Twin boys! Firsts and middles

HALP!!! First-time mom expecting IDENTICAL TWIN BOYS this [name_f]May[/name_f]. The boyfriend and I are working on names and his short list and my short list don’t have a whole whole lot of overlap, plus our naming criteria are VERY different. So I am hoping you can give us some inspiration in terms of compromises, sibsets, first and middle combos, etc. Thanks in advance!!!

ME: [name_m]Feel[/name_m] and sound and poetic flow are super important to me (sounding good with the middle and last names, plus sounding good with each other). I want names that are NOT matchy at all because I want them to be able to develop their own identities, and I would only consider naming them something starting with the same letter if the names were super special and the sounds were totally different. I don’t want to name them something trendy and am avoiding the Top 10 Lists like the plague. I also shy away from honor names because I have high anxiety and if I honored one friend or relative I just know I would feel guilt over all the people I didn’t honor.
[name_f]Inspiration[/name_f] and favorite names:

  • [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] is my all-time favorite and I am working so hard to sell the boyfriend on this (which I think he may finally be bending on, yay! But is not completely sold and we would still need his middle and his brother’s name)
    -“R”-names in general: [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], [name_m]Rhett[/name_m], [name_u]Reid[/name_u], [name_u]Remy[/name_u], [name_m]Roger[/name_m]. I probably only get to have one of these because of my weirdness about not matching.
  • Celtic names: [name_m]Declan[/name_m], [name_u]Dylan[/name_u], [name_m]Conan[/name_m]/[name_m]Ronan[/name_m], [name_m]Cormac[/name_m]
  • Scandinavian names: [name_m]Nils[/name_m], [name_m]Soren[/name_m], [name_m]Anders[/name_m], [name_m]Piers[/name_m]
  • Underused Old Testament names: [name_m]Isaac[/name_m], [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m], [name_m]Ezra[/name_m], [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]/[name_m]Sol[/name_m]/[name_m]Saul[/name_m] (I also like [name_m]Eli[/name_m] and [name_m]Levi[/name_m], though they are more common)
  • [name_m]Favorite[/name_m] TV characters, book characters, authors, etc.: [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m], [name_m]Lev[/name_m], [name_u]Francis[/name_u]/[name_m]Frank[/name_m], [name_m]Wilder[/name_m]/[name_m]Wiley[/name_m], [name_m]Bram[/name_m]
    -“Cowboy/Old [name_u]West[/name_u]” names: [name_u]Corbin[/name_u], [name_m]Harlan[/name_m], [name_u]Whit[/name_u]
  • [name_m]Wild[/name_m] Cards: [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u], [name_m]Tycho[/name_m]

THE BOYFRIEND: Doesn’t think nearly as much about sound and flow as I do, but meaning and and family are super important to him… he is asking his family members about distant relatives and stuff as sources of inspiration. He likes the idea of Scandinavian names because that’s my ethnic background/heritage (I just like their sound). Matching name origins or themes for each boy (when I suggested [name_m]Tycho[/name_m] he said only if we find another weird astronomer name) whereas I just want the names to flow together.
[name_f]Inspiration[/name_f] and favorite names:

  • Celtic names but different than mine: [name_u]Finn[/name_u] (bad associations for me), [name_m]Eamon[/name_m] (which I do like but worry about pronunciation).
  • Classic Greek/[name_m]Roman[/name_m] names: Aulus, [name_m]Marcus[/name_m] (he wants to in-detail read the works of [name_m]Marcus[/name_m] [name_m]Aurelius[/name_m] to ensure that he agrees with them first), a lot of other -us and -ys names that I found unwieldy.
  • Popular names like [name_m]Liam[/name_m] and [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] (which I want to stay away from!!!)
  • [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] (which I like but worry about the flow with the last name, which has a lot of -ar sounds, think [name_u]Carter[/name_u] or [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u])

Ok so [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] sounds like one of your options!
I like that he wants to use a Scandinavian name to honour your heritage (and that you like the sound of some of them!)

My top combo would be [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Soren[/name_m]!

Other combos:
[name_u]Remy[/name_u] and [name_u]Whit[/name_u]
[name_m]Anders[/name_m] and [name_m]Lev[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Lev[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Nils[/name_m]

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Tycho[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Harlan[/name_m]*
[name_m]Soren[/name_m] [name_m]Cormac[/name_m]
[name_m]Soren[/name_m] [name_m]Wilder[/name_m]*
[name_u]Remy[/name_u] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]
[name_m]Anders[/name_m] [name_m]Liam[/name_m]
[name_m]Lev[/name_m] [name_m]Eamon[/name_m]
[name_m]Nils[/name_m] [name_m]Ronan[/name_m]
[name_u]Whit[/name_u] [name_u]Francis[/name_u]

*favourites

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.

It sounds like you have a lot to think about!

Here are my thoughts on all of the names that you have listed:

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u]-It’s a beautiful name, & I’m happy for you if you’re able to get Dad on board. Lets go ahead & assume one of the little boys is a [name_u]Rhys[/name_u]! Does that bother you that people use [name_u]Reese[/name_u] for girls? I find it very masculine personally, but I think it’s about equally used for both. I wouldn’t worry that much about if it’s your favorite name, but just something to consider.

-“R”-names in general: [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], [name_m]Rhett[/name_m], [name_u]Reid[/name_u], [name_u]Remy[/name_u], [name_m]Roger[/name_m]. I probably only get to have one of these because of my weirdness about not matching-I love [name_u]Remy[/name_u] too from your ‘R’ list, but [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_u]Remy[/name_u] are obviously super match-y.

  • Celtic names: [name_m]Declan[/name_m], [name_u]Dylan[/name_u], [name_m]Conan[/name_m]/[name_m]Ronan[/name_m], [name_m]Cormac[/name_m]-I love [name_m]Declan[/name_m], [name_u]Dylan[/name_u] & [name_m]Ronan[/name_m], but [name_m]Declan[/name_m] & [name_u]Dylan[/name_u] are both sort of popular. Not too bad though, & I especially love [name_u]Dylan[/name_u] w/[name_u]Rhys[/name_u]. I love [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] too ([name_m]Declan[/name_m] is my nephew & [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] is his doggy brother!). [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] obviously both start w/‘R’ though. A few other maybe slightly more unique Celtic names that you may like:

[name_m]Ciaran[/name_m]

[name_m]Calum[/name_m]

[name_m]Colm[/name_m]-This is my [name_u]Rhys[/name_u]. My favorite name that I never suggest for fear of over exposure. But it’s perfect w/[name_u]Rhys[/name_u]. It’s basically said like [name_m]Cole[/name_m]-um. It’s sort of hard to say, so I personally would be too afraid to use it in real life.

[name_m]Ewan[/name_m]-my other top favorite name. I also like this w/[name_u]Rhys[/name_u], & it’s way less common than [name_m]Declan[/name_m] or [name_u]Dylan[/name_u].

[name_m]Hamish[/name_m]

[name_u]Leith[/name_u]

[name_m]Malcolm[/name_m]

[name_u]Niall[/name_u]

[name_u]Noel[/name_u]

[name_u]Owen[/name_u]-this is pretty popular, but I love it. It’s the perfect combination of rugged & soulful.

[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]

[name_u]Rafe[/name_u]-This doesn’t go w/[name_u]Rhys[/name_u], but an alternative if for some reason [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] doesn’t work.

[name_u]Shea[/name_u]

[name_u]Shaw[/name_u]

  • Scandinavian names: [name_m]Nils[/name_m], [name_m]Soren[/name_m], [name_m]Anders[/name_m], [name_m]Piers[/name_m]-I like [name_m]Nils[/name_m] a lot. Are [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_m]Nils[/name_m] too match-y? Nah, I don’t think so. I like [name_m]Soren[/name_m] though!

  • Underused Old Testament names: [name_m]Isaac[/name_m], [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m], [name_m]Ezra[/name_m], [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]/[name_m]Sol[/name_m]/[name_m]Saul[/name_m] (I also like [name_m]Eli[/name_m] and [name_m]Levi[/name_m], though they are more common)-I think that [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] & [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] are just as popular as [name_m]Eli[/name_m] & [name_m]Levi[/name_m]. Maybe not as much as [name_m]Eli[/name_m]. I meet a lot of those. It’s a great name though. I love [name_m]Solomon[/name_m] nn [name_m]Sol[/name_m] or [name_m]Solly[/name_m]. It’s very handsome. A few more ideas in similar vain:

[name_u]Asa[/name_u]-I love love this one.

[name_m]Amos[/name_m]

[name_m]Abel[/name_m]

[name_u]Ira[/name_u]

[name_m]Joel[/name_m]

[name_u]Shiloh[/name_u]-One of my top favorites!

  • [name_m]Favorite[/name_m] TV characters, book characters, authors, etc.: [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m], [name_m]Lev[/name_m], [name_u]Francis[/name_u]/[name_m]Frank[/name_m], [name_m]Wilder[/name_m]/[name_m]Wiley[/name_m], [name_m]Bram[/name_m]-I like [name_u]Francis[/name_u], but it’s getting a bit more popular for girls too. [name_m]Wilder[/name_m] is adorable.

-“Cowboy/Old [name_u]West[/name_u]” names: [name_u]Corbin[/name_u], [name_m]Harlan[/name_m], [name_u]Whit[/name_u]-I like [name_u]Whit[/name_u] a lot. [name_m]Clive[/name_m] is another cool cowboy name to consider.

  • [name_m]Wild[/name_m] Cards: [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u], [name_m]Tycho[/name_m]-[name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] is pretty nice. I don’t care for [name_m]Tycho[/name_m]. It reminds me of psycho.

  • Celtic names but different than mine: [name_u]Finn[/name_u] (bad associations for me), [name_m]Eamon[/name_m] (which I do like but worry about pronunciation).-I love [name_u]Finn[/name_u], but obviously don’t use if it it’s a bad association for you. I love [name_m]Eamon[/name_m] too. Another one of my nephews. It gets mispronounced sometimes, but people figure it out quickly. It’s worth it to me to have a handsome unique name.

  • Classic Greek/[name_m]Roman[/name_m] names: Aulus, [name_m]Marcus[/name_m] (he wants to in-detail read the works of [name_m]Marcus[/name_m] [name_m]Aurelius[/name_m] to ensure that he agrees with them first), a lot of other -us and -ys names that I found unwieldy.-[name_m]Marcus[/name_m] & [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] sound like a nice compromise for you guys. I also like [name_m]Aurelius[/name_m], even though it’s a bit much.

  • Popular names like [name_m]Liam[/name_m] and [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] (which I want to stay away from!!!)-Well, obviously. ;). Both great names though.

  • [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] (which I like but worry about the flow with the last name, which has a lot of -ar sounds, think [name_u]Carter[/name_u] or [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u])-[name_m]Ah[/name_m], yeah. I think that fn/ln flow is important too. [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] is cute though.

Hopefully my rambling helps you a little bit. Best of luck. :slight_smile:

I love a lot of the names you’ve listed.

I’ll go with [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] for Boy number 1. I love it an it goes with a lot of names your BF likes as well. My faves from the list would probably be:

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] (cute, short, modern with a traditional touch)
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_m]Eamon[/name_m] (classic Irish/Welsh)
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_m]Anders[/name_m] (both very flowing masculine names which are the right amount of unsual)

All of these go well together in my eyes. Rather than going with one theme per boy, I’d personally mix and match. I.e. if one gets the Welsh first and one the Scandinavian one, then switch it around for the middles. Or give both a similarly themed middle but different firsts etc. Otherwise it gets too theme-y and intentionally different from each other for me. E.g.:

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Arvid[/name_m] & [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] [name_m]Soren[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Solomon[/name_m] & [name_m]Eamon[/name_m] [name_m]Gideon[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_u]August[/name_u] & [name_m]Anders[/name_m] [name_u]Dylan[/name_u]

From the names the two of you like on your short lists, combos I like for twin boys
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_m]Declan[/name_m]
[name_m]Eamon[/name_m] & [name_m]Isaac[/name_m]
[name_u]Corbin[/name_u] & [name_m]Wilder[/name_m]

Names that you might like …
[name_u]Jude[/name_u]
[name_m]Callum[/name_m]
[name_m]Ewan[/name_m]
[name_u]Elias[/name_u]

Some pairs I love from your current lists (and btw I totally understand your love of R names!):

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Cormac[/name_m]
[name_m]Ronan[/name_m] and [name_m]Cormac[/name_m]
[name_m]Frank[/name_m] and [name_u]Whit[/name_u]
[name_m]Eamon[/name_m] and [name_m]Cormac[/name_m]
[name_u]Finn[/name_u] and [name_m]Ronan[/name_m]
[name_u]Finn[/name_u] and [name_u]Rhys[/name_u]

some others I think are good:
[name_m]Otis[/name_m]
[name_m]Magnus[/name_m]
[name_m]Fergus[/name_m]
[name_m]Rupert[/name_m]
[name_m]Rufus[/name_m]
[name_m]Mac[/name_m]/[name_m]Mack[/name_m]
Joash
[name_u]Rafe[/name_u]
[name_m]Raphael[/name_m]/[name_m]Rafael[/name_m]
[name_m]Johan[/name_m]
[name_m]Ivo[/name_m]
[name_u]August[/name_u]
[name_m]Cosmo[/name_m]
[name_m]Willem[/name_m]
[name_u]Nico[/name_u]

It seems you are really set on [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and that’s wonderful! I totally get you want a beautiful sounding name … but middle names get lost pretty quickly. I like [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Nils[/name_m] together but I really like nearly all your names … especially the Scandinavian names. I like the thought of the names both ending with the same sound “s” without being matchy matchy. The Scandinavian names are a little different but not super wild.

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Eamon[/name_m]
[name_m]Nils[/name_m] [name_u]Arlo[/name_u]
[name_m]Nils[/name_m] [name_m]Oliver[/name_m]
[name_m]Soren[/name_m] oliver
[name_m]Anders[/name_m] [name_m]Liam[/name_m]

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Tycho[/name_m] and [name_m]Eamon[/name_m] Aulus from your list seems like a good bet

Other ideas:
[name_m]Galileo[/name_m] (astronomer)
[name_m]Ptolemy[/name_m] (astronomer)
Torben/Torbin
[name_m]Gulliver[/name_m]

From your list I like:
[name_m]Cormac[/name_m] & [name_m]Harlan[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] & [name_m]Eamon[/name_m]
[name_u]Corbin[/name_u] & [name_m]Wilder[/name_m]
[name_m]Levi[/name_m] & [name_m]Tycho[/name_m]
[name_m]Frank[/name_m] & [name_m]Roger[/name_m]

[name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], and want to suggest [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] and [name_m]Magnus[/name_m]! [name_m]Magnus[/name_m] hits the Scandinavian and Latin your boyfriend seems to like, and while it sounds regal I think it also sounds like a sweet cuddly guy, which is also the impression I get from [name_u]Rhys[/name_u]. I also like the idea of maybe giving [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] a more Scandi middle and a Scandi twin a more Celtic middle - so maybe…

[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Boden[/name_m] and [name_m]Magnus[/name_m] [name_m]Ian[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Anders[/name_m] and [name_m]Magnus[/name_m] [name_m]Eamon[/name_m]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] [name_m]Stellan[/name_m] and [name_m]Magnus[/name_m] [name_u]Niall[/name_u]