Well I’ve decided that [name]Oliver[/name] is the only good name if baby is a boy, and the more I think about it, the more I like it! (A few of you may remember how much trouble I was having getting on board any boy name about 6 weeks ago! I came around.) Big brother is [name]Simon[/name] [name]Daniel[/name], last name is Cook. [name]Daniel[/name] is my dad’s name. My husband really wants our kids’ middle names to have some sort of meaning…so that later on in life when they ask why they have a certain middle name, the answer won’t be “we just liked it.” So, now I’m trying to figure out what possibly “meaningful” name goes with [name]Oliver[/name].
I had basically settled on [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Graham[/name] ([name]Graham[/name] being my bro-in-law) when I googled the initials OGC and came up with this lovely find, which immediately made me never want to use it (call me silly but I have a thing about not picking bad initials). Urban Dictionary: OGC
So, back to the drawing board. The only family names I can come up with are: [name]Peter[/name] (terrible with [name]Oliver[/name]), [name]William[/name] (eh), [name]James[/name]. [name]Oliver[/name] [name]James[/name] sounds nice but seems almost too bland and too expected. We have a pretty boring surname and [name]James[/name] has to be the most boring and overused middle name in existence. I would also be down with choosing a name with a good meaning, but I’m having a hard time coming up with anything. Possibly a nature-inspired name, or something meaning peace/happiness/laughter/etc.
Thanks in advance for listening to all of my rambling.
What about [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Isaac[/name]? [name]Isaac[/name] means “laughter”, and it’s the only name I can think of with a similar meaning. Have you thought about a variation of [name]Peter[/name] since it sounds terrible with [name]Oliver[/name]? I think something like [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Pierce[/name], [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Pierre[/name]/[name]Oliver[/name] [name]Pierrot[/name] (pee-[name]AIR[/name]-oh), etc., would be nice. [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Felix[/name] would be nice, as well, and [name]Felix[/name] means “happiness,” I believe.
I like [name]Oliver[/name] [name]James[/name] Cook a lot, I think [name]Oliver[/name] has enough character that it’s nice to have a middle name that’s a little more expected! We’re considering [name]Oliver[/name] for our soon to be son as well, but my husband wants to have a middle name that begins with A. Ps- I love your son’s name [name]Simon[/name]!
We have SUCH similar name choices. One of my sons’ names is [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Graham[/name] (!) and [name]Simon[/name] was on our very short list that we took to the hospital when the boys were born.
I have to say I really like the suggestion of [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Felix[/name], and I agree with you that [name]Oliver[/name] [name]James[/name] sounds great but is potentially a bit common. Have you considered variations on [name]William[/name]? ([name]Oliver[/name] [name]Liam[/name]?? hmmm not sure how that sounds).
As for other MN possibilities: [name]Axel[/name] (father of peace- and incidentally my other son’s middle name), [name]Ingram[/name] (raven of peace), [name]Paxton[/name] (peace town), [name]Jonah[/name] (dove), [name]Milo[/name] (calm), [name]Ethan[/name] (strong), [name]Auden[/name] (old friend), [name]Dane[/name] (honorable according to some sources), or [name]Ash[/name] (happy).
Have you considered that [name]Oliver[/name] itself has connotations with peace? Could this count for the “meaning” and free up the middle name spot for something else you “just like”?
[name]Oliver[/name] [name]Graham[/name] is really really nice, such a shame that you can’t / don’t want to use it with the surname…
[name]Max[/name] is a lovely name that I can’t use for many reasons and it could be [name]Maxwell[/name], [name]Maximus[/name], [name]Maximilian[/name], [name]Maddox[/name].
I also like [name]Jacob[/name] to go with [name]Oliver[/name] and your surname.
I wouldn’t use it as a first name with ln Cook, but I think [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Duncan[/name] Cook sounds fine. (this is where we’ve ended up-- dh and Iboth [name]LOVE[/name] it, but it sounds bad as a fn with our ln-- then sounds actually pretty cute as a mn-- lucky!)
Which brings up another interesting point, we could basically use any really Scottish name to honor my husband’s Scottish ancestry. DH’s mn is “[name]McCallum[/name]” (his grandmother’s maiden name), so I wouldn’t want to use [name]Callum[/name], but any other ideas in that vein? Maybe [name]Euan[/name], [name]Malcolm[/name]?
[name]Oliver[/name] [name]Sebastian[/name] has been a longtime favorite combination of mine. I think [name]Oliver[/name] pairs with sooooo many names, though.
What about [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Bram[/name] or [name]Oliver[/name] [name]Abram[/name]? [name]Bram[/name] has a similar sound to [name]Graham[/name] & it is of Scottish Origin (Scottish meaning = ‘Bramble’). [name]Just[/name] an idea!
