[name]Hi[/name] [name]Ottilie[/name]-- I really like this short list. I think these 11 are all viable options, and now it’s the tough task of sorting amongst the treasures.
[name]Apollo[/name]: I, too, think you should stay away from the more recognizable deities. [name]Apollo[/name] is just barely a realistic name given how widespread the god’s image, mythology and influence is. Other mythological personnages are a much better option since they bring with them a more evocative, less calcified image. A boy named [name]Apollo[/name] must be an alpha male, must be blond, must have bronze burnished skin, must like music, must must must… whereas dreamy [name]Endymion[/name]'s myth is far less well-known and your modern [name]Endymion[/name] will have more space to put his own stamp on the name.
[name]Endymion[/name]: I echo the others in saying this should certainly make your top 5. It’s artistic, literary, natural, and very evocative. Paired with a monosyllabic surname I think it would work well, and I’m still fond of nn Endy.
[name]Heron[/name]: I would re-boot [name]Heron[/name] as a middle name option. It’s not nearly as strong nor distinctive as your other first-name picks. I still quite like it as it reads masculine without being aggressive (i.e [name]Hawk[/name] or [name]Falcon[/name]).
[name]Lazaro[/name]: I think it’s a beautiful, ancient name, quite medieval in feel. But it is a more religious name than the others you’re considering, and I think in the UK it would quickly become ‘Laz’ or even ‘Lazzer’ which would be awful.
Loxley: I’m going to disagree with the others and say I don’t care for it; it seems much more contrived and cutesy than the rest of the list. Loxley was simply the place (loch + ley, lake-meadow) where [name]Robert[/name]-called-[name]Robin[/name] was from in the legends. I like your namesake options more.
[name]Orion[/name]: Very pretty, and wearable. Conjures up the night sky and wild wastes.
[name]Orpheus[/name]: I would love to see a play-yard where children know the word ‘orifice.’ I also don’t think at all that a surname ending in -s means you can’t use a first name ending in -s (i.e. [name]Orpheus[/name] [name]Wells[/name] works extremely well). I love the mythological namesake and again think it hits just the right marks of an evocative name that still leaves room for your son to make his mark on the name.
[name]Robin[/name]: Again, I would move this to the middle. As a diminutive of [name]Robert[/name], and as a songbird, it’s simply not as interesting as [name]Endymion[/name], [name]Tiberius[/name], [name]Orpheus[/name], etc.
[name]Theron[/name]: beautiful option. Again, a minor mythological personnage who was a good namesake, and evocative of the [name]Wild[/name] [name]Hunt[/name]. [As an aside, I know you’re a classicist but have you considered [name]Herne[/name], to get some British mythology in too?]
[name]Tiberius[/name]: I love the strong, regal, subtle nature-related (via the river Tiber) feel of [name]Tiberius[/name]. It would balance many of your softer word-name middle options very well.
[name]Wilder[/name]: Again, part of me sees this as all misty moors and craggy peaks, but part of it (to echo pp) unconsciously puts it in the [name]Bridger[/name]/[name]Cash[/name]/[name]Chance[/name]/[name]Jace[/name] family of downmarket modern cowboys.
My top 5, therefore, in no order:
[name]Endymion[/name]
[name]Orion[/name]
[name]Orpheus[/name]
[name]Theron[/name]
[name]Tiberius[/name]
You have so many middles, I’ll simply divide them into tentative absolutely/maybe/no categories:
Absolutely consider:
[name]Alaric[/name] (strong, ancient, beautiful)
[name]Dante[/name] (a different feel from many of your choices, but Mr Alighieri is a great namesake)
Evelake (pretty, unique, evocative)
[name]Fairfax[/name] (if this is a family name-- otherwise, not as in favor of it, even though it’s a lovely word and works well)
[name]Frost[/name] (I quite like this-- it again hits the mark of being obviously natural without being too overt)
[name]Galileo[/name] (love the astronomical association, and a hell of a namesake)
[name]Innes[/name] (“isle”-- you tell me, as a [name]Briton[/name], is this a realistic word-name in the UK? If so it’s lovely)
[name]Melchior[/name] (beautiful legend and a beautiful sound to the name. I really like this)
[name]Oisin[/name] (love the myth but prefer [name]Ossian[/name], esp as you’re not Irish)
[name]Ragnar[/name] (in honor of your beloved grandfather, and your Norwegian heritage-- definitely should try to work it in!)
Siderion: very subtle nature connection (with healing properties), but beautiful phonetics. [name]Just[/name] lovely to say.
Snowdon: Snowdonia is one of my favorite places on earth. It’s a beautiful word as well. As long as it’s wearable in the UK and people don’t think of [name]Antony[/name] [name]Armstrong[/name]-[name]Jones[/name], yech.
Maybe consider:
[name]Celadon[/name] (a pretty color, and a type of ceramics, but not quite as strong as some of your other choices)
Evergreen (nice nature-associated word, but you have more poetic options)
[name]Forest[/name] (again, you have more poetic choices)
[name]Horatio[/name] ([name]Lord[/name] [name]Nelson[/name]? [name]Horatio[/name] Hornblower? Lots of adventure on the high seas, but not as strong a namesake as [name]Galileo[/name]/[name]Dante[/name])
[name]Isidore[/name] (perhaps a nod to your Jewish heritage, as [name]Isidore[/name] became a common Sephardic name? Otherwise I don’t favor it as strongly as your more historical/mythological/literary picks)
Lorengel (prefer other Arthurian names, like [name]Gavain[/name])
Morrow (pretty, poetic word-name, but close to Marrow)
[name]Prospero[/name] (it’s workable, but only if it’s the only outre name in the combination. It’s just barely realistic, though it’s obviously a fine literary namesake and a good virtue-name)
[name]Sherwood[/name]: again, it’s a real forest and a real surname, but I think it’s just on the line of hokey
Would not consider:
[name]Archer[/name] (contrived, trendy)
[name]Aries[/name] (major deity)
[name]Arrow[/name] (it’s like “show, don’t tell” in writing: allude to hunting via [name]Theron[/name], don’t make it so overt as it loses its mystery)
Balder (consider [name]Calder[/name] instead? It would lose the mythological connection, but I don’t feel this is wearable).
Harvest (don’t find it to be a realistic word-name, and it’s too domestic and agricultural versus wild and untamed)
[name]Helios[/name] (epithet of [name]Apollo[/name], a major deity)
[name]Hunt[/name] & [name]Hunter[/name] (not when you have something as lovely as [name]Theron[/name], or perhaps [name]Herne[/name])
[name]Huxley[/name] (dislike the sound of the name, which conjures up ‘huckster;’ would support [name]Aldous[/name] as a mn possibility!)
Lodestar (“load” is very sexual)
[name]Lynx[/name] (this is often given to girls of the taking-their-clothes-off-for-money variety)
[name]Odin[/name] (major deity)
[name]Ranger[/name] (not evocative, reminds me of [name]Range[/name] Rovers and [name]Sloane[/name] Rangers rather than Aragorn)
[name]Rigel[/name] (phonetics just un-lovely to me; you have so many other astronomical options)
[name]Scout[/name] (now commonly given to girls; seems infantile-- the Sea Scouts, the Boy Scouts, etc)
[name]Shepherd[/name] (again, not when you have [name]Endymion[/name] under consideration! It’s so much more lovely)
[name]Silver[/name] (not evocative-- perhaps something like Argent or, even better, Arion-- Arion was a Greek poet, and a hononym of [name]Arian[/name], Welsh for silver)
[name]Sirius[/name] (the dog star is not the best association, + [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name])
[name]Sparrow[/name] ([name]Heron[/name] takes the avian cake)
[name]Storm[/name] (much preferred the prettier, and more literary, [name]Tempest[/name])
[name]Vidar[/name] (basically the big dumb ox of Norse mythology)
[name]Westley[/name] (I liked the [name]Princess[/name] [name]Bride[/name] too, but a boy might have difficulty with this. It’s kind of owned entirely by the character. I would love to see something like Westernesse, or Westfall)
[name]Winter[/name]: again, a common everyday word just falls flat when placed against the richer tapestry of your other names.
Taking a stab at combos:
[name]Endymion[/name] [name]Ragnar[/name] [name]Frost[/name]
[name]Tiberius[/name] [name]Ragnar[/name] [name]Heron[/name]
[name]Orpheus[/name] [name]Ossian[/name] Evelake
[name]Theron[/name] [name]Melchior[/name] [name]Vale[/name]
[name]Orion[/name] [name]Alaric[/name] [name]Innes[/name]
