My wife and I have somehow managed to make it a little over 8 months without agreeing on a name for a boy due on 3-23-2013 (aka 4 days from now). This is shocking to nobody. I’m the guy that will not ask for directions because, really, i’ll figure it out eventually and enjoy the process. Not this time, I need some assistance stat. My wife is surprisingly nonchalant about the whole thing, I think she has something up her sleeve.
Anyhow, our last name is [name]ELLIS[/name]. We are locked in on using [name]THOMAS[/name] as a middle name or, much less likely, as a first name in honor of a recently deceased great uncle who was a great outdoorsman and all around hilarious guy. We find these to be pretty common names and would like our son to have something with a little more panache without going over the deep end with the first name. Our various families are Welsh, [name]German[/name], and Taiwanese which would be nice to incorporate if possible (ha ha, good luck). Below is our list, any comments on these names or suggestions for others would be very helpful and much appreciated.
[name]Vaughn[/name] (the one name we both like but it means “small” and our kid is likely to be small so we nixed it)
[name]Bram[/name]
[name]Dean[/name]
[name]Harlan[/name]
[name]Griffin[/name] (nn [name]Finn[/name])
[name]Baird[/name]
[name]Hallam[/name]
[name]Eamon[/name]
[name]Amir[/name]
[name]Ivan[/name] (wife’s favorite that I am not psyched about)
Temujin (mn option with [name]Thomas[/name] as first)
For some additional background.
Choices vetoed by wife, with gusto:
[name]Ronan[/name]
[name]Drake[/name]
[name]Teilo[/name]
[name]Dante[/name]
[name]Merlin[/name]
[name]Leopold[/name]
[name]Otto[/name]
[name]Lincoln[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Fielding[/name]
[name]Bruno[/name]
[name]Lennox[/name]
[name]Mercury[/name]
Choices vetoed by nasty ol husband which are 66% of her suggestions (come on hon, you’re not even trying):
[name]Casper[/name]
[name]Fitz[/name]
Hmmm. Sparty! Or [name]Brutus[/name]! (You’re welcome.)
[name]Eamon[/name] is my favorite of your joint list, though it’s not the only one I like. I don’t know how many people you’re going to run into who’ll be able to render “small” from [name]Vaughn[/name] right off the top of their heads (wild guess: none), so I personally wouldn’t worry about it. I mean, it’s not like it’s a bad thing to be small. But if it still bothers you, it still bothers you.
I think I like [name]Griffin[/name] and [name]Dean[/name] from your agreed list. Of course [name]Leopold[/name] should be on there too but…
[name]How[/name] about:
[name]Wolfgang[/name]
[name]Tor[/name]
[name]Elliot[/name] ( too much w last name?)
[name]Gustavo[/name]
[name]Hugo[/name]
[name]Rocco[/name]
[name]Enzo[/name]
[name]Ty[/name]
[name]Winston[/name]
[name]Rupert[/name]
[name]Archie[/name]
From your list, I like [name]Griffin[/name], [name]Eamon[/name], and [name]Amir[/name] best. I second pp’s suggestions of [name]Emrys[/name], [name]Malcolm[/name], and [name]Balthazar[/name].
Also…Temujin? Like…Genghis Khan? I feel like that one might get some averse reactions. I’m just curious, though. What’s the story behind it?
First of all, hilarious post. Having been in that exact situation (baby due in days and no name), I can say I did not have anywhere near the great sense of humor about it that you do, and that’s really fantastic. Plus it gave me a good laugh.
[name]Vaughn[/name] – sounds great with [name]Ellis[/name] and 99.9% of people who meet your son will have no idea it means small (I didn’t). Plus it’s Welsh, which honors your heritage, which I love. Name meanings don’t mean a lot to me – I honestly can’t even tell you what my one-year-old son’s name means, nor could almost anyone in the real world (despite it being a very common name – [name]Samuel[/name]).
[name]Eamon[/name] – sounds even better with [name]Ellis[/name], and I think sounds the best with [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] and I love the alliteration. [name]Eamon[/name] [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Ellis[/name]. Wow. That is a super handsome name. The only downside is it doesn’t incorporate one of the cultures you mentioned (though I could be wrong about that).
[name]Griffin[/name] – sounds perfect with [name]Ellis[/name] and pretty great with [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] and gets you some Welsh in the name. [name]Griffin[/name] [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Ellis[/name]. Very respectable and cool name.
It’s between [name]Griffin[/name] and [name]Eamon[/name] for me … though [name]Harlan[/name] is really sneaking up on me and getting into my brain. [name]Harlan[/name] [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] is also a great name and (I think) not as popular as [name]Griffin[/name].
My advice would be to wait until he’s born. I was against doing that with every fiber of my being and wanted a name beforehand, but we couldn’t come up with one and when he was born we ended up picking one that neither of us even liked before he was born, and it’s perfect for him. You both (or at least you) have done your research and have lots of great names to choose from, and you have the middle name down, which is a huge step. I think you both should relax and enjoy your last days of freedom … I mean … nope, I meant freedom.
I think [name]Vaughn[/name] would make a great name! I second the person who stated that 99% of people won’t know it means “small.” However, if the meaning has ruined it for you, what about [name]Anthony[/name]? It’s fairly popular, but I think [name]Anthony[/name] [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] flows nicely.
I love [name]Eamon[/name], [name]Dean[/name], [name]Bram[/name] & [name]Vaughn[/name] from your list. (I’m a massive name nerd and even I didn’t think of small when I read it)
Other Suggestions:
[name]Heath[/name]
[name]Theo[/name]/[name]Theodore[/name]
Lazslo
[name]Firth[/name]
[name]Knox[/name]
[name]Leon[/name]/[name]Levi[/name]/[name]Liam[/name]
[name]Gray[/name]
[name]Ade[/name]
[name]Slate[/name]
[name]Hart[/name] (kinda like [name]Vaughn[/name]?)
[name]Cael[/name]
[name]Clive[/name]
[name]Rush[/name]
[name]Cade[/name]
[name]Soren[/name]
[name]Claude[/name]
[name]Moss[/name]
[name]Mercer[/name]
[name]Warner[/name]
[name]Jesse[/name]
[name]Jethro[/name]
[name]Gage[/name]
Masden/[name]Marsden[/name]/Amsden
Kol
[name]Orson[/name]
[name]Ward[/name]
[name]Vance[/name] (again, kinda like [name]Vaughn[/name])
[name]Elias[/name]
[name]Lee[/name]
Whitt (could be sort for Whittler/Whitsun)
Finn
Solomon
Thorpe
Forgot to point out earlier that if you name him [name]Harlan[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] people will instantly think of [name]Harlan[/name] [name]Ellison[/name].
From your agreed-upon names, I like
[name]Vaughn[/name] (I have no idea what it meant before you told me.)
[name]Bram[/name] (I have a huge crush on this name, but it sounds too similar to my last name.)
[name]Eamon[/name] (This name is pretty cool.)
[name]Ivan[/name] reminds me of the short story “Most Dangerous Game” so I’m on your side for that one.
I’d like to suggest a couple names:
[name]Grover[/name] (I know this name doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it sounds faintly similar to [name]Griffin[/name]. Also, I think [name]Grover[/name] [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] sounds pretty epic. Sorry, if it makes you gag. Moving on.)
[name]Cormac[/name] (I like this name for the same reasons I like [name]Finn[/name]. I noticed [name]Finn[/name] is a possible nickname.)
[name]Oscar[/name] (Similar vibe to [name]Ivan[/name])
[name]Winslow[/name] (This is pretty different from your list, BUT it has the nickname [name]Win[/name] which I thought you might like.)
Thanks for your comments, I am going to look into [name]Emrys[/name] a little more, it passes the first reaction test. I lived and worked in Mongolia for a number of years. i got to know the better side of Chingis Khan (written mongol style): To wit, he promoted the freedom of religon, enacted some of the first environmental protection laws, unified warring clans to build an enormous empire, amongst many other good (and obviously bad) things. From a different point of view he was quite the leader, so much so that many subsequent world leaders have tried to claim direct ancestry to him. Lots of kids in Mongolia are named Chingis and when the country required people to adopt a family name about a decade ago most people chose his clan name. See this article for a very good description of that process, before this people just had one name ala [name]Cher[/name] or [name]Madonna[/name]. It was a total [name]PITA[/name] since so many people are named “flower” or “axe hero” or the like.
I’ve always enjoyed the name as well, it just has an interesting sound to it in my mind. But, I’m not crazy enough to name my kid Chingis, or Ghengis, or even Temujin as a first name. Also, I think about as many people who know that [name]Vaughn[/name] means “small” will know that Temujin was Ghengis Khan’s given name. Who knows. The wife is unlikely to allow it anyhow and is probably letting me keep it on the list to be nice and let me down softly.
[name]Eli[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] does sounds cool! We have not put it on the list out of concern about the massive popularity of [name]Eli[/name], [name]Elijah[/name], and that line of names in our area. But, it could make a comeback popularity be damned.
My concerns about [name]Vaughn[/name] meaning small are based on my memories as a kid. I distinctly remember my classmates and I looking up our names for their meanings and researching their historical backgrounds, same thing with our last names. The kids who had names with “strange” meanings were teased pretty hard. I would think that the same goes on nowadays but I’m no longer 10 years old and can’t confirm that. He is very likely to be small based on simple Mendelian genetics. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Also, there is the whole “men” and “small” connotations better left explored on different forums. I could see that being trouble in the world of boys aged 8-~17. As an adult who gives a rip. I am sure I am over analyzing this.
Side note: I am a huge Michigan football fan and alum of the university. [name]Anthony[/name] [name]Thomas[/name] was a famous Michigan football player nick named the A-train. My wife met him a few times on campus and he is probably the one Michigan football player in history that she can name. She would laugh uproariously in my face if I suggested that. Perhaps I’ll give it a try for fun!
While I don’t have any suggestions to give (I think you have a VERY solid list and many before me have given great advice) I do want to speak on the name [name]Vaughn[/name].
While I do agree completely that almost all people wouldn’t know the meaning of [name]Vaughn[/name] to be “small”, I do think one of the first thoughts for many of the older generation will be [name]Verne[/name] Troyer who is, well, small. If you’re worried about the meaning of [name]Vaughn[/name] on a shorter child, I would look into this potential namesake as well.
Not trying to be negative! [name]Just[/name] trying to point out what I would notice.
[name]Vaughn[/name] is just a luscious name. So gentle but also serious and solid. You should just get over your childhood teasing trauma and get on with using this beautiful name. Kids have more unusual names these days, so I think teasing is rarer unless you’re a [name]Dick[/name] or a Fezziwig.
Otherwise, [name]Dean[/name] is a nice option (though it doesn’t have as much texture as [name]Vaughn[/name].) [name]Emrys[/name] is a great name, but it would leave you with three S-endings (too hissy.) Temujin… I think it’s a bit much to name your kid after Ghengis Khan, awesome guy though he was. (Have you read Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World?) Maybe a less direct reference would be more wearable- Temujin is a lot to live up to. Jochi could be pretty cool. It was the name Ghengis chose for his firstborn son. It’s cheerful yet sleek, and gets you to the nickname [name]Joe[/name] if you like. I vote:
[name]Vaughn[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]
Jochi [name]Thomas[/name]
[name]Dean[/name] [name]Thomas[/name]
edit: and Eamon! Didn’t see that one. Ivan is great, but if you don’t like it, you don’t like it. There’s Ivo…
I don’t want to tell you to use [name]Eamon[/name] because I’m saving that one for myself and hoping it never gets popular. So, that is to say, use [name]Eamon[/name]. so fantastic. It’s got lovely sounds, a bit of mystery, and so handsome. [name]Eamon[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] is awesome.
I would never name a child [name]Ivan[/name] – I know its a regional thing, and obviously does not have the same bad connotations wherever you are, but [name]Ivan[/name] Milat is Australia’s worst serial killer.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Griffin[/name], [name]Vaughn[/name] and [name]Ivan[/name] (this name gets a bad rap but I love the name!)… [name]Isaac[/name] would be another option. Best wishes!
[name]Don[/name]'t nix [name]Vaughan[/name]/[name]Vaughn[/name] it is one of the most manly names on the planet! [name]Vaughan[/name] [name]Ellis[/name] what a great name! I know a great guy who is anything but small and his name is [name]Vaughan[/name] and he has the biggest heart, he is a real hero in my eyes.
Honestly [name]Thompson[/name]/[name]Thomson[/name] goes better than [name]Thomas[/name] in the mn spot, could this work for you? Eg [name]Vaughan[/name] [name]Thompson[/name] [name]Ellis[/name], otherwise the combo sounds ‘s’ heavy.
My second choice would be either [name]Eamon[/name] or [name]Griffin[/name]. I also love [name]Flynn[/name].
