We are due with our boy in just under a month and here is our short list of favorites, more or less in order of how much we like them. Big sister is [name]Posy[/name], not short for anything, so we obviously like nicknames. Would love to hear thoughts.
[name]Huck[/name] (definitely our favorite, but my partner doesn’t like [name]Huxley[/name] and I refuse to do [name]Huckleberry[/name] or [name]Henry[/name] (super popular where we live), so I think it would just be [name]Huck[/name] and I’m not sure if that works)
[name]Indiana[/name] or just [name]Indy[/name] (love almost as much as [name]Huck[/name])
[name]Albert[/name] (love the nickname [name]Alby[/name] but am afraid of [name]Albert[/name] itself being nerdy)
and these are sort of tied for last, although keep in mind, they’ve still been weeded out and made it to our short favorite list:
[name]Griffin[/name] (unsure about the trendiness of it and I don’t like that it could be shortened to [name]Fin[/name])
[name]Rafferty[/name] (not in love, may be off the short list soon, actually, but Raf/[name]Raffi[/name] is cute)
There’s a host of other names we love but can’t use, which includes [name]Owen[/name], [name]Sam[/name], [name]Max[/name], [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Teddy[/name]/[name]Theodore[/name]/[name]Edward[/name].
[name]Huck[/name] - cute, I like it! No need to assign a longer, more formal name, even though I think [name]Henry[/name] is super cute (it’s not super popular where I live, though).
[name]Indiana[/name] - I would just use [name]Indy[/name]. I think the [name]Indiana[/name] [name]Jones[/name] association to is too overpowering. Aside from that, I think [name]Indiana[/name] is too feminine. But [name]Indy[/name] I really like, and I wouldn’t immediately think of [name]Indiana[/name] [name]Jones[/name].
[name]Charlie[/name] - so cute. I also knew a female [name]Charlie[/name], but I think it’s a great name for a boy, regardless.
[name]Albert[/name] - I like [name]Alby[/name] and I like [name]Albert[/name]. What’s wrong with nerdy?
[name]Archer[/name] - agree that you should axe it. Rhyming first/last is not cute in my opinion.
[name]Griffin[/name] - cute, not trendy at all where I’m from so I may not be the best person to give an opinion and I would never think to shorten it to [name]Fin[/name]. Maybe [name]Griff[/name], but not [name]Fin[/name]
[name]Rafferty[/name] - [name]Love[/name]. And I love both the nicknames. But if you don’t love it, then scrap it. Should be easy enough.
[name]Huck[/name] is by far my favorite. I think it works really well as a full name and I am totally not a nick name person. I also think it sounds nice with your daughter’s name. My second choice would be [name]Charlie[/name] (though I would use [name]Charles[/name] nn [name]Charlie[/name]) or [name]Albert[/name] (nn [name]Albie[/name] or [name]Bertie[/name]).
If it helps, I would immediately think of [name]Indiana[/name] [name]Jones[/name] with the name [name]Indiana[/name] or [name]Indy[/name]. I also think that [name]Indiana[/name] [name]Jones[/name] isn’t going to fade from cultural significance any time soon. It is such an iconic character. Plus, I would not be surprised if the franchise was rebooted one day. Also, remember, [name]Indiana[/name] [name]Jones[/name] was named after the family dog.
[name]Edit[/name]: I just reread your post and saw the list of names you love but can’t use. I really like a lot of them. Have you considered [name]Hugh[/name], [name]Logan[/name] or [name]Miles[/name]? They sort of fit in there as well.
[name]Huck[/name]: I like Huck, but unfortunately I like it best as a nickname, what about Hugo or Hector nn Huck?
[name]Indiana[/name] or just [name]Indy[/name]: Love Indy and I think Indiana fits your style and is in that sweet spot where it’s familiar and unexpected
[name]Charlie[/name]: Charles nn Charlie is one of my absolute favorites for guys, so I wouldn’t worry about it being girly
[name]Albert[/name] (love the nickname [name]Alby[/name]: Love Albert, it is totally nerdy but personally I think it’s a cool nerdy…
[name]Archer[/name]/[name]Ace[/name]: I like Archer and LOVE the nn Ace. It depends on what your last name is, generally I would say if they both end in ‘er’ stay away from it. But it can work.
[name]Griffin[/name]: Finn names are getting pretty popular, I could see it maybe going to top 100 but not top 10
[name]Rafferty[/name]: like the nn Raf/Raffie but Rafferty isn’t one of my favorites maybe Ralph or Raphael?
[name]Huck[/name] - rhymes with a bad word so that turns me off!
[name]Indiana[/name] or just [name]Indy[/name] - [name]Jones[/name]? Not my style but I guess it’s slightly better than [name]Huck[/name]. [name]Charlie[/name] - all boy for me and if you like nn’s this is a winner! [name]Posy[/name] and [name]Charlie[/name] make a cute pair!
[name]Albert[/name] - as in Fat [name]Albert[/name]? I don’t know if this name is ready for revival just yet. [name]Do[/name] you like [name]Alfred[/name] nn [name]Alfie[/name] or [name]Gilbert[/name] nn [name]Gil[/name]?
[name]Archer[/name]/[name]Ace[/name] - if your surname ends in “er”, I would eliminate all names ending the same way. [name]Griffin[/name] - [name]Griffin[/name] has the same spunky vibe as [name]Posy[/name] so this is my favourite. [name]Rafferty[/name] - This name has a lot of rakish charm.
I like [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Albert[/name] best. I still think of [name]Charlie[/name] as mainly a boy name and I don’t think of unisex-ness as a downside anyway. I don’t think [name]Albert[/name] is really that nerdy, it’s one of the old-man names that’re coming in style again. [name]Alby[/name] is such a cute nickname.
Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Unfortunately, where we live, pretty much every little boy is either named [name]Jackson[/name] or [name]Henry[/name]. I wouldn’t mind if it was slightly popular, but [name]Henry[/name] is seriously rampant here.
I like [name]Alby[/name] so much more than [name]Albert[/name], actually. I wonder if [name]Alby[/name] holds its own alone? I am all for nerdy names, I just wasn’t sure if [name]Albert[/name] is pushing the boundaries of that. I should have added [name]Booker[/name]. My partner and I both like [name]Booker[/name], I’m not sure how high it ranks for us, especially with the “er” ending to consider now. [name]Mischa[/name] suggested [name]Archie[/name], that would be one of the nicknames for [name]Archer[/name], although my partner prefers [name]Ace[/name]. I like [name]Archie[/name] a lot. I should have mentioned that.
Not a fan of [name]Hugh[/name], [name]Hector[/name] or [name]Logan[/name] (another very popular one here) but we did discuss both [name]Miles[/name] and [name]Milo[/name] along the way. They didn’t make it to the favorites list though. Thank you for the suggestions, we would love more!