This Is a Tough Puzzle... Need Well Seasoned Berries!

My husband and I have a GREAT girls list. I mean, we absolutely love the names. I think they equally represent the taste of both my husband and I-

[name]Cora[/name] [name]Annaliese[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name] [name]Louisa[/name]
[name]Lily[/name] [name]Sophia[/name]

Boys names… not so much. My husband likes the first names much more than I do, and so I have had main control over middle names. But while the girls names we just adore, the boys names seem lacking. Here is what we have-

[name]Merrick[/name] [name]Liam[/name]
[name]Callen[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]
[name]Konrad[/name] [name]Isaac[/name] (I really dislike [name]Konrad[/name], and love [name]Isaac[/name], and my husband is the opposite!)
[name]Forrest[/name] [name]Cruz[/name] (We just came up with this last night. I like both [name]Forrest[/name] and [name]Cruz[/name], my husband likes [name]Cruz[/name] but just as a middle name.I don’t think [name]Forrest[/name] [name]Cruz[/name] flows well though.)

Some other names we like-
[name]Kade[/name]
[name]Kier[/name]
[name]Oakley[/name]
[name]Fisher[/name] (adventerous and cute or a dogs name? hmmm…)
[name]Taj[/name] (husband loves, i am on the fence.)
[name]Luca[/name]
[name]Cyrus[/name] (cute, but definitley doesnt work with our last name)

To describe my taste- I like familiar names with a layed back/surfer feel. I love [name]Noah[/name] and [name]Levi[/name], but my husband does not like biblical names at all. I like a strong name that can be versatile. I don’t like [name]Taj[/name] because it seems incomplete. The names I picked from our list- [name]Kier[/name](I liked kieran but husband only likes the short fortm), oakley, luca, liam, callen, [name]Isaac[/name], forrest, and cruz.
My husbands taste- he likes familiar names that he doesn’t hear very much. Like [name]Cyrus[/name], [name]Ignatius[/name], [name]Merrick[/name], [name]Taj[/name] and Koonrad were all his picks.

So I guess we are looking for suggestions that will meet that happy middle ground of familiar, yet unusual, strong, but layed back names. Hard fit, I know! Thanks for the help though!

Hmm, I would steer clear of putting names on the list if one of you really dislikes them (i.e. [name]Konrad[/name] and [name]Isaac[/name]). My favorites from your list would be [name]Merrick[/name], [name]Callan[/name] (I prefer this spelling, but whatevs), [name]Oakley[/name], and [name]Fisher[/name]; I think those fit both of your criteria (and none sound doggish!).

My first suggestion, before I rattle off some names I thought of, would be to make the boy’s initials T.J. and call him [name]Taj[/name]. Then you get a more complete version, and both of you can enjoy the nickname. Or he could call the baby [name]Taj[/name] and you could call him something else. Some ideas (mix and match the firsts and middles, of course!):

[name]Talon[/name] [name]Joseph[/name] (love)
[name]Tadeo[/name] [name]Joss[/name]
[name]Tanner[/name] [name]Jude[/name]
[name]Tarian[/name] [name]James[/name]
[name]Tate[/name] [name]Joaquin[/name] or [name]Tatum[/name] [name]Julian[/name]
[name]Tavis[/name] [name]Jasper[/name] or [name]Tavish[/name] [name]Jackson[/name]

And for other ideas, let’s see…to marry strong, laid-back, surfer names with familiar unusual ones (most of which have an edgy-but-vintage vibe), I’d make these suggestions:

[name]Asa[/name] (nn [name]Ace[/name])
[name]Bryce[/name]
[name]Bridger[/name]
[name]Banning[/name] or [name]Channing[/name]
[name]Cavan[/name]/[name]Kavan[/name]
[name]Conall[/name]
[name]Cyan[/name]
[name]Declan[/name] ([name]Dex[/name])
[name]Damian[/name] ([name]Dane[/name])
[name]Dashiell[/name] ([name]Dash[/name])
[name]Desmond[/name] ([name]Dez[/name])
[name]Dominic[/name] ([name]Dom[/name], [name]Nic[/name], [name]Nico[/name])
[name]Everett[/name] (Rev, [name]Ever[/name], [name]Rhett[/name])
[name]Foster[/name] ([name]Fox[/name])
[name]Fletcher[/name]
[name]Gage[/name]
[name]Griffin[/name] ([name]Fin[/name])
[name]Hayes[/name]
[name]Kiefer[/name]
[name]Lachlan[/name]
[name]Lawrence[/name] ([name]Law[/name], [name]Ren[/name], [name]Enzo[/name], [name]Lorne[/name])
[name]Leander[/name] ([name]Lee[/name], [name]Anders[/name])
[name]Marshall[/name], [name]Marsden[/name], or [name]Marston[/name] ([name]Mars[/name])
[name]McCoy[/name], [name]McKinley[/name], or [name]McAdam[/name], etc. ([name]Mack[/name])
[name]Phineas[/name] ([name]Fin[/name])
[name]Raphael[/name] ([name]Rafe[/name])
[name]Sebastian[/name] ([name]Baz[/name], [name]Bastian[/name])
[name]Silas[/name] (does this not work with the last name, too?)
[name]Sullivan[/name] ([name]Sully[/name], [name]Lee[/name], [name]Van[/name])
[name]Theodore[/name] ([name]Theo[/name], [name]Teo[/name], [name]Ted[/name])
[name]Trace[/name]
[name]Trent[/name]/[name]Trenton[/name]
all the other T names above

I’m sure most of those will miss the mark, but maybe they’ll get the gears turning!

Hmm…

[name]Teague[/name]
[name]Porter[/name]
[name]Neil[/name]
[name]Declan[/name]
[name]Dane[/name]
[name]Duke[/name]
[name]Vaughn[/name]
[name]Ford[/name]
[name]Fox[/name]
[name]Keaton[/name]
[name]Irving[/name] ([name]Ving[/name])
[name]Clint[/name]
[name]Clive[/name]
[name]Ewan[/name]
[name]Channing[/name]

I love [name]Callen[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]! I also like [name]Forrest[/name] and [name]Kade[/name].

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I really like the TJ/ [name]Taj[/name] suggestion. I like [name]Talon[/name] [name]Jameson[/name], but would love some more TJ initial suggestions! I also like [name]Asa[/name], [name]Teague[/name], [name]Declan[/name], and [name]Neil[/name]. What about oneil? Or [name]Teague[/name] as the first name of a TJ combo? I really like [name]Teague[/name] but seems a little incomplete. Any suggestions for something longer than [name]Teague[/name]? I loooove the [name]Mack[/name] names but husbands best friend growing up was a [name]Mac[/name].

[name]Conrad[/name] works better for me than [name]Konrad[/name]. It seems less harsh somehow. And it’s closer in neo-traditional spirit to the girls names you’ve chosen. I don’t know if that helps you like it better though…

But I also like [name]Forrest[/name] and [name]Fisher[/name]. I know a very boy’s boy named [name]Fisher[/name].

[name]Kier[/name] and [name]Taj[/name] both feel incomplete to me.

Instead of [name]Merrick[/name], how about [name]Herrick[/name]?

[name]Teagan[/name] is an easy long form for [name]Teague[/name]. I think [name]Teague[/name] [name]Jameson[/name] could work for [name]Taj[/name]. Not having a Ta- name makes the nn more of a stretch, but I think the jump could still be made. [name]Teagan[/name] [name]Jack[/name] or something similar would work the same way.

I like O’[name]Neil[/name] a lot; that’s how I’d write it, though.

I’m not a big fan of [name]Merrick[/name], [name]Callen[/name], or [name]Konrad[/name]. I do like [name]Liam[/name] and, [name]Thomas[/name], and [name]Isaac[/name]. otherwise, I like [name]Kade[/name] (but spelled [name]Cade[/name]), [name]Oakley[/name], and [name]Forrest[/name].
[name]How[/name] about:
[name]Cullen[/name] instead of [name]Callen[/name]
[name]Cade[/name] instead of [name]Cade[/name]
[name]Lucas[/name] instead of [name]Luca[/name]

other things that may work?
[name]Maddox[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Braxton[/name]
[name]Hudson[/name]
[name]Bennett[/name]
[name]Jasper[/name]
[name]Lincoln[/name]
[name]Canyon[/name]
[name]Valor[/name]
[name]Saylor[/name]

Bad news! Husband vetoed a lot of the names I liked… I figured as much! Going over the lists again though, we both really liked [name]McCoy[/name]. He said he would sit on [name]Teague[/name] but he doesn’t really like it much. He liked the TJ/ taj suggestion though but doesn’t like any t names I throw out!

[name]Talon[/name] [name]James[/name]
[name]McCoy[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]

Those are my top two for you!

Thaxton? [name]Thierry[/name] (t-airy)?

Rigsby
Crusoe
Caulder
[name]Otto[/name]
[name]Fletcher[/name]
[name]Evander[/name]