How to honor someone who has passed away?

We are expecting our first baby - a boy! - on [name_f]September[/name_f] 22. We are having trouble figuring out what yo name this little guy though. My dad passed away twelve years ago and I’d like to honor him in some way. His name was [name_m]Brian[/name_m] [name_m]Peter[/name_m]. Problem is, between my husband and me, we already have three cousins named [name_m]Brian[/name_m] so it’s not ideal to name him [name_m]Brian[/name_m]. My husband is pretty set on having the middle name be [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], after his best friend. [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] sound a bit too much like a tongue twister, right? I had an idea to name him after the college my dad went to, [name_u]Bentley[/name_u] university, but we aren’t sure if [name_u]Bentley[/name_u] sounds kind of pretentious. What do you think? There has to be a cool way to honor him somehow!
Thank you for your help!

His surname, maybe? Since you’re planning [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] for the middle name perhaps a first name that starts with B? Or [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m]?

[name_u]Bentley[/name_u] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] is a fine name! Another good way to honor someone is to use a name with a similar meaning. [name_m]Brian[/name_m] shares a meaning with [name_m]Andrew[/name_m], [name_m]Ethan[/name_m], and [name_m]Griffin[/name_m], just to name a few. [name_m]Peter[/name_m] shares a meaning with [name_m]Callen[/name_m] and [name_m]Harlan[/name_m] (and more!). Another option is [name_m]Brock[/name_m]. [name_m]Peter[/name_m] means “rock” and [name_m]Brock[/name_m] rhymes with rock and shares an initial with [name_m]Brian[/name_m]. I also wanted to mention [name_m]Broderick[/name_m], which kind of blends [name_m]Brian[/name_m] and [name_m]Patrick[/name_m]. You could even use the nickname [name_m]Brock[/name_m]. Those are a bit of a stretch, but I thought I’d throw them out there. Good luck!

[name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_m]Ian[/name_m]? I see the name [name_m]Ian[/name_m] embedded within [name_m]Brian[/name_m].

Your idea about using the name of his university is a fantastic idea! Because the whole point is to honor his life, and by using a very important part of it, you’re doing just that.
Is the town he grew up in a suitable baby boy name? Or the street he grew up on? Did he have a fun nickname? You could find inspiration from that.
I know this probably isn’t what you’d want to do, but was there a very special person in his life that he’d wanted you to name someone after? I know it’s not like you’re honoring him, but you still honor what made him happy.
Speaking of what made him happy, is there anything baby name-ish that did? For example, if he lived by a river that he loved, you could name your son [name_u]River[/name_u] (unless you’d rather not pick an unusual name). Or maybe a book he absolutely loved? You could pick a character name or the name of the author or something.

Some of my suggestions might be a little far-fetched, but I hope this helps!

[name_m]How[/name_m] about adding another name to the mix so [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] wouldn’t sound so much like a tongue twister? [name_m]Peter[/name_m] ____ [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] would be nice. Some of my favorites that would fit in the middle are [name_u]Jude[/name_u], [name_m]Hart[/name_m], [name_m]Noam[/name_m], [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] and [name_m]Harvey[/name_m].