Time is ticking and I am in need of some opinions!!! I have posted threads similar to this in the past, and always got great advice, but I am now two weeks away from having my third baby and not decided on a name and need help again!
This baby is a boy, his older brother is named [name_m]Bennett[/name_m], and his older sister is named [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f].
Top names in the running are [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], [name_m]Archer[/name_m], and [name_m]Marcus[/name_m], but my husband and I can’t seem to agree/settle on the “perfect” one. [name_f]My[/name_f] likes and concerns for each are below.
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m] - [name_u]Love[/name_u] this name and think it fits with my other kids - husband doesn’t love it, thinks it is nerdy sounding name.
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] - Also really like this name, biggest concern is the unisex factor. As long as it is seen as unisex I am okay with that, but I worry that 6 years from now he will be in a grade one class with two little girl [name_u]Reese[/name_u]'s and he will then be seen as having a girl’s name. Other minor concern is that it doesn’t offer a nn or short form as my other kids names do. Also husband would prefer to spell it [name_u]Reece[/name_u] to avoid miss pronounciation, but I am only open to spelling [name_u]Rhys[/name_u].
[name_m]Archer[/name_m] - Like the name, love the nn [name_m]Archie[/name_m] (Not a fan of [name_m]Archibald[/name_m]). Would prefer a name with a nicer meaning ([name_m]Archer[/name_m] = [name_m]Bowman[/name_m])
[name_m]Marcus[/name_m] - Like the name but not a huge fan of [name_m]Marc[/name_m]. Think it fits okay with the my other kids, in the sense of the short forms ([name_m]Ben[/name_m], [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_m]Marc[/name_m]) though they don’t necessarily use those short forms. Worry that [name_m]Marcus[/name_m] too dated of a name?
With the first three names listed I also worry about popularity. I don’t necessarily need a completely unique name, but these ones have been climbing and seem likely to continue to do so – thoughts?
Other names we considered: [name_m]Jeffery[/name_m] (too dated? Not special enough?), [name_m]Milo[/name_m] (would love it as a short form for something else - don’t like [name_m]Miles[/name_m]), [name_m]Ozias[/name_m] (just saw this on NB & like it, hubby loves it, but seems to “out there” compared to our other children - maybe if this was our first), [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m] (just doesn’t sound right with [name_m]Bennett[/name_m] & [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] to me), [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] (like it but don’t love it - again, unisex concerns).
I would love feedback on the names listed, which you think work best, which you wouldn’t use, thoughts on the concerns I’ve listed, thoughts on concerns I haven’t thought of.
Would also love ideas of names you think of that work well with my other children. Meaning of names is important to me and to be honest I don’t think any of these names have as nice of meanings as [name_m]Bennett[/name_m] (Blessed) and [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f] (Loving…[name_f]Anna[/name_f] = [name_f]Grace[/name_f]…[name_f]Belle[/name_f] - Beautiful) do (though I am okay with the meanings of [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]). So if you have any suggestions of fitting names, particularly those with nice meanings, I would love to hear them. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband is Catholic and the children are being raised catholic so we are open to biblical names (I just don’t tend to love most I hear) and to names with spiritual meanings.
Sorry for the long post - time is running out and I really value your feedback! Thank you all in advance for your thoughts, opinions and suggestions.