Help with upcoming baby boy’s name! Husband and I can’t find one we both love that works with our middle name pick and last name.
Last name starts with R so names we like but won’t use as we don’t care for alliteration: Rhodes, Remy, Royal, and Roman. Middle name Koa (baby will be “hapa” and part Hawaiian/part Italian/part Irish so the middle name is meaningful) - but other names we like got vetoed again because of alliteration: Kit, Campbell, Kellen, Conrad, Cole, Cash. Might be easier just to change the middle name haha.
My dream name (literally over a decade now) has always been August well before the surge in popularity, and now it just feels too trendy. Still breaks my heart when I think of it.
Other names we like: Wilder, Ansel, Beau, Theo, Avett, Tate, Desmond and Sullivan.
We are looking for something that would be cute as a child (or cute nickname possibilities) but that we can envision on a professional resume too. And easily pronounced and spelled (we both had names constantly misspelled as kids that drove us crazy). Any other unique names in the styles above for inspiration?
[name_m]Just[/name_m] so you’re aware, some of the others you mentioned are fairly popular as well: [name_m]Theo[/name_m] (if Theodore) especially as [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] is #7. [name_m]Sullivan[/name_m] and [name_m]Tate[/name_m] are also climbing in popularity I would say.
My thoughts on August… It may not be as popular as you think. Even though it was ranked #104 in 2023, there were less than 3,500 born across the entire US for that whole year! It says that it was about 0.19% of births, so less than 1% (even less than one fifth of 1%). Names are so diverse these days that there are fewer kids with each name. It might seem popular, but you might not actually run into too many kids his age with the name.
Personal examples
My daughter’s name was also ranked just out of the Top 100 in 2021 when she was born (and even somewhere around 50th in the state we live in), yet I haven’t met one her age yet across all the parks, libraries, zoos, etc. I have maybe met around 2 of little kids who are older than her. Heck, one of my friends even has a boy with a top 5 name for our state, and I’ve met surprisingly few considering the ranking of his name. I also looked up the names from the year I was born, and I didn’t know anyone with the names ranked #100-105 and only knew 2 kids with a name from the #106-100.
All this to say, I think August would very much be worth reconsidering You have absolutely loved it for so long, and the thought of not using it makes you sad. Sounds like your ideal name!
I also think [name_m]August[/name_m] is worth reconsidering! It’s easy to assume you’ll bump into loads of children with that name because it’s very popular on forums etc. But in terms of real life use, you’re probably quite unlikely to bump into one.
[name_m]August[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] is such a lovely combo.
If [name_m]August[/name_m] is completely off the table, some ideas are:
[name_m]Jenson[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] ‘Sonny’
[name_m]Otis[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m]
[name_m]Lochlan[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] ‘Lockie’
[name_m]Felix[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m]
[name_m]Arthur[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] ‘Art’
[name_m]Saxon[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m]
That is such a good point. We went to my nephews orchestra concert (he’s 12) and saw the program…it was interesting to see some of the names - unfortunately we saw two August’s and it felt like confirmation the name was popular but like you said, it might just be his location because where we live I actually have never met one nor do I know anyone on Facebook (aka old friends of my age) with babies named [name_m]August[/name_m]. It’s been hard to envision any other name as I always had that picked so it’s something I’ll definitely revisit as due date gets closer.
[name_m]Augustus[/name_m], [name_m]Augustin[/name_m] and [name_m]Augustine[/name_m] are great suggestions!
[name_m]Wilder[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m], [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] and [name_m]Sullivan[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] are nice.
Thank you everyone who has responded so far. I love [name_m]Nash[/name_m] - it was on my list but was vetoed - same with Julian/Jude but I’d revisit with the hubs. [name_m]River[/name_m] is beautiful (we just get hung up on the alliteration with our last name but this isn’t too bad and actually kind of rolls off the tongue). I also love [name_m]Donovan[/name_m] (and especially those nicknames). And [name_m]Murphy[/name_m] is another I adore but a good guy friend’s last name is [name_m]Murphy[/name_m] and that felt weird haha.
[name_m]Anders[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] came to mind. Much less popularity than [name_m]August[/name_m]. Nn- [name_m]Andy[/name_m], [name_m]Rand[/name_m], Rans
Same feel and monogram. Sounds good with [name_m]Koa[/name_m].
High for me, regarding your style, would be [name_m]Lev[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m], but I’m not a nickname person, anyway. Plus, it’s crazy what comes out affectionately when raising kids. He might be [name_m]Levy[/name_m], [name_m]Levi[/name_m], [name_m]Levko[/name_m], LK
Seems to be the vein:
[name_m]Flynn[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m]
[name_m]Dean[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m]
[name_m]Jarrett[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Rett, Jay) - depends on how -rett runs into R- last name, sometimes works
[name_m]Donovan[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Don, Van)
[name_m]Stetson[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Stet)
Frane [name_m]Koa[/name_m]
[name_m]Anton[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Andy, Tony)
[name_m]Fletcher[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Fletch, Chet)
[name_m]Abram[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Abe, Bram)
[name_m]Marshall[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Marsh)
[name_m]Ames[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m]
[name_m]Garrison[/name_m] [name_m]Koa[/name_m] (Garry, [name_m]Rhys[/name_m], [name_m]Sonny[/name_m], Gar)
If you’ve loved [name_m]August[/name_m], I would say it is totally okay to use it!! It’s absolutely understandable to not want some use something very popular, but if you use the social security state/region search site you may be able to search and see just how popular the name is in your area!
Name ratings I believe are based off the US entirely! Where you live, perhaps [name_m]August[/name_m] isn’t as overwhelmingly popular!
Thank you again everyone!! So many great names out there. It’s been so hard trying to come up with something we both agree on without any connection or connotations.
You have absolutely loved it for so long, and the thought of not using it makes you sad. Sounds like your ideal name!