Our 2 y/o daughter is [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Grace[/name]. I am a huge English/Scottish history buff and [name]Eleanor[/name] has a very strong and significant historical background. [name]Grace[/name] is a family name on my side. It suits her perfectly and we have yet to meet another [name]Eleanor[/name] in real life.
Now we’re having a boy. The middle name will be [name]Paul[/name] (it’s a non-negotiable thing in my husband’s family). Our top 3 contenders are:
[name]Henry[/name] [name]Paul[/name]
[name]Miles[/name] [name]Paul[/name]
[name]Stuart[/name] [name]Paul[/name]
My husband prefers [name]Miles[/name]; I am more partial to [name]Henry[/name]. I like the historical significance of both [name]Stuart[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] and find that aspect lacking in [name]Miles[/name]. My husband and I are both concerned with the apparent popularity of [name]Henry[/name] even though we don’t personally know any little Henrys (the extreme popularity of [name]Henry[/name] bothers my husband more than myself, though). [name]Henry[/name] was our top choice for a boy when we were pregnant with our daughter. [name]Stuart[/name] is the bottom choice for both of us currently, but for me it’s almost tied with [name]Miles[/name].
Other names we were considering but have eliminated (just so you can see our “style”) are [name]Malcolm[/name] and [name]Desmond[/name].
Our name requirements are no ‘A’, ‘E’ or ‘L’ names.
I am open to all thoughts on this, especially on the popularity factor with [name]Henry[/name].
Personally, a popular male name does not bother me one bit. However, a popular female name does. The reason is I don’t think boys like being saddled with extremely unusual names, they tend to like to fit into the crowd, while a female can get a way with a slightly more exotic name. That said, I don’t think any of your male names are too out there, but I would let [name]Henry[/name]'s popularity stop you from using it. I think any of the three options would go great with [name]Eleanor[/name]. My personal favorite is [name]Miles[/name].
I like both [name]Henry[/name] and [name]Miles[/name], not such a big fan of [name]Stuart[/name]. I know how you feel about [name]Henry[/name], even though I’ve yet to meet any in person, on the internet it seems like [name]Henry[/name] is very popular. I think [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Miles[/name] sounds best, closely followed by [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Henry[/name]. [name]Miles[/name] is a well known name that won’t be misspelled/mispronounced and suits a little boy and an adult really well. But, I do think [name]Henry[/name] [name]Paul[/name] flows better than [name]Miles[/name] [name]Paul[/name] does. [name]Henry[/name] is a classic name just like [name]Eleanor[/name], and while I can’t really picture it on a teenage boy, it fits your naming style and everyone knows the name. Taking into consideration how the child would feel about his name as he grew up I would choose [name]Miles[/name]. In the end it’s all up to you and the name you love most!
I love [name]Henry[/name]! [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] are a perfect match, and while [name]Miles[/name] and [name]Stuart[/name] are lovely, they just don’t compare to [name]Henry[/name], imo! In 2010, [name]Henry[/name] ranked number 67 nationally, which means there were 6,330 little Henrys born in the United States that year (last year’s statistics come out on Mother’s [name]Day[/name] in a month or so), which averages out to a little under 2 Henrys born in each county. However, you’d get a more accurate reading depending on your state. In my state, it ranked number 74, but there were 198 little Henrys born, which is higher than the national average (even though the ranking is down). So it averages about 3 Henrys born in each county in Pennsylvania. Which is more, but still, I don’t think it’s that bad. When you break it down by school district and such (usually there’s about 20 public school districts in each county), it’s still fairly unlikely that your son will have another [name]Henry[/name] in his grade, no matter where you are! I’m just estimating, but I would think that the average would be for there to be one [name]Henry[/name] in each school per 6-10 grades, depending on how popular [name]Henry[/name] is in your state.
Besides, [name]Henry[/name] is classic, and you can’t really go wrong with a classic. [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] [name]Paul[/name] are perfect together!
I also think [name]Henry[/name] [name]Paul[/name] sounds best, but to be honest I think [name]Miles[/name] is such a great name that I want to vote for that. [name]Stuart[/name] is okay, but not my favorite, especially next to your other options!
I think [name]Henry[/name] [name]Paul[/name] definitely fits best with [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Grace[/name]. I don’t think [name]Henry[/name] is too popular, and honestly if you love the name I don’t think it should play a huge role. Good luck!
[name]Henry[/name] is a longterm love of mine.
[name]Miles[/name] is great but edged out by [name]Henry[/name]'s variety and versatility of classic nicknames.
[name]Stuart[/name] has nice history but I don’t like the sound. I definitely prefer it to made up modern names, but nowhere near [name]Henry[/name] or [name]Miles[/name].
[name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] [name]Paul[/name] are perfect together!