Penelope or ...

Hello Berries,

Dh and I are expecting our first in [name]May[/name]! We’re not finding out if its a boy or girl so we need to be ready with both. I love names, and my taste tends to vary. I can see the charm in so many different styles of name that narrowing down a list was very difficult!

As of right now, our top girls’ name is [name]Penelope[/name]. This could still change, but for now, we love it. We also love the nickname [name]Penny[/name]. We’re American but our last name is very British sounding, so English names tend to flow well.

My big issue right now is boy names! I think I’ve officially talked hubby’s ear off about it, so now I need your help. I would love to say that popularity doesn’t matter to me, but it does. I would like to stay out of the top 100 and definitely out of the top 50. Why are all the great boys names so popular?

Here are some names we’ve tossed around:

[name]Charles[/name]/ [name]Charlie[/name]: we decided its too popular around us
[name]James[/name]: too popular
[name]Jude[/name]: teasing potential? [name]Judy[/name], [name]Judas[/name]…
[name]Oliver[/name]: this is rising fast isn’t it?
[name]Leo[/name]: I can’t seem to get hubby on board yet
[name]Max[/name]: borderline on popularity

Are surname names too trendy?
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Curran[/name]
[name]Ronan[/name]

Other girls names we’ve liked (in case that helps with your advice):
[name]Lucy[/name]: first runner up
[name]Eliza[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Margaret[/name] (couldn’t get hubby on board)
[name]Susanna[/name] (ditto)

Please suggest boys names! Last name is two syllables. I can’t wait to see what you have to say! Thanks in advance

[name]Mimi[/name]

I guess the simple version of my question is… what boys names go with [name]Penelope[/name] ([name]Penny[/name]), [name]Margaret[/name] ([name]Maisie[/name]), [name]Lucy[/name] and [name]Eliza[/name] and aren’t too popular?

[name]Hi[/name] there, I’m also due in [name]May[/name] (with my second boy). [name]Welcome[/name] to the world of baby naming…it’s exciting, frustrating and addictive! I love [name]Penelope[/name] for a girl, also really like the nn [name]Penny[/name]. Not sure if you guys are 100% on it yet, so here are some female names I like:
[name]Plum[/name] (becoming popular I think, super cute for a mn maybe)
[name]Agnes[/name]
[name]Arden[/name]
[name]Cosette[/name]
[name]Evangeline[/name] (I’ve loved this for years, but sort of poplular now)
[name]Opal[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Tuesday[/name]
[name]Maeve[/name]
Sorry if these aren’t your cup of tea.

Re: boys names, I have a thread going too “brother for [name]Atticus[/name]”. Maybe you can get some ideas here, I’ve had some great suggestions from the berries crowd. Good luck!

I really like your list overall. [name]How[/name] about:

[name]Nathaniel[/name]
[name]Arthur[/name]
[name]Declan[/name]
[name]Alastair[/name]
[name]Matthias[/name]
[name]Henry[/name]
[name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]Isaac[/name]
[name]Peter[/name]
[name]Elias[/name]
[name]Frederick[/name]
[name]Phineas[/name]
[name]Elliot[/name]
[name]George[/name]
[name]Vincent[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name]

Thanks for the suggestions! [name]Eden[/name], I checked out your other thread, and I do like a lot of those names! [name]Atticus[/name] is an awesome name, by the way. I like [name]Simon[/name], [name]Linus[/name], [name]Caspian[/name], [name]Leander[/name], [name]Eben[/name] and [name]Lysander[/name]. Irisrose, I like [name]Elliott[/name], [name]George[/name], [name]Arthur[/name] and [name]Theodore[/name].

[name]How[/name] would you pronounce [name]Eben[/name]? Is it a short or long “e” sound at the beginning (eh-ben or ee-ben)?

I guess I still can’t figure out what I’m looking for … Names like [name]George[/name] and [name]Arthur[/name] are so familiar and accessible while [name]Leander[/name] and [name]Caspian[/name] are more obscure.

I love the name [name]Callum[/name] and definitely dont find it trendy. [name]Penelope[/name] is great too. I would suggest [name]Theodore[/name], [name]Conrad[/name], or [name]Calvin[/name].