[name]Hi[/name] Ladies,
I am about 4 weeks away from delivery and am having doubts about our name choice. [name]Baby[/name] boy will be joining siblings [name]Gretel[/name] and [name]Arlo[/name]. The name we have been kind of planning on is [name]Lionel[/name]. However, now I’m second guessing myself. I still love the name, but just feel like we haven’t even really thought about others. Others that I like/would consider are: [name]Alfie[/name] (but I don’t like [name]Alfred[/name] and not sure I like that the name is a nickname), [name]Franklin[/name], [name]Dudley[/name], [name]Felix[/name] (though I’m concerned about popularity), [name]Elmer[/name], and I’m up for suggestions on others…
I love your taste! [name]Gretel[/name] and [name]Arlo[/name] are so sweet and unique. I’ll start by saying that [name]Franklin[/name] and [name]Felix[/name] are boring compared to your other options, because they are common. Your others are so awesomely differently but safely familiar. [name]Alfie[/name] is so cool! I’m a huge fan of nicknames as names, so I’m a proponent of just calling him [name]Alfie[/name] with no longer form. [name]Dudley[/name] and [name]Elmer[/name] are also just remarkably adorable for little boys (but would age just fine). [name]Lionel[/name] is a great choice too though, and perhaps after considering other name options, you will find that your original love for [name]Lionel[/name] was for good reason. Some other ideas? Hmm…
[name]Otis[/name]
[name]Leopold[/name]
[name]Hiram[/name]
[name]Ollie[/name]
[name]Basil[/name]
[name]Cecil[/name]
[name]Carl[/name]
[name]Albert[/name]
Tarleton
[name]Elliot[/name] (common, but you may like it)
Well, I think [name]Franklin[/name] would be a cool brother for [name]Gretel[/name] and [name]Arlo[/name]! I’ll think of some suggestions, but seriously, [name]Franklin[/name] is quite magnificent!
Ooh, I like alzora’s suggestions of [name]Cecil[/name], [name]Albert[/name], [name]Hiram[/name], [name]Otis[/name] and [name]Leopold[/name]!
I too think [name]Franklin[/name] is a great choice. It has the mild fustiness of your other options, and its nicknames can go traditional ([name]Frankie[/name], which is in line with [name]Alfie[/name]) or unusual ([name]Flin[/name] or [name]Flint[/name]). I would put it at the top of your list with [name]Lionel[/name], which I like stylistically with [name]Gretel[/name] and [name]Arlo[/name] and because you’ve loved it for a long time, but find a bit similar in terms of its ending. I still find [name]Dudley[/name] and [name]Elmer[/name] too associated with characters ([name]Dudley[/name] [name]Do[/name]-Right; [name]Dudley[/name] the obese, mean cousin from [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]; [name]Elmer[/name] Fudd) to use, but that’s me. I do think that, compared with your other names, [name]Felix[/name] is more common.
Other ideas:
[name]Bertram[/name] (nn [name]Bertie[/name] and [name]Bram[/name])
[name]Willem[/name]
[name]Gilbert[/name] (love [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables!)
[name]Chauncey[/name]
[name]Auberon[/name]/[name]Oberon[/name] (nn [name]Bear[/name])
[name]Conrad[/name]
[name]Digby[/name]
[name]Leland[/name]
[name]Ferdinand[/name] (nn [name]Ferdie[/name], [name]Andy[/name], [name]Dino[/name]…)
[name]Love[/name] [name]Leopold[/name] as a suggestion.
Thanks for the suggestions, ladies. I forgot to mention that I do really like [name]Huxley[/name], too. I have a thing about syllables (which I neglected to mention as well). I would like all the kids’ names to have the same number of syllables, which would mean 2. It isn’t imperative and if I find a name that I love that doesn’t fit this, I may consider. I also really love the L sound in my kids’ names. I love that Ls make things softer and would like to have an L in the 3rd name, too. But again, this isn’t a necessity.
[name]Huxley[/name], [name]Franklin[/name] and [name]Lionel[/name] are all excellent options for a brother to [name]Gretel[/name] and [name]Arlo[/name]. I think I prefer [name]Huxley[/name], slightly. I love the nickname [name]Huck[/name].
I’m not a fan of [name]Huxley[/name]-- reminds me of [name]Aldous[/name] and I’m not to keen on him. [name]Franklin[/name] is my favorite from your list with [name]Gretel[/name] and [name]Arlo[/name]. I like the suggestion of [name]Calvin[/name] too ([name]Cal[/name] is a good nn).
[name]Lionel[/name], [name]Franklin[/name], [name]Felix[/name], and [name]Alfie[/name] are wonderful, but if you have doubts, I second many of these suggestions, particularly [name]Calvin[/name], [name]Basil[/name], [name]Walter[/name], [name]Leland[/name], and [name]Willem[/name]. I fear [name]Dudley[/name] could become “Dud” or other mean nicknames, and [name]Elmer[/name] is just too reminiscent of glue. What about:
I really like [name]Gretel[/name], [name]Arlo[/name], and [name]Walter[/name] together. [name]Walter[/name] and [name]Gretel[/name] share the R, L, and T, [name]Arlo[/name] shares A, R, and L, but they all have distinct sounds. I think [name]Walter[/name] fits with your “seriously charming” style. Interested to know what you settle on.
I do like the nickname [name]Wally[/name], but not crazy about [name]Walter[/name]. And also, if I ever decide to have another and it’s a girl…my favorite name is [name]Willa[/name]. I wouldn’t want to ruin being able to use that one!
It’s looking like [name]Lionel[/name] is probably going to continue to be the winner. So just out of curiosity, what do you ladies think of it? What is the first thing you think when you hear the name?
