Please help! Holden substitutes?

Boy Names
1

I’m having a major dilemma. Since I was 16 (I’m 32) I’ve wanted to name a boy [name]Holden[/name]. I just love it. Well, my husband and I are now expecting and…[name]Holden[/name] will not work with baby’s surname. It’s Durer, which is pronounced DUE-er. So the fear is that [name]Holden[/name] Durer sounds too much like “hold and do her.” Tacky, I know, but once one kid catches on…it’s all over. And now that it’s been pointed out to me, I can’t get around it. So we are back to the drawing board, which is just a little gut-wrenching to me because it means giving up my all-time favorite boy name. [name]Alas[/name].

The problem is this…I hate pretty much every other boy name, or if I like it, it just won’t work for whatever reason. I tend to like WASPy, preppy names. [name]Holden[/name] was perfect. I love names like [name]Logan[/name], [name]Greyson[/name], [name]Mercer[/name], [name]Alistair[/name], [name]Beckett[/name], [name]Finlay[/name], [name]Lachlan[/name], [name]Weston[/name], [name]Asher[/name], etc. but they are either way too popular (I want to stay out of the top 100, at least) or they don’t sound right with last name or my husband hates them. Any suggestions? The name can’t start or end with a D, and it also can’t end with an -er sound because it’s grating when paired with the last name that ends in the sound. Names I hate:2-syllable names with soft consonants and lots of vowels (ex: [name]Liam[/name], [name]Noah[/name], [name]Owen[/name], [name]Henry[/name]) or “grandpa” names like [name]Theodore[/name], [name]Jasper[/name], etc.

I was kinda thinking [name]Allen[/name] (my dad’s mn) but it’s fairly boring and pedestrian. I was then thinking [name]Aldon[/name], as a sort of hybrid between [name]Allen[/name] and [name]Holden[/name], but I feel really “meh” about it, as well. I can’t imagine there is a name out there that I haven’t considered, but I thought I’d seek some advice nonetheless! Please help!

2

Hutton
[name]Sutton[/name]
[name]Connor[/name]
[name]Bennett[/name]
[name]Preston[/name]
[name]Easton[/name]
[name]Colter[/name]
[name]Callen[/name]
[name]Collin[/name]
Coleson
[name]Brennan[/name]
[name]Danner[/name]
[name]Banner[/name]
[name]Branson[/name]
[name]Brendon[/name]
[name]Brogan[/name]
[name]Hadley[/name]
[name]Houston[/name]
[name]Colton[/name]
[name]Cotton[/name]
[name]Cutler[/name]
Cotter
[name]Corbin[/name]
[name]Corbett[/name]

3

I actually like [name]Aldon[/name]. It’s interesting but doesn’t sound too made up.

Other shots:
[name]Hollis[/name]
[name]Alric[/name]/[name]Alrick[/name]
[name]Alben[/name]
[name]Alten[/name]
[name]Alwyn[/name]
[name]Harris[/name]
[name]Tobin[/name]
[name]Merritt[/name]
[name]Keane[/name]
[name]Tilden[/name]
Wesmen
[name]York[/name]
[name]Gage[/name]
[name]Holt[/name]

4

I was going to suggest [name]Alden[/name], which I really like, but it looks like you’ve already considered that one!

Maybe …

[name]Stellan[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Finnian[/name]
[name]Ryland[/name]
[name]Linden[/name]
Maitland
[name]Talbot[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Ridley[/name]
[name]Leland[/name]
[name]Gatsby[/name]
[name]Harland[/name]
[name]Morgan[/name]
[name]North[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Holland[/name]
[name]Locke[/name]
[name]Saxon[/name]
[name]Tobin[/name]
[name]Ferris[/name]
[name]Taggart[/name]
[name]Caspian[/name]

5

Oh, I forgot about [name]Hudson[/name]. Has a really similar feel to [name]Holden[/name].

6

[name]Lane[/name]
[name]Hendrick[/name]
[name]Callum[/name]
[name]Sterling[/name]
[name]Channing[/name]
[name]Remington[/name]
[name]Ronan[/name]
[name]Graham[/name]
[name]Keaton[/name]
[name]Teague[/name]
[name]Griffin[/name]

7

one more -

[name]Eamon[/name]

8

I would add [name]Anderson[/name] to the list. I like some of these the pp’s suggested a lot for you:
[name]Channing[/name]
[name]Keane[/name]
[name]Morgan[/name]
[name]Hudson[/name]