Hi all! We are trying to choose a spelling and middle name for the first name Griffin, Gryphon, Gryffin, Griffyn.
We currently like Griffin for a boy and Griffyn for a girl but want to see what spelling people prefer.
As for middle names, we would prefer to use an Irish middle name as my husband and his mother are from Ireland and we would love to honour that. We only have one picked out for a girl as we can’t find one we like for a boy other than one that ends in the same last letter as the first name and we’re not sure if it sounds funny together. Our last name ends in ‘lis’.
This is what we have so far:
Boy:
Griffin Atticus
Griffin Ciarán (Kieran)
Girl:
Griffyn Éahba (Ava)
Griffyn Athena
Would love to hear peoples suggestions for middle names as we are really struggling to find one we love with the name Griffin/Griffyn!
This is exactly the debate I had with myself a few years ago when naming my [name_u]Griffin[/name_u]. (Boy)
I went with this spelling for ease of use (so he could just say two i’s, two f’s) and it’s the closest to and anglicised version of the original Welsh [name_m]Gruffudd[/name_m] to honour a place name, [name_m]Griffith[/name_m], for us.
We also have Irish heritage and honoured with a family name in the middle.
Despite having a son with the name I can see the appeal on a girl. It feels very masculine to me but I can see the sounds broken down and a vowel added can give it a feminine feel. I have to say it’s such a beautiful name and for ease of use I’d say use it in all its perfection and spell it [name_u]Griffin[/name_u] no matter the gender.
[name_f]My[/name_f] other son also has a name celebrities have used for girls in the past and that too is very masculine but I can see how it might appeal to parents for their baby girl.
Also want to say you missed a spelling, [name_m]Griffon[/name_m]. Which is commonly used for the mythological creature almost as interchangeably as [name_u]Griffin[/name_u] and [name_m]Gryphon[/name_m].
LOVE finnigan, but unfortunately it’s my nephews first name!
[name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] is great too!
Never thought of [name_u]Reilly[/name_u] for some reason-I like the way it sounds.
[name_f]Kiera[/name_f] was actually a contender for a bit but my friend just named her daughter [name_f]Kiera[/name_f]! [name_f]Beautiful[/name_f] name.
Thank you for your input! We really like the name because it’s unisex (although some would disagree). [name_u]Love[/name_u] that it’s also Welsh! We’ve been toying between [name_m]Gryffin[/name_m] and [name_u]Griffin[/name_u] for a boy but will probably go with the latter. We like [name_m]Gryffin[/name_m] because it’s less connected with the mythological creature, but is still a nice looking way to spell it. Very much going back and forth on that spelling, so who knows! [name_u]Griffin[/name_u] for a girl for some reason looks off to me, but we love Griffyn!.
For some reason, I can’t get into having an o before the n! Like [name_m]Gryphon[/name_m], [name_m]Griffon[/name_m], etc. I read it as “griff-on” instead of “griff-in” which I don’t enjoy nearly as much. Whatever way it is spelled, no matter the opinions I still think it’s a beautiful and strong name. Our other child is named [name_u]Grey[/name_u], so I think it goes well with his name as well.
We do really like typical “boys names” for girls as well, like [name_u]Tyler[/name_u] or [name_u]Ryan[/name_u]. But for the middle name if it’s a girl we’d like to give her something girly so she can go by that if she dislikes her gender neutral name. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if she spells the name the [name_f]English[/name_f] way instead of the Irish way, at least she’ll still have that Irish spelling in her legal name and will learn about why we gave it to her.
I like your ideas you have so far and also like Griffin for a boy and Griffyn for a girl.
Some more middle name ideas that could be in honor of dad’s home country might be (if I use the “in” ending its meant for a boy, if “yn” it’s for a girl):
I prefer [name_u]Griffin[/name_u] for a boy or [name_m]Gryffin[/name_m] for a girl. [name_m]Gryphon[/name_m] makes me want to pronounce it differently. (First syllable rhyme with fry)
I think using an Irish middle would be nice. I like you choices. Though I think [name_f]Ava[/name_f] [name_m]Gryffin[/name_m] sounds nicer than [name_m]Gryffin[/name_m] [name_f]Ava[/name_f] (or other spelling of Ava)
