SOS! I’ve posted a few times but just can’t move forward. Baby boy due any day now - brother for Max.
Criteria is a strong boy name (no gender neutral), works in Europe and Australia / English speaking countries without standing out as overly foreign, ideally not an over popular name but also not an unheard of name, easy to say / spell, no teasing opportunities / bad potential nicknames, and timeless (could be any age) - not a fleeting trend that will be linked to one generation. As you can see from shortlist below, none fit the bill 100%. What would you pick?
Name shortlist with pros/cons of each:
Leo - extremely popular right now, but I believe the best match to Max. Husband feels it doesn’t sound as strong and masculine as Max. Husband not very keen
Raphael - I like the name but from online feedback it seems very hit and miss with many people disliking which makes me less confident. Ninja turtle jokes. Not a huge fan of nicknames Raf / Rafa. Long next to Max.
Hugo - short and punchy like Max, and husband prefers to Leo. I don’t mind but certainly dont love it, and it sounds terrible in Portuguese / spanish / French (H is silent - pronounced ooo-gooo). Don’t like nickname Hugh.
Mateo - short, punchy and boyish, but is a foreign name in Australia, and I’m not sure about siblings with same first letter of name, especially as husband name also starts with M.
Appreciate all opinions! Feel free to rank the 4, or just feedback on fav / least fav.
I like all of those names! But it sounds to me like you don’t really have the right name yet. Of your list, the one that sounds like it would work the best is Mateo. I think it shouldn’t be that hard for people to get right, but I also completely get wanting to choose a more familiar name.
[name_m]Leo[/name_m] → friendly, international, and charming. It does feel very similar in vibe to [name_m]Max[/name_m] [name_f][/name_f]- and it’s one of those names that sounds charming and gentle, but strong and distinctive too. It doesn’t feel fleeting and feels like a solid choice [name_f][/name_f]- but if your husband doesn’t love it and you don’t want something popular, it might not be the one.
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_m]Raphael[/name_m] → elegant and arty but strong too [name_f][/name_f]- but having a younger cousin who is into Ninja Turtles, makes me realise that it may be some people’s point of reference still [name_f][/name_f]- and there’s no guarantee he won’t get called Raf/a.
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_m]Hugo[/name_m] → wise, bright and classy, but again, it doesn’t seem to be the one for you.
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_m]Mateo[/name_m] [name_f][/name_f]- with [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] in the US top 10, I feel like this name is moving into the more ‘international’ territory [name_f][/name_f]- easy-going but solid [name_f][/name_f]- but [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] and [name_m]Max[/name_m] [name_f][/name_f]- or [name_m]Mat[/name_m] and [name_m]Max[/name_m] might be a bit close for me.
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_f]My[/name_f] favourite out of these for you is [name_m]Leo[/name_m] [name_f][/name_f]- popular as it is, it seems to match your criteria best, and it is a great name.
[name_m]Raphael[/name_m][name_f][/name_f] – if you really love the name, don’t let others dissuade you from using it! [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] is lovely, and to be honest I’m not sure Ninja Turtles is nearly as popular now as it used to be… I just asked my younger brother (he’s in middle school) and he knows of them but did not know their names. I would say as long as you enforce family members using the full name, the nicknames you dislike shouldn’t be an issue. Maybe [name_m]Ray[/name_m] as an alternative?
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_m]Leo[/name_m][name_f][/name_f] – while popular, it’s definitely for a reason! [name_m]Leo[/name_m] is solid and handsome, with a playful edge that aligns perfectly with [name_m]Max[/name_m] and fulfills the majority of your criteria.
If you and your husband rank your list individually, is there a name that appears in the top two for both of you? For instance if you ranked the names (just going off your comments):
[name_m]Raphael[/name_m] would be the most balanced choice in this example, and [name_m]Leo[/name_m] and [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] would be out of contention since they’re last on at least one person’s list.
[name_f][/name_f]
As for nicknames… you may find an alternative you like, you may find that those nicknames grow on you when you try them out on your little one, or you may not use a nickname at all. I’m not too keen on those nicknames either, I’d probably use [name_m]Raffy[/name_m] just as an endearment.
[name_f][/name_f]
All of your options are great names and will work well here in Australia and abroad. So I recommend setting aside your list of preferences, and tapping into your gut instinct instead. I wish you all the best in your decision!
Thanks all for the reply! [name_f]My[/name_f] intuition tells me to go for [name_m]Leo[/name_m] because it’s the name we were set on for years but my husband has gone completely off it. He will accept the name if I really insist but that is weighing heavily on me, of course I want him to be happy with the choice. [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] is my second choice and his first, but I don’t get a good feeling at the thought of announcing the name [name_f][/name_f]- and not keen on the nicknames either…
[name_m]Leo[/name_m] is my favorite, alone and with [name_m]Max[/name_m]. I think it’s the perfect fit. [name_f]My[/name_f] second favorite with [name_m]Max[/name_m] would be [name_m]Hugo[/name_m]. How often are you going to hear it pronounced in Spanish or Portuguese?
That’s a difficult situation. I know that finding agreement with my husband was essential to the choice we made when naming our son. But my intuition was also essential to the final choice we made. It’s so hard to say one is more important than the other – they feel equally important!
[name_f][/name_f]
It would be difficult to go against your gut feeling about [name_m]Leo[/name_m] now, but I wonder if there’s a good reason to do so – it’s this. The decision to follow your instincts at the cost of mutual agreement, or to choose mutual agreement at the cost of following your instincts. Whichever way you choose to go, you are letting go of something important to you.
[name_f][/name_f]
A few more things to reflect on or consider:
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f]
It makes sense that [name_m]Leo[/name_m] is your favourite not only because you like it and it goes well with [name_m]Max[/name_m], but also because you’ve spent years thinking of it as the name of your possible next son.
[name_f][/name_f]
I would think you have quite a strong attachment to [name_m]Leo[/name_m] and that might be a key reason you don’t feel good at the thought of announcing [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] (or possibly any other name).
[name_f][/name_f]
If you did choose [name_m]Raphael[/name_m], it’s sure to grow on you as you associate it more and more with your son. In a year or two, you could feel the same as you do about Max’s name.
[name_f][/name_f]
The same could be said about [name_m]Leo[/name_m] – it’s very possible it will grow on your husband once more as he associates it with your son.
[name_f][/name_f]
If you’re not set on the middle name, you could use both of your favourite names at once with [name_m]Leo[/name_m] [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] so your husband can call him both names and likewise with [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] [name_m]Leo[/name_m].
[name_f][/name_f]
If you’re really committed to principle of choosing a name together, as you did before, then you could lean all the way in and take [name_m]Leo[/name_m] out of contention because it’s no longer a name your husband wants to use.
[name_f][/name_f]
Wait until your son is born and see how each name feels. In my state in Australia we have 60 days to register the birth certificate, so you could give yourselves even a week of trying out names. We took 5 days to decide ourselves.
[name_f][/name_f]
I’m sure you’ve seen hundreds names by now, and it’s probably the last thing you want to do at this point, but you could continue to search and revisit old ideas to find something else that you feel good about announcing, seeing as you still have a bit of time.
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f]
I believe there’s always more than one right choice, and ultimately, all you can do is make the best decision for the situation you’re in.
Based on your descriptions, I feel that [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] is the perfect choice for your second baby boy. Your husband doesn’t love [name_m]Leo[/name_m], and you’re not fond of [name_m]Hugo[/name_m], so I’d eliminate those options. Perhaps you could consider [name_m]Leon[/name_m], [name_m]Leonard[/name_m], [name_m]Leonardo[/name_m], [name_m]Leonid[/name_m], [name_m]Leander[/name_m] or [name_m]Elio[/name_m] as long forms to persuade your husband. [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] is a lovely name, but in my opinion, [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] is far more handsome and captivating. Additionally, [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] shares two of the three letters in Max’s name. Since [name_m]Max[/name_m] is such a short name, I don’t think [name_m]Mateo[/name_m] works well as a sibling name.
[name_f][/name_f]
[name_m]Raphael[/name_m] is a timeless, charming choice. It’s international yet not overused, and it’s easy to spell and pronounce. The Ninja Turtles are not my first association at all when I think about the name [name_m]Raphael[/name_m]. However, if one day your son and his schoolmates watch Ninja Turtles, I believe your son will most likely find it cool to share a name with an adventurous character. While [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] is slightly longer than [name_m]Max[/name_m], it still pairs beautifully with it. [name_f][/name_f]The name also offers a variety of nicknames beyond the usual ones. Options like [name_f]Alpha[/name_f], Fael, Rae/Ray, [name_m]Rael[/name_m], [name_m]Ralph[/name_m], [name_f]El[/name_f], [name_m]Alfie[/name_m], [name_m]Raffy[/name_m], Ruffles, Ral, or [name_m]Riff[/name_m] could work. You might even create a unique nickname by combining his initials or his first and middle names’ sounds. That said, [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] can stand on its own. There’s no need to force a nickname if nothing feels interesting and natural to you.