[name_m]Hi[/name_m] all,
Me and my fiancee have been disagreeing on names to name our future son.
She has more of an out-there approach to naming, using very unusual/unheard of names, whilst I am trying to be a little more sensible with my suggestions.
My fiancees major favourites so far:
[name_m]Lysander[/name_m]
[name_u]Dorian[/name_u]
[name_m]Phinneas[/name_m]
Isambard (as a maybe)
My favourites have been:
[name_m]Theodore[/name_m]/[name_u]Teddy[/name_u]
[name_u]Roscoe[/name_u]
[name_m]Benedict[/name_m]
[name_m]Guy[/name_m]
Partially the problem is that she sees names such as [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]/[name_m]Benedict[/name_m] as having religious meaning and doesn’t want to make it look like we’re too religious (which we aren’t at all). Any advice on similar names that we could both agree on/your opinions on any of the names above?
Perhaps some uncommon, yet still somewhat traditional names might appeal to you both…
[name_m]Magnus[/name_m]
[name_u]Alden[/name_u]
[name_m]Ewan[/name_m]
[name_m]Hadrian[/name_m]
[name_m]Caius[/name_m]
[name_m]Byron[/name_m]
[name_m]Conrad[/name_m]
[name_m]Eamonn[/name_m]
From your lists, I like [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] and [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] best, and feel like they would be closest to middle ground for you both. Good luck!
I like [name_m]Phineas[/name_m] and [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] the best. I don’t think [name_m]Phineas[/name_m] is too out there and has the popular nickname [name_m]Fin[/name_m]. [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] doesn’t strike me as religious at all, and if [name_u]Teddy[/name_u], Ted, or [name_u]Theo[/name_u] don’t appeal as nicknames, I’ve also met a man who went by [name_f]Doro[/name_f]. Other names in a similar vein might be [name_m]Edmund[/name_m], [name_m]Errol[/name_m], [name_m]Hugh[/name_m], [name_m]Ajax[/name_m], [name_m]Bertram[/name_m], [name_u]Corin[/name_u], [name_m]Griffith[/name_m], [name_m]Duncan[/name_m], or [name_m]Timon[/name_m].
What about [name_m]Barnabas[/name_m]/[name_m]Barney[/name_m], [name_m]Lucas[/name_m]/[name_m]Lucan[/name_m], [name_m]Otto[/name_m], or [name_m]Teodor[/name_m] (Czech variation of [name_m]Theodore[/name_m])? Like the suggestion of [name_m]Magnus[/name_m] and [name_m]Timon[/name_m] too. [name_m]Phineas[/name_m] is more down to earth with [name_u]Finn[/name_u] as a nickname, as suggested above.
[name_m]Theodore[/name_m] doesn’t have a ‘religious’ vibe at all to me, and I’m a [name_m]Christian[/name_m]. I can understand concerns with [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] but I wouldn’t assume that the parents of a [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] were necessarily ‘religious’.
Inspired by the names on your lists:
Theodosius
[name_m]Theodoric[/name_m]
[name_m]Theophilus[/name_m]
[name_m]Damian[/name_m]
[name_m]Julian[/name_m]/Julius
[name_u]Florian[/name_u]
[name_m]Flavian[/name_m]/[name_m]Flavius[/name_m]
[name_m]Leander[/name_m]
Laertes
[name_m]Isidore[/name_m]
[name_m]Ignatius[/name_m]
[name_m]Ibrahim[/name_m]
[name_m]Guido[/name_m]
[name_m]Gilbert[/name_m]
[name_m]Guilbert[/name_m]
[name_m]Guillaume[/name_m]
[name_m]Finnegan[/name_m]
Linnaeus
Flynn
Other suggestions:
[name_m]Maxim[/name_m]/[name_m]Maximus[/name_m]/[name_m]Maxwell[/name_m]
[name_m]Leonidas[/name_m]
[name_m]Leonardo[/name_m]
[name_m]Augustus[/name_m]/[name_m]Augustine[/name_m]
[name_m]Nicodemus[/name_m]/[name_u]Nico[/name_u]
[name_m]Atticus[/name_m]
[name_m]Peregrine[/name_m]
[name_m]Valentin[/name_m]/[name_u]Valentine[/name_u]
[name_m]Caspar[/name_m]/[name_m]Caspian[/name_m]
[name_m]Lucius[/name_m]
[name_m]Ludovic[/name_m]
[name_m]Matteo[/name_m]/[name_m]Matthias[/name_m]
[name_u]Constantine[/name_u]
[name_m]Torquil[/name_m]
[name_m]Remus[/name_m]
[name_m]Bernard[/name_m]
[name_m]Montgomery[/name_m]
Conory
[name_m]Marius[/name_m]
[name_m]Raphael[/name_m]
[name_m]Rupert[/name_m]
[name_u]Stanley[/name_u]
I really like Benedict, Theodore, and Lysander off your lists. Benedict is my favourite though.
I really like Isambard! ”
I can definitely see how [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] could be considered a Catholic name. Spinoza was known as [name_m]Benedict[/name_m], or Benedito “Bento,” the Latin equivalent of [name_m]Baruch[/name_m] — both mean “blessed” — and he was Jewish. But the history of the name is strongly [name_m]Christian[/name_m]: “[name_m]Benedict[/name_m] was much used across medieval Europe, due to the popularity of the 5th- and 6th-century St. [name_m]Benedict[/name_m], founder of the Benedictine Order. In [name_m]Britain[/name_m], the usual everyday form quickly became [name_m]Bennet[/name_m]. Since the Reformation, it has been mostly used by Catholics in its [name_f]Sunday[/name_f]-best form [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] again” (source).
[name_m]Theodore[/name_m] less so… It was used in pre-[name_m]Christian[/name_m] times (e.g. [name_m]Theodorus[/name_m] of Samos, a 6th-century BCE sculptor, and the philosopher [name_m]Theodorus[/name_m] the Atheist, c. 340–c. 250 BCE), then became popular with early Christians. But I guess meaning is still religious.
You might like:
[name_m]Ambrose[/name_m]
[name_m]Casimir[/name_m]
[name_m]Idris[/name_m]
[name_m]Inigo[/name_m]
[name_m]Philemon[/name_m]
[name_m]Tanguy[/name_m]
[name_m]Tycho[/name_m]
[name_m]Rhodri[/name_m] or [name_m]Roderick[/name_m]
[name_m]Rollo[/name_m]
[name_m]Barnaby[/name_m]???
I particularly like [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] and [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] from your list and [name_m]Phineas[/name_m] and [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] from hers. Neither [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] nor [name_m]Benedict[/name_m] strike me as particularly religious, but I’m not particularly religious so I wouldn’t know. Yes, the word roots reference religious stuff, but they aren’t names mentioned in the Bible (like [name_u]Noah[/name_u], [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m], [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m], etc.)… but those are just my thoughts.
Other ideas:
Sebastian
Cyrus
Ferdinand
Thaddeus
Ambrose
Peregrine
Gideon
Rowan
Cassius