Peter, Ray, Jethro, Jude

Finding it almost impossible to find a boy’s name! For a girl our favourites are [name_f]Edith[/name_f] (which we can’t use) and [name_f]Maeve[/name_f].

Constraints:
Outside the UK top 80, and ideally not on a steep upwards trajectory
Not a surname or place name (and not ending in -ton or -son)
One or two syllables
We tend to like ‘old’ names
Not beginning with H

Names we like:
[name_m]Peter[/name_m] - probably can’t use this although it ticks all our boxes
[name_u]Ray[/name_u] - like this, but we’re pretty certain we’ll use [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] for a girl. I think [name_u]Ray[/name_u] and [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] sound too similar for siblings, and prefer [name_f]Maeve[/name_f]>[name_u]Ray[/name_u]
[name_m]Jethro[/name_m] - like this but worry it’s a bit too out there. [name_f]Every[/name_f] now and then we talk ourselves into it, but then feel too embarrassed to tell anyone the name we’ve chosen - which is maybe a sign we’re not brave enough!
[name_u]Jude[/name_u] - like it, but a bit too popular for us
[name_m]Torben[/name_m] - I like it, husband used to but has changed his mind
[name_u]Jesse[/name_u] - both like it but we have close female friends and relatives called [name_u]Jess[/name_u], so think it would be a bit too much

Names I like but husband doesn’t: [name_u]Rex[/name_u], [name_m]Ragnar[/name_m], [name_m]Ernest[/name_m], [name_m]Ivo[/name_m], [name_u]Asa[/name_u]

Any suggestions welcomed - thank you!

[name_m]Casper[/name_m]
[name_m]Felix[/name_m]
[name_m]Jonas[/name_m]
[name_m]Leo[/name_m]
[name_u]Remy[/name_u]
[name_m]Rupert[/name_m]
[name_m]Walter[/name_m]

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[name_f]Welcome[/name_f] to Nameberry, @kolya! I absolutely love your taste in names :heart_eyes:

Here’s what I think of your list so far:

[name_m]Peter[/name_m]: [name_f]Lovely[/name_f] underrated traditional name. Solid, simple, strong yet sensitive. I like the many literary links too.

[name_u]Ray[/name_u]: [name_u]Love[/name_u]! I’m not a fan of [name_m]Raymond[/name_m], but just [name_u]Ray[/name_u] is super laid-back and effortlessly cool. [name_u]Love[/name_u] the “ray of sunshine” connotation.

[name_m]Jethro[/name_m]: It is a bit out there… cool though eh? I think the proliferation of cool -o ending boys’ names makes this one a viable possibility.

[name_u]Jude[/name_u]: [name_m]Just[/name_m] lovely. It’s pretty popular, yes, but has the sort of simple, straightforward sound which I don’t think will ever feel faddish.

[name_m]Torben[/name_m]: Yes! Like this a lot, it feels fashionable but rare.

[name_u]Jesse[/name_u]: Another love! I love how soft and sweet this is, without being cutesy. Very understatedly cool again. But probably a bit close to [name_u]Jess[/name_u] for you.

I also adore [name_u]Rex[/name_u], [name_m]Ivo[/name_m] and [name_u]Asa[/name_u], but I haven’t been able to convince my husband either :cry:

Here are some more that might appeal to you…

[name_m]Magnus[/name_m]
[name_m]Jago[/name_m]
[name_u]Corin[/name_u]
[name_m]Tor[/name_m] (I prefer this to [name_m]Torben[/name_m], it feels strong and slightly mystical to me because of the Glastonbury connection)
[name_u]Flynn[/name_u]
[name_m]Otto[/name_m]
[name_m]Otis[/name_m]
[name_m]Maxim[/name_m]
[name_u]Jay[/name_u] (I find you need to think about this one for a little while to properly appreciate how great it is :wink: )
[name_m]Art[/name_m]
[name_m]Rufus[/name_m]
[name_m]Monty[/name_m]
[name_m]Alban[/name_m]
[name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] ([name_u]Dash[/name_u] for short)
[name_u]Rafe[/name_u]/[name_u]Rafa[/name_u]
[name_m]Eben[/name_m]
[name_m]Caspar[/name_m]
[name_u]Robin[/name_u]
[name_u]Remy[/name_u]
[name_m]Linus[/name_m]
[name_u]Idris[/name_u]
[name_m]Edmund[/name_m]/[name_m]Edwin[/name_m]
[name_m]Griffin[/name_m]
[name_u]August[/name_u]
[name_u]Laurie[/name_u]
Jem
[name_m]Hamish[/name_m]
[name_m]Ned[/name_m]
[name_m]Bruno[/name_m]
[name_u]Francis[/name_u]/[name_m]Frank[/name_m]
[name_m]Pascal[/name_m]/[name_u]Pascoe[/name_u]
[name_u]Roscoe[/name_u]
[name_m]Felix[/name_m]
[name_m]Orson[/name_m] (ends in -son but just in case!)
Fenn
Jules
Sol
Ives
Bram
Emrys
Nate
Frey

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Thanks all!

From those lists, I really liked:
[name_m]Judah[/name_m] - we went round and round on this for a while, but in the end my husband thinks it’s a bit too similar to [name_m]Judas[/name_m]
[name_m]Emrys[/name_m] - really like this!
[name_m]Leo[/name_m] - a lovely name but number 6 in the UK charts!
[name_m]Rupert[/name_m] - we do know one so will have a think about whether we feel we could use it
[name_m]Jago[/name_m] - similar vibe to [name_m]Jethro[/name_m] but worried we’d have the same problem of being not brave enough!
[name_m]Otto[/name_m]
[name_u]Jem[/name_u] - love this but we have too many [name_u]James[/name_u] and Jims in the family to add another almost-homonym!
[name_m]Hamish[/name_m] - vetoed by husband but I like it!
[name_m]Frank[/name_m] - really nice but too similar to an immediate relative.

Some great suggestions - thank you. More suggestions always welcome too!

2 Likes

Daniel
[name_m]Matthew[/name_m]
[name_m]Matthias[/name_m]

[name_m]David[/name_m]
[name_u]Lincoln[/name_u]
[name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]
[name_m]Bennet[/name_m]
[name_m]Harold[/name_m]
[name_m]Edwin[/name_m]
[name_m]Linus[/name_m]
[name_m]Evander[/name_m]
[name_m]Walter[/name_m]
[name_u]Wallace[/name_u]
[name_m]Ronald[/name_m]
[name_m]Harrison[/name_m]
[name_m]Dimitri[/name_m]
[name_m]Philip[/name_m]

Sorry for any repeats

Tobin/[name_m]Tobias[/name_m]
[name_u]Larkin[/name_u]
[name_m]Abel[/name_m]
[name_m]Eoin[/name_m]
[name_u]Roy[/name_u]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_m]Jonas[/name_m]
[name_m]Orin[/name_m]
[name_m]Callum[/name_m]
[name_u]Florian[/name_u]
[name_m]Patrick[/name_m]
[name_m]Soren[/name_m]
[name_u]Quincy[/name_u]
[name_m]Aksel[/name_m]
[name_m]Lucien[/name_m]
[name_m]Ferris[/name_m] (too surnamey?)
[name_m]Elgin[/name_m]
[name_m]Elwin[/name_m]

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.

Ooh, [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is gorgeous. I wish that you could use [name_m]Peter[/name_m]. That’s a handsome underused classic. Too bad about [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] too. It may get weird if you’re close w/[name_u]Jess[/name_u] & see/talk to her often. And I totally get what you mean w/[name_m]Jethro[/name_m]. I have that same problem w/a few names. I love them in theory, but they’re just too much to actually use. Oh well.

Sorry for any repeats, but here are a few suggestions-

[name_m]Amos[/name_m]

[name_u]Alden[/name_u]

[name_u]August[/name_u]

[name_m]Aubin[/name_m]

[name_m]Bernard[/name_m]

[name_m]Basil[/name_m]

[name_m]Conall[/name_m]

[name_m]Caspar[/name_m]

[name_m]Desmond[/name_m]

[name_m]Edwin[/name_m]

[name_m]Eben[/name_m]

[name_m]Gilbert[/name_m]

[name_m]Gordon[/name_m]

[name_u]Ira[/name_u]

[name_m]Ivan[/name_m]

[name_u]Jonah[/name_u]

[name_m]Jerome[/name_m]

[name_m]Jonas[/name_m]

[name_u]Keats[/name_u]

[name_m]Knox[/name_m]

[name_u]Kai[/name_u]

[name_u]Laurence[/name_u]

[name_m]Malcolm[/name_m]

[name_m]Niles[/name_m]

[name_m]Nigel[/name_m]

[name_m]Oscar[/name_m]

[name_m]Otis[/name_m]

[name_m]Silas[/name_m]

[name_m]Winston[/name_m]

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps. :slight_smile:

Love [name_m]David[/name_m], but it’s barely been outside the top 50 in the past 20 years so a bit too popular for us!
Also love [name_u]Ira[/name_u], but in the UK it’s too tied to the IRA for us to feel it’s usable here.
[name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_m]Philip[/name_m], can’t convince husband!

We’ve had another chat and our new list is:
[name_m]Peter[/name_m] (can’t take it off, too nice!)
[name_m]Jethro[/name_m] - keeping it on in case we suddenly become brave
[name_m]Rupert[/name_m]
[name_m]Roger[/name_m] - although struggle with the fact that this is an unenviable verb!
[name_m]Callan[/name_m] - similar to [name_m]Callum[/name_m] but I prefer the ending - although as husband has pointed out, may spend his life correcting people given how much more common [name_m]Callum[/name_m] is

We also found [name_m]Colm[/name_m] and [name_u]Fionn[/name_u] - both Irish names. We liked them the way we assumed they were pronounced ([name_m]Colm[/name_m] as one syllable, and [name_u]Fionn[/name_u] as [name_u]Fee[/name_u]-on) but having looked into it this isn’t how they’re pronounced in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] (more like Collum and Fyun as far as I can tell). Not such a fan of these pronunciations so they’re on the maybe pile for now.

Thanks all - and any more suggestions also welcomed!

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If you liked the idea of fee-on, what about [name_m]Theon[/name_m] or [name_m]Theron[/name_m]?

Raymond is a good boy name you could use in place of [name_u]Ray[/name_u].
other names:
[name_u]Emmett[/name_u]
[name_u]Theo[/name_u]
[name_u]Lennox[/name_u]
[name_u]Owen[/name_u]
[name_m]Oliver[/name_m]
[name_u]Finn[/name_u] or Fynne or [name_u]Finnley[/name_u]
[name_m]Leo[/name_m]
[name_u]Neo[/name_u]
[name_u]Dakota[/name_u]
[name_u]Elias[/name_u]
[name_u]River[/name_u]
[name_u]Parker[/name_u]
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]
[name_u]Reed[/name_u] or [name_u]Reid[/name_u]

Yes, this is the authentic Irish pronunciation, but I don’t think it’s out of the range of possibility to pronounce them COLM and FEE-on, assuming you live outside of [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]. I know several [name_f]English[/name_f] Niamhs, all pronounced NEEV rather than the more accurate NEE-uv.

In a similar sound vein, how about [name_m]Coll[/name_m] or [name_m]Cairn[/name_m]? Or [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] or [name_m]Leon[/name_m]?