Okay, so I am not pregnant or TTC (I wish I was though!) but I am completely obsessed with names and am always trying to come up with names that I love. Literary ties and meanings are important to me (moreso the meaning than anything else). Anyway, my two favorite boy’s names are [name]Liam[/name] and [name]Henry[/name], and right now I feel like I could never use those two names because I’m a toddler teacher and we have two boys named [name]Liam[/name] in our center (one is in my classroom) and one named [name]Henry[/name]. Does anyone have any suggestions to names that have a similar feel to [name]Liam[/name] or [name]Henry[/name]?
Another name I love is [name]Adrian[/name] nn [name]Ian[/name], but I’m worried that it sounds too girly. I love the nn [name]Ian[/name], but I wouldn’t want that to be the full first name, as I would rather go with a longer given name. I also like the name [name]Dorian[/name] (it has the bonus of being a literary character that I like) but when I suggested it to my sister, she said it only makes her think of her friend’s sister named [name]Dorrie[/name].
My last name I would like an opinion on is [name]Riley[/name]. I absolutely love this name for a boy, but again, is it too popular as a girl’s name now to use it on a boy? [name]Do[/name] you think he would be teased too much for it?
Please help me build a decent sized list! I have always had more trouble coming up with boys names than girls!
[name]Liam[/name]: [name]Levi[/name], [name]Luke[/name], [name]Lemuel[/name], [name]Lewis[/name], [name]Lachlan[/name]. And of course [name]William[/name].
[name]Henry[/name]: [name]Harvey[/name], [name]Heath[/name], [name]Hugh[/name], [name]Hamish[/name]. Or in terms of classical British sound: [name]Philip[/name], [name]Alastair[/name], [name]Maxwell[/name], [name]Piers[/name], [name]Rupert[/name].
I immediately thought of [name]Oliver[/name], from [name]Oliver[/name] Twist. [name]Peregrine[/name],with nn of [name]Pip[/name] from Great Expectations. [name]Willoughby[/name] from Sense and Sensibility. I love names like [name]Fitzpatrick[/name] and [name]Fitzwilliam[/name] (and that latter is in Pride & Prejudice), I had it in a combo as [name]Grayson[/name] [name]Fitzpatrick[/name], or [name]Robert[/name] [name]Fitzpatrick[/name]. I do [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Dorian[/name]. The story was a bit dark, but very interesting! I know a little girl named [name]Doria[/name] but if you love it, don’t let something like that stop you. It’s your sister’s friend, not yours. Who cares? [name]Theodore[/name] is another classic sounding name (that was totally vetoed by my husband), and is [name]Edmund[/name] ([name]Mansfield[/name] [name]Park[/name]). Crap I’m in a [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name] mood it seems. Should go and satisfy that. I’ve been reading [name]David[/name] Copperfield and I do like how his aunt renames him Trotwood, Trot for short.
[name]Man[/name], I just completely nerded out on you.
Ugh I had an entire response typed on my phone and then I lost it! Here it is again:
Thanks for your suggestions!
stripedsocks: I never thought about [name]Philip[/name] before, but after you mentioned it, I’m starting to really like it. My mom’s name is [name]Phyllis[/name], and my dad sometimes calls her “Phyll/[name]Phil[/name]”, so that could be a way for me to honor her!
gigigibbons: Haha thanks for nerding out on me; it really helped! I love [name]Oliver[/name], but it is not an option because my dad’s pot-bellied pig is named [name]Oliver[/name]! I’m glad you love [name]Dorian[/name]; you’re the first person I’ve talked to who does! I do love [name]Theodore[/name], and forgot to mention that before. It’s the only boy’s name on my list that I would use if I had to name a son right now. [name]Edmund[/name] is growing on me now since you suggested it; I could honor both my grandfather ([name]Edwin[/name]) and my father ([name]Eddy[/name]) with it.
Does anyone have an opinion on [name]Riley[/name]? I should maybe add that I’m Irish, Scottish, and English (though mostly Irish haha) and I do like a lot of Irish names, so that’s one reason I like [name]Riley[/name]. I also love [name]Rhys[/name], but I worry about that being too girly too.
Thank you saracita. I will have to check Social Security stats when I get a chance! It’s funny because I fell in love with the name [name]Riley[/name] for a boy while watching [name]Buffy[/name] the Vampire Slayer, and [name]Wesley[/name] is also a character on the show. I really do like the name [name]Wesley[/name] too, although I’m hesitant to use it because I do know someone with a son named [name]Wesley[/name]. I’m not close to her at all though, and don’t even talk to her now, but I guess it would depend on how far in the future I have to name a son on whether or not I would use the name.
Does anyone think [name]Rhys[/name] is too girly/unisex? And does anyone think that people in the US would have trouble with the pronunciation? I actually only came across the spelling because of a British TV show that I watched at the time, but I think it is the best one for a boy.
I also absolutely love the name [name]Alexander[/name] nn [name]Lex[/name] ([name]Alexander[/name] the Great is one of my favorite historical characters) but I don’t like that it’s so popular.
I like the name [name]Dorian[/name]. Is the character you like [name]Dorian[/name] [name]Gray[/name]? Eek, he was not the nicest character!
I really like [name]Adrian[/name], and I don’t think it’s too girly. Same with [name]Riley[/name]. My favorite from your list is [name]Henry[/name], but I like classic names on boys and am less concerned with popularity than with girls’ names for some reason.
If you like [name]Alexander[/name]/[name]Lex[/name], maybe [name]Lennox[/name]? People seem to either love or hate this name. I love the sound!
I have known a lot more boys named [name]Adrian[/name] than girls. I do have one girl friend named [name]Adrienne[/name], but I’ve known 3-4 boys named [name]Adrian[/name]. [name]Riley[/name] is one of my favorite boy’s names, but it seems like every time I turn around I hear of another girl with that name. The SSA won’t tell you the whole story because it separates the different spellings like [name]Rylee[/name], Rileigh, [name]Rilee[/name], etc, so there may be a lot more girls with that name than you think. I still love it though, and it might be fine for a boy. My husband’s name is [name]Jordan[/name], and he never really had any problems with it being a unisex name. He was even in a youth group at church with a female [name]Jordan[/name]. I also think [name]Rhys[/name] is still fine for a boy. Especially with that spelling. There will probably be some mispronunciation, but it is becoming a more popular name, so I think people will catch on pretty quick.
saracita: I wish [name]Alexander[/name] would just suddenly not be popular anymore and then I could use it! Oh well, depending on how far in the future I have kids, maybe I will be fine with using the name, although I don’t see it ever NOT being popular.
r_j: I know [name]Dorian[/name] [name]Gray[/name] wasn’t very nice haha but I really loved the story itself; it’s just very different than a lot of other books out there and when I read it I really liked the name. I’m just as obsessed with reading as I am with names so I’m determined to have all of my children have either a first or middle name with some sort of literary tie. [name]Henry[/name] is from the same book! I also write in my spare time, and I ended up using [name]Henry[/name] on a main character in a short story I just finished because I wanted to be able to use it somehow. I’m completely in love with [name]Alexander[/name] even more than [name]Lex[/name], but [name]Lex[/name] is my favorite nn for the name. I do like [name]Lennox[/name] (especially with the “x” ending), but not as much as [name]Alexander[/name].
whit: I feel much better about [name]Adrian[/name] now, and I’m keeping it at the top of my list, but [name]Riley[/name] and [name]Rhys[/name] might have to be switched to middle name options. I’m okay with never using [name]Riley[/name], I just really like it right now. I like [name]Rhys[/name] better though, and there’s a good possibility it will end up in a name somewhere.
[name]Just[/name] a quick two cents: a friend of mine just had a son named [name]Adrian[/name] and I don’t think it’s too feminine at all. I also love [name]Dorian[/name]. I went to school with a [name]Dorian[/name] who went by [name]Dory[/name] - he was a very cool guy. [name]Riley[/name] works just fine as a boys name, in my opinion, but I personally think some of your other favorites are better options.
