Virtue/namesake name for little bro due this summer!

Boy Names
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Hey berries! I need your help naming our son. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I have made list after list of names, narrowed it down and then started over again multiple times now because the short list just doesn’t feel like “the one”. Beginning to feel down to the wire. Looking for some fresh perspective!

There are a number of things we’d like to incorporate:

Meaning: I really want the name to either have the inherent meaning - or be named after a person who stood for the meaning – of righteousness and justice and caring for others. I think of [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] in Scripture who was wealthy but used his means to provide income for a number of people, who knew his employees by name and blessed them/cared about their lives, set aside extra for the poor and disadvantaged.

I’m not crazy about the name [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] (nickname ‘[name_u]Bo[/name_u]’ is too southern for me) but that is the sentiment I’d really like to hit with this name: deep character of righteousness and justice that through everyday faithfulness lifts up a society.

Background/sound: We both favor biblical names and are open to a number of those.
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband’s side is Irish and he really likes the Irish sounding names like [name_u]Braeden[/name_u], [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], [name_u]Camden[/name_u]… but these rhyme with our firstborn’s name. Not sure if I want to rhyme the first two when we’re hoping to have a third kiddo at some point.

Names we’ve considered, then scrapped, but are kinda still open to: [name_m]Jason[/name_m], [name_u]Dale[/name_u], [name_u]Asher[/name_u], [name_m]Levi[/name_m], [name_m]Silas[/name_m], [name_m]Justin[/name_m], [name_m]William[/name_m]. Other than [name_u]Dale[/name_u], these all feel too popular in contrast to our daughter’s name which is in the 300s.

We’d love to honor family with the first or the middle. Options being [name_u]Barrett[/name_u], [name_m]Don[/name_m], [name_m]Joel[/name_m], [name_u]Leland[/name_u], [name_u]Riley[/name_u], [name_m]Robert[/name_m] or [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u].

If we were having a girl her name would probably be something like [name_f]Verity[/name_f] with a family middle name.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and perspective!

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[name_m]How[/name_m] about…

[name_m]Joshua[/name_m]
[name_m]Reuben[/name_m]
[name_m]David[/name_m]
[name_m]Daniel[/name_m]
[name_m]Judah[/name_m]
[name_m]Isaac[/name_m]
[name_m]Ethan[/name_m]
[name_u]Noble[/name_u]
[name_u]Valor[/name_u]
[name_u]True[/name_u]
[name_u]Truth[/name_u]
[name_m]Truett[/name_m]
[name_m]Simon[/name_m]
[name_m]Philip[/name_m]
[name_m]Lucas[/name_m]
[name_m]Josiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Isaiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Eli[/name_m]
[name_m]Elijah[/name_m]

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Thanks for these! [name_m]Reuben[/name_m], [name_m]Judah[/name_m], [name_m]Eli[/name_m] and [name_m]Elijah[/name_m] have all been on our list at some point… good solid names but I’m having trouble locking in as ‘the one’. I absolutely adore [name_u]Valor[/name_u] but my husband wants something with manlier nicknames. [name_m]Truett[/name_m] I hadn’t thought of; I like the virtue reference there… might work to honor [name_u]Barrett[/name_u] as well.
Thanks for the thought you put into these. :slight_smile:

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Caleb could be a good match for you - stood up for justice when faced by adversity. And the Hebrew word for ‘heart’ is the root of the name.

Caleb [name_m]Joel[/name_m]/ [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] [name_u]Riley[/name_u]?

What about [name_m]Itay[/name_m] (EE-tahy)? A minor personality in scripture who is known for being a loyal friend through thick and thin. [name_u]Tay[/name_u] or [name_m]Ty[/name_m] would be great nicknames.

Itay [name_u]Leland[/name_u] / [name_m]Itai[/name_m] [name_u]Barrett[/name_u]?

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Raphael and [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] were the first ones that came to mind

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Ahhh, I love your style! (And am a bit curious what you could’ve possibly named your daughter—I’m sure it’s brilliant!)

Boaz is one of my favorite names in the whole world, and I actually love [name_u]Bo[/name_u], but it sounds like you want something in that vein, something that honors your faith and feels fresh, but just… isn’t [name_m]Boaz[/name_m]. Lol.

Some rarer Bible characters on my own list:

Aquila
[name_u]Asa[/name_u]
[name_m]Judah[/name_m]
[name_m]Bartholomew[/name_m]
[name_m]Reuben[/name_m]
[name_m]Barnabas[/name_m]

When I think of truly GOOD, delightful namesakes, I think of:

Jeremiah (I don’t like his name, lol, personally, but what a man of God! Plus, [name_u]Remy[/name_u] or [name_m]Eero[/name_m]/Arrow might be fun nns as a stretch. I know a couple Jeremiahs, and they go by either [name_u]Jere[/name_u] (JARE), JJ, or [name_f]Miah[/name_f] (like [name_f]Maya[/name_f]).)
[name_m]Barzillai[/name_m] (very little-known sweet old man who helped [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_m]David[/name_m] during the period when [name_m]Absalom[/name_m] tried to overthrow [name_m]David[/name_m]’s kingdom)
[name_m]Josiah[/name_m]/Asa - two kings who were known for their goodness, standing up for the right, etc.)
[name_m]Daniel[/name_m], [name_m]Hananiah[/name_m], [name_f]Mishael[/name_f], and [name_u]Azariah[/name_u]
[name_m]Paul[/name_m]
[name_m]Barnabas[/name_m]
[name_m]Joseph[/name_m] (I think of the one from Arimathea who was so kind to [name_m]Jesus[/name_m])
[name_m]Isaiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Gideon[/name_m]
[name_m]Peter[/name_m]

Virtue names are harder for boys, but I like [name_u]Valor[/name_u], [name_u]Brave[/name_u], and [name_u]Noble[/name_u] for middles, which aren’t quite so amazing for a faith-based virtue name like [name_f]Grace[/name_f] or [name_f]Verity[/name_f] is.

Another idea might be something like a [name_u]Christian[/name_u] hero that might not have been IN the Bible? I love [name_m]Martin[/name_m], [name_m]Luther[/name_m], and [name_u]Augustine[/name_u] for that reason.

Or maybe just something that means something lovely? I love [name_u]Christian[/name_u]/Cristiano, or even something like [name_f]Tessa[/name_f] (harvester, which reminds me of the verse where [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] promises to send out workers into the harvest), [name_f]Liliana[/name_f] (reminds me of [name_f]Lily[/name_f] of the [name_f]Valley[/name_f], one of [name_m]Jesus[/name_m]’ names), [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] (good news, I think), [name_f]Arabella[/name_f] (prayerful), [name_f]Ariana[/name_f] (very holy one), etc.? I find tons of those for girls but it’s harder to think of any for boys for me. Maybe something along the lines of [name_m]Theophilus[/name_m] (love of God), [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]/Matthias (gift of God), [name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m] (God has given), or even [name_m]Declan[/name_m] (one meaning is “full of goodness”)?

All the best!

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Thanks for these ideas! It’s helpful to have the pairings with the middle names. I have always been partial to [name_m]David[/name_m]’s mighty men (what little boy wouldn’t love to be in a list of mighty men? :D) but I wouldn’t want my son to have to spell/pronounce the name frequently for people. [name_m]Will[/name_m] have to look back on the other names in that list.
Thanks again!

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Thanks for these!

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Thanks for these!! I think we do have similar styles and similar amount of thought put into names, haha.

It’s nice to know you like [name_m]Boaz[/name_m]… I am kinda warming up to it the more people I hear who DO like it. Hadn’t thought of all those nicknames for [name_m]Jeremiah[/name_m]. And yes, I’m familiar with [name_m]Barzillai[/name_m], [name_u]Asa[/name_u], etc… have noted these guys since high school as I’m reading through but now that it’s my own kid it feels a little more real to be sticking a name on someone hehe

Appreciate the church history and meaning name ideas… I like [name_m]Jason[/name_m] a lot for both those reasons (hospitable man in the life of [name_m]Paul[/name_m] and [name_m]Jason[/name_m] means healer) but yeah, I want it to be fresh too… not sure if that is too much of a ‘dad’ name these days?

Appreciate all the thought you put into these!! Thank you so much!

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Lol very true! I’ve stopped myself short of a couple more out there ones—I’m not sure I’d be bold enough to use [name_m]Barzillai[/name_m] or Pudens, much as I adore them!

And I feel you on [name_m]Jason[/name_m]. The coolness of him seems to be lost in the middle of the thousands of [name_m]Jason[/name_m]’s in the world these days. I wonder if [name_m]Jason[/name_m] would feel fresher as a middle, some days. [name_f]My[/name_f] family tree has a fun sibset with [name_m]Jason[/name_m] in it—[name_m]Ambrose[/name_m], [name_f]Patience[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], Zerviah (this one I’m not familiar with?), [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], [name_u]Ezra[/name_u], [name_f]Susanna[/name_f], [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], [name_f]Sybil[/name_f], and [name_m]Jason[/name_m]—which I always thought was really cool, but just [name_m]Jason[/name_m] doesn’t seem as cool, le sigh. Maybe in a decade or two it’ll feel fresh again.

As a secondary thought, have you considered a biblical word name (like [name_u]Cedar[/name_u] or one of the gems described in Revelation that will be in heaven, like [name_m]Jasper[/name_m] or [name_u]Onyx[/name_u]?), or maybe something like [name_m]Casper[/name_m], [name_m]Balthasar[/name_m], or [name_m]Melchior[/name_m]?

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Yep, I’m very open to a word name. That might be a road I need to explore more. I like [name_u]Cedar[/name_u]. I guess there’s also [name_u]Oak[/name_u], a la oaks of righteousness… It’s my husband who is more traditional, especially with boys’ names. But with the right combo he might go for it :slight_smile: Thanks for that idea!

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I’m a fan of [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] too, for the record!
When naming our son recently, we went with [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m] as a strong biblical namesake. Known as one who is a loyal friend, dedicated family member, and one who had a heart completely free of jealousy. So many sweet nicknames you can create from it, and if you combine it with a middle, possibilities are endless.

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Thank you all for your input and ideas! Thanks to the suggestion of @ashthedreamer and one of my close friends we looked more into some justice metaphor names.

Right now we are leaning towards [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] and I am kinda crazy about it!! Fits well with our daughter’s name and love the connection with [name_u]Amos[/name_u] 5:24, (I always hear this in MLK’s voice) “let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream”

Any ideas for a middle for [name_u]Brooks[/name_u]?

[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Riley[/name_u] would be a family name… also considering [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] or [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Elijah[/name_m].

Another option would be Barrett Brooks (Barrett is my husband’s middle).

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Brooks [name_u]Riley[/name_u], [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] and [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Elijah[/name_m] are all amazing. Other ideas:

Brooks [name_u]Declan[/name_u]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Eamon[/name_m]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Finley[/name_u]/Finlay/Finnegan/Phinean
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Hurley[/name_m]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Kevin[/name_m]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Liam[/name_u]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Neil[/name_u]/Niall
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Oran[/name_m]/Oren/Orin
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Oscar[/name_m]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Ryan[/name_u]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Seamus[/name_m]
[name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Troy[/name_m]

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Brooks [name_u]Finley[/name_u]! Hadn’t thought of that.
I like [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] and [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m] too.
We both tend to lean towards the more Irish names…

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