Thought we'd nailed a name for baby boy #4, but now not so sure (take 2)

Boy Names
1

[name]Hi[/name] Berries,
I posted a few weeks ago with a dilemma DH and I were having around naming our fourth son [name]Boaz[/name], specifically surrounding the nickname [name]Bo[/name] and our surname (sounds like [name]Day[/name]-vus) sounding a bit like bodacious… Anyway, we worked through that, and I was happy that we were still set with [name]Boaz[/name], but it has become clear to me over the last couple of weeks that DH is not comfortable with it :frowning: He says he is, but he has come out with random “You know, I’ve really like the name ________” comments on and off, and then yesterday suggested we use the second middle name we have chosen as a first name. He says he is happy, but ‘has some doubts’ (umm… yes, my darling, that makes no sense!). I kind of feel like we need to go back to the drawing board…

So, I would love some advice and/or suggestions from all you clever berries, pretty please…

To give some perspective:

Current short-list is in my siggy, but, other than [name]Boaz[/name], I don’t feel ‘in-love’ with any of these anymore.

My list includes/has included names like:
[name]Boaz[/name]
[name]Bram[/name]
[name]Luther[/name]
[name]Frederick[/name]
[name]Marek[/name]
[name]Soren[/name]
[name]Darragh[/name]
[name]Solomon[/name]
[name]Dimitri[/name]
[name]Vadim[/name]
[name]Clancy[/name]
[name]Grover[/name]
[name]Art[/name]

DH’s suggestions have been:
[name]Hudson[/name]
[name]Lawson[/name]
[name]Barnaby[/name]
Hemlock (was not joking and really, really liked it)
[name]Merrick[/name] (I think this was jumping off [name]Marek[/name])
Mekonnen (this is what we have chosen for our son’s second middle - it is an Ethiopian name meaning ‘noble’, which is a nod to our first son’s Ethiopian heritage)

Names we agreed on for our previous boys:
[name]Clem[/name]
[name]Heath[/name]

DH is picky and has rules:
nothing starting with D, G, R, or C,
nothing ending in a /s/ sound (too hissy with Dayvus),
nothing that sounds like it could go over to the girls (e.g. a schwa ending ([name]Ezra[/name], [name]Ivor[/name] etc)).

I have tried to budge him, particularly on the alliteration with our surname, or kids sharing initials, but he is adamant. To top it off, we both work in schools, so we both tend to have strong associations with popular names and prefer rare, but real, names…

Full name of baby boy will be ____________ [name]Geoffrey[/name] Mekonnen ‘[name]Day[/name]-vus’

We are full-term - [name]EDD[/name] is next week - so I am starting to feel a little stressed… and I am definately starting to grieve [name]Boaz[/name] :frowning:

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou in advance,

[name]Katie[/name]

2

I honestly think [name]Bram[/name] would be great, particularly with his siblings!

3

I really like [name]Bram[/name] and [name]Hudson[/name]. Not a fan of [name]Boaz[/name] sorry :frowning:

Good luck

5

[name]Heath[/name] is one of my favorite boys names. [name]Heath[/name] [name]Geoffrey[/name] Mekonnen Dayvus. [name]Heath[/name] Dayvus. My second choice would be [name]Bram[/name]. [name]Bram[/name] [name]Geoffrey[/name] Mekonnen Dayvus. [name]Bram[/name] Dayvus.

6

My advice would be not to talk about names unless he brings it up, and let him make a proper stand against [name]Boaz[/name] if he wants to. Otherwise, stick with [name]Boaz[/name], which he previously agreed to. When his son is born, he will love his son and hence his name. It’s not for you to pre-empt the decision to pick a new name, let it come from him if he feels strongly enough.

7

I love [name]Marek[/name]! You both like the sound, you just have to to agree on spelling.

I also like [name]Bram[/name], [name]Soren[/name], [name]Darragh[/name], and [name]Solomon[/name]. Good luck!

8

I like [name]Frederick[/name], [name]Luther[/name], [name]Bram[/name], which were all on my lists at various times. I was going to have [name]Fritz[/name] or [name]Lute[/name] as nicknames. And (off of your husband’s list) I like [name]Barnaby[/name]. That sounds like a kid with personality. But do you like any of your husband’s suggestions? Why or why not? [name]Just[/name] trying to get a feel.

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I am not a fan of [name]Boaz[/name]. Sorry. I love [name]Geoffrey[/name]! Could you use that for the first name? If not, I like [name]Bram[/name], [name]Merrick[/name], and [name]Clancy[/name].

10

Thanks everyone for your responses :slight_smile: Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond, for some reason Nameberry was jacking up at me replying on my phone and then wouldn’t let me respond when I logged in on the desktop… 'tis working now, I hope!

@dancersventure - I love [name]Bram[/name] also and I do think it fits well with the other three, but DH is a bit ‘meh’ about it…

@4815162342 - Thanks for your comment. I’m also definately a bit ‘meh’ about [name]Hudson[/name]! I’m not a fan of surnames as first names and [name]Hudson[/name] is very popular where we live (I think it’s in the top 20 Australia wide)

@tfzolghadr - We are going to revisit [name]Frederick[/name], [name]Soren[/name], [name]Solomon[/name] and [name]Heath[/name] - [name]Dimitri[/name] and [name]Clancy[/name] are out because of alliteration and repeated first initial issues… sadly!

@paw - thanks! I like both of them also

@velvetcrush - thanks for your thoughts. I suppose my motivation in re-addressing names is that while DH may not be clearly articulating WHY he feels uncomfortable with [name]Boaz[/name], it is fairly clear to me that he is. And he is actively raising the subject by saying, “I like this name” on and off… I’m sure I could say to him, “No, he’s [name]Boaz[/name]. That’s what we agreed”, (especially if I did it straight after the birth!), but I would like it to be a joint decision to come to a name that we are both comfortable with, which we did manage to achieve with out other boys. And we have no regrets about their names… I don’t want either of us to experience name regret. It is possible that when he is born, he will say, “you know, lets stick with [name]Boaz[/name]”, which would be fab, but I don’t really want to go to the hospital banking on that happening

@emsky - thanks… it’s interesting, because I really consider [name]Marek[/name] and [name]Merrick[/name] to be two seperate names ([name]Marek[/name] being the Polish version of [name]Mark[/name] and [name]Merrick[/name] being a Scottish place descriptor)… I pronounce them slightly differently also. That said, I like them both, but the sticking point is that there is a prominent radio and TV personality here whose name is [name]Merrick[/name], which is fine, except that for about 15 years his partner was called Rosso (they had sydicated radio shows and also a pay-tv comedy show, which is no doubt still in re-runs). And I just feel like having sons [name]Merrick[/name] (or [name]Marek[/name]) and [name]Roscoe[/name] is a bit too close for my comfort!

@mcdonak1 - my preferred nickname for [name]Luther[/name] is [name]Lute[/name] also! We are going to revisit [name]Luther[/name].

I also like [name]Barnaby[/name] - I feel like it fits with our other boy’s names and (if he’s anything like the other 3) this LO will have a lot of character… BUT [name]Barnaby[/name] [name]Joyce[/name] is the name of a (in my opinion) fairly horrible right-wing politician here in Australia, and he is not going anywhere unless something changes significantly in the political climate… It’s just such a distinctive name, and I worry that people will automatically make that connection… would love to hear other’s thoughts on this…

As far as DH’s other suggestions: I loathe [name]Hudson[/name] and [name]Lawson[/name] (too trendy, surnamey for my taste), I really like Hemlock (shhh don’t tell him! ;)), but I don’t think we should to that to a child, as I said above I like [name]Merrick[/name], but there are associations with it that make me uncomfortable. Mekonnen is a great name. I love it. But we have one son who was adopted (and has his original Ethiopian name) and 2 biological sons who have Ethiopian names as middles and I feel like giving our last biological child an Ethiopian first name is a little… I don’t know… inconsistent?? Also, people who know Ethiopian names will recogise it and people who don’t will probably think it’s a) made up or b) a kre8tiv spelling of the surname of McConnen, neither of which pleases me! [name]Clem[/name] was one of DH’s suggestions for our last son (who is [name]Cormac[/name]), but it is now out because (apparently!) we can’t have 2 ‘C’ names.

@boyandgirl - LOL, I love the name [name]Geoffrey[/name] also, which is lucky since I married one :smiley: All the boys have [name]Geoffrey[/name] as their first middle name, because it is their Dad’s name… We’re not into Jnrs and DH can’t cope with matching initials, so I think the same name would really knock him for six :wink: Thanks for the suggestion though, I would love to meet a little [name]Geoffrey[/name]!

11

Thanks again for reponses… I have replied individually in the previous post.

This is where we are:
[name]Boaz[/name] is not totally off the table, but the discussion is now open again…

We are re-visiting:
[name]Bram[/name] (DH has always had a ‘meh, it can stay on the list’ reponse to this one)
[name]Soren[/name]
[name]Frederick[/name]
[name]Luther[/name]
[name]Heath[/name]
[name]Solomon[/name]
[name]Marek[/name]
[name]Merrick[/name]
[name]Barnaby[/name]

I have added other ‘ric’ type names to the mix: Warwick, [name]Alaric[/name], [name]Osric[/name], [name]Edric[/name] (yet to discuss these with DH)

I’m really, really open to suggestions if anyone has any new inspiration for me… Main criteria are:
No D, G, R or C names
Nothing that ends in /s/
Rare (preferably. Definately not top 100 in Australia)
Cohesive (but not necessarily matchy) with big brothers Gebriael (Ethiopian form of [name]Gabriel[/name]), [name]Roscoe[/name] and [name]Cormac[/name] (more idea of our style is in the lists in my first post)

[name]Baby[/name] will be __________ [name]Geoffrey[/name] Mekonnen [name]Day[/name]-vus

I would also love to hear people’s opinions on using [name]Barnaby[/name], given that it is the name of a prominent politician here in Australia whose political philosphies I loathe… AussieBerries care to chime in??

Thanks very much in advance,
[name]Katie[/name] (who is hoping for labour soon and dreading heading to L&D with no clear ideas on a name!!!)

12

[name]Love[/name] [name]Heath[/name], [name]Bram[/name] or [name]Soren[/name]

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My first thought when I read Hemlock was [name]Havelock[/name]. I love this name but my SO is unfortunately not on the same page. I like [name]Barnaby[/name] but I’m in the US and know nothing of Aussie politics. Have you considered [name]Bernard[/name], [name]Barney[/name], [name]Joaby[/name], [name]Bardey[/name], [name]Bardric[/name], or [name]Araby[/name]? [name]Frederick[/name], [name]Marek[/name], and [name]Merrick[/name] are all quite nice [name]IMO[/name]. I think [name]Alaric[/name] is a great one along those lines! You could also consider [name]Roderick[/name], [name]Alric[/name], [name]Aldric[/name], [name]Audric[/name], [name]Aurek[/name], or [name]Auric[/name]? [name]Bernek[/name] or [name]Basek[/name]? If you like [name]Soren[/name] what about [name]Oren[/name], [name]Joren[/name], or [name]Buren[/name]? [name]Heath[/name] is nice, what about [name]Booth[/name], [name]Laith[/name], [name]Leith[/name], [name]Leif[/name], [name]Seth[/name], [name]Hale[/name], [name]Hurst[/name], or [name]North[/name]? [name]Luther[/name] is way cool [name]IMO[/name], what about [name]Lucan[/name], [name]Lucian[/name], or [name]Werther[/name]? [name]Solomon[/name] is adorable and [name]Bram[/name] is a personal fav of mine, do you like [name]Abram[/name], [name]Amory[/name], [name]Brom[/name], [name]Bertram[/name], [name]Brigham[/name], or [name]Eliam[/name], [name]Hallam[/name], [name]Absalom[/name], [name]Axel[/name], or [name]Marcel[/name]?

Some random suggestions: [name]Fifer[/name], [name]Huxley[/name], [name]Quentin[/name], [name]Leander[/name], [name]Alistair[/name], [name]Lonan[/name], [name]Vander[/name], [name]Edmund[/name], [name]Edwin[/name], [name]Roland[/name], [name]Hadrian[/name], [name]Larkin[/name], [name]Tobin[/name], [name]Vaughn[/name], [name]Altair[/name].

I hope you get your [name]Boaz[/name]! I think it is so cool and my heart breaks for you that you are thrown back to the drawing board after being so sure. Good luck with everything!

14

From Your list I love [name]Frederick[/name] and [name]Bram[/name], I think they go really well with their siblings.

Other ideas: [name]Baz[/name], [name]Levi[/name], [name]Xavier[/name], [name]Byram[/name], [name]Abram[/name], Bramdon, [name]Thayer[/name], [name]Addar[/name], [name]Benno[/name], [name]Barnabas[/name]
Good luck with your naming!!

15

Thanks so much for your responses.

@sweetpeace13 - Thanks so much - [name]Soren[/name], [name]Heath[/name] and [name]Bram[/name] are all getting a lot of love!

@ellieberry - Thankyou for your kind words :slight_smile: I’ve added a lot of your suggestions to our ‘to talk about’ list. Your suggestions from what we’re considering so far are great - I like:
[name]Bernard[/name],
[name]Audric[/name],
[name]Auric[/name],
[name]Oren[/name],
[name]Leith[/name], [name]Leif[/name] (DH has felt the latter two too feminine in the past - I particularly like [name]Leif[/name]),
[name]Lucan[/name] (worry about being close to [name]Lucas[/name], though),
[name]Abram[/name],
[name]Bertram[/name].

Your random suggestions are also great and you’ve nailed our style for some: [name]Fife[/name] has been on my list in the past, as has [name]Vaughn[/name] and [name]Edmund[/name] ([name]Cormac[/name] was almost [name]Edmund[/name]), [name]Alistair[/name] was my paternal grandfather’s name and I really like it, but he was a bit of a pig and estranged from my Dad and I think he would hit the roof if we used it :frowning: [name]Edwin[/name] is DH’s fathers name and DH’s and (one of) DS#1’s middle name. [name]Edwin[/name] has reminded me of [name]Oswin[/name], however, which I have been chewing over today… [name]Altair[/name] I like and have suggested before and DH’s response was something like “[name]Altair[/name] - the airline you use when you don’t fly Emirates” (sigh, good job I love that guy!)

@rachek - thanks for your response and welcome to Nameberry - I am a relative newbie as well :wink: [name]Baz[/name] is great and was a possible nickname we had tossed around for [name]Boaz[/name]. I feel it lacks some oomph on its own though. Also love [name]Abram[/name] and [name]Barnabas[/name] ([name]Barnabas[/name] doesn’t work with our surname. [name]Levi[/name] and [name]Xavier[/name] are uber-popular here!!

Thanks again :slight_smile:

16

Update:
Well, we’re down to [name]Boaz[/name], [name]Soren[/name], [name]Severin[/name] and Owsin. DH feels the others on our original list that we agreed to are too ‘familiar’ to the general public and so they’re out.

Thanks again for your input :slight_smile: