I've got a Bear in my tummy

My husband and I are expecting our first bundle of joy at [name]Christmas[/name]. We aren’t finding out what we’re having, and aren’t going to pick one boy and one girl name ahead of time. We both agree that you need to see the baby before definitively saying “Oh, yes, that’s a ________ for sure”. So we’re narrowing our lists down to our top 3 or 4 for each gender and taking all those names with us (girls are proving to be difficult, but that’s another thread).

Currently we are both in agreement for [name]Caspian[/name], [name]Leonidas[/name], and [name]Elias[/name]. No matter what, the middle name will be [name]Alexander[/name], after my grandfather (he’s the only living grandparent between the two of us, the only one that hubby has ever know, and he also has 17 grand children, and 30+ great grandchildren - none of which have him as their namesake).

Here’s the dilemma - I am above and beyond in love with [name]Bear[/name]. Back story - two of our favourite people in the world are [name]Bear[/name]'s - [name]Bear[/name] Grylls, the outdoor adventure man, and [name]Bear[/name] [name]Reinhart[/name], the lead singer of our favourite band (coincidently, that’s also the VERY first concert baby has ever gone to, in my tummy, before we even knew he/she existed!). My husband actually also loves the name, but is uber nervous of it being TOO out there. We consulted a few of our friends before we were even pregnant, and they have all said that they think it’s pretty cool, and some went as far to say that he’d NEVER be beat up with a name like that.

But, they’re our friends, and maybe not impartial. So I’d like honest opinions about [name]Bear[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] as a name. For those of you are into initials, they’d be BAM (how awesome is THAT?!). I’m not interested in switching it to [name]Baer[/name] to soften it, as I think it’d be misspelled way too many times. [name]Just[/name] an unnecessary change for such a common word. For those of who you are visual, in all probability, he’d come out with thick, tight curly black hair and brown or blue eyes (husband if Egyptian, and I have curly hair) which I also think is a good description of a [name]Bear[/name]. If we were having a blonde haired blue eyed doll, I likely wouldn’t even be considering [name]Bear[/name] as a name.

Sorry, I’m a writer and write a lot - so just the basics, what do you think of [name]Bear[/name] [name]Alexander[/name]?

I love it, actually! (Can I just say how much I love that you love [name]Bear[/name] because of [name]Bear[/name] [name]Reinhart[/name]?! Huge Needtobreathe fan over here!) My mom started this thing where she’s given all her children animal/insect nicknames (butterfly, humming bird, dragonfly, ladybug, etc.), and I want to pass on the tradition to my children. I’ve already decided that [name]Little[/name] [name]Bear[/name]/[name]Bear[/name] will be the animal nn for my first son. :slight_smile: [name]Bear[/name] is so cute and earthy and fun, and yes, I would totally read the [name]Little[/name] [name]Bear[/name] books to him all the time. lol. I think it’s a great name, I love seeing it used. If I had a bit more guts, and there were other names I liked that fit in that style, I think I’d probably use it. Besides, the Needtobreathe connection is just too cool. :slight_smile:

If using [name]Bear[/name] just takes too much guts, would you consider [name]Arthur[/name] [name]Alexander[/name]? I think that’s a timeless, handsome, very respectable name, and yet, it means “bear”, so he would have the respectable [name]Arthur[/name] for resumes and wedding announcements and college applications, but I would call him exclusively [name]Bear[/name]. :slight_smile: [name]Just[/name] another idea. I think [name]Arthur[/name] fits pretty well stylistically with [name]Caspian[/name], [name]Leonidas[/name], [name]Elias[/name], etc. Or you could even do [name]Theodore[/name] [name]Alexander[/name], nn [name]Bear[/name]. :slight_smile:

Good luck!

[name]Bear[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] is excellent! I love how special and meaningful the name is to you and your husband.

Sorry to say but I don’t think [name]Bear[/name] is an appropriate name for a human. It’s cute as a boys nickname but doesn’t age well. I really can’t imagine a grown man named [name]Bear[/name]. [name]Alicia[/name] Silverstone has a son named [name]Bear[/name] [name]Blu[/name] and most people on here thought it was one of the most ridiculous names to come out of Hollywood. Parents have to remember that their child will spend most of his/her life as a adult who has to function in the real world (school, college, job market etc). I like [name]Elias[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] or [name]Caspian[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] far more than [name]Bear[/name] [name]Alexander[/name]. You can always use [name]Bear[/name] as an affectionate nickname for your son.

It’s funny you say that, because I actually see [name]Bear[/name] as a more adult name, than a little baby’s name, since it’s so strong. It’s all about perception, I suppose! Thanks for your input.

[QUOTE=mischa;1532137]It’s cute as a boys nickname but doesn’t age well. I really can’t imagine a grown man named [name]Bear[/name].QUOTE]

It’s funny you say that, because I actually see [name]Bear[/name] as a more adult name, than a little baby’s name, since it’s so strong. It’s all about perception, I suppose! Thanks for your input.

I love the meaning behind [name]Bear[/name] for you 2 but I can also see it being a hard name to carry into adulthood (unless you’re a world-famous adventurer or a rock star… which I suppose he might be some day!) Have you considered [name]Alexander[/name] [name]Bear[/name]? That way he could go by [name]Lex[/name], [name]Xander[/name], [name]Alex[/name], [name]Alexander[/name], or [name]Bear[/name]… whatever suits him the best.

It’s funny you say that, because I actually see [name]Bear[/name] as a more adult name, than a little baby’s name, since it’s so strong. It’s all about perception, I suppose! Thanks for your input.

Agree with this person and think that [name]Caspian[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] is nice.

Oh, but for the record, I do love the way [name]Bear[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] sounds! I really like the seriousness of [name]Alexander[/name] next to [name]Bear[/name].

I agree that [name]Bear[/name] is kind of too out there for a first name. Have you considered going with [name]Alexander[/name] [name]Bear[/name] and just calling him [name]Bear[/name] all the time? That way he’d have the mainstream [name]Alexander[/name] to fall back on in case he wasn’t comfortable going by [name]Bear[/name] when he’s older.

I do agree with other posters that out of the other first names you have listed, [name]Caspian[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] has the best flow.

I love that as a nickname - but not a first name. What about [name]Barrett[/name]? I have a nephew with that name and everyone calls him [name]Bear[/name]. But once he’s older, he will have a full masculine name to use - [name]Barrett[/name].

[name]Barrett[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] is adorable!!!

I think [name]Bear[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] is an excellent choice. [name]Do[/name] it!

I cannot imagine a child/man with the legal name of [name]Bear[/name] but love the idea of [name]Barret[/name] or [name]Theodore[/name] nn [name]Bear[/name]…

and I know this is a boys forum but we have a daughter named [name]Claire[/name] and her nn was [name]Claire[/name] [name]Bear[/name] as a baby and now we call her just [name]Bear[/name] as a family nn. Good luck!

good option as I agree that [name]Bear[/name] is not a first name

I really don’t like [name]Bear[/name] as a fn. It’s too much for a person and there are a few connotations… I think it would work better as a middle. Or use pp’s suggestion of [name]Barrett[/name], or maybe Barrineau.

I think [name]Bear[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] is fine. But if the usability concerns you, I like the earlier poster’s suggestion of [name]Barrett[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] nn [name]Bear[/name].

I like [name]Bear[/name] a lot - it’s an intriguing name to me. I say go for it if you are ok with it being a little out there (but not in a bad way, in my opinion).

I don’t think [name]Bear[/name] is too out there since there are little [name]Tiger[/name]'s and [name]Hawk[/name]'s out there. I met a [name]Bear[/name] whose little brother was named [name]Graham[/name]. [name]Love[/name] that it has meaning to you! Go for it! :slight_smile:

You know the other day the blog on the home page was about rules for naming children. The rule that I most liked, and I think you’d agree with me, is the rule that there is no such thing as a weird name. I guess I’m just into “out there” names. [name]Every[/name] time I have a crazy new love people want me to change it to a “real” name and use my new love as a nn. But if I did this I know I’d always regret having some serious name in my baby’s birth certificate bc I would never call him or think of him as that serious name. For instance I like Johnse- to name him [name]Jonathan[/name] just to call him johnse for his whole life is terribly irritating. First if all teachers would always call him [name]Jonathan[/name] until he corrected them a thousand times. Second of all as far as I’m concerned the names are miles apart in the charm and quirkiness that I look for and [name]Jonathan[/name] is so not the image I perceive for my babies. I say GO FOR [name]BEAR[/name]! Once people get used to it they’ll borobably be jealous they didn’t get the nerve to do it first! I named my dog bear and seriously regret not saving it for a son! I love it- but I used it for my puppy bc 1. He is my first baby :slight_smile: 2. My husband isn’t cool enough to handle bear, lol JK he is just very conservative when it comes to names (you can imagine the heated debates we have over future names lol) I really love [name]Bear[/name]! [name]Don[/name]'t forget the legendary football coach for [name]Alabama[/name] was named [name]Bear[/name] [name]Bryant[/name]- so it worked out well for someone :smiley: