Dear Swistle,
Longtime highly devoted reader of all things Swistle. I have a two year old daughter named Penelope Jane, and am currently pregnant with a boy, due April 22nd. Penelope’s nicknames are numerous and varied, but she primarily goes by Penelope or Pip. She refers to herself as Ell-uh-pe, which is very cute. We liked Penny as a nickname, but didn’t like it with our last name, which sounds like Hearty but spelled differently. I didn’t like the double “y” sound when saying them together.
(This is unrelated to the current situation, but for anyone considering Penelope but fearing their child will always be called Penny, it really hasn’t been an issue for us. People will ask if she goes by Penny and we say: “No, we mostly call her Penelope” and that’s usually the end.)
I am pregnant with my second, this time a boy. My daughter’s name was fairly easy, one day I said the name offhandedly and my husband liked it, and it went on the list. By the next day it had become THE NAME in my mind, and stayed that way throughout the rest of my pregnancy, and I maintain high levels of satisfaction bordering on smugness to this very day. Her middle name is Jane after my beloved grandmother. Because our children will have my husband’s last name, it is important to me that they have a family name from my side to provide some balance. My husband is on board with this.
Names we are considering:Henry
Carter
Calvin
GrantHenry Carter Hearty. I like this combination, but worry that Henry Hearty is too matchy matchy. I actually kind of like the matchiness, because it makes him sound like a comic book character. This is actually the only reason I chose to go by my husband’s last name. But just because I like it doesn’t mean that my son will. How much of an issue do think this is? I’ve also had many people tell me this name is too popular. That doesn’t bother me.
Carter Henry Hearty. This is my top choice. Carter is my dad’s name, and I’ve always loved the name, and conveniently also love my dad.
Issues:
1) I originally didn’t like the combination because of the repeating “ar” sounds in the first and last names. Car Har sounded too harsh too me, I didn’t like the flow of Carter Hearty. Now it doesn’t bother me anymore, and I can’t tell if its because the flow was always fine, or because I’ve just gotten used to it. Is the flow weird? What are your thoughts?
2) My husband feels uncomfortable giving our son the first name of a living relative, because he thinks it is confusing to have two people with the same name in one family, and that it puts a lot of pressure on the relationship between the two. No one in my immediate family shares a first name, but many people in my extended family do, and neither thing has ever been a problem as far as I can see. I think it just feels normal to me because it is common in my family, and unusual to him because it is uncommon in his. Even though I have arrived at this very logical and well reasoned conclusion, it doesn’t seem to have changed the reality of our preferences.
3) I worry that it will feel less special to my daughter to have a family middle name if my son has a family first name. I especially don’t want her to think it was because she is a girl and he is a boy. The only reason that I didn’t choose Jane as her first name (and for the first half of my pregnancy that was the plan…well MY plan) is because I felt so zingy about Penelope. But I feel equal amounts of love and affection about using each name.
4) Although I feel like passing down the last name is a pretty big deal already, I wouldn’t want my in-laws to feel slighted by not having my father in law’s name used. My husband does not think this is an issue at all.
Calvin “Middlename TBD” Hearty
With our first, our boy name was Calvin. Obviously Cal is the cutest.
Issues:
1) With this pregnancy, Calvin has lost some luster for me. I still like it, but I don’t feel the same heart eyes that I did two years ago. My husband still likes it quite a bit, it dipped for awhile but is probably back to number one for him.
2) I don’t know what his middle name would be. Calvin Carter makes me think of Calvin Klein, and I’d like to avoid naming my son after underwear. There is literally no other male family name on my side that I want to use. My grandfather’s name was Haze, which could maybe work, but there are so many Hazes in my family at this point it feels a little redundant. So to use Calvin, I think I would have to give up using a family name, and that makes me really bummed. (I just had my husband read this and he has surprised me by saying that he likes Calvin Carter as a middle name.)
Grant Carter Hearty
This name is fine. I like it. I’m not zingy about it. My biggest issue is that Grant is a family name on my husband’s side, so my son would have two family names and my daughter would only have one. Is that a big deal?
Had this baby been a girl, her name almost certainly would have been Juniper Bess. Other girl names we like: Tabitha, Willow, Clara. There is a 90% chance that there will no more children.
I feel like I have a lot more to say, but its mostly just additional hand wringing around the same issues.
Sometimes when I read a letter I have an immediate Very Strong Opinion, and my main struggle is with moderating the communication of that opinion so that it does not come across too forcefully. It is clear to me that the point of this blog is not for me to choose MY favorite name from another family’s list (though I enjoy voting, and so I go ahead and do so), but for us to help THEM to choose THEIRS. But something about the tone of your letter makes me think I can trust you not to feel overly pressured by my opinion or to think that I would think you SHOULD feel pressured by it, and so I am just going to go ahead and try to talk you into my far-and-away top choice, which is Calvin.
Now I will tell you why—though still with the understanding that I am talking here about my own preferences, and not what I think yours should be. I will put these reasons not in order of importance, but in the order that they occur to me as I am typing.
One: Calvin is my favorite with Penelope for popularity and style. Both names are familiar, yet unusual in my personal experience at approximately the same levels, and they give me similar reactions of surprise and interest. I also do love the style of Henry with Penelope, but this brings me to reason two.
Two: Calvin is my favorite with your surname. I can see the charm of Henry Hearty, but not quite to the extent that I would want to use it myself: the beginnings AND endings of the names match, AND they have the same number of letters and syllables, AND they both have an R sound in the middle. The not-quite-repeating art/ard sounds of Carter Hear(t)y bothers my ear and tangles my tongue. Grant Hearty is fine (though I don’t love two word names in a row), and is my second choice of the four candidates.
Three: Calvin Carter is my favorite of all the options for including your dad’s name, and I really like the idea of you using your dad’s name.
Four: I love the nickname Cal.
Five: Calvin Carter doesn’t make me think of Calvin Klein. It’s making me think of something else, but I can’t put a finger on it. Oh, actually I think I’ve got it: it’s just that both are presidential names, so that’s ringing that bell. Or maybe it’s that Calvin (Klein) and Carter’s are both clothing companies? In any case, it doesn’t make me think of underpants at all. And even if it did, I wouldn’t be bothered by that in a middle name. I also think Calvin Grant Hearty is nice, but it bugs me that then it’s two names from your husband’s side and none from yours.
Six: I just like it best, OKAY??
But! I know what you mean about the luster wearing off a name, and that could indeed end up being the dealbreaker. Unless SWISTLE’S FORCEFUL OPINION might renew the luster a bit? Well, I will hope.
In the meantime, I am going to brush away a bunch of concerns. Again, this is about how I feel, not about how you feel or how you should feel (though feel free to find my arguments persuasive).
One: Even though I love things to line up tidily, I don’t think it generally matters if one kid has a family first name and one has a family middle name. I also don’t think it generally matters if one kid has two family names and the other has one. I do acknowledge that there are tons of situations where I would be advocating that an attempt be made to adjust things in a particular situation (like when one kid has two super-important-and-sentimental family names but the sibling-to-be is getting none, or when three sons have been given double family names but the daughter-to-be is getting none), but nothing is setting off red lights for me with your various options. I guess it does seem slightly non-ideal to have the first name be one that is also a closer family member. But I think a lot of that can be spun using casual tone: “Oh, yes, well it was down to either Penelope Jane or Jane Penelope, and in the end we preferred Penelope Jane,” or “We knew we wanted to use Carter as either a first or middle name, so we just played around with names until we found the combination we liked best.”
Two: I don’t think it ends up being particularly confusing to have a grandparent and grandchild sharing a first name, especially when the surname is different. Or at least it has not mattered in my family, where one of my sons is named after my dad. What we noticed is that there’s hardly anyone in the family who would call both of those people by the same name. I call my dad Dad, I don’t call him by my son’s name. My kids call my dad Grampa. My mom calls them both by their first names, of course, but when she’s talking to me she refers to my dad as Dad, and when she’s talking to the grandkids she refers to him as Grampa. On the very few occasions where it could be confusing, such as when my mom is talking to her friends, it has not been difficult or problematic or sitcomesque to communicate or understand which one is being discussed. Really, a non-issue. With you and I BOTH seeing things this way, I don’t see how your husband can fail to find his perceptions changed. …However, I am still not in favor of the sound of Carter Hearty, so on second thought I take back this whole paragraph.
Three: Zinginess is nice but in the long run I have not found it MUCH different than non-zinginess. That is, I have felt Quite Zingy about two of my five children’s names, and I still enjoy DISCUSSING and THINKING ABOUT that zinginess all these years later—but with the other three names I felt something more like Settled Satisfaction, and in the long run I am not even sure which I’d rank higher. It was really fun to choose the zingy names, but I also found it a little extra stressful. It was a little less exciting to choose the less zingy names, but I also found it a little extra peaceful. And aside from wishing OTHER PEOPLE had chosen one son’s name at a lower frequency, I don’t wish in any of the five cases that I had chosen something more zingy or less zingy: all seem Just Right. So if it’s a little disappointing not to have Zing this time, you may indeed want to seek it out; but if you are similar in temperament to me, I don’t think it’ll matter much in the long run. But of course I say that in part because the name Calvin has zing for me.
So! Are we settled? You will name him Calvin Carter Hearty, and we will all be happy. *brushes off hands with zingy satisfaction*
I also really love the sound of Calvin Carter Hearty. To me, it has great punch with the double c, double “ar” sounds.
I also vote for Calvin Carter Hearty. I like that the middle name is a family name, just like your daughter. I love the nick name Cal- perhaps it is because my son is Callahan and we call him Cal. I like the flow of the name and people rarely use their first-second name combo, so I wouldn’t be worried about the undies association- not to mention, I do not think of Calvin Klein when I see/ hear Calvin Carter.
Side note; I fell in love with our son’s name, Callahan just like you did with Penelope and also had a hard time picking another name I loved for our second child (who was a girl). We did use our ‘girl name’ from my first pregnancy- even though initially it had lost some luster. I am glad we did since it was a family name and we just revamped her middle name from what we had originally picked. Best of luck!
Oh, I love Callahan!
I’m 100% with Swistle on this one. Calvin Carter Hearty is such a snappy name and I love it. Penelope and Calvin. Pip and Cal. Love it!
As usual, I agree with Swistle about so much of this that it hardly seems worth it to post a reply. But sometimes people are looking for consensus, so I shall post anyway.
There are only a couple of things I want to add are that I actually love Calvin Carter because of the repeat of first/middle initial. It gives the name zing (for me) and I think it’s got that comic book feel you seem to like, but in a way that is more subtle than Henry Hearty. If he likes it, he can certainly play it up. If not, it’s a simple thing to keep the middle tucked away.
I personally find Carter Hearty more problematic than Henry Hearty. I tend to get tongue tied easily, and I am 100% certain that I would end up saying Harter Cearty on a fairly regular basis. Henry Hearty looks similar, but doesn’t share as much of the same sounds. Hen-ree Har-tee. The H’s don’t sound similar at all, the R’s seem to get swallowed up by the surronding letters (in Henry the R sounds shorter because of the ee. In Hearty the R sounds more drawn out, arrr).
OK, so I have 3 things, which is more than a couple. Regarding the same name used within the extended family issue. I lean more towards your husband’s view. However, that is likely because in my family repeating first names is just Not Done. Namesakes might share a middle name, first names get recycled as middles or we might use a variant name (think Sean named after a John). That’s not to say it can’t work in other families, just that it’s not the tradition in my family. It would feel very weird to me to name a child the exact same first name as a living relative, so I can relate to your husband’s hesitation about it.
This was so helpful. Harter Carty WOULD TOTALLY HAPPEN.
Calvin Carter Hearty is perfect, but best wishes on whatever you choose.
Swistle, I really enjoyed both the letter and your response. Don’t ever stop writing the blog please :)
I agree with Swistle 100%. Calvin Carter Hearty is perfect. Calvin has zing for me, for sure. Good luck!
So the first thing that struck me is that Penny and Penelope both end in the -ee sound, and perhaps the reason you prefer Penelope over Penny is the number of syllables. With a two syllable zippy last name, it can be easy to rhymey or sing-songy with a similar two syllable first name.
So I wanted to suggest looking at some longer first names. Sebastian, Alexander, Nathanial, for a few. Maybe looking in that direction would help find zing.
If that direction does not appeal to you, then I agree with Swistle that Calvin Carter Hearty is a great choice.
The extra syllable is exactly what made Penelope work for us! I like longer names, but for some reason just for boy names my husband doesn’t seem to. But I do love love Sebastian especially.
Swistle is amazing. I wouldn’t use Carter for the first name…probably not Henry either due to the slight clashes with the last name. I too think Calvin Carter is perfection!!
I love Calvin Carter too! Calvin was high on our baby boy name list, but we actually didn’t choose it because we wanted to use my dad’s name as the middle name, and it starts with C. I love the name we chose, but looking back, I’m not sure why that was a deal breaker for me, because the repeating C sounds fine to my ear now. Anyway, Calvin Carter does not make me think of Calvin Klein, and I like the flow with your last name better than the other options.
Big fan of Calvin Carter Hearty too! Nothing about underoos even slightly pings for me.
I know you didn’t ask for more options, but Calvin was in our top 3 when we named our first son. We went with Cyrus, which we love. We’ve never really called him Cy, but it’s a snappy nickname to my ears!
CYRUS! Oh, wonderful.
I’m also a big fan of Cyril and Cecil.
CYRUS. I LOVE THIS! So cute!
Calvin all the way, but Grant a close second.
I think Calvin is a great name. Love it. I’ve only known one so far in raising two boys and he’s a great kid, pleasant to be around and sporty. It was on my list with my first in about the same place with Nolan.
First, commenting to say I love Calvin, and agree with Swistle that Calvin Carter is the best option and not at all reminiscent of underwear (to me).
Second, wanted to share my recent zinginess experience. Recently had baby girl 2 and felt the same about what was the runner up name for our first. I really dwelled on the fact that I wasn’t as heart eyed in comparison or anymore about this name. Even emailed Swistle about it! But having used it anyway, now that there’s a baby attached to the name, I have heart eyes all over again. I think with the second baby it feels different because you have a person attached to the first baby’s name. How can you look at Penelope and not feel heart eyes, you know? Whereas baby #2’s name is just a name until they arrive. At least that’s how it was for me.
Third, I also was set on the idea of honor middle names from my side of the family but it just didn’t work. We went with one from my husband’s family. I actually, surprisingly, love telling the story behind choosing his family’s name, maybe because I always thought it would be one from my family it now feels exciting and fresh. While my kids do have his last name, I still find some balance in one having my family’s middle name and one having his, especially as we plan to stop at 2.
Good luck! I can empathize with how much harder it is when you have a naming experience you love to compare to.
Ooh, this comment was so helpful to me! I do think that having this be my second child is making things a little difficult. Also, boy names in general have always been harder for me to get swoony about, so that probably effects things to.
The only one of your choices I have trouble saying is Carter Hearty. It’s a bit sing-songy for my taste too. Henry Hearty doesn’t trip me up at all.
But I have to agree – I love Calvin Carter Hearty! Had our daughter been a boy, she would have been a Calvin. LOVE.
In case you’re looking for more suggestions, here are a few of my other favorites:
Miles
Roman
Jude
Xavier
Of your choices, I agree with Swistle and all the followers, Calvin Carter Hearty for the win. Agree with the tongue-twistiness of Carter Hearty and somewhat with Henry Hearty, but moreso Henry and Penelope feel a bit too matchy. They share the -en beginning and -ee ending. Although Pip and Hank would be super cute. Grant is a fine name.
Someone said something about three-syllables, so my favourite name to recommend came to mind – Calloway! You still get to Cal, but it’s a bit more whimsical. And comes with more nicknames possibilities. Cal, Lo, Waze. Since your family is ripe with Hazes, how about a little Waze?
I can’t wait to hear what you choose. I also agree with previous posters who say that the heart eyes were not as strong the second time around. I definitely experienced that. Even 14 months in, I sometimes can’t believe the name we gave our second, whereas my first has a name that makes me smile every time.
I will say I get a strong “president” vibe from Calvin Carter. Like, I know that Calvin Carter isn’t a US president, but it sounds like it SHOULD be the name of a president. I think my brain is mashing up Jimmy Carter and then the alliteration of Calvin Coolidge. At any rate, it’s not a bad association. And he will just be Calvin Hearty to most people, which I think is very nice.
I do have an almost impossible time saying Carter Hearty. It’s really a tongue twister for me. Henry Hearty sounds fine to my ear, although on paper it looks like almost the same name written twice (especially if the spelling of your actual last name is how I think it may be).
Of your current favorites, I think Calvin is definitely the best. Although I do understand the luster going off a name. I feel that way about the name I once thought we would use if we end up having a second boy. Six years after first discussing it, it feels a bit “meh” to me.
One of my kids’ names was not zingy for me- lots of honor, little zing. It doesn’t pass so much as you stop worrying about it and you love them anyway. I think you have great choices (Calvin or Henry are my favs for you) and the names have wonderful stories to tell. you can’t go wrong.
Crazily enough, I like Calvin Carter Hearty the best too. When you mentioned the superhero thing, to me Calvin Carter Hearty and all the forms are it. Calvin C. Hearty, Cal Hearty, Calvin Hearty. The V and the Y are pleasing to the eye.
I just love it too!
Best Swistle column ever. Definitely agree with everything she said and the English teacher in me wants to give her an A+ for “voice.” In fact, I think I’ll be printing this one off to show the 8th grader that lives in my house.
I found this whole post — question and answer — both satisfying and hilarious. (This line had me giggling: “Even though I have arrived at this very logical and well reasoned conclusion, it doesn’t seem to have changed the reality of our preferences.” And this one: “Unless SWISTLE’S FORCEFUL OPINION might renew the luster a bit? Well, I will hope.”)
But I am REALLY coming to echo others that I love “Calvin Carter Hearty” and do NOT think at ALL about Calvin Klein.
And just THINK of all the future bargaining power that might come with, “Husband, darling, YOU got to choose our son’s first name.”
I also love Calvin Carter Hearty the most—as soon as I read it in your letter, I wanted to snap my fingers and say “THAT’S IT!”
But I would also like to say neither Henry Hearty nor Carter Hearty give me as much pause as some others have. I find them both quite charming, and I even think I would have fun saying “Carter Hearty” were I a teacher or a doctor or what have you.
I did want to also come and suggest the name Callum, in case you’re still feeling as though Calvin has lost its luster—it could still get you Cal, works really well with the full name (Callum Carter Hearty—love!) and with his sister’s name, might get you that “zing” you’re looking for? I love it equally with Calvin.
Good luck, you have some fabulous choices!
I am loving one of the commenters, Ashley, son’s name: Callahan. Penelope and Callahan. Pip and Cal. That’s pretty awesome. I love that Callahan gives balance to the length and syllables of Penelope. I wonder if Callahan has some zingy factor for you?
Otherwise, I think Calvin Carter sounds perfectly fine together.
Do you like Malcolm? Hugh? Calloway?
Good luck!
For some reason Callahan comes off as feminine to me..not sure why..it’s not a name I have ever heard in real life other than as a surname
For me Calvin has religious overtones that are pretty strong, so I wouldn’t pick it for that reason. But I’m guessing I’m in the small minority since no one else has mentioned this.
I come from a family where people really believe in family names, some of which are unusual outside the family. I have the same very uncommon first name as one of my daughters and my aunt, and another cousin has it as her middle name. My grandmother, aunt, and cousin all have the same first name and two have it as middle names. My son has the same name as my grandfather (who was living when he was born), uncle, and the middle name of three cousins. My husband happens to have the same common first name as my cousin and it is my nephew’s middle name… and there are more names where only two family members share it, and some where we have multiple variations in use (e.g. Helen, Ellen, Nelle, Eleanor, and Leonora). Even with all that overlap and with the whole extended family getting together periodically, almost never is there confusion about who is talking about/to whom. We use qualifiers sometimes (e.g. “Big John” and “little John”, or “my”) or occasionally last names (mostly when adults with the same name are introducing themselves over the phone) but mostly the use of context and titles like mom, Aunt so-and-so, dad, etc. makes it totally clear. I love sharing a beautiful and unusual name with a strong history with my family members and am totally happy my kids have family names.
My first reaction when seeing the short list of boy’s names was “Calvin!” and then when the LW mentioned that Carter is her father’s name I immediately thought “Calvin Carter!” I don’t think I’ve seen so many comments agreeing on one name as they are here.
FWIW, Carter in no way makes me think Klein. So the Calvin Carter, Calvin Klein issue doesn’t strike me as an issue at all. Not to mention it’ll be rare for anyone to mention the middle name on a regular basis.
I wonder if the clothing connection Swistle was hearing hearing was Carhartt’s, I hear it when you say Carter Hearty.
Oh, that could DEFINITELY be it!
Three kids. First one, I broke my rule about “what sounds good with our last name” because I liked the name so much. 8 years later, doesn’t bother me a bit. Total zing with the name. Second one, similar zing, familiar rule-breaking – in this case it was the nickname that didn’t flow quite like I wanted, but the full name was fine. Third one, total zing I had to talk my husband into by agreeing to his first choice nickname, which of course she uses more than her given name. I like it, too, but not more than her full name. HIS first choice I would have been fine with but it didn’t zing for me. AND with my first two (boys), I had a strong preference they not share a first name with their father, who shared a first name with HIS father, but I ultimately let him make that call. (First son has father’s first name, second shares his middle name.)
SO – I’m saying that I understand MANY MANY of your feelings, OP. :)
IMO Calvin is far and away the best style choice and the best choice with your last name. I really really think Carter Hearty is awkwardly silly and not a name I would want to have…but I’m a random internet stranger, so. Henry Hearty is also not great – I think it’s the double H and the y ending. AND CALVIN HEARTY IS SO VERY GOOD.
Did not even think of Calvin Klein. Mild blending of presidents in my head…Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, Jimmy Carter…passes immediately after I realize I am not 100% sure on Harding’s first name LOL. Doesn’t scream PRESIDENTIAL like “Lincoln Washington Kennedy” would, at any rate.
I’m looking forward to the update on this one! Best wishes!
Is one more person voting for Calvin Carter Hearty going to sway you? If so, I AM THAT VOTE.
I like Henry Harty best…although I agree that all three are just fine.
Also, just for informational purposes…I want to remind everyone about mostly forgotten about President Harding, who came just before Calvin Coolidge.
Everything swistle said.
When I was reading your name list, I felt pretty “meh” until I got to Calvin. Henry, love it, but so overdone and stylistically doesn’t feel right with Penelope. Really dislike the sound of Carter Hearty. Grant is even more meh and even less stylistically a match than Henry…but Calvin…Calvin, I love.
I only felt zingy with my first child…second child’s name was a lot more common, a lot more of an honor name, and felt very plain to me. I never found anything that gave me the spark, though, so we went with it. I love it now…and there is a popular children’s book character by the same name who is JUST LIKE HIM, and it has been really fun to read those to him and laugh at their similarities. (And you would have Calvin and Hobbes…so, so cute.) So no regrets.
I also find Swistle’s response just perfect and I love Calvin Carter. If you wanted other suggestions, what about:
Theodore and Penelope
Hadrien and Penelope
Felix and Penelope
Lucian and Penelope
Alistair and Penelope
Nicolas (Nico) and Penelope
Raphael (I have one!) and Penelope
OHOHHHHHHHH I love Raphael and Penelope! I seriously am in love with Raphael!
Ooh, I love these! Especially Theodore and Felix!
Letter Writer here – This response has everything. It is literally the Stefan of advice columns. There’s humor, and common sense, and kind words of comfort, and most importantly, a STRONG OPINION which made me feel special and spoke to my internalized self importance. I read all this out loud to my husband, and when I got to the reveal of Swistle’s STRONG OPINION, I naturally did a dramatic pause and he said: “What IS it? My heart is racing!” and you guys, he was NOT EVEN KIDDING. Oh my gosh, this has just been the funnest.
Ok, so first of all, THANK YOU EVERYONE for calming me down about Calvin Carter! I literally shed a tear when I wrote down that I couldn’t use the two together because of Calvin Klein (I blame Back to the Future and also my sister who is the one who called my attention to it.) so convinced was I that this was going to be an immediate association for everyone. I have never been so pleased to be wrong! And my husband has never been so smug about me being wrong! I don’t know what this says about me as an individual, but reading so many positive reactions to Calvin has indeed restored some shine to the ol name. I mean, the consensus I am getting is that if I name him Calvin Carter he basically WILL be president when he grows up. Turns out all I have been missing is lots of super nice validation!
Also, THANK YOU for sharing opinions about Carter Hearty being difficult to say. Every time I have run the name past people in real life, and asked about the flow, they all give kind of the same, calm, no opinion reaction that polite people who don’t want to get in trouble for hating your favorite name give. THIS is why you should only trust strangers on the internet when making big decisions.
No Final Decision yet, but I’m not going to lie Calvin Carter is back in heavy hitting position. THANK YOU ALL!!!
So happy to read this update! This very much is the best letter, response, follow up ever. So satisfying!
this is just outstanding on every level. solid work swistle, letter writer and commenters.
and if we still have a democracy, Calvin Carter will clearly run it one day.
also. CAL AND PIP. how could you reject that?
Gahhh also with the so satisfying! I think your wit and Swistle’s wit are kind of super the same and I love it all.
Also, not only does Calvin Carter not make me think of Calvin Klein ..but even if it DID, my first thought is “Calvin Klein jeans” … is that because I went to high school in the 90s? Maybe? I mean, I know CK has underwear models and such ..but for some reason I think jeans first.
Hooray!
Love this! We have a Penelope and Calvin was our boy name for baby #2…until we found out she was a girl.
I wanted to share one idea for the middle name. If our second had been a boy, we wanted to honor my late father. We didn’t necessarily want to use his name (Chris) directly, but we loved Calvin and realized we could give them the same initials by using my dad’s middle name (Howard). Maybe using your dad’s middle name could be a special connection since they’d both be CH_.
Oops. Just realised that you won’t be using Howard and your married name/maiden name don’t necessarily start with the same letter (lucky coincidence for me). So, maybe use his middle name? Or Carter is a great option, too. I need a nap. 😝
Chiming in to say that Calvin Carter does have a great comic book vibe to it. I love both my daughters’ names, but my youngest’ has the same rhythm as Calvin Carter, and I use her middle name all the time, mostly with her diminutive, occasionally full formal. I love it, and it makes her name that much more special to me.
Love Calvin! If you were interested in finding a way to use Haze without directly using the name, I know a man named Hazen. Maybe it’s the Southerner in me, but there are never too many [insert names here] when talking about honor names. Calvin Hazen Hearty or Calvin Haze Hearty both are appealing to me. Do you like Robert? Robert Carter Hearty, Robert Hazen Hearty.
You can’t go wrong though with Calvin Carter Hearty. I’m not zingy about my second child’s name – it’s a name that both my husband and I could agree upon. He likes it a lot, I like it ok. But she’s here now and so many people are positive about her name that I am happier about it now than I was.
I love Calvin Carter. I think you’re experiencing lack of zinginess for 2 reasons. 1. You’ve had the name in your back pocket for a few years… zing fades when it is put on hold like that. Doesn’t mean it’s not still great. 2. You felt zingy about your daughter’s name. And then you used it. And seeing her make the name her own has made you feel even more zingy, as evidenced by your description of her pronunciation, which is adorable. No name is going to feel as magical as your daughter’s name because besides loving the name, you associate it with her. No name can compare with that. I think you are putting a little too much pressure on yourself to find a name you love as much as Penelope. You have to trust you will someday love the name you chose as much as Penelope, not expect to feel those feelings already. Good luck.
HANDS DOWN this is my favorite submission and response to date. Well worded and enthused, ladies. Can we three go get a cup of tea together and discuss names (and life!) for an hour or five now?!?
This was truly delightful, and the response from the OP in the comments was just the icing on the wonderfulness cake. I agree with others–Swistle, please don’t ever stop writing this blog!!
My brother and my grandpa have the same first and last names (though my brother mostly goes by Jimmy and my grandpa mostly goes by Jim), and it hasn’t been a problem at all. The only thing I can think of is once our dentist’s office accidentally called my grandpa about my brother’s dentist appointment, but really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
My brother’s middle name is after my other grandpa, so he has double honor names while I only have one (after two great-grandmas), and it has never bothered me. I don’t think my parents did it because they loved him more or anything like that, I think that’s just how it worked out.
Am I too late to chime in and say I too love Calvin Carter, but also believe Callum Carter would be an EXCELLENT choice! Callum Carter Hearty — Callum and Penelope. I love it!