my husband and i can't seem to agree...

General Name Discussion
1

I always knew my husband and I had a different naming style. He likes classic feminine and classic masculine names. I like to think out of the box a little more. I didn’t realize how difficult this would make things until we found out we were expecting four months ago. I’ve been trying to get us to compromise, but they’re just so different it’s not working. Our last name is [name]Smith[/name], so if we go with his top pick our daughter would be [name]Jane[/name] [name]Smith[/name]. The thought makes me want to scream, how boring of a name could you get. [name]Don[/name]'t get me wrong, classics are lovely. But I just want something that stands out more… We didn’t want to find out the sex, but I’m thinking we may now just to cut out half the fights.

Let’s start with his list:

[name]Jane[/name]
[name]Claire[/name]
[name]Kaitlyn[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Cathryn[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name] (He likes [name]Lizzie[/name] and says it’s out of the box…)
[name]Bethany[/name]
[name]Emily[/name]

[name]Tanner[/name]
[name]David[/name]
[name]Noah[/name]
[name]Thomas[/name]
[name]Jack[/name]

My list:

[name]January[/name]
[name]Lexus[/name]
[name]Mica[/name]
[name]Auden[/name]
[name]Rain[/name]/[name]Raina[/name]
[name]Sage[/name]
[name]Maisie[/name]
[name]Olive[/name] (his compromise was [name]Olivia[/name]…)
[name]Willa[/name] (can’t use because of [name]Willow[/name] [name]Smith[/name] of course. I still love it.)
[name]Thea[/name]
[name]Reed[/name]
[name]Selah[/name]
[name]Isis[/name]
[name]Calliope[/name]
Euthalia

[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Gideon[/name]
[name]Augustus[/name]
[name]Jethro[/name] nn [name]Jett[/name]
[name]Willis[/name]
[name]Thaddeus[/name] or just [name]Thad[/name]
[name]Ronan[/name]
[name]Gabe[/name]
[name]Jude[/name]
[name]Wesley[/name]
[name]Xander[/name]
[name]Griffin[/name]

Are there any possible names you think fit both our style? Please help us.

2

Sorry, but I love your husband’s names! I do like most of your boy’s names, but I really hate most of the girls names. Would you be willing to consider vintage girls names?

[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Cora[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]-not really vintage, but your husband might like.
[name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Cordelia[/name]
[name]Clementine[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Lila[/name]
[name]Ella[/name]
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Celia[/name]
[name]Camille[/name]

3

I prefer your husband’s girl list to yours, to be honest! I do agree that [name]Jane[/name] [name]Smith[/name] is too, well, plain [name]Jane[/name]. However, I think [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Bethany[/name], especially, are quite classically pretty but still sound interesting, even alongside [name]Smith[/name]. From your list, my favorite is probably [name]Thea[/name]. Maybe you could compromise and go with [name]Thea[/name] [name]Jane[/name] or [name]Thea[/name] [name]Claire[/name]? I like [name]Sage[/name], but it sounds too choppy with [name]Smith[/name] - maybe as a middle, as in [name]Bethany[/name] [name]Sage[/name]?

Some other girl suggestions: [name]Helena[/name], [name]Iris[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], [name]Sonya[/name].

I like many of the boy names on both your lists. I’d say my favorites are [name]Ezra[/name], [name]Jude[/name] and [name]Noah[/name]. Other suggestions: [name]Julian[/name], [name]Leo[/name], [name]Milo[/name].

4

To be honest, I much prefer your husband’s list. Sorry! I have a hard time imagining being a kid and bearing some of those names from your list.

However, there are a few on your list that should be ones he might consider. [name]Mica[/name], while traditionally a boy’s name, is becoming a more popular girl’s name. It fits his requirement for traditional and yours for unique. And there’s a lot of things you can do with [name]Anna[/name] that are both somewhat traditional and somewhat unique. [name]Annabelle[/name], Annabeth, [name]Analiese[/name]/[name]Annaliese[/name]/[name]Annalise[/name], Angelea, [name]Analeigh[/name], [name]Anastacia[/name]/[name]Anastasia[/name], [name]Annika[/name]/[name]Anika[/name], [name]Annette[/name], [name]Annora[/name], [name]Antonia[/name].

For boys, [name]Ezra[/name], [name]Gabe[/name], [name]Jude[/name], and [name]Wesley[/name] are all traditional names. Maybe if you tried [name]Gabriel[/name] with [name]Gabe[/name] as a nn? Or maybe [name]Ephraim[/name] (my personal favorite. DH HATES it.), [name]Elliot[/name], [name]Elian[/name], [name]Emmett[/name], [name]Embry[/name], [name]Emerson[/name], [name]Walker[/name], [name]Warren[/name], [name]Weston[/name], [name]Joel[/name], [name]Josue[/name], [name]Julius[/name], [name]Garrick[/name], [name]Gage[/name], [name]Gerard[/name], [name]Giles[/name], [name]Granger[/name], [name]Greer[/name].

Or, hand him a baby name book and tell him to go through and highlight the names he likes. Then you go through with a different color and highlight the ones you like. Surely there must be at least one name you both will find attractive. That gives you a starting point and you can hopefully go from there. If all else fails, you guys compromise, and one of you gets to pick the first name, the other gets to pick the middle name. [name]Flip[/name] a coin to see who gets which name.

5

I prefer your girls names for sure!
Mmm how about:
[name]Asha[/name]
[name]Mira[/name]
[name]Phoebe[/name]
[name]Millie[/name]
[name]Morgan[/name]
[name]Reese[/name]
[name]Rhea[/name]
[name]Cleo[/name]
Or safer still:
[name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
Boys: I prefer your husbands names-ideas:
[name]Owen[/name]
[name]Angus[/name]
[name]Archie[/name]
[name]Cole[/name]
[name]Artie[/name]

6

I am a [name]Jane[/name] and I prefer being called [name]Janie[/name] (my family calls me this) but [name]Gigi[/name] is my nickname and I think for you that is where the compromise is going to be found. In the nicknames. Somebody just suggested using [name]Gabriel[/name] with [name]Gabe[/name] as the nickname. I love [name]Gabriel[/name] and right now that’s our choice. I wouldn’t use a nickname but for you that is the perfect compromise. [name]Olivia[/name] is another good option. Close to [name]Olive[/name] and you can always say [name]Olive[/name] as the nickname.

It’s funny, I like his girl names and your boy names. [name]Elizabeth[/name] is another good choice. He can call her [name]Lizzie[/name] and you can always call her a million variations of nicknames that come with the name. [name]Margaret[/name] is a like name. I love [name]Margot[/name] and [name]Marjorie[/name]. [name]Henrietta[/name] can give you [name]Etta[/name]. [name]Harriet[/name] can give you [name]Hattie[/name]. Lots of people have a few nicknames. They choose which they prefer as they grow.

And if you do think some of those choices are boring, you can spice it up with a daring middle name. So I think you should compromise and use a vintage, but classic name and use whatever middle name you prefer. You’ll get what you want in the nickname and he’ll have the proper name to make him happy. Good luck!