Hubby and I are expecting our first little bundle of joy in May, and as of today (Dec. 23) I am halfway through my pregnancy.
We are expecting a little boy, and have come up with 3 names for him, but can’t officially decide on his name. We do still want to wait to meet him first, but we really like the 3 names we chose.
The names are:
Caleb
Brayden
Noah
Hunby and I are both leaning towards Brayden, as we dont know any Braydens, and the name flows with thw middle names we chose well before we knew we were having a boy.
What’s your take? TIA!
** As a side note, I dont like the very pipular names, as I dont want my kid to be the 5th kid with the same name in his class. I like names that are less popular, not more popular. **
[name_f]My[/name_f] favourite is [name_u]Noah[/name_u]
I have loved [name_u]Noah[/name_u] for such a long time and he’s always high up on my list for boys. When I was expecting in 2020 if my baby had been a boy their name would have been [name_u]Noah[/name_u].
[name_u]Noah[/name_u] is sweet, wholesome, cuddly, warm and peaceful which is helped by the meaning rest. I love the bible story behind [name_u]Noah[/name_u] and how rich in history the name is such a sweet biblical classic. He’s gorgeous.
After the lovely [name_u]Noah[/name_u] my second favourite is [name_m]Caleb[/name_m]. I love biblical names and [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] is an attractive Old Testament name which feels strong, rugged and handsome.
I love Noah; strong, solid and handsome. [name_f]My[/name_f] second choice would be [name_m]Braden[/name_m] - but with [name_m]Braden[/name_m] there are a lot of spelling choices. [name_m]Braden[/name_m], [name_u]Braiden[/name_u], Brayden… If that does not bother you then it would not be a point of contention.
[name_f]My[/name_f] favourite is [name_m]Caleb[/name_m]. It’s been solidly popular for many years, but not overly so, so it doesn’t feel particularly tied to any certain time. I think it’s the most likely out of your choices to end up feeling more timeless than trendy.
[name_u]Noah[/name_u] is currently very popular, so chances are higher your son may share his name with others. If that doesn’t bother you, go for it - it’s a popular name for a reason! It has plenty of history behind it so while the sound is simple, it sounds a very solid name.
[name_u]Brayden[/name_u] is a bit of an outlier for me. It’s never ranked as highly as [name_u]Noah[/name_u] or [name_m]Caleb[/name_m], but it feels more specifically tied to the 2010s when -ayden names were a big trend. I think it’s most likely to encounter spelling issues, and it doesn’t have the depth of tradition that [name_u]Noah[/name_u] and [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] do.
if im honest, im not sure any of these names are ideal if you’re looking for something that isn’t very popular. [name_u]Noah[/name_u] ranked #1 from 2013-2016, and has been #2 since then. [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] has been in the top 100 for the last 20+ years, and while [name_u]Brayden[/name_u] looks less common, its spelling variations and similarity to other -ayden names makes it seem more popular. however, the popularity of -ayden names is heavily associated with the 2010s, so their popularity is going down. I was born in 1999, and Brayden/Braeden/Braden was the most popular boy name in my graduating class (6 in a class of 350).
the good news is that popularity isn’t as extreme as it was when you and your husband likely were kids. I don’t expect that your kid would be 1 of 5 in his class with any of these names. I do think it’s very unlikely that [name_u]Noah[/name_u] could go through school and not ever share his name with a classmate. I would recommend checking your local data (if you’re in the US, the SSA has data by state) because that will give you a better idea of what might be popular in your area.
From your list [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] is the clear favorite for me. It’s strong, soft, kind, timeless and confident at the same time. He has a very positive biblical reference as well to boot!
