Elliott [name_u]Reese[/name_u] made an early entrance into the world on [name_u]November[/name_u] 25th, a week and a half early. He is beautiful and healthy and we couldn’t be more grateful.
Deciding on the name [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] [name_u]Reese[/name_u] was a journey. For whatever reason thought I was having a girl. When I found out I was having a boy, I really had to go back to the drawing board and rework my name lists.
My husband did not want to discuss names until we finished all genetic testing so while I was busy working on a list, hubby didn’t provide much input.
When we finally discussed names, my husband was super impressed with my list. He thought I got it off a blog or something. I was like, no I came up with these combinations. Husband didn’t add any names to the list, instead just evaluated the names I had come up with. He vetoed a lot of names such as [name_u]Lionel[/name_u], [name_m]Augustus[/name_m], [name_m]Dermot[/name_m], [name_u]Callum[/name_u], [name_m]Callister[/name_m], [name_u]Lincoln[/name_u], [name_u]Sullivan[/name_u], [name_u]Cody[/name_u], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_u]Hudson[/name_u], Heston, [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] and even [name_u]Elias[/name_u].
Yet, he really liked [name_u]Elliott[/name_u]. The list we ended up keeping was [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] [name_u]Reese[/name_u], [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] [name_u]Austin[/name_u], [name_m]Brantley[/name_m] [name_u]Austin[/name_u], [name_u]Wyatt[/name_u] [name_u]Asher[/name_u], [name_m]Leonardo[/name_m] [name_u]Everett[/name_u], and [name_m]Rhett[/name_m] [name_u]Callahan[/name_u].
After thinking these names over, we had a top three that made it to the final cut: [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] [name_u]Reese[/name_u], [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] [name_u]Austin[/name_u] and [name_u]Wyatt[/name_u] [name_u]Asher[/name_u]. It took us quite awhile to eliminate further but we ultimately decided thst while we love [name_u]Wyatt[/name_u], it’s just too popular right now. So that left us down to [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] [name_u]Reese[/name_u] and [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] [name_u]Austin[/name_u].
This was a very hard decision. One day I would like [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] more and other days I would like [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] more. [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] had family significance and I loved the meaning - one who tends to horses - because I got vibes of someone with a sensitive nature. However, I wasn’t fully sold on the combination with [name_u]Austin[/name_u] as a middle name, yet couldn’t come up with anything better. I really did like [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] [name_m]Breccan[/name_m] but husband vetoed and sister in law made a rude comment that upset me.
There was just something about [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] [name_u]Reese[/name_u] that stuck with me. It seems so versatile- like this baby can grow up to be whoever he wants to be and the name would fit. It also felt sophisticated and while I have heard its a vintage comeback name, I have never met another [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] and no one I have talked to has either so it feels fresh. I considered the fact that its being used as a girl’s name too but considering I have never met anyone named [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] and the girl name thing seems a bit trendy as [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] has historically been a masculine name, I felt good about it.
I also felt [name_u]Reese[/name_u] just paired super well. I had no second guessing like I had with [name_u]Austin[/name_u]. I considered all the spellings: [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], [name_u]Reece[/name_u] and [name_u]Reese[/name_u]. I appreciated the authencity of [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] as the Welsh version but something just looks really off for me about it. I prefer an angelized spelling in this case, so then I debated between [name_u]Reese[/name_u] and [name_u]Reece[/name_u]. Some said [name_u]Reece[/name_u] was more masculine but something didn’t feel right. I decided to just go with [name_u]Reese[/name_u] - the spelling I like.
Ultimately, husband got to make the final decision between [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] and [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] and he chose [name_u]Elliott[/name_u]. I did have days where I second guessed it but now that he is born and with us, [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] feels right. He doesn’t seem like a [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] at all. He is definitely [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] and I couldn’t be happier about his name. Thank you to all the berries and this community for all the discussion about his name and others over the last few months!
