We’re due with our first (a boy) in late [name_f]April[/name_f] and have settled on [name_u]August[/name_u] as the first name but are in a bit of a battle over what will be the middle. I’m Mexican-American and my husband is from the Czech Republic. [name_u]August[/name_u] is pronounced the same (more or less) in all three languages and seemed to feel cross-cultural. We’d both like to honor our grandfathers (mine was [name_m]Jose[/name_m] or [name_m]Joseph[/name_m]) and my husband’s was Jaroslav. My husband wants a name that fits in in his native country - i.e. something from the “name calendar” Czechs adhere to. So, I have a few questions at this juncture:
Is Jaroslav (pr: Yaaro-slav) a touch too exotic even for the middle? [name_m]How[/name_m] does it sound/feel in the U.S.?
[name_m]How[/name_m] does the Czech spelling of [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] ([name_m]Josef[/name_m]) sound/feel here? This would be a compromise of sorts between his culture and mine.
If we can’t agree, are two middle names a hassle?
If we really can’t agree, we may ditch the family names all together and go for something more traditional but that has little connection to us. We can agree on variants of: [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] and [name_m]William[/name_m].
Any additional suggestions welcome!
I know it’s a lot of questions but any input would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks for reading!
First of all, I love to see [name_u]August[/name_u] on a boy after it was hyped for girls so much!
I don’t think “too exotic even for a middle name” exists. With a down-to-earth first like [name_u]August[/name_u], you can dare to go a bit more out there with the middle. Especially when it’s a family name. You could even argue that since your son will be half czech, a czech name would not be exotic for him at all.
I can’t say how the [name_m]Josef[/name_m] spelling will look in the US, but to me [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and [name_m]Josef[/name_m] feel the same. None is more logical or “right” than the other. It could be considered a creative spelling by some people though, so would you be ok with people thinking that?
Since I guess you’ll mostly be calling him only by his first name in day-to-day use, I don’t see why two middles would be any more problematic than one.
[name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]Edward[/name_m] doesn’t flow [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. [name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]William[/name_m] is slightly better. [name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] flows best but wouldn’t [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] sound totally different in czech than in english? I don’t know if that would be a problem.
All in all I’d say go for [name_u]August[/name_u] Jaroslav. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if some people might say it’s strange, it’s a great tie to your husband’s (and son’s) heritage.
I would definitely go with [name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]Joseph[/name_m], hands down (not [name_m]Josef[/name_m]) or [name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]William[/name_m], which also sounds great. Agree with previous poster that [name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]Edward[/name_m] is a little too cumbersome.
I hate to say it, but if you ask if something is too exotic, then it usually is. With the way a lot of the country’s sentiments have been turning (towards the xenophobic), less exotic (ie more familiar) names give your child higher statistical chances of being called for an interview, getting a job offer, etc. Numerous studies have shown the same results: [name_m]Add[/name_m] a -ph to [name_m]Jose[/name_m] ([name_m]Joseph[/name_m]) and the rate of interview offers shoots up drastically. :\ Would recommend the more exotic names be reserved for nicknames.
[name_u]Love[/name_u] love love [name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]William[/name_m], though! It sounds lovely. All the best!
To me middle names are only really used by the parents. I wouldn’t worry about something from the child’s heritage being too exotic. As far as Jaroslav-many people in the US will mispronounce it because the J making a Y sound isn’t a common practice here. If you are wanting [name_m]Josef[/name_m] pronounced with the Y sound you may want to consider [name_m]Yosef[/name_m]/Yossef spelling for the same reason as before. I see no problem with two middle names, but I also really like [name_u]August[/name_u] [name_m]William[/name_m]. Like I said before, it’s a middle name and won’t be used by many people. I’ve never been asked what my middle name is in a job interview and when the time comes your child doesn’t have to fill out his middle name on most applications/paperwork unless he wants to so I wouldn’t worry about that. Personally I like [name_m]Josef[/name_m] (as it is a combination of your culture and your husband’s culture) or [name_m]William[/name_m].