My wife and I are struggling with the name of our second child (who is due in under 2 weeks). We’re not sure if it’s a boy or a girl. We’re pretty set on the girl’s name, but the boy’s name is still a big question mark. His (or her) older brother is named [name]Noah[/name] [name]Linus[/name], and we couldn’t be happier with his name. We are deciding between [name]Elliott[/name] and [name]Sam[/name]. Our leading candidate right now for a middle name (for either [name]Elliott[/name] or [name]Sam[/name]) is [name]Milo[/name] (we want to use an “M” for my grandfather). I would love to hear your thoughts. Mine are as follows…
[name]Elliott[/name] – I think it’s distinctive, relatively warm and provides some unique personality without being too “out there.” Two concerns are: (1) the spelling is confusing (the above with two Ls and two Ts is our current preference) and (2) my wife wants to call him [name]Eli[/name] for short, and I’m not sure I love the [name]Elliott[/name]/[name]Eli[/name] name/nickname combo.
[name]Sam[/name] – It’s a solid name, and I feel like it’s hard not to like a guy named [name]Sam[/name]. That said, I’m not a huge fan of the longer [name]Samuel[/name], yet I’m not sure I want to make his official name just [name]Sam[/name]. And my wife ain’t buying in to “[name]Samson[/name]” or other variations. I’m also a little concerned that it might be a little too generic.
So, again, I would appreciate any thoughts. [name]Elliott[/name] [name]Milo[/name] or [name]Samuel[/name] [name]Milo[/name] (or alternative “m” middle names). Thanks so much!!!
I love [name]Elliott[/name]!!!
I also love [name]Eli[/name]!
I’m not sure if your concern with [name]Elliott[/name] is that you don’t like [name]Eli[/name], or if it’s that you like [name]Eli[/name] but don’t like the fact that the connection between [name]Elliott[/name] and [name]Eli[/name] is less than obvious. If the former, I do think it’s possible for [name]Elliott[/name] to always be [name]Elliott[/name] and never [name]Eli[/name] (though this might bother you too, if you like a name to have a nn). If the latter, then perhaps you might prefer the name [name]Elias[/name], where the [name]Eli[/name] nn is really the first sounds and letter of the name?
[name]Elias[/name] is an awesome name!
[name]Elijah[/name] is another option, but it’s a little more common and therefore perhaps less special?
I also rather like [name]Samuel[/name], but I can see how it might feel a little plain, since it’s fairly common. (I also like [name]Samson[/name], but that’s out if your wife doesn’t like it).
Another way to get to the nn [name]Sam[/name] would be [name]Solomon[/name] (which also offers the nn [name]Sol[/name] as well). Of course, if you were put off by the stretch between [name]Elliott[/name] and [name]Eli[/name], [name]Solomon[/name] nn [name]Sam[/name] might not be for you
I’m actually not crazy about [name]Milo[/name] in any of these combos, but I do think using an m-middle to honor your dad is a lovely idea. Here are some other suggestions, with the names mentioned above:
On the [name]Elliott[/name]/[name]Eli[/name] combo – I prefer the full name [name]Elliott[/name] (my name is [name]Andrew[/name], and I’ve never liked [name]Andy[/name]), but my wife prefers [name]Eli[/name]. I think the plan would be to call him both (and maybe confuse him a bit) until he’s old enough to state his own preference.
More generally – what are your thoughts on [name]Eli[/name] as a nickname for [name]Elliott[/name]? As you said, it’s a little less obvious (than, say, [name]Eli[/name] and [name]Elias[/name]). But it’s not crazy, is it? Have you heard of this combo before? People won’t look at him like he’s nuts if they know him as [name]Eli[/name] and he tells them that [name]Elliott[/name] is his full name, right?
I love [name]Elliott[/name] (and prefer it spelled this way too) and agree with you that [name]Sam[/name] feels a little generic. I have heard others suggest/use [name]Eli[/name] as a nn for [name]Elliott[/name]. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you (unless you really don’t care for [name]Eli[/name]). E is another cute nickname for [name]Elliott[/name] that you might like to use (just between family of course) as it seems like you aren’t a nickname kind of guy.
[name]Elliott[/name] (Although I do prefer it spelt with just one T, and is on my list for boys like this). It’s a lovely name, and more distinctive than [name]Sam[/name] (which is cute though). I also love [name]Noah[/name] and [name]Elliot[/name] together.
As for [name]Eli[/name] as a nn for [name]Elliot[/name], I love it!
On the [name]Elliott[/name]/[name]Eli[/name] combo – I prefer the full name [name]Elliott[/name] (my name is [name]Andrew[/name], and I’ve never liked [name]Andy[/name]), but my wife prefers [name]Eli[/name]. I think the plan would be to call him both (and maybe confuse him a bit) until he’s old enough to state his own preference.
More generally – what are your thoughts on [name]Eli[/name] as a nickname for [name]Elliott[/name]? As you said, it’s a little less obvious (than, say, [name]Eli[/name] and [name]Elias[/name]). But it’s not crazy, is it? Have you heard of this combo before? People won’t look at him like he’s nuts if they know him as [name]Eli[/name] and he tells them that [name]Elliott[/name] is his full name, right?[/quote]
I don’t think it’s odd at all to use [name]Eli[/name] as a nn for [name]Elliott[/name], and in fact I rather like it. People might not immediately know (or assume) his name is [name]Elliott[/name] though, the way they would probably assume his name were [name]Samuel[/name] if he had the nn [name]Sam[/name] (of course, even then they could be wrong - his name could be [name]Samson[/name]!).
I’m wondering if maybe what’s bothering you is not so much that people will hear the nn [name]Eli[/name] and not know what his full name is (or be surprised that his full name is [name]Elliott[/name]) but rather that people might not know [name]Eli[/name] is a nn at all, since unlike [name]Sam[/name], [name]Eli[/name] is a name that can stand alone. Maybe you just don’t like the idea of a nn that is actually in and of itself an entirely different full formal name? Almost as if [name]Eli[/name] threatens to usurp [name]Elliott[/name]?
I know that’s a dramatic way of putting it, but I think it’s actually a valid concern. I think you should talk to your wife more about her love of [name]Eli[/name] (and your hesitations with it) and maybe lay some ground rules about when and where he can go by [name]Eli[/name] vs. [name]Elliott[/name], but of course he may choose [name]Eli[/name] himself when he’s old enough to do so, and if you don’t love that option, you might want to go with a different name.
JLM – I think you’re absolutely right – it’s not that I mind the name [name]Eli[/name] (in fact, I kind of like it) – it’s that I am partly afraid that the nickname ([name]Eli[/name]) will swallow the name itself ([name]Elliott[/name]). And I (a) prefer the name [name]Elliott[/name] and (b) would like my son to have a choice and not feel limited by such a short name as [name]Eli[/name] (if he prefers [name]Elliott[/name]).
Like you say, these are all valid concerns, but at the end of the day, I think my wife and I have our preferences and they will remain as such. But I think we both feel like our affinity for names that are not only so close, but can actually be short/long for each other, means there is something here – something that we can make work for the both of us. Does that make sense?
[name]Elliott[/name]: I think that [name]Elliott[/name] is a great name! Like you said, spelling will likely be an issue at times, but he can always tell people that it’s spelled with two Ts. I love [name]Eli[/name] as a nickname for [name]Elliott[/name], and don’t find it strange at all! (Heck, I even like [name]Leo[/name] as a nickname for [name]Elliott[/name]!) I’ve been hearing [name]Elliott[/name] being used on girls lately, and while I have no idea how popular [name]Elliott[/name] will become on girls, I thought I’d mention it in case this is an issue for you.
[name]Sam[/name]: I love [name]Samuel[/name], nn [name]Sam[/name], and I think another Biblical name is perfect with [name]Noah[/name]. (With an M middle, I personally wouldn’t do just [name]Sam[/name], because the Ms run together and cancel each other out.)
I love both [name]Elliott[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name], but with [name]Noah[/name], I can better see [name]Samuel[/name], nn [name]Sam[/name]. When it comes to flow though, I like [name]Elliott[/name] [name]Milo[/name] more than I do [name]Samuel[/name] [name]Milo[/name], because with [name]Samuel[/name] [name]Milo[/name], I hear a lot of M and L.
I think they’re both great names, and to me, you really can’t go wrong either way.
Firstly, I think you are going to find that nameberries like [name]Samuel[/name] more than [name]Elliott[/name], (although you haven’t had that feedback so far), however, the nn of [name]Eli[/name] matches extremely well with [name]Noah[/name] and I like [name]Elliott[/name] a million times more than [name]Sam[/name].
I think [name]Elliott[/name] is a handsome name and it goes really well with [name]Miles[/name], [name]Elliott[/name] [name]Miles[/name] or vice versa, instead of [name]Milo[/name] which has a softer vibe to it.
PS I also think that [name]Linus[/name] and [name]Miles[/name] matches better than [name]Linus[/name] and [name]Milo[/name].
PS2 I am biased of course having a grown son named [name]Miles[/name] and his name has proved itself to be everything we wanted in a name. If it was my child I would love him to be [name]Elliott[/name] full name all his life as my son has been [name]Miles[/name] full name all his life
[name]Elliott[/name] [name]Miles[/name] is my pick.
I love [name]Samuel[/name] [name]Milo[/name] “[name]Sam[/name]”! I think that [name]Milo[/name] and [name]Linus[/name], especially with the repeated I sound, are excellent middle names. And, [name]Samuel[/name] and [name]Noah[/name] go nicely, too. [name]Sam[/name] is handsome and strong, and I don’t think it is THAT popular, at least not right now with the sea of [name]Aidan[/name], [name]Brayden[/name], etc. names…
[name]Elliott[/name] seems too stately to go with the more comfortable [name]Noah[/name], and every [name]Elliott[/name] (I’ve known [name]Eliot[/name] and [name]Elliott[/name] spellings) I’ve ever known has been on the nerdier side, which makes me shy away from the name, personally. I’ve not known an [name]Elliott[/name], personally, that goes by [name]Eli[/name], either. [name]Elias[/name] could work.
