Husband and I are expecting a boy to join our daughter [name]Julia[/name]. We are having trouble coming up with a name we can both agree on - typical, eh?
We have agreed on [name]Elias[/name] or McClain, but aren’t sure if they sound right with [name]Julia[/name]. [name]Julia[/name] sounds so refined/English garden party-ish, while [name]Elias[/name] seems more puritan New [name]England[/name]. I am okay with McClain (spelling to be determined). They are both family names which is important to me - not so much to DH.
I really like [name]Caleb[/name] but it has become more popular in the past few years.
Any input, suggestions or ideas? Our last name begins with M and ends with an “en” sound. Thanks!
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Elias[/name], and I think it goes very well with [name]Julia[/name], but if you want something with more of [name]Julia[/name]'s “feel,” perhaps you would prefer [name]Elliot[/name]? I also think [name]Elliot[/name] could honor a family member named [name]Elias[/name], since you prefer to use family names.
I’m sorry, but I really dislike McLaine for a lot of reasons:
it sounds extra-trendy with the whole surname as first name trend that is currently on the rise
because it is a surname and not a traditional first name, it doesn’t match the classic, elegant, and beautiful [name]Julia[/name] at all
it has the same beginning and ending sounds as your last name, which might end up sounding terribly cutesy
not only is the surname as first name trendy, but there is a particular trend (not a good one, in my opinion) to use surnames beginning with Mc on girls (a la [name]McKenna[/name]) - this makes McLaine sound like it might be a girl’s name
to add insult to injury on the feminine sounding front, [name]Laine[/name] actually is a girl’s name, and McLaine might make most people think of [name]Shirley[/name] McLaine
[name]Laine[/name] is an unacceptable nn for a boy, obviously, and the only viable alternative is [name]Mick[/name], which sounds dated and dweeby
finally, while I can see how it could sound cute on a baby, and I can definitely appreciate the family connection, McLaine is just not a handsome name the way that [name]Elias[/name] is and will likely not age well
I like [name]Elias[/name] with [name]Julia[/name] but I agree that [name]Elliot[/name] sounds better to me. However, [name]Elias[/name] is a family name for you, so maybe it would be a better choice. Either way, I like it a lot.
McClaine makes a cool family name, but perhaps it would sound less trendy (not that it is; it just sounds like [name]Makayla[/name], [name]Makenna[/name], etc.) and more surname-esque.
[name]Nathan[/name] sounds a lot like [name]Caleb[/name] to me, and less likely to rise quickly. So what about:
[name]Elias[/name] McClaine
[name]Elliot[/name] McClaine
[name]Elias[/name] [name]Nathan[/name]
[name]Elliot[/name] [name]Nathan[/name]
McClaine [name]Elliot[/name] (sounds like a double surname)
[name]Nathan[/name] McClaine
I [name]LOVE[/name] the name [name]Julia[/name]! One of my favorites! I also love [name]Elias[/name], and I think they go great together! [name]McLain[/name], I don’t like at all. I think it has an unattractive sound (muh-KLAYN) and is part of an awful surname trend (even though it is a family name, which makes it more acceptable). [name]Caleb[/name] is nice, but yes, it is very popular/trendy.
[name]Julia[/name] is lovely! Is [name]Julia[/name] a family name, and do you want to use a family name for your son’s name? If so, what are some other options besides [name]Elias[/name] and McClain, as you seem to be having doubts about those? If not, you could use [name]Elias[/name] or McClain as a middle name for your little boy…
[name]Elias[/name] is handsome, but it does feel more vintage Colonial than [name]Julia[/name] to me. [name]Elliot[/name], though I’m not personally a fan, “goes” better with [name]Julia[/name] for me. McClain, though a family name, does not go well with [name]Julia[/name] at all in my opinion. Would you call him McClain, or a short form, like [name]Mac[/name]? I’d save this one for a middle name, as it is really a cool surname!
While both names are nice, I see your point. I love the idea of using family names, and think they would work fine as middle names. Here are some more ideas.
[name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Simon[/name]
[name]Blaine[/name]
[name]Emmett[/name]
[name]Colin[/name]
[name]Ian[/name]
[name]Duncan[/name]
[name]Anthony[/name]
[name]Adam[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name]
[name]Graham[/name]
[name]Damon[/name]
Thanks for the suggestions! You and a few others were really quite helpful and supportive.
[name]Julia[/name] was the name of my great-grandmother and the matriarch of our family. A woman very much admired and very accomplished - something I hope my daughter will be. Her middle name is [name]Yeardley[/name] another family name and my second middle name.
Family names on my side that I considered using (for first or middle names) were Andrews, Custis, or [name]Littleton[/name].
I do like [name]Graham[/name], [name]Roger[/name] and [name]Nathaniel[/name] - DH… not so much. This is the same man who suggested [name]Karleigh[/name] for our daughter. [name]Just[/name] vastly different tastes.
And having an incredibly common last name doesn’t make it any easier. Which knocks out some of the very traditional names I do like: [name]John[/name], [name]Thomas[/name], [name]William[/name].
I should mention it is a tradition in my VA family to use surnames as given names. He would go by McClain.
McClain sounds like a really great middle name, but it’s difficult for me as a first name. I think that the earlier poster was right about the trendiness, girl confusion, and it generally not going well with [name]Julia[/name] at all. I think that [name]Elias[/name] would be quite nice, as well as [name]Elliot[/name], but since [name]Elias[/name] is a family name I would go with [name]Elias[/name]. You mentioned that Andrews is a family name- what about naming him [name]Andrew[/name]. [name]Julia[/name] and [name]Andrew[/name], or [name]Julia[/name] and [name]Drew[/name], sound very nice to me.
Thanks for the suggestions! You and a few others were really quite helpful and supportive.
[name]Julia[/name] was the name of my great-grandmother and the matriarch of our family. A woman very much admired and very accomplished - something I hope my daughter will be. Her middle name is [name]Yeardley[/name] another family name and my second middle name.
Family names on my side that I considered using (for first or middle names) were Andrews, Custis, or [name]Littleton[/name].
I do like [name]Graham[/name], [name]Roger[/name] and [name]Nathaniel[/name] - DH… not so much. This is the same man who suggested [name]Karleigh[/name] for our daughter. [name]Just[/name] vastly different tastes.
And having an incredibly common last name doesn’t make it any easier. Which knocks out some of the very traditional names I do like: [name]John[/name], [name]Thomas[/name], [name]William[/name].
I should mention it is a tradition in my VA family to use surnames as given names. He would go by McClain.[/quote]
Hmm. Changed my mind, I like McClain a lot! It has a vintage, established feel and it is fun to say. I liked Sprout’s suggestion on [name]Andrew[/name], very nice. [name]Do[/name] you like:
I would be very careful going with McClain for a boy, because it does evoke that “Mc” surname trend for girls and therefore conjures up more of a feminine image. I know a girl named McClean (same pronunciation); haven’t heard of any boys with the name.
I know this is a late reply, but people should know that trendy or not names beginning with “mac” are by definition boys names. For people to say they are girlish is just incorrect and shows ignorance of the scottish history those names belong to. If someone wants to name a girl “mac” anything more power to them.
well my name is [name]Julia[/name] and my brother’s name is [name]Taylor[/name]. It was going to be [name]Alex/name but the my cousin [name]Alex/name was born so my parents decided on [name]Taylor[/name]
