[name_u]Baby[/name_u] Boy is due in [name_u]November[/name_u] and our [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is going to be a big sister.
My husband and I have loved the name [name_u]Owen[/name_u] for a while now, but it’s become too popular for my taste. My husband is definitely not happy with me. My current favorite is [name_m]Callan[/name_m] - [name_u]Cal[/name_u] for short. But my husband hates that he’s never heard that name before and when he polled family and friends on our list of names, only his dad and my friends liked it. Everyone else disliked it. So he’s opposed to [name_m]Callan[/name_m].
My husband prefers traditional/common. My husband’s only stipulations are “[name_f]Do[/name_f] we like it?” and “[name_m]Will[/name_m] other people like it too?” He doesn’t want a name his family will think is weird.
I have a wide variety of taste, but my rules are:
Can’t start or end with an S. Our last name is Simononis (sim-ohn-NO-nis). I don’t want a double S or a first name that doesn’t really end because the S just flows into the last name. Example: [name_m]Silas[/name_m] Simononis. [name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_m]Silas[/name_m], but I can’t do it.
Short - preferably 2 syllables. Our last name is 4 syllables long. Our child doesn’t need any more of a mouthful.
Can’t start with a J, K, or L. I want everyone in our family to have a different initial. So with my husband being [name_m]Joe[/name_m], me being [name_u]Kelsey[/name_u], and our daughter being [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], that takes those letters out of the mix.
Less popular than the top 40. (I don’t know if this is considered “above” or “below” the top 40)
A nice meaning to the name. My name means “Island of the big ships” whomp whomp. I want a good meaning to their name,
I have offered over 100 different options for alternatives. Here is our current list of names with their meanings and popularity in 2017. Yes, some of these names break my rules.
The middle name is going to be Samuel (sentimental family name).
[name_u]Brett[/name_u] - Native of [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] - 749
[name_m]Brian[/name_m] - Strong; Virtuous; honorable - 217
[name_u]Cade[/name_u] - Round - 445
[name_m]Callan[/name_m] ([name_u]Cal[/name_u]) - Chatter; [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f] hawk - 681
[name_m]Calvin[/name_m] ([name_u]Cal[/name_u]) - [name_m]Bald[/name_m]; hairless - 145
[name_u]Carson[/name_u] - [name_m]Son[/name_m] of: the marsh-dwellers; Carr - 83
[name_m]Cole[/name_m] - [name_f]Victory[/name_f] of the people; black - 115
[name_m]Eric[/name_m] - [name_f]Eternal[/name_f] ruler; ever powerful - 143
[name_m]Jack[/name_m] - God is gracious - 35
[name_m]Jeffrey[/name_m] ([name_m]Jeff[/name_m]) - God’s peace; pledge of peace - 323
[name_u]Jude[/name_u] - [name_f]Praise[/name_f] - 157
[name_u]Lee[/name_u] - Pasture; [name_f]Meadow[/name_f]; [name_f]Plum[/name_f] - 680
[name_m]Maxwell[/name_m] ([name_u]Max[/name_u]) - From the great well/stream - 133
[name_m]Miles[/name_m] - Soldier; Merciful - 110
[name_m]Nathan[/name_m] - He gave; given - 45
[name_m]Nicholas[/name_m] ([name_u]Nick[/name_u]) - [name_f]Victory[/name_f] of the people - 68
[name_u]Owen[/name_u] - [name_m]Young[/name_m] warrior; [name_m]Noble[/name_m] - 28
[name_m]Preston[/name_m] - Spiritual Place - 190
[name_u]Ryan[/name_u] - [name_m]Little[/name_m] king - 43
[name_m]Trent[/name_m] - Torrent; Flood - 657
[name_m]Troy[/name_m] - Foot Soldier - 351
Are there other ways to get to [name_u]Cal[/name_u] that he might appreciate more? [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] (I see you mentioned that one)? [name_m]Callum[/name_m]? [name_m]Callahan[/name_m]? [name_m]Calloway[/name_m]? I just love [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] and [name_u]Cal[/name_u]. I hope he sees the light! That’s definitely my favorite from your list. I do like [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] and [name_u]Jude[/name_u], but it’s a little Beatles-heavy (Across the Universe) for me.
[name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_m]Brian[/name_m], [name_m]Eric[/name_m] and [name_m]Maxwell[/name_m] from the list - will suggest [name_m]Callum[/name_m] and [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] as an alternative to [name_m]Callan[/name_m]
[name_m]Caleb[/name_m] - #50 devotion to God
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] - #69 help
[name_m]Gavin[/name_m] - #96 white hawk
[name_m]Griffin[/name_m] - #243 strong [name_m]Lord[/name_m]
I can’t see you two ever getting common ground - he cares about what people think, you loving unusual names. You could tell him it other people’s opinion won’t matter that much… he really can’t predict positive outcome if he cares so mcuh about people’s opinion…
I love [name_m]Eric[/name_m] from your list - [name_m]Eric[/name_m] [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] is beautiful!
I do think, though, that if you and your husband have loved [name_u]Owen[/name_u] for a while, you shouldn’t be put off - popular names often don’t stay that way for long, and popularity differs from state to state anyway.
My first though is definitely keep [name_u]Owen[/name_u] in the running- it’s a gorgeous name!!! While it may be popular on all the lists, perhaps ask yourself how many [name_m]Owens[/name_m] under 5 years old do you know of and how many do you actually know? If there aren’t any, it shouldn’t matter how popular a name is on a national scale, but if there are 4 little [name_m]Owens[/name_m] in your close friendship circle then maybe you have cause to reconsider. Although [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is quite high on the popularity charts not all of them will be sharing the playground together!
If you really do want to consider another name, I would suggest [name_m]Callum[/name_m] like most other berries have. Its 2 syllables, and has Celtic roots as [name_u]Owen[/name_u] does- [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is Welsh and [name_m]Callum[/name_m] is Scottish. As for meaning, I think “dove” is very lovely with its peaceful and pure connotations. Hopefully it’s familiar enough for your partner, but at number 611 on the popularity charts it’s certainly not likely to dominate the school yard. And of course you can still shorten it to [name_u]Cal[/name_u].
Other suggestions to get to [name_u]Cal[/name_u]:
[name_m]Caleb[/name_m]
[name_m]Callaghan[/name_m]
[name_u]Calder[/name_u]
[name_m]Pascal[/name_m]
[name_m]Macaulay[/name_m] (possibly)
This is so unhelpful to your plight but I love the name [name_m]Callan[/name_m], it’s probably my top choice right now and my DH just says “I prefer [name_m]Callum[/name_m]…” He doesn’t like anything unusual either so, I can sympathise. Haha.
I adore the nn. [name_u]Cal[/name_u] so I too have been trying to think of other ways to get to it. [name_m]Callum[/name_m], [name_m]Calhoun[/name_m], [name_m]Calloway[/name_m], [name_m]Calvin[/name_m], [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] are all I’ve come up with.
[name_u]Owen[/name_u] was given to 9,312 boys in 2017. If you live in the States, you can break that down into 50 states and realize that it’s actually not that popular. The Social Security Administration lists the top 100 names in each state. You can take a look to see how popular [name_u]Owen[/name_u] is in your state if you live in the US. Popular Names by State
What about [name_m]Charles[/name_m], nn [name_u]Cal[/name_u]? It’s a bit of a stretch but [name_m]Charles[/name_m] is definitely not an unusual name, which might work for you guys. Also, it has various nice meanings… I’ve seen “free man” and “warrior”. It comes with many nicknames, like [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], [name_m]Chaz[/name_m], [name_u]Cal[/name_u], [name_m]Chip[/name_m], [name_m]Carl[/name_m], [name_m]Chay[/name_m], [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], [name_u]Carroll[/name_u], [name_m]Chuck[/name_m], [name_m]Chad[/name_m], and [name_u]Cary[/name_u].
I also think that if you love [name_u]Owen[/name_u], go for it!
I love [name_m]Calvin[/name_m]. Can you just think about [name_m]Calvin[/name_m] and [name_m]Hobbes[/name_m] and not worry about the bald thing? My name means “princess” and I surprisingly cared very little about that as a little girl.
I also like:
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] & [name_m]Miles[/name_m] (modern vintage, I think [name_m]Miles[/name_m] flows fine with your surname)
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] & [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] (very Victorian countryside)
[name_f]Lucy[/name_f] & [name_m]Cormac[/name_m] (“son of the raven” on behind the name) nn [name_m]Mac[/name_m]