Word name + word surname?

Boy Names
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It’s been a minute since I’ve been on here, hi berries! I’ve been considering changing my name recently because I don’t feel very connected to my birth name ([name_u]Ellis[/name_u]). It just doesn’t suit me anymore. I’ve found that I like a lot of word names, specifically noun names, but my last name is a noun and I’m not sure if it would work or just sound like a stage name or something. If you can think of anything that might work I’d love some ideas. [name_f]My[/name_f] last name isn’t [name_u]River[/name_u], but functionally it’s the same, so feel free to use that as an example last name.

At the moment the ones I like the most are [name_u]Sage[/name_u] and Oak.

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I personally try to avoid them, but in my opinion they are fine as long as the first name isn’t an adjective, so it doesn’t sound like a description.

Sage [name_u]River[/name_u]? Fine.
[name_u]Blue[/name_u] [name_u]River[/name_u]? No.

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4

A combination of two words as a name is something I usually advice to avoid.

But I know someone with a first name that’s both a word and an established name and a word surname. She wears her name well and it has never seemed weird to me, or to anyone else as far as I know.

So it’s not ideal but it can work.

Sage and [name_u]Oak[/name_u] are a bit tricky because they’re not that common as a name so I think most people will see it as a word first and as a name second. A word name that has been used as a name more often and for a longer time might be easier to pull off, for example [name_u]Jay[/name_u].

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it depends. i think in this situation [name_u]Sage[/name_u] & [name_u]Oak[/name_u] aren’t the best choices because they’re nature names and so is [name_u]River[/name_u]. i wouldn’t say you have to avoid word names altogether ([name_u]Mason[/name_u] [name_u]River[/name_u] sounds fine, for example), but i’d avoid nature names.

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The person I know with double word names also has two nature names.

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I just thought of someone else I know that also has a word name and a word surname. She also wears it well and I don’t think her name sounds like a stage name. But she also has a common first name and her surname is a bit more ‘boring’ than [name_u]River[/name_u], so less like a stage name anyway.

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My first and surname are both words. As long as it doesn’t sound too descriptive, I think it’s fine

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I’ve determined that it depends greatly on the name. [name_f]My[/name_f] boyfriend has an occupational surname (let’s use [name_u]Miller[/name_u] as an example)

[name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_u]Miller[/name_u] - works because [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is common enough

[name_u]Forest[/name_u] [name_u]Miller[/name_u] - probably not (this actually works fine with [name_u]Miller[/name_u], but with his actual surname it sounds weird)

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Is your surname by chance [name_u]River[/name_u] in another language? I find that linguistic difference can make multiple word names together sound less wordy to the ear.

For example: naming someone [name_u]Sage[/name_u] Flowers is a bit much, but [name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_u]Fiore[/name_u] or even [name_u]Sage[/name_u] [name_m]Flores[/name_m] sounds less wordy because the words are in different languages.

I think if your last name means river or the like in another language, then the nature word names you’re considering will probably sound just fine with it and not over the top.

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