Ok, two part question here. I’ve really been trying to make either [name_m]Harold[/name_m] or [name_m]Floyd[/name_m] work, but let’s be real neither one really does.
First question: [name_m]How[/name_m] do you deal with potentially hurting a family member’s (my Grandmother, who I’m very close with) feelings by not choosing to honor my Grandfather? She mentioned it would make her very happy if we used his name, but I just can’t get it to feel right.
Second question: Assuming we throw out both [name_m]Floyd[/name_m] and [name_m]Harold[/name_m], can you help me with more name options combos to add to the list below? Any other easy-to-pronounce-for-Americans Welsh names? Scottish names? ([name_u]Owen[/name_u] is out! Our last name is Wils0n)
Please note we are not completely set on [name_m]Vaughn[/name_m], it’s just very fresh in my mind and I’m excited about it because DH actually said he liked it!! It also has the same meaning as the name [name_m]Paul[/name_m], and [name_m]Paul[/name_m] is the name of my Great Uncle, my Uncle and my brother. As of right now, our baby is tentatively named [name_m]Vaughn[/name_m] [name_m]Harold[/name_m], but it just doesn’t quite feel right.
I think you are very boxed in because you have not just one, but two men who it would be very nice to honor despite their slightly old fashioned names. If there was just one, you could put it in the middle and be done, but in your situation I think it might be better to think about other ways to honor them besides names. Maybe your grandmother could help you pick out some things for your son…art for his nursery, a special toy of some sort, a bedtime story, etc, that relates to her husband and shows her that you plan to be telling lots of Grandpa [name_m]Hal[/name_m] stories. You could do the same thing for the living grandfather, or just make a real point of visiting him and wanting him to meet your little guy. If it’s your husband’s grandfather, maybe you already have the advantage of passing on his last name too.
[name_f]One[/name_f] random thought…if you’re not completely against invented names, Hayd would actually make a pretty decent middle.
Thank you, those are great suggestions. Not sure I like Hayd, but it is a good suggestion too. I think I’m just going to have to suck it up and find a name that we love, instead of feeling slightly obligated to use one of these names.
We are in an identical predicament with awful names ([name_m]Norman[/name_m] and [name_m]Walter[/name_m]… I think I have you beat!) so one of my thoughts was to see about name meanings and pick a name with a similar meaning. It looks like your meanings are just as bad as mine though! (In fact, [name_m]Walter[/name_m] and [name_m]Harold[/name_m] have the same violent “army ruler” meaning - UGH.)
I’m assuming you don’t like [name_m]Harry[/name_m]? [name_m]Harry[/name_m] feels very underused classic/vintage and stylish right now, but if you don’t like it then that’s fine.
Out of the names you have there, I like [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] [name_m]Vaughn[/name_m] best. [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] is such a cool name.
Thanks everyone. Yes, it is for sure a boy. I actually asked the ultrasound tech if she was sure, and she said “Well, girls don’t have testicles so I’m pretty sure.”
As far as the meanings go, I used Behind the Name to search for “army ruler” and I literally do not like any of the names that came up. [name_m]Floyd[/name_m] means either “grey” or “grey-haired.” I don’t mind [name_u]Grey[/name_u] as a name, actually. The other issue I’m running into is that I feel that if we used [name_m]Floyd[/name_m] or a tribute to it, my family might be hurt since my Grandfather passed away very recently, but I don’t feel this would be an issue if we used [name_m]Harold[/name_m] and not [name_m]Floyd[/name_m] with DH’s family - I don’t think they’d care. Does that make sense?
I am going to call my husband to talk about it, then call my Grandmother and probably break some news to her that we probably won’t be using [name_m]Harold[/name_m]. This is stressful!!! LOL
Depending how much your families talk to eachother, maybe you don’t need to worry about it too much? Especially if you end up doing something like [name_u]Grey[/name_u] for [name_m]Floyd[/name_m]. My daughter’s middle name is after both my dad and my mom’s sides of the family…but my mom has hinted that maybe we don’t have to remind her mother of the connection on my dad’s side because she isn’t really the world’s greatest at sharing.
For talking to your grandmother, I’d suggest saying something like “The more we’ve thought about it, the more we realize how lucky we are to have 2 (or 3, or 4) grandfathers who all mean so much to us, but every time we think about using one name we feel like we’re leaving someone else out, so we think we’re going to avoid naming this baby after one specific person and instead focus on how he’s the newest member of all of these incredible branches of our family”
I have a [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] [name_m]Floyd[/name_m]! It’s a family name. I wouldn’t use it as a first, but as a middle it grew on me. Eveyone in my family has a middle name with a family connection. I like it. It’s a special tradition for us. [name_m]How[/name_m] often do you use your middle name anyway?
If you really can’t live with it, grandma will get over it. I just wanted to offer another perspective.
What about [name_m]Hal[/name_m] for [name_m]Harold[/name_m]? Have you considered either of their middle names? What about last names, if they’re different from yours?
