We are getting down to the wire and, while I posted a month or so ago, I’d love to get some thoughts on our updated short list.
We’re looking for something that matches the uniqueness of our daughter’s name, [name_f]Helena[/name_f] (Ha-lay-na). Other details: we live in the US (east coast), our last name sounds like the word faucet, and the middle will probably be [name_u]Michael[/name_u], [name_u]James[/name_u] or [name_m]Kenneth[/name_m] (all family names).
Here are our top four:
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u]- This is my husband’s favorite and it’s growing on me. With this spelling it strikes me as strong and masculine. [name_f]My[/name_f] concerns are 1) do you hear the name and automatically think girl? [name_m]Will[/name_m] this name go totally to the girls (with the [name_u]Reece[/name_u]/[name_u]Reese[/name_u] sp) in the future? 2) will people know how to pronounce it with this spelling? and worse 3) will they think we were being creative spellers (cringe!!)?
[name_m]Desmond[/name_m]- We actually both really like the nn [name_m]Des[/name_m], but are less enthused by the full name. Some days we love it, and others we just don’t.
[name_m]Samuel[/name_m]- I like it a lot, but hubby can’t seem to get on board with this one (mostly because of the nn [name_u]Sam[/name_u]).
[name_m]William[/name_m] - It used to feel classic to me, but now that I’ve sat with it a while it’s feeling a bit too safe/boring.
The two of us are obviously not going to settle this on our own, so honest opinions are greatly appreciated!
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] is great! When I hear it spoken, I do wonder, Boy or Girl? I definitely prefer it on a boy.
I think most people recognize [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] as the original spelling for boys. It’s very Celtic.
[name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is one of my faves! If your little [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is mostly going to be called [name_m]Des[/name_m], then use [name_m]Desmond[/name_m]. It is a very handsome name.
[name_m]Samuel[/name_m] isn’t appealing to me. The ending sounds like mule. [name_u]Sam[/name_u] is not bad, but it is not good either. It’s just a bit bland and overused.
I totally agree with you on [name_m]William[/name_m]. It makes a nice, safe middle name too.
[name_f]My[/name_f] fave is [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u]. I would name my future son this.
Thanks so much for your feedback. I am fairly sure we’ll go to the hospital with [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Desmond[/name_m], then decide when we see him. Any thoughts on which middle for which ([name_u]Michael[/name_u], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Kenneth[/name_m])? [name_u]Michael[/name_u] is the hubby’s name and my bro’s middle, [name_u]James[/name_u] is [name_m]WAY[/name_m] overused in our family but so nice, and [name_m]Kenneth[/name_m] is my dad.
Thought I would chime in since I have a son named [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] and we also live on the east coast. I struggled with the spelling [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] versus [name_u]Reece[/name_u], but since we wanted it to be masculine and loved the traditional Celtic [name_u]Rhys[/name_u]. No one thinks he is a girl when they see it…occasionally people ask how to pronounce it and I explain and they remark how cool it is, I say it’s a welsh …and that’s that. He loves that is unique and we also have explained there was a knight named [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and he digs it! Anyway if you worried about the spelling …don’t be!
[name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is great with your surname (actually [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is always great!) [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] is nice written, but I don’t personally enjoy the sound of it. And [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] “faucet” is a lot of S.
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] is one of my all time favorite names but Hubby won’t even consider it because he thinks it sounds like a girl name, (thanks to [name_u]Reese[/name_u] Witherspoon) and when I told him how it’s spelled he said he would have pronounced it [name_m]Rye[/name_m]'s. I personally find it extremely masculine but I am afraid uninformed would pronounce it wrong and constantly misspell it.
I like [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_u]Michael[/name_u] and [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u].
I really like both [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] (no, this won’t go to the girls imo) and [name_m]William[/name_m]. I understand feeling it’s a bit over used, but it is a lovely classic. I think both go very well with [name_f]Helena[/name_f]. I think I might like [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] better with [name_f]Helena[/name_f] than [name_m]William[/name_m].
I love the name [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and automatically think of [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m] [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] Meyers when I hear the name. So, to me it reminds me of a masculine name.
Personally not at all keen on [name_m]Desmond[/name_m].
[name_m]Samuel[/name_m] is very classic. I have a nephew [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] and he is adorable. We call him [name_u]Sammy[/name_u] and [name_u]Sam[/name_u] is inevitable as he grows up. [name_u]Sam[/name_u] is very masculine [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. I love it!
[name_m]William[/name_m] while can sound boring …has the nn [name_m]Will[/name_m] which is becoming very trendy and very cool! [name_m]Liam[/name_m] can also be used as a nn and is also on the map!
I love your daughter’s name [name_f]Helena[/name_f]! [name_f]IMO[/name_f] [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] goes best with her name as a sibset.
I also love your mn’s especially [name_u]James[/name_u] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u]. Not only classic but very classy.
