What names do you think have enough confidence and swagger to offset a nerdy last name? This is one of my name dilemmas - my last name is not pretty and it makes a lot of otherwise very nice names unusable.
Not sure I’d actually use these, but these make my list of first names that add a touch of style to a goofy last name:
[name]Vander[/name]
[name]Fox[/name]
[name]Blaise[/name]
[name]Vesper[/name] (I love this but don’t think it would be accepted as a boy name)
[name]Nico[/name]
Could you give us a clue as to your last name? What makes it so bad? And if it’s really bad news, are you sure you want to pass it on?
I do have friends who changed their surnames-- one family went from Finkelstein to [name]Freeman[/name] (still vaguely Jewish but loads cooler); another from Picklesheimer to just Heimer.
[name]One[/name] thing to think about is that a bad-news surname acts as a magnet, drawing the attention of all (bullies or not). It might be easier to pick a first name that’s less of a style statement-- like [name]James[/name] Picklesheimer or [name]Miles[/name] Finkelstein. It’s a lot easier for a kid to wear than [name]Wolf[/name] Picklesheimer or [name]Eero[/name] Finkelstein.
[name]How[/name] funny - our last name is Finkelstein. I actually kept my maiden name, but DH would like the baby to have his name. He knows it’s bad and we have kicked around the idea of changing it, but I think he feels like it would be wrong…kinda like, “it’s my name and I should be proud of it no matter how bad it is.”
I think what I ultimately want is a name that eclipses Finkelstein. Something so nice that when you hear it, you focus on the first name and not the last name - if that’s even possible.
Awe, I actually kinda like Finkelstein. It’s got character and a sense of history and culture.
(Probably a little problematic if you aren’t jewish but…)
I’d probably stay away from names that evoke the sense of another religion (for example: [name]Christian[/name], [name]Luther[/name], [name]Muhammed[/name], ect). I’d hear that with Finkelstein and just be a little confused or just really interested in how or why the parents choose that name.
I agree with [name]Blade[/name]. Something cool but not too out there would be best I think.
[name]Max[/name] (maybe too [name]German[/name]? I never think [name]German[/name] with [name]Max[/name] but maybe it would be off with the last name I guess)
[name]Jack[/name]
[name]Grey[/name]
[name]Cash[/name]
[name]Milo[/name] or [name]Miles[/name]
[name]Dean[/name]
[name]West[/name]
[name]Jett[/name]
I really like [name]Vander[/name], [name]Fox[/name] and [name]Nico[/name] from your list.
I agree with blade that what you probably want to do is walk a fine line between. Mortimer Finklestein begs to be teased, yes. But something with swagger, Jagger or Flint Finklestein, jumps up and down and screams “look at me!”, and then gets teased for his efforts. I’d be looking for something that flies under the radar in the school years, but has a quiet dignity for adulthood. Something without even a whiff of nerdiness about it.
Which leads first to the classsics…James, as was suggested. Stephen, Mark, Matthew, Michael, Andrew, Patrick, Adam, Jacob. I was going to say Christopher, but I think when you get to three syllables, the whole name starts to sound fussy.
I think if you go too far into the old man names, Max, Sam, Raymond, Theodore, you get a little old man in the worst way. I keep thinking of Madeline Kahn whining “Howard. Howard Bannister.” in What’s Up, Doc?
Some of the more sedate occupational names might work…Cooper, Reeve, Porter, Archer, but I’d avoid anything too ‘cool’ (Ranger, Booker), anything ‘cute’ (Tucker, Sailor).
And I’d avoid alliteration at all costs…Fred or Franklin Finkelstein.
To me, the classics get completely lost in front of Finkelstein. All are nice but just don’t seem to work with the last name. It really rules a lot of names out for me.
Unfortunately his family is rife with old man names! My side had some contenders but they have all been used now on my cousins’ kids. The only other family name we find to be a viable option is [name]Zevi[/name], which is a variant of his dad’s Hebrew name. I’ve posted it on here previously to mixed reviews though. [name]Leo[/name] is another family name which other people really love but it never knocked my socks off.
I’d thought of Leo, it’s always been a favorite of mine, and with DiCaprio, it’s pretty cool. But somehow with your last name, it becomes a little old man name to me…
Did you consider any of the occupation names? Porter, Cooper, et. al.?
And what about Aaron, Abbot, Bram, Zachary, Elliot, Emory?
I understand your desire completely, and agree that you should focus on selecting a name that will out-lovely Finkelstein, rather than something ultra-badass.
[name]Leo[/name] is a great pick-- it’s cool, it’s short, it means ‘lion,’ it’s a zodiac sign, it’s long-established in Jewish as well as [name]Christian[/name] naming tradition.
For a realistic, usable, but very cool (faintly badass) vibe, I really like [name]Andre[/name] Finkelstein, [name]Darius[/name] Finkelstein, [name]Marco[/name] Finkelstein, and [name]Bond[/name] Finkelstein.
I was going to say exactly this. If you pick a really stand-out, supposedly “macho/cool” first name, it might make the whole name seem kind of silly or cartoonish. I would go with a solid, classic first name like [name]Michael[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]Jack[/name].