Our little darling will be arriving in ~3 weeks and we can’t decide on boys names. If its a girl, I think we are set, but why are boys names so hard?
I really like the name [name]Torsten[/name] [name]Paul[/name] (to honor both grandfathers) but my husband is stuck on [name]Lou[/name] (his own nickname). I would make a list of names, but it’s pretty much just those two! Any advice or other names? What do you think of [name]Torsten[/name]??
Thanks
[name]Torsten[/name] seems like a very strong, masculine name. I like it. One thing to consider is what you would call him for short–[name]Tor[/name]? [name]Torsten[/name] is short enough that it doesn’t need a nickname that you would use all the time but the tendency is to shorten names sometimes, yelling for the kids outside, etc. To appease DH, you could consider using two middle names. [name]Louis[/name] [name]Torsten[/name] [name]Paul[/name] or [name]Torsten[/name] [name]Paul[/name] [name]Louis[/name] would work.
I like [name]Torsten[/name] - I agree, it’s masculine.
I must say, I am not so keen on [name]Lou[/name] as a standalone (especially since loo is slang for a toilet here in the UK), although as a nn for [name]Louis[/name], [name]Lewis[/name] or [name]Llewellyn[/name] (possibly some others) I do like it. Can you convince hubby to go for a longer form of the name?
Otherwise, if you’re prepared to look at other names, we can try to suggest. It would be useful to have an idea of the kind of names you have either or both liked the sound of though.
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Torsten[/name]! I think [name]Torsten[/name] [name]Louis[/name] is really nice. Husband could still call him [name]Lou[/name].
[name]How[/name] does your husband feel about [name]Torsten[/name]?
I really like [name]Torsten[/name]. It is, I agree, a very masculine name, and interesting/unusual, but not “out there” or unfamiliar sounding.
I am confused about the name [name]Lou[/name] - is your husband suggesting this instead of [name]Torsten[/name] or instead of [name]Paul[/name]?
If the first, he may be trying to say he likes a simpler or more common name. Not so “different,” like [name]Torsten[/name] is, which although a family name, maybe even his side, seems quite unusual and maybe he’s not about that. If [name]Torsten[/name] is his father, maybe he doesn’t want his father’s name [name]Torsten[/name] [surname] as his son also.
[name]Lou[/name] by itself seems somewhat hipstery though, if it’s not a nickname for [name]Louis[/name], and his own namesake, which some fathers try to root for - a little junior to take after Dad, but [name]Lou[/name] is so relaxed. That’s what he is called, and some people like to just cut to the chase. Nickname names are relaxed and they’re going to call him that anyway.
I know it’s late in the game, but [name]Tor[/name] is a great nickname too. There’s a lot of ground between a [name]Torsten[/name] and a [name]Lou[/name], not so much between a [name]Torsten[/name] and a [name]Louis[/name] (depending on if you pronounce it [name]LouIS[/name] or [name]LouIE[/name]), but perhaps he wants the child after himself first instead of grandfathers. Maybe he’s saying something extreme from [name]Torsten[/name] to get something more neutral from you that you can both agree to. One of you shouldn’t have total say in the naming of your child; you should both like it and be happy and settled with it.
If instead of [name]Paul[/name], he wants [name]Lou[/name] in the middle, then I say no. I don’t know which of your fathers is [name]Torsten[/name] and which one is [name]Paul[/name] (so if it lopsides honoring relatives to his side, a double no), but [name]Lou[/name] for a middle name is girlish, honestly.
If his name is [name]Louis[/name], then [name]Louis[/name] for a middle name is ok. But [name]Torsten[/name] is unusual and if his middle name is simply [name]Lou[/name], it might confuse people who don’t recognize [name]Torsten[/name] is a boy’s name. [name]Mary[/name] [name]Lou[/name] is a template here; I have never heard of a [name]Johnny[/name] [name]Lou[/name], e.g. [name]Lou[/name] as a middle name in combo with a boy’s name. [name]Torsten[/name] [name]Louis[/name] would be ok. I like [name]Torsten[/name] [name]Paul[/name]. I think either of them would be good with [name]Torsten[/name] in the middle as well – depends on your last name and which name he will go by.
Thanks for all your comments!
To clarify, my father’s name is [name]Thor[/name] ([name]Torsten[/name] is a derivative and can mean either [name]Thor[/name]'s pride or [name]Thor[/name]'s stone). [name]Paul[/name] is my husband’s father who recently passed away. We would like to honor his father, but I also want some of my family in there as well. And I don’t like [name]Paul[/name] as a first name.
[name]Torsten[/name] [name]Louis[/name] is a good idea, I’ll suggest it! He’s been wavering on the use of [name]Paul[/name] lately. I’m not entirely sure what his objection to [name]Torsten[/name] is. He says its fine, unless we can think of something better. And he likes it best out of the Danish names we’ve looked at. He comes from a pretty traditional Italian family, so the names tend to be [name]Michael[/name], [name]Anthony[/name], [name]Louis[/name], etc. Maybe he’s just not used to it?
wow ive never heard the name torston, i think its pretty cute 
If your husband really likes [name]Lou[/name] maybe he could have 2 middle names? [name]Torston[/name] [name]Paul[/name] [name]Lou[/name] ___?
I love the suggestion of [name]Torston[/name] [name]Louis[/name].
I thought I’d also suggest [name]Theodore[/name], nn [name]Thor[/name] or [name]Theo[/name], as a more indirect way of honoring your dad.
Good luck!
I like [name]Thorsten[/name] better! [name]Torsten[/name] is in no way a bad name its just missing something. [name]Thor[/name] is super super cool. Like the other posters said [name]Lou[/name] as a stand alone not so great but louis is fine.
I completely agree! I was looking at [name]Torsten[/name], trying to work out how to say it and I couldn’t get the sound out (might just be my backwardsness lol) [name]Thorsten[/name] is so much easier to comprehend for some reason and looks better written down. It also seems closer to [name]Thor[/name], which is the namesake. [name]Thorsten[/name] [name]Louis[/name] [name]Paul[/name] gets my vote! I love that name!
Good [name]Luck[/name]
I think that [name]Torsten[/name] is the most unusual name I have ever heard of. It reminds me of [name]Tristan[/name] and [name]Thorsten[/name] [name]Howell[/name] III from Gilligan’s Island.