Baby Name to Consider: Spero

Hi Swistle,

Help! Our baby is due four weeks from today and we are wavering on the name that we originally loved.

Our last name is Wood, which knocked out quite a few names that I had liked before meeting my husband (like Forrest, Harrison, and Willow). We found out very early from a genetic test that we are having a boy – and it’s been hard for us to agree on a name since! My husband came up with the name Spero (pronounced like Sparrow), middle name Benjamin. He has always loved this Latin word, which means “to hope”. He suggested it early on, and I didn’t like it… But it grew on me quickly! And now I love it.

Along with the sound of the actual full name, the meaning of Spero is special to us; we have been through quite a few stressful circumstances just prior to and during my pregnancy, and have continually reminded ourselves that our hope is in God, above all other worries and anxieties we may encounter.

My husband just recently began to worry this name is too “out there” – his name is traditionally now used for girls, and was made fun of as a child for it. He goes between saying his name made him who he is (he now isn’t insecure like he was when he was young) and then saying he wouldn’t want our son to experience anything negative based on his name. He recently said he likes the name Theodore, nickname Theo, which originally he said “no way!” to. Overall, I think he’s hesitant to name a baby before its born, period!

We ruled out the following boys’ names, mostly due to being too popular or just not agreeing between the two of us: Cooper, Levi, Hunter, Beckham.

We hope to have 2-3 more children, picking from the following names…

Girls: Rooney, Phoebe, Ivy, Maisey
Boys: Rex, Theodore (Theo), Emmett, Sawyer

Please help.. We are running out of time! :)

 

I have mixed feelings. On one hand, Spero is currently completely unused as a given name in the United States, and I think spelling and pronunciation issues would be much more significant than average. My first guess at pronunciation (despite three years of Latin classes) would have been SPEER-o, similar to the name Spiro. If I heard the name instead of seeing it, my first guess at spelling would be Sparrow.

It sounds as if your husband is having “boy named Sue” feelings: on one hand he appreciates the positive results of the negative experiences he had with his name, and on the other hand he doesn’t want his children to have to go through the same experience to get those results. I might suggest looking for other possible ways to achieve those results. I will feel embarrassed if no one else thought of it, but I’m afraid from the similarity in spelling I was immediately reminded of, er…sperm. With your surname particularly, that feels risky to me.

On the other hand, this is such a great time for pulling off an unusual name. And the meaning is special to you. And I loved Latin. And you’re having a lot of trouble finding a name. And he could go by Benjamin/Ben if he wanted to. And maybe no one else did/will think of sperm; it’s only the spelling that makes me think of it, and the two words aren’t pronounced remotely the same. (I do have kids in the Learning the Facts of Life stage, so the vocabulary is near the front of my mind in a way it might not be for others.)

Still, my advice is that Spero would make a better middle name than first name, especially with the other names on your lists.

Theodore feels to me as if it better fits your first-name preferences. It’s fairly unusual (#170 in 2013) but familiar, it goes well with Wood, and it means God’s gift. Theodore Spero Wood.

I’d also suggest Jasper, the ending of which may remind you of Spero.

62 thoughts on “Baby Name to Consider: Spero

  1. Ashley

    I did not get “sperm” from Spero, originally, but I see Swistle’s point on that. I was championing for you to go ahead and use it until I got to the end of your letter. When you shared the possible sibling names for Spero, I saw another problem. I feel that Spero goes pretty well with several of your girl names, but I saw no links of similarity between it and any brother names. If he’s already standing out in the world with an unusual name, how would he feel standing out in his own home with one?

    I don’t think it a poor name choice. It’s very nice, it’s a REAL NAME/WORD (which I appreciate in this day and age), and it sounds lovely with Benjamin and Wood. But, as Swistle always suggests, I would think ahead to your family as a whole. Does the sibset Spero, Theodore, and Emmett work for you?

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  2. AlexisWithaG

    Spero hit me on the same lines as the Latin/Greek “Spiro.” Maybe it’s my association but I went to college with a Spiro, he was sweet and uniquely himself. Didn’t get the same, er, association Swistle did, but, again, personal associations are everything, right?

    The rest of your list is 50/50 outlier and top 100, it seems to me, so Theo fits the overall sib set. But for what it’s worth, I do like Spero. It’s a name to remember, school yard teasing or no.

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  3. liz

    I love Spero in the middle name slot. What about Benjamin Spero?

    And I also love Swistle’s suggestion of Jasper. What about Jasper Oliver? That way you have spero hidden in his name, like hope at the bottom of the box in the Greek myth.

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    1. Nicole

      I too prefer Spero as a middle name rather than a first name. But I love this suggestion of “hiding” the name Spero in two different names! The consecutive -er -er endings of Jasper Oliver sounds a bit clunky to my ear (not a dealbreaker though), but maybe something like Jasper Owen would work for you guys!

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  4. Martha

    Beautiful name, beautiful meaning! I do agree that such a meaningful and unusual last name might be best as a middle, but if you like it as a first name I think you can definitely make it work. Theodore Spero is a fantastic name. My husband and I are wrestling with a similar decision right now with a name that we love, but has never been on the Social Security list at all, let alone the top 1,000. We are considering a more common first name but still haven’t finalised our decision!

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  5. Kate

    I LOVE it. The sound and meaning are both really appealing to me and I wasn’t reminded of “sperm” at all. It’s very similar to the name “Spiro,” as Alexis said above, which many people are already familiar with. I think if you love it, go for it.

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  6. Abby@AppMtn

    The thing about schoolyard teasing … I’m not convinced that kids today get teased for unusual names. My 10 y.o. and 6 y.o. have classmates with a wild assortment of names. Boys with names that are conventionally feminine, girls with names that are conventionally feminine, foreign names that don’t translate well into English, invented names … it all works. Our son’s name is Top 20, while our daughter’s has never been Top 1000. I haven’t seen a huge difference in how they’ve experienced their names.

    Spero feels like a name to me because of Spiro Agnew. Maybe not the best association, but certainly well known enough that I think of it as a name.

    But I do take Swistle’s point that most of your list is more conservative than Spero. Theodore Spero is great, too. But if it were me? I’d go for Spero.

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    1. Eli

      My husband’s surname rhymes with Duckin’, and a number of other things. Even at 40, he still has to deal with young males who find it highly entertaining.

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  7. Shannon

    I’m with Abby in one respect–in at least moderately diverse areas, it doesn’t seem that kids get teased for the unusualness of their names, per se, any more than they do for not all looking the same. When kids are introduced to diversity early, most either (1) process it as part of life and never think to become uncomfortable with it, or (2) are actively shaped to see certain types of differences as not okay to joke about. On that front, Spero should pass muster. Among peers who have encountered hundreds or thousands of phonemic combinations used as names, it will not stand out as teaseworthy! (I do think, however, that there’s always a danger of teasing for more individual reasons–for example, if your son happened to look like Spiro Agnew, and if there were any chance his peers would know who Spiro Agnew was for the first decade of his life, there’d be some teasing potential there. But who cares?)

    I also agree with Swistle–something about the look of the name jumped out at me in an uncomfortable way, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was till she pointed out the sperm thing. Dealbreaker? Proooooobably not, but I probably wouldn’t CHOOSE to use it after seeing that.

    The bigger issue for me is your last name. What makes Spero (pronounced “Sparrow”) usable with Wood if Willow isn’t? Is it because Willow Wood evokes a wood full of willows? (But if that’s the case, why is Ivy Wood okay?) I consistently don’t go for names that run together, and I may be in the minority, but Spero Wood would always be Sparrowood to me. However, if you’re okay with run-togethers, or at least okay with a middle and last name that run together, then I think it’s perfect (and meaningful) for the middle name.

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  8. LK

    I agree that Spero is better off in the middle slot. If you love the meaning, consider adding Hope to your list of potential girls names.

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  9. Kelsey D

    I love that the name means so much to you and the meaning behind it. I agree with Swistle though, I immediately thought the pronunciation would be SPEER-o like the the name Spiro. And if I heard the name Sparrow I would automatically assume it was a girl, so to me there will be a lot of correction throughout his life surrounding his name. Which is totally fine, you just have to be prepared for it. So if you guys both still love it then I say do it!

    I do absolutely LOVE swistle’s suggestion of Theodore Spero. Both names have great meaning, and you could always use Spero for his name at home or his nickname, but when he goes to school or work he has Theo or Theodore.

    Good luck!

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  10. kerri

    I agree with some of the other commenters that I keep wanting to pronounce it Spiro, even after I already know it’s Sparrow. Add that to the fact that Sparrow is typically used for females, and that the only Spiro I know of is Spiro Agnew (not a positive association), and I wouldn’t use it for a first name. I think it would be better as a middle name, and I love Theodore, but I would caution that Spiro Agnew’s full name was Spiro Theodore Agnew, so you may not want to use them together. Not that many people would know that (I looked it up), and obviously they’re not pronounced the same, just wanted to make sure you were aware.

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  11. Jd

    I think Spero is a cool name. If you are anxious you could put it in the middle spot but call him Spero. Choosing Spero may impact future kids names (Spero and Theo would be tough together), possibly forcing you to choose less mainstream choices. Have you done the Starbucks test?

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  12. Alli

    I have to say that Spero would be great in the middle spot. I have no experience with Latin whatsoever and had no idea. My first thought when I saw it was, “why get so creative with spelling? Just use Sparrow.” Especially with the Wood connection, it hit me very nature-y. But I live in an area with babies named Fox, Hunter, Gunnar, Coyote, etc.

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  13. Elizabeth

    I agree with others: it would be great in the middle name spot: special meaning, you won’t have to deal with explaining spelling and pronunciation all the time, you won’t paint yourself into a corner re. naming styles and future kids.

    I also agree with those who said school teasing is much less of an issue now than a few decades ago.

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  14. sbc

    Like most others, I thought Spiro, pronounced SPEER-o, at first.

    Love the sentiment behind it have been trying to get my spouse to agree to middle name Astra or Perardua for the Latin phrase ad astra, per aspera, per ardua (to the stars, through bitterness and adversity) and if I were to ever get a tattoo would go with “dum spiro, spero.”

    One thing to note: spero is “I hope.” In Latin, “to hope” is sperare.

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  15. StephLove

    I don’t think teasing would be much of an issue; spelling and pronunciation probably would be. When I saw the title of the post I assumed it was an alternate spelling for Spiro. If you don’t mind having to correct people, I’d use it because it’s special to you. Otherwise putting it in the middle, maybe after Theodore, could work. I also liked the idea of using Jasper with an O middle name (Jasper Owen perhaps) to have it hidden in his name.

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  16. Christine

    I thought it would be pronounced like the name Spiro at first as well. I’m going to add to the choir that feels it’s best in the middle name position. I don’t think it’s unusual, but I think “Sparrow” Wood is not a name I would like. That said, Benjamin Spero is lovely. I also really like Theodore Spero. I wonder if you and your husband would be amenable to walking in with your list when he’s born and deciding then which name suits him best.

    Good luck!

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  17. Laura

    I’m with the others that is having a very hard time shaking the Spiro pronunciation in favor of Sparrow. When I do say it correctly then I find it a difficult match with Woods.

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  18. Jan

    Spiro Agnew has such a negative connotation to me that I would not give a baby the first name Spero. As a middle name would be better, I think.

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  19. Gail

    I think I’d have a better response to either Spiro or Sparrow because then both the pronunciation and the spelling would be straight forward.

    When I listen to the pronunciation of Spero online (Forvo) I’m not hearing that it sounds like Sparrow, but more like Sperrow with a soft E. This, in combination with sbc’s above comment that “to hope” in Latin is actually sperare, would be enough for me to put the name in the category of too complicated in the first name spot.

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  20. Vesna

    I love it, Spero strikes me as a celebrity baby name. It is daring, bold, uncommon. I love the meaning “I hope”. I did NOT hear Sperm. Another possibility might be to add other foreign words meaning Hope.. On my own list for example, I have Von / Vonin, which is Hope in Icelandic.
    Personally, I feel like if you do decide to go with it, I would leave it in the first name position.. Spero Theodore Wood. He could always go by his middle name if it does turn out a bit too bold of a choice. But my feeling is that you might get a lot if compliments on the name! Good luck!

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  21. Holly

    Okay I am not one to usually like obscure names, but I kind of love it. I have a real life example too! A few years ago, I met a boy at the playground who was named Aero. I assumed his name was Arrow, but talking to his mom realized it was Aero. She had a fun name story too! Also, for what it is worth, I pronounced Spero correctly in my head. And it is spelled phonetically, but of course sparrow is a common word. I say go for it! Spero! Love it. :)

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  22. Monica

    Not to split hairs here but “spero” actually means “I hope” not “to hope”.

    “To hope” would be “sperare”. :-)

    I like it as a middle name! But you have to do what you feel is best — if you both love it as a first name, go for it!

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  23. BriAnna

    I haven’t read the other comments yet, but I completely thought of sperm when I saw Spero Wood… Despite the difference in pronunciation between Spero and sperm. I completely agree with swistle that Theodore Spero Wood would be a much better choice than putting Spero as the first name. Going back to read comments now :)

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  24. Colleen

    At first, I was like, “Spero! How fun!” Then I realized you pronounce it Sparrow, and I was like “Oh” because I had initially pronounced it Spear-o, like many other readers, and I thought of all the explaining that will need to happen with this name, and I got a headache.

    I love the meaning behind the name (although I would pay close attention to Monica’s comment about the verb conjugation. Could you change it to “we hope” or just “hope”?) but I think it is better in the middle name slot. Spero doesn’t seem to fit with the other names that you and your husband love, and I think moving Spero to the middle name could start a fabulous tradition amongst your babies where you find words/phrases with special meanings.

    I love the idea of moving Theodore to the first name spot and the suggestion of Jasper.

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    1. Squirrel Bait

      I completely agree with all of this. Spero would be a fun, quirky middle name but a bear to deal with as a first name. I sincerely doubt that he would be called anything except “SPEAR-o” by people reading his name aloud, and I think that would get old quickly. My sense is that Theodore, Jasper, or any of your future sibling name choices would probably be more wearable over time.

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  25. TheFirstA

    I also would guess Speer-oh based on spelling. I think this is probably a great middle name contender, but not quite right for a first name.

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  26. Another Heather

    I really like this name, and normally I’m all for unusual names, spelling-hangups and all, but seeing as this one has spelling/pronunciation issues (I read it like the name Spiro, which led to the punny-sounding “spear-o-wood”), and a clash in style with your other favorites, I think it fits all the criteria for an excellent and surprising middle. Theodore Spero Wood is great, and Theo has a very similar sound to Spero, while being stylistically similar to the other names on your list.

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  27. JMT

    I think there are some problems, but I hope you can salvage it! Would any of the other declensions work? And there are A LOT … this is Latin after all. Or a variation from another Romance language, which at least sometimes adds an initial e – Espero?

    I also loved the idea of “hiding” it in JaSPER Oliver. How super cool! I used to do word puzzles like that as a kid.

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  28. kikim

    This gives me Latin nerd feelings I have to get out of the way first. “Spero” is actually “I hope”, “to hope” would be “sperare”. And Latin is a dead language, so to some extent there’s a lot of guessing, but as someone who studied Latin for years, my best take on “Spero” would not be “Sparrow”, but instead more like “Sperrow”, a softer E sound.

    In general, before choosing a name in Latin, I would do a lot of googling at least (and preferably find a graduate student or something) because there are so many different forms of each word.

    Would you like “Spes”? That’s the Latin noun for hope. I think it might be a good middle name option – and Spero would probably be fine in the middle too! In the first position, I have a hard time untangling it from “Spiro”, and I think you’d have an issue where people who are unfamiliar with Latin tend to want to say “Speero”, and people who are familiar with Latin might get nerdy and want to correct your translation.

    But, I don’t at all feel that Spero is a non-masculine name.

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  29. Jess

    Love the story behind the name! Here are a few ptions that are easier to spell/explain, in addition to Swistle’s Jasper…

    Casper
    Kaspar
    Gaspar

    Found some cool facts on “Spero” in Wikipedia. It’s a surname in Italy…Shapiro is a variant of the surname! :) Dum Spiro Spero (While I breathe, I hope)

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    1. Brooke

      Dum spiro spero was my first thought as well when I saw the name. Except I was saying spero like spiro and thought it meant “breathe”! It is my favorite quote from Latin, never will I lose hope.

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  30. Sarah

    When I just think Spero in my head it sounds like Spiro (like Agnew), and when I make it sound like Sparrow, I feel like I am accenting it to make it sound right.
    I would encourage you to use it as a middle name, maybe even a middle name that you call your child by at first to see how it goes. I know several families who did this with important names. Three of the families eventually went to the given first name (Michael, Samuel, Jason) and one decided to stay with the middle name as the primary name.
    Good luck

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  31. Megan M.

    Same here, I’m afraid – I thought it was pronounced like Spiro until I read the letter. So you’d have a lot of “No, it’s ‘sparrow'” ahead of you. But that doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker. I didn’t even realize that my daughter’s name would be misheard as two separate more common names until after she was born and named. Has it been a huge headache? No. Most people only need to be corrected once and then they’ve got it.

    Reading the responses from Latin scholars gives me pause though – if the meaning is not quite right and the pronunciation is not quite right AND people are already going to assume the wrong pronunciation (overwhelmingly, Spiro) then I think it’s a problem. It could go in the middle spot and not be nearly as big a deal. You can do anything with middle names these days!

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  32. Helena

    Even though I KNOW you want it pronounced like Sparrow I keep reading “Spiro” in my head as I read everyone’s comments. I think it’s because I know of Spiro Agnew and it looks like Hero to me that I can’t seem to get the Sparrow pronunciation.

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  33. Nathalia

    My daughter actually went to school with a boy with this name (in the U.S.), although it was pronounced more like “Speer-o”. He had a very Italian last name. I never gave it a second thought after I learned his name – it was distinctive yet easy to remember. To me the larger question is how the sounds run together with the last name. My personal preference is to make sure 1st and last names can be heard distinctly when said together. However, people’s sensitivity to this issue varies, and it may not be as important to you,

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  34. Nedra

    I like it and pronounced it as “sparrow” immediately. I think it sounds like a name and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it on a child at all.

    However, with your potential sibling names, I have to say that it does sound like a style deviance for you. I would suggest Benjamin Spero as a lovely combination. Theodore Spero also sounds good.

    This is, generally, how my husband and I name children. First name is traditional and chosen just “because we like it.” Middle name is usually where we put an interesting name in sound and meaning.

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  35. Alaina

    I think Spero and Rex would go well together, though I still like Spero better as a middle name. Some other names with similar sounds are Spencer, Percival and Perseus (nn Perry or Percy). I love the suggestion of Jasper Oliver.

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  36. Ms. Key

    So, I’m not American and I needed to google Spiro Agnew to see who others were referencing. Came across his full name, which was Spiro Theodore Agnew. Thought that was interesting, haha.

    I’ve heard of a boy named Spero, Italian boy I think. Pronounced “spear-oh”, though.

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  37. kim

    I think there are a number of strikes against it, but the big one for me is pronunciation. I’m fairly adept with accents for a Yank, can make Harry sound different than hairy, but this one – sperrow and sparrow slur together, or it gets turned into spur-o, which doesn’t sound right either. Middle slot, and maybe that gets to be a theme in itself, would be my vote.

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  38. The Mrs.

    Most people don’t have their written name proceed a verbal introduction.

    If two men meet at a dinner, they don’t hand each other a business card for the other to read. They shake hands and say, “I’m Frank,” or “I’m Leroy.”
    I can easily see a Kindergarten-aged Spero on the playground saying, “I’m Spero… rhymes with arrow. What’s your name?”

    Same thing for a substitute teacher taking role:
    “Speer-o?”
    “It’s Spero… like arrow. Here!”

    This is really not a big deal. Will he have to spell it on the phone? Yes. Will he have to spell it to the cute girl he meets in Algebra class? Yes. (And she’ll REMEMBER him!) Swistle herself has talked about spelling her own name many times. On the other hand, his last name won’t have to be spelled! Why not go for broke on his first name then?

    I can easily imagine a set of brothers name Spero and Rex. Spero and Ivy seem like siblings, too.

    Like this name a lot. It’s distinctive, clever, and meaningful. A kid’s got to appreciate that.
    Best wishes to you as you welcome your son!

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  39. British American

    I read the name as “Spear-oh”. I’m not at all familiar with Latin.

    Similar to other commenters, I would expect Sparrow to be spelt like the bird and I probably would guess that the child was female.

    Another initial thought I had upon reading the name was that it sounds like some kind of product – maybe a cleaner or a medication. Although that was with my incorrect Spear-oh pronunciation.

    It’s not one that I would use as a first name – I’d probably keep it in the middle.

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  40. Bonnie

    I pronounced it Sper-o at first. With your last name that makes it sound like Spear-o Wood like a spear made of wood. Once I thought that, I can’t seem to unthink it. If you like the sound of Sparrow, then perhaps you could spell it like the bird. That would have cleared up all confusion on my end.

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  41. Jennifer

    I’m really confused by the concern over a child’s name being too “out there.” NOTHING is too out there where we live in suburban Chicago. Spero would be fairly tame here. I’d be much more concerned about tons of repeat names for a first name like Theo, Emmett or Sawyer– those are very common names. I have to particularly disagree with Swistle on Theodore (Theo), at least in a suburban upper-middle-class area. I’ve personally met 4 of them under 2 years old. It seems to me, based on your girl names and the name Spero, that you guys don’t want that. Sawyer Wood also has a repeated sound you might or might not like, long-term. I do think Rex is cute and unusual.

    I think Spero is an awesome name, and did not see “sperm” until Swistle mentioned it. Boys will come up with weird/funny/vulgar nicknames for each other no matter what you name your kid. They just do it, and you can’t avoid it with the last name Wood.

    I’m going to go against the grain here and say: use it! It’s memorable, a real-world spelling but not common, and it has a nice sound. Spero Theodore Wood. If not Spero, I’d go with Rex to avoid the super-common names on your list. Good luck, and congrats!

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  42. Megan

    I am in the minority, I guess, but I would pronounce Spero like Sparrow. I recognize Spiro Agnew, but didn’t think about him until reading the comments-really don’t think that is a big deal. Similarly, there are so many truly offbeat names anymore, I just don’t know if fear of teasing is a good reason to avoid most names (unless they are too close to something vulgar). An earlier commenter said that they felt people in bigger or more diverse areas are used to a mix of names, but I live in a rural area and feel the same is true here.

    I am a very conservative namer-our girl has a name that has been fairly popular for the past 50 years. We still have to spell it. People still mispronounce it, or hear it as something else. I think you should go for the name you guys love, and that has meaning for you, even if it is a little off the beaten path, or doesn’t match perfectly with the other names you like. The important thing is if you like it, and all the hope and faith that it represents for you. Good luck.

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  43. vanessa

    I wouldn’t use it. I kept thinking it was Spiro, and even knowing that you want to pronounce it Sparrow I could not make myself think it’s that pronunciation. Also I don’t understand why Willow Wood is not ok but Sparrow Wood is. And the stuff from the Latin experts bothers me a lot.

    Good middle name though! Theodore is great.

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  44. Ruby

    Sparrow is actually one of my all-time favorite boy names. I honestly wish more people would use it! I’d never considered spelling it “Spero,” but I think it could potentially work–especially with the added Latin meaning. I do agree with what Swistle said about the the spelling/pronunciation confusion, though. When I first read it I pronounced it in my head as “Spear-o,” and if I’d heard it without knowing how it was spelled I would have assumed it was spelled “Sparrow.” those wouldn’t necessarily be deal-breakers for me, but it’s definitely something to think about.

    That said, Theodore is one of other very very favorite boy names (and probably my number one name choice if I ever have a son), so you really can’t go wrong.

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  45. Bkb

    Just want to throw in my two cents. Some people commented that the pronunciation of Spero didn’t sound like Sparrow to them. I listened to the forvo pronunciation and to my Midwestern ears, Spero sounds exactly like Sparrow. I also think Erin and Aaron sound exactly alike.

    I think this name is usable. I say, go for it!

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  46. Haley

    I immediately read the name as you intended, (Sparrow), and there where no negative associations connected to it for me. I think it is unique, but not too out there. Reading through the comments made me start feeling a little defensive, I would really hate for you to be talked out of a name that you and your husband both love. But I do realize the importance of public opinion and I admit that it has played a large role in the naming of my own children, and obviously you feel the same or you wouldn’t have written for help. When I was expecting my little girl four years ago the two names I loved were Atley and Elsa (if I had only known!) We just couldn’t decide, and the minute I laid eyes on her after she was born, the name Atley never even entered my head. It was a little strange considering I had called her that off and on for several months. My husband really disliked Elsa, and so she ended up with the name Ally. To this day I wonder if we should have named her something else, even though I like Ally and it suits her perfectly. Four years later I realize that Atley would have been a perfectly good name and I wish I would have gone for it, despite having a lot of the same feeling as you do. Is it too strange? Will it get mispronounced and misspelled? Yup. But so does my name and I am Haley. I maintain my opinion that children should be born holding sign that tells you what they want their name to be, or at least something that says YES!! I love this name please go for it. This naming business is hard, and for me at least once I have over thought it there is no going back! Best of luck to you!

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  47. Maggie

    I don’t think anyone has suggested this yet but Prospero (Shakespeare’s The Tempest)!! Spero would be the natural nickname, but he would have a classic long name to fall back on. And such a cool character to be named after, not at all feminine or bird like (instead of having to say “like Sparrow” all the time).

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    1. Kim

      Oh, that’s awesome. And I have to admit that I went back and realized that the OP intended the Sparrow pronunciation – I’d gotten mixed up in the comments – and that being the case, my opinion changes (although I do still hear Sparrowood, which sounds a wee bit like a shopping center or housing development. Still, it’s perfectly usable.)
      But Prospero, called Spero – well, I would lean toward the spur-o pronunciation, but enh, nicknames are always different. I think that’s brilliant, and cuts the Latin-criticismoff, too.

      Reply
    2. eclare

      Ooh, Best Comment Award! I love Spero in theory, and had no pronunciation or association issues. But Prospero, nn Spero, solves all the issues other commenters have mentioned. I know a young boy named Prosper, and this is just a step from that. Prospero Wood blends less than SperoWood.

      Reply
  48. Sarah

    I actually like it (even the meaning, “I hope”). What I don’t love is the combo with your last name. It’s okay, but does kind of remind me of the same issues with Willow Wood or the “spear-o-wood” others see.

    Reply
  49. MeggieB

    I’m Midwestern and immediately thought Sparrow too. I like it but don’t know about the double W sound with Wood.

    Reply

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