For about a month my husband and I have been set on [name]Theodore[/name] [name]Arthur[/name] for our little one due at the beginning of [name]December[/name]. I like the name and I love that it has family connection. My husband is set on the name, but I am really questioning how much I love the name.
I don’t love it enough to call him [name]Theodore[/name]. I don’t love the nn [name]Theo[/name] or [name]Thor[/name]. I do love [name]Bear[/name], but I don’t know how long that nn would work. I liked [name]Teo[/name], but when we told my mother in law about it, she said that she thought that sounded Hispanic.
So now I really don’t know what to do. Should I stick with a name that I like (but am leery about a nn for) and love the meaning of, or should I look for a name that my husband and I both love but won’t have as much sentimental meaning?
Some names that have been on past lists (so you can get a feel for our style):
[name]Jethro[/name] ([name]Jet[/name])
[name]Colby[/name]
[name]Hugh[/name]
[name]Beau[/name]
Also, I call him my little bear now. At least for a while I think [name]Bear[/name] will stick as a nn from mama.
Any thoughts on my situation? Has anyone else had this problem? I feel like we are running out of time - I am a planner --I don’t want him to come and us not be ready with a name. Any suggestions for us?
THANKS
I kind of know how you feel. We had three main names on our list. Two that I really LOVED and one that I just liked. We ended up going with the “liked” name that I felt less passionately for. We decided that the two names we LOVED had flaws. [name]One[/name] was too unique and strange and the other was a little trendy and pretentious. We ended up going for the name that was more well rounded even though I didn’t love it as much. I don’t regret it at all though. I can’t picture any other name on my son, and the name has grown on me so much since.
It is hard to give advice because you could end up choosing to stick with [name]Theodore[/name] and you could end up loving it in the end, or you might end up regretting it. It is hard to say. I would wait until you meet your son and then see if [name]Theodore[/name] suits him. Have some backup names just in case.
Another nn you could give him is [name]Ted[/name]/[name]Teddy[/name]. When I was younger my Grammy took care of a old man named [name]Teddy[/name] and I have fond memories of him. Honestly I think you should discuss this with your husband. Maybe pick a secondary name and when your son is born see which one of the names fits him best. A name suggestion I have for you is [name]Garrett[/name] with the nn [name]Rhett[/name].
I was also going to suggest [name]Ted[/name]/[name]Teddy[/name] if you don’t like [name]Theo[/name].
Also, I think a nn will last as long as you let it. I worked with a guy named [name]Chip[/name] (real name [name]Sidney[/name] III…nn came from being a “chip off the block”) and went to school with a guy that goes by Hawkeye (given name [name]James[/name]–got the name Hawkeye as a child because he liked shiny objects).
But if you don’t [name]LOVE[/name] the name…I’d try to steer your hubby in a new direction. Maybe you could change the mn to something with a J and call him TJ.
Personally, I think you should stick with the name you both like that has so much meaning. A nickname will come naturally. I think [name]Bear[/name] would work as a nickname for as long as you want, but even if it doesn’t there’s [name]Teddy[/name] and if you don’t like that, something will happen naturally.
I’m not really sure how to advise you on this one – tough situation. I did want to add though that if you do choose to switch names, [name]Nathaniel[/name] might be a good option!
My second boy is a [name]Theodore[/name] and about two months before he was born I too got cold feet. It was the only name I had wanted for such a long time, so much so that it started to feel tired from all the overthinking.
Maaan am I glad we stuck with it - I love it so much, but then I adore the nickname [name]Theo[/name] as he was partly named for [name]Theo[/name] Huxtable from The Cosby Show. If you really really dislike the nicknames, then perhaps a rethink is on the cards, because it does get shortened. I never liked [name]Teddy[/name] and no-one has ever called him that except a few people being smart alecs when he was born!