I’m trying to come up with a middle name for my son to honor my grandma. Her name is [name_f]Irene[/name_f] and I’m not crazy about the male version which is [name_m]Irenaeus[/name_m]. It’s a long story, but using her maiden name absolutely not an option. Her name means “peace”, but I haven’t found a name I like that means the same. A bird or flower name (that isn’t hawk) is an option as those are two of her favorite things. Gender neutral or traditionally girl names are ok too!
He’s going to have two middle names also! His first name will be [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] and one middle name will be [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], which I would prefer to be the second middle name, but at this point I’m not that picky. Any suggestions are welcome!!
Masculine/neutral names that look/sound like Irene…
[name_u]Ira[/name_u]
[name_u]Rene[/name_u]
[name_m]Irvine[/name_m]
[name_m]Irwin[/name_m]
[name_m]Ireneu[/name_m]
Masculine/neutral bird and flower names…
[name_u]Robin[/name_u]
[name_u]Heron[/name_u]
[name_u]Wren[/name_u]
[name_u]Jay[/name_u]
[name_m]Crane[/name_m]
[name_u]Corbin[/name_u] (meaning ‘raven’)
[name_m]Galvin[/name_m] (meaning ‘sparrow’)
[name_u]Peregrine[/name_u]
[name_u]Jonah[/name_u] / [name_m]Jonas[/name_m] (meaning ‘dove’, so it also has a peace connection!)
[name_m]Lonan[/name_m] (meaning ‘blackbird’)
[name_m]Heath[/name_m]
[name_u]Florian[/name_u]
[name_u]Ren[/name_u] (meaning ‘waterlily’ or ‘lotus’, also shares the middle letters from [name_f]Irene[/name_f] and sounds like the bird!)
I thought about [name_u]Finch[/name_u] but I’m not sure how it sounds inbetween [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] and [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]. It would sound good after [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] but you want [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] to be the second middle name. [name_u]Sparrow[/name_u] sort of works.
I would recommend a 2 syllable first middle name. I’m not an expert on flower names for boys but [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] [name_u]Florian[/name_u] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] is cute.
It would make sense not to use [name_m]Irenaeus[/name_m] with [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] because of the ending.
This isn’t really relevant but thanks for introducing me to [name_m]Irenaeus[/name_m].
[name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] is a marvelous name! [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] is a great middle name for [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u]. Actually, the olive branch is associated with peace and victory! [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] could be an honor name to your grandmother.
What about [name_u]Peace[/name_u] as a middle name?
Names meaning peace:
[name_u]Axel[/name_u]
[name_u]Paz[/name_u] or [name_u]Pax[/name_u]
[name_m]Godfrey[/name_m]
[name_m]Miro[/name_m]
[name_f]Winfred[/name_f] or [name_m]Wilfred[/name_m]
[name_m]Solomon[/name_m]
[name_u]Shalom[/name_u]
[name_m]Frederick[/name_m]
[name_u]Shiloh[/name_u] means “tranquil”. [name_u]Callum[/name_u] and [name_u]Jonah[/name_u] mean "dove which is a symbol of peace and a bird name!
What about:
[name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] [name_f]Marine[/name_f] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] (it sounds similar to [name_f]Irene[/name_f] and means from the sea)
I also really like just keeping honor names and kind of like gentle sounding [name_f]Irene[/name_f] with [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] and [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]. [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] [name_f]Irene[/name_f] flows well in my opinion.
Also using an initial or initials would be nice. Maybe: [name_m]Ivan[/name_m], [name_m]Ian[/name_m], [name_u]Indigo[/name_u]
Also, maybe you could let your grandmother know you’d like to name the baby in honor of her and see if there is a name she loves? If you can’t decide maybe use one she loves or have her pick from a few of your favorites. It could be a special way to honor her!
Editing because I saw you asked for flower names as well. Maybe [name_m]Cosmo[/name_m]?
[name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] [name_m]Cosmo[/name_m]
I haven’t seen this one yet, so I’ll just suggest [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] [name_m]Irving[/name_m] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] as a nod to [name_f]Irene[/name_f]!
Maybe this is too out there but what about just [name_u]Odysseus[/name_u] [name_f]Irene[/name_f] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]? It’s not a very feminine name and as he’s got a 2nd middle name it’s not too obvious it’s a “feminine” name between the two. Would that be too unusual? In some countries like Belgium the kids often have 2 middle names which are their godparent’s names, so one of my friend’s middle names is [name_u]Marie[/name_u] even though he’s a guy.
Maybe [name_m]Ernie[/name_m]? It’s an anagram for [name_f]Irene[/name_f].
There is [name_f]Reine[/name_f] too which it’s literally “queen” in [name_u]French[/name_u].
Then there are some common nicknames for [name_f]Irene[/name_f] like [name_f]Nina[/name_f], [name_f]Neena[/name_f], Nene, [name_f]Rina[/name_f], so going off that