I’m expecting my first in [name]July[/name]! My husband and I are at a loss with boy names. He thinks I have a few too many “rules”… I like to think of them as guidelines
*FYI - Our last name is very long. Starts with Mc and ends with a hard ‘n’.
*I do not like the following letters for the first name initial: B, L, M, N, O, W.
*I do not want the name to end in ‘n’ (doesn’t pair well with our last name).
*I would really prefer a name that doesn’t have a nickname.
*Being a [name]Jennifer[/name] born in the 80s, I can’t stand the idea of using a common name (let’s say… top 50). I went to a small parochial school and was one of three Jennifers in a class of less than 20.
*My family would be thrilled with a Catholic name, but it’s not a requirement for me.
*We have two girl names - if it’s a girl, we’ll wait to pick until we meet her. They are [name]Lacy[/name] [name]Elise[/name] and [name]Ruby[/name] [name]Claire[/name]. I know that [name]Lacy[/name] breaks the first initial ‘L’ rule, but it’s my mother’s maiden name and my former middle name - lots of personal attachment to it! Nothing like that for the boy side, though.
Looking at them typed out like this, I do feel a bit ridiculous. Are my “guidelines” unreasonable? And, any suggestions?
With regards to the ending in “n” rule, I’ve asked that question before (my last name is two syllables and ends in -son). For me I wouldn’t use any -son names (for you that might be any names that share a common ending sound farther back than the -n sound), but I would consider another -n name under the following conditions:
If the number of syllables is different (e.g. [name]Adrian[/name] and [name]Sebastian[/name] in my case, which happen to be two of my favorites) the consensus seems to be that it’s okay.
If the number of syllables is the same, sound it out and see if it works or not in your opinion.
[name]Arlo[/name]
[name]Arthur[/name]
[name]August[/name]
[name]Conrad[/name]
[name]Charles[/name]
[name]Dashiell[/name]
[name]Dexter[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Elias[/name]
[name]Eli[/name]
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]George[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]Hugo[/name]
[name]Jude[/name]
[name]Jasper[/name] (Oops…not with an M last name, because with
[name]JaSPER[/name] M., the word “sperm” appears…)
[name]Leo[/name] (oops…L rule…sorry!)
[name]Peter[/name]
[name]Silas[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name] (oops…He’ll be [name]Theo[/name]…)
[name]Victor[/name]
[name]Xavier[/name]
I tried not to break the rules, but I’m sure I did where nicknames are concerned. (Sorry about that!)
As for the rules, I think it’s important to love the name you choose, so I personally don’t think there’s such a thing as too many rules. If you dislike the letters you listed, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with avoiding them, and I totally agree with the N ending issue.
*FYI - Our last name is very long. Starts with Mc and ends with a hard ‘n’.
*I do not like the following letters for the first name initial: B, L, M, N, O, W.
*I do not want the name to end in ‘n’ (doesn’t pair well with our last name).
*I would really prefer a name that doesn’t have a nickname.
*Being a [name]Jennifer[/name] born in the 80s, I can’t stand the idea of using a common name (let’s say… top 50). I went to a small parochial school and was one of three Jennifers in a class of less than 20.
*My family would be thrilled with a Catholic name, but it’s not a requirement for me.
I definately don’t think your rules are rediculous. Naming a baby is a huge deal and I understand wanting the name to be perfect. But I also think that its very important to love the name, whether or not it fits with your rules.
Suggestions:
[name]Adam[/name] - although, I’m not sure if the -m ending with run into the Mc- beginning of your surname.
[name]Alec[/name]
[name]Ari[/name]
[name]Asher[/name]
[name]Arthur[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]/[name]Calum[/name]
[name]Clay[/name]
[name]Colby[/name]
[name]Corey[/name]
[name]Curtis[/name]
[name]Emmett[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Dante[/name]
[name]Dexter[/name]
[name]Drake[/name]
[name]Drew[/name]
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]Finbar[/name]
[name]Grant[/name]
[name]Graham[/name] -ditto [name]Adam[/name].
[name]Harris[/name]
[name]Heath[/name]
[name]Hugh[/name]
[name]Hugo[/name]
[name]Jasper[/name]
[name]Julius[/name]
[name]Kai[/name]
[name]Pierce[/name]
[name]Reid[/name]/[name]Reed[/name]
[name]Reilly[/name]
[name]Reece[/name]/[name]Rhys[/name]
[name]River[/name]
[name]Russell[/name]
[name]Samuel[/name]
[name]Thomas[/name]
I think your guidelines are just fine, so long as you don’t feel that you have to stick to them if you come across a name which you truly love which breaks a guideline or two.
Some suggestions (all are saint names) :
[name]Alban[/name]
[name]Casimir[/name]
[name]Charles[/name] (I think it’s easy to avoid [name]Charlie[/name] if you don’t want a nn, as it is already short)
[name]Edward[/name]/[name]Edmund[/name]/[name]Edwin[/name] (most don’t go by a nn)
[name]Felix[/name]
[name]Francis[/name]
[name]George[/name]
[name]Harvey[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]Hugh[/name] (or [name]Hugo[/name])
[name]Ivo[/name]
[name]Jasper[/name]
[name]Jerome[/name] (I have known four, and none of them have ever got called [name]Jerry[/name])
[name]Jude[/name]
[name]Louis[/name]
[name]Max[/name] (for [name]St[/name]. [name]Maximilian[/name])
[name]Oscar[/name]
[name]Otto[/name]
[name]Peter[/name] (I’ve known heaps, and only one went by [name]Pete[/name])
[name]Rupert[/name]
[name]Walter[/name].
I tried not to break more than one guideline with any one name
Wow - what great suggestions! And thanks the encouragement about my, um, guidelines.
[name]Jill[/name] - What a hilarious realization about [name]Jasper[/name]!
I see [name]Everett[/name] on several lists. This is my dad’s name, and I’m so fond of it. However, I’m a little uneasy. My husband’s family is extremely traditional. He is the oldest of four boys, this will be the first grandchild, and if our child is a boy, I feel like my in-laws would be expecting a “family-named child” to have a name from the paternal side. Does that make any sense?
Some of my favorites from your suggestions:
[name]Alec[/name]
[name]Asher[/name]
[name]Dexter[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Eli[/name]
[name]Elliot[/name] ([name]LOVE[/name] it, husband vetoed it - too “wimpy”)
[name]Jude[/name]
[name]Reece[/name]/[name]Rhys[/name]
[name]Reed[/name] (my cousin’s child’s middle name - can I still use it?)
[name]Sawyer[/name] ([name]LOVE[/name]!)
[name]Xavier[/name] (but I’m a little concerned about pronunciation, will we and the rest of the world say it with a hard X sound or Zay sound?)
There are so many others I love, but both my husband & I have large families who have taken up scores of boys names (including [name]Henry[/name], [name]Peter[/name], [name]Charles[/name], [name]Harris[/name], [name]Liam[/name]). These relatives are all cousins/siblings & we’re not comfortable using them at this point.
Thoughts about [name]Rhett[/name]? When I looked it up on Nameberry, it suggested the name is growing more feminine. But I think it might be a very subtle way of getting a little bit of [name]Everett[/name] into our name selection.
[name]Hi[/name]! Yep…[name]Jasper[/name] M. That M is a tricky little thing. I’m so glad you found found names that may work! I really love [name]Everett[/name], and am sorry you can’t use it. (Isn’t it enough that the baby will have your husband’s last name?) I love [name]Everett[/name], nn [name]Rhett[/name].
I think that [name]Reed[/name] is great, too, and don’t see why you can’t use it. I mean, if it were your cousin’s child’s first name, that would be one thing, but it’s ony a middle. If you’re concerned, you could always run it by your cousin first to see what he/she thinks.
I’ve only heard [name]Xavier[/name] with a Z sound, but because pronunciation may be an issue, you may want to go with one of the others on your list.
[name]Rhett[/name] does remind me of Gone With the Wind, which is why I love it more as a nickname for [name]Everett[/name] than like it on its own. I think it’s handsome, though.
From your list, my personal favorites are: [name]Dexter[/name], [name]Everett[/name] ([name]LOVE[/name] it, plus it’s your Dad’s name), [name]Elliot[/name], [name]Jude[/name], [name]Rhys[/name], and [name]Reed[/name].
I really love your names, and don’t think you can go wrong!
I like the idea of [name]Everett[/name] with nn [name]Rhett[/name]!
Also my favourites include [name]Dexter[/name], [name]Reed[/name], [name]Rhys[/name]
