New Short List! What do you think?

Hello Berries! We are trying to conceive number 1, and DH humored me by talking about baby names on his day off. :slight_smile: We finally agreed on this short list (which was very hard to do, and harder for boy names than girl names!). I don’t want to bring family or friends into the discussion just yet, so I would greatly appreciate your honest opinions. You’re awesome! Thank you!!!

You should know that…The names are in the order that we would use them, and we plan to use them as sibling names. Except we wouldn’t use [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] if we use [name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f] and vice versa. DH is Chinese from Taiwan and I am Irish, and we have a very common, one-syllable last name. According to [name_f]Laura[/name_f] Wattenberg’s “The [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name [name_m]Wizard[/name_m],” the closest descriptor for my style is antique charm, followed by Celtic (for girls) and Biblical (for boys). DH likes pure and simple names with great meanings.

Girls
[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] ([name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is a treasured family name on my side, and [name_f]May[/name_f] honors a special grandmother on his side.)
[name_f]Nora[/name_f] [name_f]Christine[/name_f] (The name is Irish, while honor is prized in Chinese culture. Her mn is my mother’s first name.)
[name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] ([name_f]Gwen[/name_f] is Irish, and sounds like Chinese “Guan” meaning jade or bright eyes. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is a family mn.)

Boys
[name_m]Simon[/name_m] [name_m]Geoffrey[/name_m] (DH quite likes it, even though nn “[name_u]Si[/name_u]” has a negative meaning in Taiwanese. DH goes by “[name_m]Jeff[/name_m].”)
[name_m]Caleb[/name_m] [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] (We both love [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] for a little brother name, despite his popularity.)
[name_m]Gideon[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] (I am loving this and DH is okay with it, but thinks [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] sounds a little harsh. [name_m]Hence[/name_m], the third place.)

We really appreciate your thoughts! Thanks again!

[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] - I love this! Its a really pretty name! I also love that both names are family names too!
[name_f]Nora[/name_f] [name_f]Christine[/name_f] - Also pretty! I love that it relates to both cultures!
[name_f]Gwyneth[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] - Pretty name, and love that you can relate it to both of your cultures! I think the nn [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] is super cute too. Also love that your using a family name in the middle, I love [name_f]Rose[/name_f].

[name_m]Simon[/name_m] [name_m]Geoffrey[/name_m] - Nice name, honoring your DH, and I think it works as long as he’s okay with the meaning of [name_u]Si[/name_u].
[name_m]Caleb[/name_m] [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] - I love [name_m]Caleb[/name_m]! This is a strong classic name, and even though its popular, I’ve only met one and he’s 18.
[name_m]Gideon[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] - [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] is a cool name in my opinion, and [name_u]James[/name_u] is always a great classic.

I love the names you’ve chosen and love how they all mean something to you, or relate to either yours, or your DH’s culture or family!

Thanks, amf0224! I’m glad you like the names.

*Correction: [name_f]Gwen[/name_f] is Welsh not Irish, but we still love it!

[name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] and [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] have my vote!

Thanks, Whillemina! [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] and [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] are my favorites for the first girl and boy too! DH, though, prefers the simplicity of [name_m]Simon[/name_m] to the “harsh” sound of Gideon (his opinion). However, he is a little worried that [name_m]Simon[/name_m] will be teased by Taiwanese children so he might change his mind. I am not worried about teasing with any of the names on our list, and will honestly be just as happy if we use Simon or Gideon for our first boy.

My vote: never bring family or friends into the discussion. It’s a decision for you and your husband to make together, and someone will always have something negative to say about any name you’re considering while they know they can, whereas once a baby is born, no one will say anything negative about the name you picked (at least to your face).

That said, I think all of these combos are lovely. [name_m]Simon[/name_m] is the one I’m most excited to see - I’ve always found it really fresh and lively, and underused (at least here in [name_f]Canada[/name_f]). There are a couple of tweaks I would make, but they’re all just based on my own personal preferences rather than any objective problems with any of them (examples: to me, [name_f]Norah[/name_f] looks more complete than [name_f]Nora[/name_f], and I don’t really care for [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] - it doesn’t feel warm to me like the others do). Bonus points for you working in your and your husband’s cultural backgrounds and preferences.

Thanks for the advice and input, Oregano 7. I’ll make sure not to consult the relatives; you’re right, they will most likely only complain. Thanks, everyone, for being our sounding board. :slight_smile:

[name_f]Glad[/name_f] you like the name [name_m]Simon[/name_m], which is DH’s personal fave so far too. I went back and forth between [name_f]Nora[/name_f] and [name_f]Norah[/name_f] before settling on the simplest form, but I like it either way. I can see your point about [name_m]Gideon[/name_m]. Your opinions seem similar to those of my DH.

Thanks for the bonus points. Considering all the different factors that go into naming multicultural children can be exhausting. I would love to hear other thoughts on the subject. Cheers!

Thanks for the advice and input, Oregano7. I’ll make sure not to consult the relatives; you’re right, they will most likely only complain. Thanks, everyone, for being our sounding board. :slight_smile:

[name_f]Glad[/name_f] you like the name [name_m]Simon[/name_m], which is DH’s personal fave so far too. I went back and forth between [name_f]Nora[/name_f] and [name_f]Norah[/name_f] before settling on the simplest form, but I like it either way. I can see your point about [name_m]Gideon[/name_m]. Your opinions seem similar to those of my DH.

Thanks for the bonus points. Considering all the different factors that go into naming multicultural children can be exhausting. I would love to hear other thoughts on the subject. Cheers!