Nash[/name] is a great name (it means ‘from the ash meadow’), but [name]Everett[/name] is too close to [name]Scarlett[/name]. It would be wonderful to see a little [name]Winston[/name]-- how much fun is the nickname ‘[name]Win[/name]?’