I’m looking for the perfect little boy name and I just can’t find one I love. I want something handsome and sweet. Classic, but not clunky. [name]Unique[/name], but not made-up or trendy. Soft, but not feminine.
Can you help me?
The first one I thought of is one that’s been going through my mind a lot lately. [name]Simon[/name]. What do you think?
what about [name]Shane[/name]? Or [name]Kellan[/name]?
I know it’s not too unique, but I just love [name]Charles[/name] nn. [name]Charlie[/name]. Some of my other favorites are [name]Graham[/name], [name]Declan[/name], [name]Gavin[/name], [name]Oliver[/name], and [name]Miles[/name].
[name]Desmond[/name]
[name]Damian[/name]
[name]Emmett[/name]
[name]Garrett[/name]
[name]Hugh[/name]
[name]Reuben[/name]
Your criteria matches ours, but we are coming up blank - finding it almost impossible to come up with names (girls on the other hand… I could name two dozen of them). I keep thinking I come up with these wonderful under-used names only to discover they are the next big thing. For my last two pregnancies if they’d been boys they would have been [name]Gulliver[/name] - but we’ve since moved to a fairly small area where there is already a [name]Gulliver[/name] and we feel weird about using it now, plus it just seems to be everywhere (we thought we were SOOO original when we came up with it.)
With that warning, here’s our list:
[name]Miles[/name] (this is my husband’s father’s name and we’d love to use it as a tribute to him because he passed away last year, but it seems to be the up and coming [name]Jack[/name] of 2010, and we personally know two other little Mileses)
[name]Dugald[/name]/[name]Dougal[/name] - Husband doesn’t like it, I can see it’s sort of goofy, but I used to know this really sexy boy called Duguld which salvaged it for me.
[name]Cole[/name] - just don’t love this enough, though I think it’s got pizazz
[name]Clancy[/name] - Husband doesn’t like it, I love it
[name]Laurence[/name] ([name]Laurie[/name] or [name]Ren[/name]) - a little bit too plummy maybe, but I do like it
[name]Isaac[/name]/[name]Ike[/name] - Oh yeah, thought this was a great one till I found out every second kid in Australia seems to be called [name]Isaac[/name] (though nickname [name]Ike[/name] isn’t big here)
[name]Asher[/name] - a bit soft?
[name]Sacha[/name] - ditto (though I love it - this is the name we’ve come closest to agreeing on next to [name]Miles[/name])
[name]Satchel[/name] - can’t quite decide on this one. Sometimes I think ‘that’s not a name, it’s a manbag’, sometimes I think it’s perfect.
[name]Quincy[/name] - could grow on me. [name]Haven[/name]'t run it past my husband yet.
Kite - ditto (and I think I made it up)
[name]Mingus[/name] - husband doesn’t like - I love it. I think [name]Helena[/name] Christensen or someone famous used it for a son, the traditional spelling is [name]Menzies[/name])
[name]Mungo[/name] - Husband hates this and I get it, but perversely I like it
[name]August[/name]/[name]Augie[/name] - another one that seems to be the top name on lots of people’s lists here, though it’s not big in Australia yet as far as I know
[name]Finn[/name]- way too popular, but it’s a great name
[name]Claude[/name] - like it, but not enough
[name]Irving[/name] - I love this but it’s a bit clunky with our surname
[name]Fox[/name] - foxes are an introduced pest in Australia. Not a great namesake.
Names I love but can’t use cause they’re in the family/close circle
[name]Charles[/name]/[name]Charlie[/name]
[name]Nicol[/name]
[name]Jethro[/name] (actually this isn’t quite my style but I have fallen head over heels for it since my best friend used it.)
[name]Geordie[/name]
[name]Forrest[/name]
[name]Frederick[/name]/[name]Teddy[/name]/[name]Ned[/name] (we have a daughter [name]Frederique[/name] who is mostly called [name]Fred[/name].)
[name]Walt[/name]
[name]Earl[/name]
[name]Joe[/name]
Names I like that don’t work with our surname:
[name]Morgan[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
(Some people think both these names have gone to the girls but I disagree)
[name]Gideon[/name]
I also really like [name]William[/name] ([name]Billy[/name]) but I think that’s THE most popular name in Australia at the moment.
[name]Joshua[/name]
[name]Luke[/name]
[name]Michael[/name]
[name]Matthew[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]
[name]David[/name]
[name]Gareth[/name]
[name]Zachary[/name]
[name]Paul[/name]
[name]Philip[/name]
[name]William[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]Nicholas[/name]
What do you think?
Thanks all for your replies! So far nothing is really sticking out. I don’t know why! I have like five million girl names I love to bits, but just about every boy name I see, I go “eh”
eglantine - thanks for sharing your list! And your woes 
[name]Simon[/name] - fits all but the “not clunky” criteria. My DH doesn’t like it.
[name]Graham[/name], [name]Miles[/name], [name]Oliver[/name], etc - a bit too mainstream for me
[name]Charles[/name]/[name]Charlie[/name] is one both DH and I kind of agree on… I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Charlie[/name] but am not crazy about [name]Charles[/name]
Maybe it would be more helpful if I gave our list and the reasons holding us back form choosing one of these:
[name]Jonah[/name] - too common/not crazy about Biblical names
[name]Ronan[/name] - I don’t know, just not in love with it, maybe becasue no NN?
[name]James[/name] - maybe, again not sure if I am ok with how common it is
[name]Silas[/name] - too weird?
[name]Eamon[/name] - too ethnic (we have a strong European last name that is definitely NOT Irish so I feel like it’s too ethnically opposite…i.e. [name]Giovanni[/name] O’[name]Malley[/name] kind of match up)
I like [name]Edson[/name] a LOT but my cousin just used it for her son. Is there anything like it out there? I think it evokes a handsome, sweet hero. A [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name] gentleman… A classic but not heavy name…
Where are you perfect boy name?!?
What do you think about [name]Liam[/name]? I think it fits our criteria! My DH loves it
[name]Soren[/name]
[name]Noel[/name]
[name]Elliot[/name]
[name]Thaddeus[/name]
[name]Dane[/name]
[name]Prescott[/name]
[name]Tobias[/name]
[name]Alexander[/name]
[name]Leander[/name]
[name]Evander[/name]
[name]Ambrose[/name]
[name]Abram[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name], nn [name]Teddy[/name]
[name]Dermot[/name]
These are the names I thought of when considering [name]Fitzwilliam[/name] [name]Darcy[/name]. I like [name]Soren[/name] the best!
[name]Julian[/name] was the first name that came to mind. I think it”s the perfect blend of soft and sensitive, while still remaining strong. Some people see it as slightly feminine, but I disagree” in my opinion it”s just very handsome and distinguished!
Some others:
[name]Dashiell[/name]
[name]Edmond[/name]
[name]Abraham[/name]
[name]Frederick[/name]
[name]Harrison[/name]
[name]Calvin[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Leopold[/name]
[name]Clarke[/name]
[name]Sullivan[/name]
[name]Wesley[/name]
[name]Adrian[/name]
I also second the suggestions of [name]Theodore[/name], [name]Miles[/name], [name]Elliot[/name], and [name]Isaac[/name]. Good luck!
What is your top 5 girls names?
[name]Liam[/name] is a lovely name, very classy. It’s popular in Australia, but that doesn’t necessarily follow elsewhere. I just think it’s hard to find good solid boy-to-men’s contemporary (but not postmodern) names for boys that aren’t at least a little popular.
I love [name]Liam[/name]! DH wouldn’t let me use it though. He’s really boring when it comes to naming…blech. So I say use it, cause I can’t!
Sorry for repeats:
[name]Andre[/name]
[name]Alaric[/name]
[name]Adrian[/name]
[name]Ian[/name]
[name]Ivan[/name]
[name]Graham[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Rohan[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Dexter[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Elliot[/name]
[name]Emmett[/name]
[name]Amos[/name]
[name]Whitman[/name]
[name]Quill[/name]
[name]Lucian[/name]
[name]Harrison[/name]
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]Theo[/name]
[name]Mattias[/name]
[name]Leon[/name]
Why does my DH turn his nose up at almost every good suggestion on this thread! A few of my favorites that you’ve mention that he has vetoed are [name]Theo[/name], [name]Abram[/name], and [name]Ivan[/name]… sigh
michaela - my top 5 girl names right now are
[name]Clare[/name]
[name]Mabel[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Mary[/name]
[name]Fiona[/name]
Our 2 year old daughter is named [name]Poppy[/name]
Suggestions;
[name]Michael[/name]
[name]Fionn[/name]
[name]Ryan[/name]
[name]Dorrian[/name]
[name]Rhys[/name]
[name]Finnian[/name] nn [name]Finn[/name]
[name]Alex[/name]
[name]Winston[/name]
[name]Xander[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Todd[/name]
[name]Stephen[/name]
[name]Ian[/name]
[name]Lucas[/name]
What do you think?
I love my boy’s name, and so do most of my friends: [name]Hudson[/name]. He loves his name, too!
[name]Arthur[/name]
[name]August[/name]
[name]Burke[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Calvin[/name]
[name]Clark[/name]
[name]Darcy[/name]
[name]Declan[/name]
[name]Desmond[/name]
[name]Eamon[/name]
[name]Emmett[/name]
[name]Finn[/name]
[name]Flynn[/name]
[name]Grant[/name]
[name]Grey[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]James[/name]
[name]Jasper[/name]
[name]Nathan[/name]
[name]Pierce[/name]
[name]Reed[/name]/[name]Reid[/name]
[name]Rhys[/name]
[name]Rory[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]
[name]Seth[/name]
[name]Sullivan[/name]
[name]Theo[/name]
[name]Theron[/name]
[name]Vincent[/name]
More ideas-
[name]Levi[/name]
[name]Oren[/name]
[name]Micah[/name]
[name]Larson[/name]
[name]Davin[/name]
[name]Sawyer[/name]
[name]Gareth[/name]
[name]Stellan[/name]
[name]Beau[/name]
[name]Rhett[/name]
[name]Blaine[/name]
[name]Corbin[/name]
[name]Roman[/name]
[name]Josiah[/name]
[name]Lane[/name]
[name]Edison[/name]
[name]Clay[/name] or [name]Clayton[/name]
[name]Darby[/name]
[name]Lance[/name]
[name]Eaton[/name]
[name]Hunter[/name]
[name]Cedric[/name]
[name]Nolan[/name]
[name]Seth[/name]
[name]Colby[/name]
[name]Vaughn[/name]
[name]Raphael[/name]
Dallan or [name]Dallin[/name]
[name]Nevin[/name]
[name]Thane[/name]
[name]Lennon[/name]
[name]Rafferty[/name]
[name]Darius[/name]
[name]Royce[/name]
[name]Rafe[/name]
[name]Ross[/name]
[name]Anthony[/name]