Brett Alternatives

My dad is named [name_u]Brett[/name_u], and we would love to pay tribute to him with our son’s middle name. Problem is… I really don’t like the name [name_u]Brett[/name_u]. Neither does he. Any alternatives that would still honor him?

Since it means ‘[name_m]Breton[/name_m]’, perhaps a name of [name_m]Breton[/name_m] origin would be a nice nod to it - [name_m]Alan[/name_m] is the only one I can see that looks accessible but some more research might turn up some other good ones.

[name_m]Breton[/name_m] itself is kind of interesting, a bit odd, but might be a cool middle name.

Or something that sounds like [name_u]Brett[/name_u], e.g. [name_m]Rhett[/name_m] or [name_m]Brent[/name_m]?

Does your dad have a middle name you could work with, or a passion you could find some way to name your son after?

On the other hand, sometimes these things just don’t work out and I’m sure your dad will be thrilled with his grandson and proud of him no matter what name he has.

[name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_m]Rhett[/name_m]? For what it’s worth, I really like [name_u]Brett[/name_u].

Names with similar sounds and/or meanings: [name_m]Brendan[/name_m], [name_u]Brennan[/name_u], [name_m]Briton[/name_m], [name_m]Bennett[/name_m], [name_u]Barrett[/name_u], [name_m]Bartlett[/name_m], [name_m]Beckett[/name_m], [name_m]Bretton[/name_m]

You could also go with something a little more subtly tied to the meaning “from [name_m]Britain[/name_m],” like a place name ([name_u]London[/name_u], [name_m]Oxford[/name_m], [name_m]Chester[/name_m], Cambridge, English), famous structures ([name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]), symbols ([name_m]Jack[/name_m] for the Union [name_m]Jack[/name_m] or [name_m]Leo[/name_m] for the national animal), famous British musicians, artists or writers or their famous works/fictional characters, names associated with the royal family, tradition and culture, etc.

You could also go with a FN/MN combination to make up all of the same sounds/letters in [name_u]Brett[/name_u] – for example, [name_u]Blake[/name_u] [name_u]Everett[/name_u] or [name_u]Brayden[/name_u] [name_u]Elliott[/name_u].

If you don’t like [name_u]Brett[/name_u], why not ask him for suggestions on how to honour him? If you want to go down that route, you could even give him some say on the name . . .

Or perhaps he has a middle name you could use/find a variation of? You could also copy his initials.

Just wanted to clarify - it seems that ‘Brett’ means ‘from Brittany’. It’s worth noting that Britain and Brittany are different places (though the names are related).

@jackal mentioned Breton names - there are some lovely ones, though many of them are a bit unusual and might not work if you don’t have Breton heritage.
Here are some names connected to Brittany. Some of these will work without Breton heritage, others might need some more research:
Paul or Aurelian (for St Paul Aurelian), Ivo/Iwan/Erwan (Ivo of Kermartin and Erwan Berthou), Corentin (st Corentin), Tanguy (St Tangi. from ‘tan-ki’, “fire-hound”. I’m not quite sure where NB gets “warrior” from), Conan or Meriadoc (for Conan Meriadoc), Arthur (after Arthur, Duke of Brittany), Louis (Louis de Montfort), Armel (St Armel), Briac (st Brieuc). Leon (‘lion’ in Breton, according to a dictionary), Bleiz (‘wolf’ in Breton, according to a dictionary), Bran (‘raven’).

I agree with pps that it’s probably best to ask Brett what names he finds meaningful - maybe a family name, his surname or middle name, his father’s name or the name of a mentor, the name he always wished he had or something related to his passions or hobbies (favourite author? musician? artist? film? sportsperson? religious or cultural figure? an animal he likes? etc).

[name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_m]Rhett[/name_m]. I also like the idea of using the same initials.