I’ve posted before and always feel like progress is made…and then over the course of a few weeks or months, it all unravels. But now there isn’t enough time for it to unravel again, so it must be the perfect time to ask again!
Our daughter is [name_f]Isadora[/name_f], nn [name_f]Dora[/name_f]. If we have another girl, we will use [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f].
If we have a boy this time, we have two lists: the daring list and the safe/practical list. Nothing in the middle ground has ever held lasting appeal for us. I think we would both be slightly disappointed to end up with something safe after searching so hard for a more unusual choice, but we also have pretty terrible name fatigue at this point.
Can you convince us that we love any of these names? I’d love to ask for suggestions too, but I think my husband would probably kill me if I brought a new name to the table at this point!
[name_m]Alaric[/name_m] - sounds kind of girlish to me
[name_m]Eero[/name_m] - I think this one is pretty cool - kind of like archer and hunter but different
[name_m]Eames[/name_m] - sounds cool to me too! i would say use it
[name_m]Roland[/name_m] - I also like, but not as much as eero and eames
[name_m]Charles[/name_m] - I have always loved this name plus you can call him [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] while he’s small
[name_m]Fredrick[/name_m] - I like it as well - lots of nn’s too. [name_m]Fred[/name_m], [name_u]Freddy[/name_u], [name_u]Frankie[/name_u], [name_m]Rick[/name_m], [name_u]Rickie[/name_u]
[name_m]Franklin[/name_m] - reminds me of the turtle too much
So basically I love all the names except [name_m]Franklin[/name_m] and [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] !
It would never have occurred to me that [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] sounds girlish because it has such a bellicose etymology, but I can see where you’re coming from.
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband will be thrilled that you like [name_m]Eero[/name_m]! That’s been his favorite for years–my main concern is the spelling/pronunciation are not an intuitive match. Our last name is already kind of difficult, so I’ve wanted to avoid burdening our kids with difficult first names too. Of course, the same could be said for [name_m]Eames[/name_m] too, I guess.
[name_m]Franklin[/name_m] is my least favorite from our “safe” list too. It’s a family name, though, so it would at least be satisfying to use.
I don’t think [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] is girly at all. That’s actually my favorite from your unusual list. I love it!
I personally would stray from [name_m]Eames[/name_m] and [name_m]Eero[/name_m] bc I’d worry about spelling/pronunciation issues - I’m biased against anything ambiguous since I have a name that’s always misspelled/mispronounced.
From your safe list I like [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] - it is a classic name but not super popular at #536
Overall though - I vote [name_m]Alaric[/name_m]! It’s an unusual name which is what you’re looking for, straightforward to pronounce, has nickname potential ([name_m]Al[/name_m], [name_m]Rick[/name_m], [name_u]Rickie[/name_u]), its a winner
I don’t think [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] sounds girlish at all! I like it a lot, and I think it goes best with your girl names. [name_m]Eero[/name_m] and [name_m]Eames[/name_m] are cool but sound too modern to me. [name_m]Roland[/name_m] would work with the sibset, but it’s not my favorite, and it would rule out [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f] as ever being a possibility if you have another child. [name_m]Charles[/name_m] doesn’t excite me, I don’t really care for [name_m]Franklin[/name_m], but I like [name_m]Frederick[/name_m]. It’s familiar, but you don’t hear it all the time, and it has nickname options. I would go with [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] if you want something more unusual, or [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] if you want to play it safe.
With the exception of [name_m]Roland[/name_m], I love your unusual list. [name_m]Eero[/name_m] is very cool and modern, sounds slightly Finnish to me. [name_m]Eames[/name_m] is great, but my first thought is the [name_m]Eames[/name_m] chair, which I love so I’m not too bothered by the reference. [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] is also very nice as well and fits with your girls names. Personally I’d go with [name_m]Eero[/name_m].
To be honest, I don’t like [name_m]Charles[/name_m], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] or [name_m]Franklin[/name_m] at all.
I like [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] off of your list. To me, [name_m]Eames[/name_m] is a furniture designer and [name_m]Roland[/name_m] is an instrument brand. That doesn’t make them bad or unusable though. [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] [name_m]Eames[/name_m] would work nicely. Here are some other suggestions:
I simply adore [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] and [name_m]Eames[/name_m], and even moreso the combo [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] [name_m]Eames[/name_m] - this exact combo is on my long list!
[name_m]Alaric[/name_m], [name_m]Roland[/name_m] and [name_m]Charles[/name_m] are fine too, though none of them speak to me as much as [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] and/or [name_m]Eames[/name_m] do.
I’m not really a fan of [name_m]Franklin[/name_m] and when I see [name_m]Eero[/name_m] I want to pronounce it [name_f]AIR[/name_f]-oh.
Wow, thanks everyone for the great feedback! I’m kind of relieved that there’s no landslide away or toward any one name–kind of makes me feel like we can’t go too wrong.
[name_m]Eames[/name_m] is indeed inspired by the furniture designer. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband is an architect/designer, so that’s been a natural source of interesting names for us to draw upon. [name_m]Eero[/name_m] is the first name of Finnish architect [name_m]Eero[/name_m] Saarinen and even [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] reminds us of the Olmsteads. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband is feeling very gratified to read so much [name_m]Eero[/name_m]-love; he’s been plugging for that one all along (since our first child, actually).
We don’t plan to have any more children, so I’m not too concerned about ruling [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f] out by using [name_m]Roland[/name_m] now. Plus, girls’ names are so much easier for us that even if we did happen to have another daughter in the future, I don’t think we’d have much trouble coming up with something we both really like.
I must admit I don’t feel much closer to a decision than I did on [name_f]Monday[/name_f], but I’m certainly feeling happier with our list! Thank you!
Looking at your unusual list… aside from [name_m]Roland[/name_m] those are all asking for your son to be bullied. You have to consider not only how you like the name, but how your son will like it, and realistically how other people will react to it. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_m]Eamon[/name_m], and in 22 years, it has almost never been pronounced correctly when people read it before I can introduce myself. If you go with [name_m]Eames[/name_m], [name_m]Eero[/name_m] or [name_m]Alaric[/name_m] it [name_m]WILL[/name_m] be mispronounced, and they will probably be teased about it.
[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: I’d go with [name_m]Frederick[/name_m].
[name_m]Eames[/name_m] is my favourite. I’m not sure what pronunciation issues other people have with this. I can only think of it being said EEEms (or as you say, rhymes with beams). I’m probably missing the other way even though it’s no doubt very obvious!
In theory I like [name_m]Eero[/name_m], but the spelling really isn’t intuitive to the pronunciation.
Of the others I kind of like [name_m]Franklin[/name_m], but the others don’t really take my fancy.
We had a boy and successfully named him! His name is [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] [name_m]Charles[/name_m]. We still hadn’t decided when we left for the hospital, but as soon as he was born, we both knew and agreed. [name_m]Charles[/name_m] has been a family name on both sides of our family for a long time–I kind of wanted to use a more interesting middle name ([name_m]Frederick[/name_m] [name_m]Eames[/name_m], which several of you suggested, really is a great combo) but it always feels good to use a family name, even if it’s not the most exciting choice.
Thank you again! We are so happy with our little boy.
