My fiance and I are looking for some honest opinions on the combo [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Rio[/name_u]. We also like the spelling [name_m]Weyland[/name_m] more, as it is the traditional spelling in the old medieval books of the blacksmith character. But we think that [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] will fly today more. What do you think?
I think [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Rio[/name_u] is a great name! Very handsome!
I am thinking I have very different taste in names than you do and that [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Rio[/name_u] sounds to me like a [name_u]West[/name_u] [name_u]Texas[/name_u] carnival.
Thank you both for the feedback. @leslie: My taste is all over the place; I don’t really have a style, but I appreciate your honest answer.
I also think we probably have quite different taste in names. To be honest, the first thing I thought of when I read it was [name_m]Waylon[/name_m] Smithers. But when I googled his name to get the spelling, I saw that the Smithers character was named after a puppeteer called [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] Flowers and he spelled his name the same way that you want to, so I don’t think that spelling is a problem if that’s the name you like 
We actually chose [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] after the legendary medieval blacksmith…and also because it sounds pretty good with our last name.
I really like the combo!
I really like [name_m]Wayland[/name_m], and [name_u]Rio[/name_u] is fun, but there’s something about the combo that just doesn’t sit right with me. I understand from you signature that taking two names from very different backgrounds and putting them together is what you do with all your combos (I love so many of them! [name_f]Valeska[/name_f] [name_u]Tempo[/name_u] in particular, and Oya [name_f]Starling[/name_f] which I’ve mentioned, but also [name_f]Sarina[/name_f] [name_f]Doe[/name_f], [name_f]Fern[/name_f] [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f], [name_u]Leland[/name_u] Emeric, [name_m]Hector[/name_m] [name_m]Amadeus[/name_m] and [name_m]Hans[/name_m] Troubadour (swoon!)).
The imagery on this one is so jarring however. With [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] I imagine myself sitting in solitude by a mountain lake, the only sounds being birds singing, the cluck of a brook and the rush of rivers on the other side of the lake, and a sheep bell in the distance accompanied by the occasional baa. Then out of the blue comes the carnival?!?!
Would you consider a different middle?
@dearest: Thanks for your feedback! Yes, I do like to pair names that would not usually be seen as the same style or background. To me, that’s a more global appeal and I pair names more for their meaning and their sound together, rather than style or anything. My signature is filled with names I will probably never get to use. The list that my fiance and I agree on/like is quite different from this signature.
As far as [name_u]Rio[/name_u] goes, well, it means river, so it fits in perfectly with your first image. The carnival association is not what comes to mind to me at first, but I kind of like that association as well. For [name_m]Wayland[/name_m], I usually think of the blacksmith: so cave and fire imagery, which kind of compliments [name_u]Rio[/name_u]. We also have [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Reed[/name_u], [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Royce[/name_u], [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_m]Gregor[/name_m], [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_m]Thoreau[/name_m], and a couple others on our list. None of them were exciting us too much, though. I will definitely consider other middles for [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] as it’s been a difficult name to pair up, especially if [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Rio[/name_u] doesn’t flow well or something. But right now it’s the combo I’m most leaning toward because it does sound nice to me and the imagery I get works.
I honestly would use the [name_m]Weyland[/name_m] spelling instead of [name_m]Wayland[/name_m]. [name_m]Weyland[/name_m] looks more like a name to me where as [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] looks more like a word. I don’t think you’ll have much more trouble with [name_m]Weyland[/name_m] than you would with [name_m]Wayland[/name_m].
I actually prefer [name_m]Weyland[/name_m] [name_u]Reed[/name_u], but [name_m]Weyland[/name_m] [name_u]Rio[/name_u] is fine too.
Seeing the same name and having different associations is fairly common I guess. The river part comes a lot later for me, especially since I have to get through the carnival to find it, but I understand how if it came first the names feel better together.
For what it’s worth, I also like [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Reed[/name_u] better than [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Rio[/name_u]. I think a name with one or more than two syllables would be best. [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] Emeric or [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_m]Amadeus[/name_m] are both great (just stealing inspiration from your signature) and I like [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Royce[/name_u] also.
Something like [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_m]Ianto[/name_m] or [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Oberon[/name_u], or maybe [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_u]Lake[/name_u] (hah!) or [name_m]Wayland[/name_m] [name_m]Heath[/name_m]?
The 2-2 syllable pattern is sort of tricky to pull off…