My husband and I have been having a really hard time reaching a consensus on names. My husband has one that he absolutely loves ([name]Charlie[/name]), and he nixes basically everything else I propose (“too regal,” “too biblical,” “too [name]Roman[/name],” etc.). I, on the other hand, find the vast majority of names that he suggests absurd. This situation is made more complicated by the fact that we need to eventually settle on TWO nice male names because we’re expecting twin boys in [name]January[/name].
We’ve got a list right now that we’ve literally titled “names we don’t hate,” which is exactly what it sounds like (i.e. a lot of compromise names). I’m not soliciting new suggestions at this point (seriously, we’ve basically discussed every name in the world already!), but I’d love to hear feedback on what we’ve got on our current list: what do you like/dislike?. what would you pair together for twin brothers?, etc.
[name]Charles[/name] nn [name]Charlie[/name] (or maybe just [name]Charlie[/name])
[name]Samuel[/name] nn [name]Sam[/name]
[name]Milo[/name]
[name]Rafe[/name]
[name]Oscar[/name]
[name]Harry[/name]
[name]Martin[/name]
[name]Desmond[/name]
[name]Gilbert[/name]
Congrats on your twin boys, [name]Cressida[/name]!
Sorry but I don’t like [name]Harry[/name], [name]Rafe[/name] or [name]Gilbert[/name] very much.
If you go with [name]Charles[/name], I would choose… [name]Samuel[/name], [name]Gilbert[/name], [name]Oscar[/name] or [name]Martin[/name] (if you don’t mind the shared “ar” sound with [name]Charles[/name]), [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Harry[/name] may be too “royal” a pair.
If you go with just [name]Charlie[/name], I would choose… [name]Milo[/name], [name]Oscar[/name] or [name]Desmond[/name]. [name]Rafe[/name] would work because it’s usually a nn for [name]Ralph[/name] or [name]Rafferty[/name].
My faves would be:
1 [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name]
2 [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Milo[/name]
3 [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Oscar[/name]
[name]Charles[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name] are my favorites from your list. I think they make perfect twin boys names. I would use [name]Charles[/name] instead of just [name]Charlie[/name]… He can always go by [name]Charlie[/name], but still have a full name option when he wants it.
I love [name]Charlie[/name], but I think [name]Charles[/name] would be a better option. [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Oscar[/name] would be lovely and I do like [name]Harry[/name], but [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Harry[/name] rhyme and I can’t stand rhyming twin names. I vote for [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Oscar[/name]! Congratulations on your boys!
Either [name]Charles[/name] (please use this on the BC, even if you always call him [name]Charlie[/name]) and [name]Samuel[/name] or [name]Milo[/name] and [name]Desmond[/name] would be adorable!
I have a very similar list of “compromising names”. It can be difficult, especially when you need two at once. I hope you get some nice, encouraging feedback.
[name]Charles[/name] nn [name]Charlie[/name] (or maybe just [name]Charlie[/name])-- [name]Charlie[/name] is a favorite of mine. I would like to use it myself, and possibly will. I have also played around with the idea of just [name]Charlie[/name], but I think [name]Charles[/name] is better in the long run.
[name]Samuel[/name] nn [name]Sam[/name] – This isn’t a name that I’ve ever liked very much, probably just because of the nn. [name]Sam[/name] is too common and too unisex. I see it on more dogs than humans.
[name]Milo[/name] – Another favorite. It has a playfulness that I look for in my boy names (like [name]Charlie[/name]).
[name]Rafe[/name] – I do not like this spelling. In fact, this spelling takes all of the appeal out of the name for me. Of course, the spelling I like would get butchered in the United States ([name]Ralph[/name]), but should be ok anywhere else.
[name]Oscar[/name] – Another name from my own list. I love it.
[name]Harry[/name] – I like [name]Harry[/name], but I prefer [name]Harrison[/name] with the nn [name]Harry[/name]
[name]Martin[/name] – Never cared for it.
[name]Desmond[/name] – Not really my style
[name]Gilbert[/name]-- Reminds me of [name]Gilbert[/name] [name]Gottfried[/name]. Not an association one really wants to make…
My favorites: [name]Charles[/name], [name]Milo[/name], and [name]Oscar[/name]
Oooh twins! [name]Lucky[/name] you!
I love [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name] together! I also love [name]Milo[/name], it’s such a cute name, but I’m not sure which name I’d pair it with.
[name]Hi[/name] cressida. We had a similarly named list when we were naming our twin boys. What a challenge!
Here are my favorite combinations from your list:
[name]Charles[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name] (as others have said, both classic names, a strong combination)
[name]Milo[/name] and [name]Oscar[/name] (I like that they have the ‘O’ in common)
[name]Gilbert[/name] and [name]Charles[/name] (nn [name]Gil[/name] and [name]Charlie[/name])
It is not an ideal solution, but in our case we gave each person main jurisdiction over one first name. We sort of did a complex ranking system to weed out the least appealing to each of us and both first names had to come from that single remaining list. But we didn’t make our ultimate decisions until we met them.
Absolutely love [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Sam[/name]. What about [name]Ben[/name] and [name]Sam[/name]? I know [name]Ben[/name] is not on your list, but I think they go really well together. NOt crazy about [name]Martin[/name] or [name]Gilbert[/name], sorry.
I like [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Oscar[/name], [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Milo[/name], [name]Oscar[/name] and [name]Gilbert[/name], [name]Milo[/name] and [name]Oscar[/name], or [name]Martin[/name] and [name]Gilbert[/name].
I think I would avoid [name]Samuel[/name], as it is quite popular. [name]Rafe[/name] is a bit problematic. In the UK, people pronounce the name “[name]Ralph[/name]” as “[name]Rafe[/name]”, but you won’t be able to get people to do that here. Yet, if you spell it “[name]Rafe[/name]”, it looks like a nickname for [name]Rafael[/name]. I would just go with [name]Rafael[/name] and [name]Martin[/name] or [name]Rafael[/name] and [name]Charles[/name] to get a nickname of [name]Rafe[/name].
Thanks for all of the replies, everyone! It looks like [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name], [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Sam[/name] make a very well-liked combo. Based on reactions, I’m also inclined to suggest dropping [name]Gilbert[/name] and perhaps [name]Martin[/name] from our current list.
zaelia: I think it’s interesting to hear that you resorted to a complex ranking system; I strongly suspect that our final choices may come down to something like this.
kitz401: I love [name]Ben[/name], too, but can’t use it because there’s already one in the family!
[name]Charles[/name] nn [name]Charlie[/name] (or maybe just [name]Charlie[/name]) & [name]Samuel[/name] nn [name]Sam[/name]/mie -> I think [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Samuel[/name] nn [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Sammie[/name] could be really cute for twin boys so these would gmv as a combo.
[name]Milo[/name] - nms. Though I would pair it with [name]Rafe[/name]. To me they have a similar very cool, outdoor kid feel and are yet so very different from one another - except in length.
[name]Rafe[/name] - nms. Though I would pair it with [name]Milo[/name].
[name]Oscar[/name], [name]Harry[/name], [name]Martin[/name] all seem like very safe choices. I’d prefer [name]Henry[/name] to [name]Harry[/name] but otherwise they are all nice, classic and solid names. You can’t go wrong with any of them and I think you could mix and match all three for a great combo.
My least favorites are: [name]Desmond[/name] & [name]Gilbert[/name]. [name]Both[/name] seem a little stuffy to me.