I found your website a few months ago and have devoured your archives – obsessed with this site and fabulous community! Really hoping y’ll can help us – I find boy names incredibly hard & we need TWO for the twin boys we are expecting this August.
My boyfriend J and I have a two year old daughter @ri@nn@ who we call Ari. We are using his last name for all of the kids – last name Blew but spelled and pronounced like the color. In naming our daughter I had a list of a gazillion and some names that he would 1 by 1 veto until we got to her name and he said – I like that, let’s do that. He now refers to that as “our process” & we certainly have burned through a ton of vetoing this round.
I absolutely adore the name Beau and we have agreed on that for one of the boys. I am hoping you and your readers might be able to give us some suggestions for the other nugget.
Right now our leading contender is Miles – although neither of us is certain that Miles is “the” name. I have some concerns about it (will kids associate it with the Disney show “Miles from Tomorrowland” & it’s the boy equivalent of naming my kid Dora the Explorer? 2. Will he be called Miley? Which I don’t love yet totally see myself nicknaming him unintentionally). To me Beau sounds very light, fun, precocious and I seem to lean towards other names that “feel” that way and Miles sounds a bit “heavier” to me (if that makes sense at all!)
Lately I am REALLY loving the name Shane and also Ames is starting to grow on me. Both vetoed.
I also LOVE Levi but Levi w/ our last name the blue jean connotation is a bit much – & J just generally doesn’t like (he doesn’t like name w biblical/church associations – Deacon was another one that was vetoed).
I really love the name Rhys (pronounced Reese) but feel hesitant to using it because Reese seems much more “girl” to me. But, I wonder if it is still an option because when it is spelled this way it identified it as boy? I feel the same way about some of these names: Blake (love for a girl name – would use for a boy but we don’t want two B names), Avery (also seems too close to Ari), Finn (plus J pointed out w/ our last name this kid would likely be called Tuna), Peyton/Payton (I feel like a hypocrite because I would totally give a boy’s name to a girl which seems hypocritical/not very cool of me but I digress…)
We both sort of liked the name Fenton for a hot second but J was concerned was that this would also result in a nick-name of Tuna. And we also seemed to have an issue pronouncing it.
I also would have gone with Dillon but J hates. Other random names I liked that were vetoed for a wide variety of reasons: Austin, Graham, Dex/Dexter, Damon, Reed, Russell, Bentley, Weston, Nolan, Jake, Hudson, Nash and many others
The one name J offered and felt strongly about was Hunter. I think it’s unlikely we’ll go with Hunter as it turned out to be more common than he expected (he is a huge reader and associated it with the author Hunter S. Thompson). Also he feels like Beau & Hunter don’t work – it’s too much like “hey here are the boys they are going to head out and kill some deer”. We considered Ryder/Rider – another name I like a lot in theory but don’t envision as our baby’s name. With both Ryder and Hunter they sound more like words to me than actual names.
We don’t like matchy matchy so assuming one baby is Beau we’d prefer a non B name (altho apparently I seem to love B names for boys). Before we solidified Beau J suggested the name Bodhi (I think the meaning of the name is very cool but don’t love the spelling of it – and also prefer Beau to Bo), Bowen, Bowden, Bowie (a bit crazy w our last name), Beckett, Becham (J struck down due to hunky soccer player). I love Brechin (J thinks a bit preppy). Also J has an incredibly unique name (I’ve never known anyone with it) and while we are not looking for something as unique as his name he’d not a fan of too traditional or overly common names.
If one of the babies had been a girl her name would have likely been Quincy with the option of Quinn – like @ri@nn@ I like the flexibility of Ari’s longer name and nickname (but contradict myself in James, Blake, Quinn, Sloane were all top contenders on my list – and I know very inconsistent with the longer lacey sounding Ari@nn@). Also really liked Noa and Collins.
And this is not a priority – but I’d be curious to hear peoples thoughts in naming twins – do you determine before they come out “who’s who’s?” I.e. when they are in the womb Docs assign them Baby A and Baby B so I was thinking, oh Baby A could be Baby Ames and Baby B be Baby Beau to keep that going on. Or, do you have your two names and then look at them to figure out who’s who? I’m nervous about giving my boys the wrong names!
I am all over the place J Love your thoughts!
I cringe at the idea of sending you all the way back to the drawing board, especially when the two of you are having so much trouble finding names, but Beau Blew is a tough one. It’s hard for me to say, it runs together into Boblew or re-divides into Bobe Lew, and I get it scrambled up with other combinations such as Little Boy Blue and Bob Loblaw and Code Blue.
Speaking of shooting down names, I think that J shooting down all your suggestions until you come up with one he likes/chooses was a process that happened to work out well for your first child, but that it is not working this time around. A person who thinks a child named Fenton would be called Tuna is a person whose turn it is to come up with a list, and let you take a turn shooting them down.
I have several short-answer opinions, and I’m just going to stick them in a list:
1. If you love B names for boys, and want to use two of them, I don’t think that seems too matchy-matchy. Many siblings have a shared first initial, because it’s common for parents to be drawn to particular sounds.
2. I definitely think “boy” when I see the spelling Rhys. People hearing the name may still be uncertain if the child is a boy or a girl, but that’s the sort of thing that’s easy to clarify. It comes down to how bothered you think you’d be by occasional mistakes.
3. I wouldn’t think to call a Miles “Miley,” but if it’s something you can easily see yourself doing, and if you would not like that to happen, and if you don’t think you could stop yourself from doing it, then probably the name Miles should be ruled out.
Let’s talk a bit about how to pick which name goes with which twin, because that is seizing my interest. Mine were easy because they were boy-girl twins, but I was still a little distressed to think that Baby B might be born first. It seemed wrong—and yet of course it happens all the time, and at this point (nearly 11 years later) I think it would just be a slightly interesting detail of their birth story.
With twins of the same sex, I think what I’d do is decide which twin (either by A/B status, or by actual birth order) would have which name ahead of time, but then leave it a little flexible in my mind just in case meeting the babies made me feel the names should be switched. To relieve name-choosing anxiety, I would think of it as if the boys were both singleton births: I would imagine Baby A being born now, and Baby B being born two years from now, and think about how little I would worry in that case that the names might have gotten swapped.
I would try a few different exercises to help me figure out which name belonged to which baby. One would be to pretend they were being born one at a time in separate pregnancies, and see if I could figure out which name I’d use first in that case. A similar idea would be to say that the first name we decided on belonged to the first baby to be born, whether that was Baby A or Baby B. Another method would be to just pick which order sounded better to me: Dean and Reed, or Reed and Dean? Another would be to see which name “felt” older/younger/first/second. Another would be to go with alphabetical order. Another would be to flip a coin. Another would be to see which order I was hoping would win the coin toss.
Now let’s go back to the names themselves. I see a lot of one-syllable names on your list, so I’m going to pull heavily (but not exclusively) from the Brisk & Breezy section of The Baby Name Wizard. I’m going to include names that have been vetoed, in part because I think one of the pitfalls of having a suggester and a vetoer is that the vetoer can get into the habit of snap-vetoing without thinking about it carefully. Pairings with Beau:
Beau and Beck
Beau and Casey
Beau and Chance
Beau and Clark
Beau and Colby
Beau and Dash
Beau and Dex
Beau and Eli
Beau and Flynn
Beau and Gage
Beau and Grady
Beau and Jace
Beau and Joss
Beau and Kai
Beau and Keane
Beau and Kip
Beau and Lee
Beau and Mack
Beau and Nash
Beau and Nolan
Beau and Rhett
Beau and Shea
Beau and Tate
Beau and Teague
Beau and Trey
I like how any of the C names gives you A, B, C with all three kids—unless you plan on having more children and so this would put pressure on you to choose a D name next.
For A/B pairings:
Abe and Beau
Ace and Beau
Ames and Beau
Andre and Beau
Archie and Beau (one of my favorites, except feels like an archery reference—archer/bow)
Asher and Beau
Just a comment about Miles (which, in a vacuum, I love). My primary association is with Miles Davis, whose most famous work by far is the album “Kind of Blue.” The full name Miles Blue gives me a moody, jazzy feeling that seems very intentional (and a little heavy-handed). I would assume most jazz fans will feel this association strongly and would be surprised to learn it was not done purposefully.
Rhys reads boy to me!
I love Ames. I love Ames Blue.
I don’t often disagree with Swistle, but I think Beau Blew is kind of charming–although, yes, hard to say. Maybe a little cartoony if I think about it too much, but also memorable. Although, on second thought, I might catch myself occasionally calling him “Blew Beau” by accident. To Swistle’s point.
It is a really catchy and memorable name, Beau Blew. A solid middle name would be David. Also people will only call him Blew Beau if they are not paying attention to class rosters. And he won’t take any more grief for his first name that he isn’t going to take for his last name. The only real draw back is it is hard to give cool nick names to a Beau Blew.
Respectfully,
Beau David Blew
Many of Swistle’s suggestions seem to fit the letter-writer’s preferences, and I agree with her hesitance about Beau. I would caution against Ty and Beau, which to me sounds like the Tae Bo exercise videos! Or bow ties.
Ha, yes, good point! I think I will take that pairing off the list.
I like the name Beau, but I’m with Swistle on the Little Boy Blue reference. I actually read it the first time as “Boy” instead of Beau, because I was already thinking Blew for the last name. If you like the cutesy reference, and we often find that it becomes an endearing nickname, then go for it whole-heartedly. Like, address it at the pass, “this is Beau, like little Beau Blew.”
I like Jasper with Beau. And Deacon.
I also like B names for twins, but not matchy. How about Bennett or Brady?
I also immediately thought of Little Boy Blue. Which is too bad because I love the name Beau.
I’m glad Swistle brought it up, because I didn’t want to be the Beau Blew party-pooper. It’s sad because I LOVE Beau. Could you consider Beaumont or Beaudry to get to Beau? Then during formal occasions, the name would be less tied to all the things Swistle suggested. I like the longer forms with @rianna too.
I also was hoping she’d bring up the C idea, because it totally appeals to the name nerd in me. Plus, I feel like A & B twins are overdone, but other letter orders are cute and subtle.
@rianna, Beaumont & Calloway (Ari, Beau & Cal)
@rianna, Beaumont & Chadwick (Ari, Beau & Chad)
@rianna, Beaumont & Caspian (Ari, Beau & Caz)
Ari, Beau And Cal sound great together
I am astounded that you suggested Beaudry as a given name for Beau. Beaudry was my maiden name, and it’s not a well-known name or easily pronounced/spelled by many people. Also, I recently had that idea for a daughter who likes the name Beau, but then thought that Beaudry is too unknown to use as a first name. Now I think I’ll suggest it to her. Beaudry Blew would be pretty cool!
Wow!! Beaudry was the surname of an ex-boyfriend’s birth mother. I’ve always loved Beau, and when I was with him I thought Beaudry would be the a perfect way to honour her (they ended up close before she died.) I can never use it because it’s so tied to him, but I want someone to use it! Please suggest it to your daughter! :-) It’s beautiful. I think it fits well with all the other surname names being used and isn’t too difficult to educate on pronounciation!
Ooh….. I love that pairing!!! Beaumont and Calloway!!! Ari, Beau, and Cal. Ah. Love it!
If you like Miles but find it heavy what about Milo? Seems lighter to me.
I am in camp love Beau Blew. I think it’s memorable and fun. it’s Beau Peep I’d be worried about :)
I think Ames and Rhys are both great choices and I love Chance from Swistle’s list. Another name I thought of Wyatt, but that might be too rustic or cowboy for your taste?
I’m from Montana so my hometown friends have also chosen Wells, Townes, Cash, Fritz and more. I think any of those names would work. I particularly like Wells. Wells Blew. Ari, Beau and Wells.
Agreed! I love Beau Blew, it’s unique and memorable. If I ever met a Beau Blew I would never forget him, in a good way. Also – I’m OBSESSED with the name Wells. Due next month with a boy and DH vetoed but we found a good compromise with the name Stellan (nickname Stells).
I love that – Beau and Wells!
I wrote this post in and wanted to say I love Wells – hadn’t thought of it and what a great suggestion! Thanks so much!
And also thanks for the love on Team Beau Blew – it was nice to hear some positive comments on the name we picked/love! At the end of the day regardless of what first names we pick both boys will be a little boy blew. they will also be referred to as the blew brothers and have to deal with people referring to Old School “You’re my boy Blew!!!” (maybe not – I suppose kids won’t have seen Old School =))
Anyway, your positive comments meant a lot to me – thank you for taking the time to write!!
I have boy/boy twins and we went into their birth with 2 names picked out but unassigned to each twin. It turns out that due to lots of medical things, my husband got to see them first and he suggested that one baby looked like one of the names, and one looked like the other. I was skeptical, but he was right! I’m glad we didn’t assign names in advance, but waited to see once they were born. Just one data point of experience. :)
Thank you for sharing your experience!!! Isn’t it funny that one baby can “look” like a name?
If you can’t decide which baby gets which name (by using appearance or A-B or whatever), I would default to the alphabetical order matching birth order. Just one, not-very-important opinion.
BTW: we have friends with children named Beau (f) and Deacon (m). Interesting to have such similar name styles with not very common names.
I mostly agree with Swistle about Beau – it isn’t bad but it would not be my first choice with your last name.
Best of luck!
Random side note, I had a former co-worker with the nickname Tuna (that he acquired in the (professional) office, as an adult). The nickname was a result of his fast-talking introduction of his rather long name, and the listener thought two of the syllables buried in there were Tuna (not the case). Anyway, it’s not like we saw him and thought ‘fish’!! He was one of those folks that could totally pull off a nickname like that. Anyway, hearing the name again makes me, personally, smile and not cringe. Random, besides-the-point story.
On the show “the office” Jim Halpert gets the nickname Big Tuna for eating a tuna sandwich at lunch on his first day. Nicknames can come from anywhere
I like Robert, nicknamed Bo- it would give him options as an adult in case Beau Blew was tough to live with. Plus I seem to have fewer issues misreading Bo Blew vs Beau Blew.
What about Ford? Chad? Dax? Remy?
I like the suggestion of Wells.
Rhys is all boy and very handsome.
I think making alliteration work can be hard, and the other challenge is running together. I think Abe Blew= A Blew. I think names that end in R sound really nice, like Asher or Alexander or Archer. Regarding the A/B twin thing, my friend named her Baby A with an A name and I thought that was cool. Baby B got a different letter of the alphabet, but having one name match seemed helpful somehow when they were babies.
Rhys sounds good! And it is totally a boy name.
I think 2-syllable names sound good too, like Eamon, Aaron, Isaac, Desmond, Eric, Anton, Tillman. Less choppy with that short last name? Oh here’s a good B name: Brendan. Brendan Blew.
I would definitely recommend Googling potential names, e.g. Beau Blew (spelled correctly) is a band name. Which is no big deal but always good to know.
Good luck!
Rhys reads solidly ‘boy’ to me.
If you like the name Dex but it was vetoed, you could get to it by way of Declan. I also love Beau Blew – it’s so great.
Hi all I sent in this letter and I am SO very appreciative of all of your comments, look forward to digging in and replying in more detail to each. I wanted to note that despite the VERY good points re Beau Blew we are totally good with it – we thought about lil boy blue & weighed it and at end of day I think Beau Blew sounds very fun and cool. I love the name Beau so much that I think it outweighs some of the potential cons (and I really just don’t think I can go back to the drawing board with TWO open names – especially given the challenges in general we are having/some of the challenges surrounding pairing the color Blue w a first name).
Although if anyone has a witty comment when people say like little Bo Blue I’d love a great canned response =)
Keep the great thoughts coming I SO appreciate it!
My immediate thought was that Beau Blew was not music to my ears and I would consider it for a middle name if anything.
I would consider a two syllable first name for both boys. My twin sister and I are named completely different but our twin cousins are named Karen and Kathy so that style is very dependent on the mother. I can tell you our mother decided our names ahead of time when we were assigned Baby A and Baby B.
Some “B” names
Benson and Brody
Beckett and Blaine
Bennett and Blaise
Britton
Brooks
Brack
Bronson
Brogan
Brier
Baylen
Brecken
Brighton
As for my personally, I would go for Miles and Rhys! *I like that both of their names end in “s”.
Totally did not think of the name Bowen when writing my original response. I think Bowen Blew is a little more pronounced than Beau Blew.
I love the name Beau and it was on my long list of names but with your last name I wouldn’t be able to do it.
but as long as you and boyfriend love it… that’s all that matters.
Rhys — is definitely boy to me.
If you like Quincy for a girl… why not go with Quinn or Quinton for the other.
Looking forward to hearing what name you chose.
I so feel your pain having a husband who is also a “name veto-er.” I hope it boosts your spirits to know that we ended up naming our third child a name my husband vetoed – quite forcefully! – and he now loves it. He’s the kind of guy who needs to hear something a few times (sneakily cushioned within a list of other names) to come around to it.
I know you said in the comments that you’re really tied to Beau. I’m not a fan of the sound of Beau Blew together and find myself having to be careful not to say Blow Boo, but to each her own!
What strikes me in the names you’ve considered is how different in style/length they are from your daughter’s name. Personally, I would avoid monosyllabic boys’ names so your daughter’s name doesn’t sound like an outlier having four syllables. I really liked the suggestion above of choosing a longer name to use Beau as a nickname. Beauregard? Beaumont? In keeping with Swistle’s A, B, C idea, maybe something like:
@ri@nn@, Beaumont, & Caspian? Ari, Beau, and Casper.
@ri@nn@, Beaumont, & Callum? Ari, Beau, and Cal (this is my fave).
@ri@nn@, Beaumont, & Cameron? Ari, Beau, and Cam.
Or, forgetting the A, B, C thing :
@ri@nn@, Beaumont, & Donovan? Ari, Beau, and Van.
@ri@nn@, Beaumont, & Tobias. Ari, Beau, and Toby.
Callum just jumped out to me from your post. Then I said it out loud and it sounds familiar. Then proceeded to google it: he is an English actor on the Tudors. And quite handsome.
I wonder if a boy wouldn’t get tired of hearing “Little Beau Blew” his whole life. I know you love the name but try giving it as your name at Starbucks and when getting on the list at places to eat and see how you feel about the comments.
It does get old but it makes you tough
Beau Blew
With the surname Blew spelled like the color, the name Beau also immediately brought to mind nursery rhymes because of Bo Peep and Little Boy Blue. Not necessarily a dealbreaker, but if I do the test of “would I want my own name to remind everyone of nursery rhymes?” it’s a hard no, so unfortunately I would be inclined to reconsider if I were in your shoes.
I love Miles, and also the suggestion of Milo if you find Miles too heavy. I LOVE Ames! I wondered if Otis might also be a name you’d consider? It seems to be stylistically similar to your choices and I just love Otis Blew. To me that is memorable and awesome but not cutesy. And someone else suggested Jasper which I think is just GREAT.
Rhys is all boy to me. If you like Quincy for a girl, what about Quinn for a boy? I know a 9 year old boy by that name and it reads unisex enough to me that it doesn’t come off as girly. Especially paired with a clearly girl name like Ariana.
Oooh, what about Grady? Grady Blew. I love it!
Oh, I’m sorry, but my immediate reaction to Beau Blew was Little Boy Blue. In this regard, I think something like Bodhi with the nickname Bo would be better because he’d have something else to fall back on in case of teasing and/or the “come blow your horn” jokes became to much for him. I see no reason why you couldn’t spell it Beau instead of Bo. Nicknames don’t have to come directly from the letters in the given name (see Dick/Richard, Bob/Robert or Jack/John).
I would not call a Miles Miley. Perhaps Milo would work as a nickname for you? Actually, I kind of like Milo as the given name for you.
Rhys is all boy for me.
Finn Blew=Tuna I understand. But Fenton Blew=Tuna makes my brain hurt. I just don’t get it. Sounds more like he just didn’t like Fenton. I suppose if I stretch really hard, maybe Finn could be a nickname for Fenton? Maybe?
If you do an A name and a B name, it makes sense to link them with the whole “baby A /baby B” thing. However, I did know one family who did the A name for the 2nd baby. Their reasoning was that baby A got to be the oldest, so baby B got to be 1st alphabetically. I have also known some families who named the babies in a specific order (in both cases, baby A was a junior and baby B was not). But really, they are your babies, so I think you can decide who gets what name however you want. I’d probably be tempted to go by looks or do something really random like flipping a coin.
A lot of your names have a “cowboy” vibe to me. With that in mind, I’ll suggest Wyatt, Cody, Austin, Gus/August/Augustus, Henry (or Hank), Jack/Jackson, Laramie.
completely out of left field, what about Chase, Lucas, or Julian? I like that all three kids would have completely unique name sounds and syllable counts.
I love the idea of Beau and Grady.
My nephew’s name is Boman and we often call him Bo. I think Boman Blew sounds really nice if you decided you wanted a longer option.
You mentioned liking Damon and Shane, both names I liked when I had my 3rd, and we ended up naming him Dane. Dane Blew?
Good luck! I am expecting another boy and am struggling to come up with one name, so I can imagine how hard it would be to come up with 2 at once! :)
I agree with everyone else about Beau Blew…sorry. I think Bowden (or Bowdoin) with a nickname of Bo/Beau works much better.
Others’ suggestions that I liked:
Kai
Teague
Asher
Wells
Archer
Declan
Brooks
Callum
Tobias
August
Cody
Julian
I’ll also suggest:
Eli
Cassius/Cash
Ashton
Everett
Flynn
Rowan
Wesley
Bennett
Clayton/Clay
Quincy
Camden
Cameron
Jude
Sawyer
Owen
Damian
Cooper
Carter
Gavin
Cole
The A, B & C idea is cute. Some combos:
Brooks & Clayton
Brooks & Corey
Brooks & Cody
Brooks & Connor
Bowden & Cassius
Bowden & Corey
Bowden & Caleb
Bowden & Connor
Bennett & Cassius
Bennett & Camden
Bennett & Cameron
Bennett & Cole
Beckett & Cassius
Beckett & Camden
Beckett & Cameron
Beckett & Callum
Beckett & Cody
Beckett & Cole
Beckett & Corey
Brady & Cole
Brady & Connor
Brady & Camden
Brady & Cameron
Do you like Quentin? It doesn’t nickname well, but Quentin Blew is great. And I’d like to second another commenter’s suggestion of Cal, which is also great. Callum, Calvin, and Charles are 3 of the many ways to get to Cal. Cal Blew.
Seconding (or thirding?) that Quinn reads ‘boy’ to me.
Also love the name Beau, had it on my short list but went with August instead, which could give you A & B names, as others have suggested. Good luck!
I know you said that you and your boyfriend have thought about possible problems with Beau Blew and that y’all don’t mind, which is great, but did you think that maybe your son would mind as he gets older? I think it’s easy for us to see/hear a name and be like “Oh that’s fun!” but we wouldn’t want it ourselves. I’m sure it’s daunting to go back to the drawing board for both names, but maybe you can find a name that gives you the nickname Beau and provides him with alternate names if he decides that Beau isn’t his thing.
I love the B & C twin name ideas! I think that’s awesome. Here are a few ideas:
Brody and Calvin
Bevan and Charles
Boden and Cillian
Broderick and Coleman
Bruno and Casper
Brendan and Cyrus
Beau and Rhys are on my list too! I think my taste (despite being a northwest gal includes a lot of traditional southern names and last names for boys. Maybe you’d like others on my list?
Royce (a more masculine alternative to Rhys)
Heath
Hollis
Ford
Jacoby
Davis
Brooks
Rhett (sounds great with Beau!)
Rory
Harris
Tobin
Brooks Blew sounds dreamy! These are great suggestions. Davis Blew is also awesome.
Bodhi and Cassius go with Arianna. Beau, Cai, and Ari. It also gives you an ABC pattern.
Otherwise, Bodhi & Kai alone are a great set. Ari, Beau, & Kai.
Boy twins! So fun!! I find Beau Blew hard to say and also reversed it’s Blew, Beau which said aloud is Blue Bow. Of course, some people could pull it off! I also like the suggestion of Robert, nicknamed Bo. The girl I know who considered Beau also liked Ty. Ty Blew is pretty good! I also suggest Wyatt and Calder. I do love Miles and I think Miles Blew sounds nice. Good luck! I can’t wait to hear what you choose:)
I came back to this thread after commenting earlier. I can’t help but offer a wee defense of Beau Blew. 1) you don’t give your full name at Starbucks 2) kids are unlikely to go to Little Boy Blew from Beau Blew on their own-I don’t think my kids even know the rhyme and most kids are soooo literal that Boy and Beau are two completely different concepts.
So the only group of folks who are going to think Little Boy Blew are some older strangers, parents, grandparents. Of THOSE, a much smaller proportion will have the chutzpah to speak out to Beau or his parents and say “Like little Boy Blew? Har! Har!”
To THOSE folks, I would say “Beau not Boy.” Or “Ah yes, that’s a nursery rhyme right?” Or “And what is your name?” Or “We’re over that reference!” Said brightly and with a smile. To get really Southern, a simple “Boy Blew? Aw bless your heart. It’s Beau, actually.”
Rhys is definitely boy and great with Beau!
I say this as someone who broke the rules and used the Rhys spelling as my daughter’s middle name – we wanted the more Gaelic connection and love that it means fiery. My lord, we got what we ordered with that middle name!
If Rhys doesn’t work, I love Quinn for you or Flynn – can’t wait to see what you choose! Congratulations!
Like Swistle, I’m not particularly fond of Beau Blew, either, for what it’s worth. I personally love alliteration, though, and wonder if you’d like Beckett, Brady, or Baylor?? Ames is a cool name and makes me think of Amos, but that does have a biblical association… For C names, would you guys like Carver, Coulter, or Chase? Otherwise, there’s Thatcher or Archer, since you’re not sure if Rider will work.
Best of luck!
I’m all for using the name you love, and I really like the name Beau. The fact that it doesn’t nessesarily sound amazing with your last name for all the reasons mentioned above makes me agree with those that suggested you use a longer form and shorten to Beau so there are options like Ari/Arianne.
I read Rhys as all boy- my son has one in his class and I thought it was pronounced “ryes” which I also like. Someone above suggested Cal as a shortened form of Calloway, I also really like Calvin (a lot) it was on my long list for boys but we ended up having a girl.
Other names that crossed my mind were Cade, And Blake
Good luck with whatever you choose-and Swistles right, next veto earns your hubby the job of coming up with a list for you to peruse. Maybe he’ll list one of your previously vetoed names making it available to you again
Cody Blew – really? Not if you work in a hospital! I agree that two syllables help with Beau, like Bowman nn Beau. If you want to be super creative there’s always Rainbow, nn Beau, and Rainbow Blew is certainly can a name no one would forget.
If you like Finn and Fenton what about Flynn?
Fenton, Deacon…Denton?
Rhys, Bodhi… Rowan?
Beau is a nice name. However, with your surname it comes across leaning jokey? Like a cartoon character’s name? My hubby has an alliterative name with matching syllables and it has caused him trouble his whole life.
Ooh, OP, I don’t know. I feel like you’re committed to Beau, so at this point, we’re all just jerks for trying to talk you out of it. But…I wouldn’t use it! I love Beau a lot, but it just doesn’t work well with Blew. It definitely has that Bob Loblaw feel to it, and I also find myself saying Blow Blew and just feeling tripped up by it.
A couple at church just had a baby and they announced it on Sunday…name is Phoebe, and at first I swooned over it. Uncommon but familiar, and so sweet. But then I realized how bad it sounded with their last name, and felt let down. Ha. It’s a two syllable name that starts with an F and has the exact same sound, but just replace the B sound with another consonant. It just doesn’t work for me!
Plus, you totally hit the nail on the head with Arianna…I loovvve a long first name with a short last name. It sounds so elegant and rolls off the tongue. So, something like Dominic Blue is so handsome to me. It almost plays up the fun last name more so to me, while avoiding the cartoony feel. Benjamin Blue is really fun, and Benji Blue is too cute. I also like Christopher Blue, with the underused Topher as a nickname. Topher Blue. A, B, and C.
However, these are not preferences that you mentioned, and I’m totally just running away with this awesome last name and off in my own world. Good luck, OP! Have fun with the Blue Boys!
Many years ago I knew teenage twin sisters whose last name was also Blue. I can never forget their names:
Linda Lou Blue and Sinda Sue Blue!
I agree that Arianna is perfect with Blue and would suggest that that pattern is followed with the twins’ names if possible. I like the ABC pattern too if that works for you.
Benji Blue is great!
I reckon if you love it (Beau), use it… I see someone else suggested Boden. Or how about Beauden – here in New Zealand, we have a pretty awesome All Black (rugby player) who is named Beauden Barrett. Cool name, cool guy :) Just a thought!
I, too, was having reservations about Beau Blew even before I read Swistle’s reply. It’s hard to say and has a fairy-tale feeling to it, like Snow White.
Since your husband is a big reader, how about Dashiell nn Dash? In fact, I would be inclined to get your husband involved in the process (in a more positive way) by asking him to brainstorm author/character names.
I like Beau Blew! While it’s good to weigh the possible downsides of the first/last combo, it’s also fair to decide that they aren’t that important. There are so many other considerations when naming a child, and you’ve agreed on a lovely name for one of your boys.
My husband was also a vetoer. In retrospect, instead of just making lists and having them shot down, I wish I’d introduced some fun decision-making methods into the process. There are many ideas: you can find them on a variety of websites. Find a process that would appeal to both you and your SO, and try to make the name choosing a little more enjoyable. Best of luck!
Ok so I know you like Beau but as much as you like it I really don’t think you should use it with the last name. You know when you hear of those parents that saddle their children with unfortunate names, well this yells to me one of those times. Just an anonymous, not close to the situations, calling it as I see it, with genuine care opinion. I’m not trying to be mean, I just feel like the one twin will forever wish you named him whatever you name the other twin.
But if there is absolutely no other name that you guys can pick then I think you should have Beau as a nn from a longer name. Then if he hates being called boy blue, he then has a backup. I also agree that longer names sound really good with your last name. Just like your daughter. Which is a very beautiful name! So suggestions such as Beauden or Bowden would be great. Then I would also come up with a longer name for the other twin with a cute nn. Such as Dashiell or August. Dash and Gus.
My idea for two fun,cute short names are
Zane Blew & Knox Blew. Ari, Zane and Knox
Other short names that I like with Beau are
Wells
Arlo
Jett
Gabe
I also like Ames and Rhys together.
I grew up with twin boys in my class…Beau and Wade. I think the two sound great together
I went to school with a Morgan Blew and I always loved that name. I don’t usually love names than end in -en or -an but to my ear they sounds really good with Blew. Ethan Blew, Quentin Blew, Peyton Blew, Caden Blew…
Don’t think anyone has suggested this yet, but Quincy for a boy! To me it reads as 100% boy. Never would’ve thought of it for a girl’s name! Totally love it (but husband has already vetoed).
I’ll start with names I think were stricken from the list prematurely. I’ve never even heard of the Disney show, so I don’t think it’s the male equivalent of Dora, though Miles Blew does have a pretty strong association with the jazz album. And I haven’t looked it up, but I’m pretty sure Rhys spelled that way is usually used for boys. You had Quincy/Quinn on your girl list. Would you consider it for a boy? I know one of each, both boys.
If ABC appeals, how about Ari, Beau, and Carter?
More pairings:
Beau and Devin
Beau and Joseph (but only if you weren’t going to call him Joe)
Beau and Louis
Beau and Samuel (Sam)
Beau and Trevor
Beau and William (nickname Will or Liam)
2 things – I absolutely love Bowen, the full name is great Bowen Blew, and guess what? You can exclusively call him Bo if you want.
Next, I’m currently expecting twin girls. I’ve named them based off of their personalities in utero! We had a strong name picked out for 1 baby already, so I chose that for my very active baby. Then after lots of discussion, we picked a more soft, pretty name (in my opinion) for my smaller, more quiet baby. We’ve bonded with them so much via frequent ultrasounds that it just made sense to start calling them by name. So regardless of birth order, the girls have their names set. Good luck! :)
I have a Declan and call him Dex. I noticed Dexter was vetoed, but I love Dex and Beau so maybe a different ‘long’ name might work??
I have triplet boys, so I feel your pain in naming multiple boys at once!! We named our boys in utero. That way I could say, “Victor and Sebastian are kicking up a storm,” or whatever, instead of calling them babies A and C. Calling them A, B and C seemed so impersonal!
I’m sorry, but Beau Blew is soooo hard to say that it makes it unusable. I love Beau so I’ve been sitting here trying to say it so I can argue on your behalf… and my tongue gets twisted. Every. Time. I agree with everyone about using a longer version. “Hi, I’m Beamont Blew, you can call me Beau,” would work wonderfully! (Also, that would give him the nickname option of Monty, which is awesome!)
Just chiming in that I don’t think Beau Blue is particularly hard to say. It’s definitely a memorable name, in the same way that Jack Black is memorable, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing . . . It’s something to consider, but not a deal breaker unless it particularly bothers you.
Well, I was having trouble with Beau Blew, agreed with the Levi issue, and then I got to Deacon and my brain gave up and started singing Steely Dan. I’m an old, I know, but no one should be called Deacon Blue. It’s a name when you lose.
It seems to me that Blew is a double whammy, both a color and a problematic verb, and the puns and jokes are going to happen no matter what. Personally, I would try to mitigate that. Miles and Rhys are my favorites. The tv show isn’t that popular, and Rhys is definitely masculine. Would Reed work better?
I really like Swistle’s suggestion of Eli. Eli Blew sounds awesome.
I think multi-syllable names sound better with your last name. I think going back to a name like Bodhi would be a good idea, rather than Beau.
Bodhi & Eli
I also like Asher. From your list if you had of had a girl, Quinn still works great as a boys name. Blake can be a boys name. James, obviously, is a classic boys name. Your other option of Rhys is also totally a boys name.
Some other names that I think would be okay with the last name “Blew”:
Matthias or Matteo
Bennett
Elliott (which you can nickname Eli, which I am, again, *loving*).
Thatcher
Ezra
Your last name is awesome. Many people would love to have that color name as their last name.
But I strongly think that all noun and noun-ish names must be crossed off the list, to avoid sounding ridiculous. I would REMOVE all these from the list of potential names. There are some great suggestions here, and I would say the right names are still out there.
Beau/bow
Miles
Hunter
Wade
Wells
Dash
Deacon
Cale
Chase
Ford
Brooks