Kinsey writes:
I am pregnant with our first child, gender unknown, and we are having a very hard time deciding on names…mostly because of a few dilemmas. Here it goes…
Boys- Since I was 16 (not kidding) I have wanted to name a first born son Henry Scott and call him Hank. Hank is the part that I LOVE! I’ve just always envisioned that to be my son’s name. It also turns out that I married a Scott…perfect! Well, 2 years ago my first cousin named his son Henry. He goes by Henry, not Hank, so I still thought I would use the name. BUT just last week, another first cousin (on the other side of my family), named his baby Henry too. But again, he’s not going by Hank. Would it be so wrong to name a baby Henry, since he would go by Hank?? we are close with the cousin with the 2 year old henry…but not the other cousin. My husband is Joseph Scott, and goes by Scott, so I suggested just doing Joseph Hank and calling the baby Hank…but he doesn’t like that. He thinks we have to use Henry to get the nickname Hank. what do you think?
Girls- My best friend’s last name is Layne. I have always LOVED her last name and wanted to use it for a girl’s name for many years. I even wanted to change it up a little and use McLayne. It’s different and sounds girly to me, without being too much (I’m not a super girly girl :-) but my husband is not a fan of having Mc at the beginning of a first name and for that reason says no way to McLayne. AND, in the last 2 months, my sister-in-law and a good friend used Layne as their new baby’s middle names. I know since they used them just as middle names I could still use it, but it takes the fun out of it for me. I like having something just a little different and had that picked out for so long. And another problem is that my husband and I do not agree on–and LOVE– any other girl names at all. NONE. Layne is the only one we both liked a lot. what are some other names that are different, without being weird?? maybe even other take-offs of layne? we would more than likely use Leigh as the middle name…it’s my sister’s middle name.
I’m SO BUMMED! I love playing around with baby names and thought I had my first choices set in stone and now it’s all messed up. i definitely want something semi different (i know henry is WAY popular, but hank does not seem to be and before those 2 people close to me used Layne, i hadn’t heard that either.) HELP!
I do think it’s still fine to use Henry, even though a couple of family members have used it. You were planning to use it when the relatives you’re close to chose it, so I don’t think it changes anything to have LESS-close relatives choose it. And it helps that the two other Henrys are on opposite sides of the family, since then it won’t feel to everyone else as if there are Henrys all over the place. If I were you, I would go ahead with your Henry Scott plan for a boy.
AND I think you should go ahead with Layne if the baby is a girl. You could go with the spelling Maclaine, if your husband’s objection is to the capital letter in the middle of the name. You could also name her Elaine, Elaina, Elena, Alaina, Alayna, Lainley, Melayna, Delayne, Delaney, Helene, etc., and call her Layne or Laney. You could also name her Lail or Layle or Laile (rhymes with Gail).
But I think if I were you I would stick with what you originally wanted: whatever you choose there are bound to be duplicates, so it’s best to choose what you want most—and “Layne” is the name/spelling that has the significant meaning for you.
Name update 09-12-2009! Kinsey writes:
just wanted to let you know that Joseph “Hank” was born on Saturday September 5th. he came a little early, but we finalized his name the night before heading to the hospital. as you can see, i convinced my husband to stick to the same pattern of his own name and then only use Hank, not Henry. we love it. thanks for all the comments and advice. i finally have my Hank, without him being “just another Henry” in our family. yeah!!
McLayne reminds me of the Die Hard series – I wouldn’t use it. However, I LOVE Layne – I think it’s beautiful & unusual. Like Swistle wrote, it lends itself to several other girly names well.
Hank is such a cute name. I’d stick with Henry Scott if that’s where your heart is.
I agree with Swistle–go with Henry, especially since you plan on calling him Hank. Also, I would vote on sticking with just Layne. Mc means “son of,” which is especially odd with a girl’s name. Great names!
I agree –
No problem with Henry, if he will go by Hank.
I like Layne. I don’t think others having it as a middle name is an issue at all, other than making it less original feeling for you.
Great names. I also love the different ideas for using Layne with a longer name. Love Delaney.
I feel you can definitely still use Henry, but for other options: Harry, nickname Hank or Frank, which sound like Hank but seems more acceptable as a given name – at least in my mind. And I feel Frank is really underappreciated.
I feel Layne is beautiful, and much better without the Mc. I see no reason not to use it. At first I had a problem with Layne Leigh, but as I say it more, I sort of like how it runs together because you can call her Lainley as a nickname.
I like Henry Scott. And my brother and our first cousin happen to both have daughters named Rachel, so I don’t think cousins naming their kids the same name is a problem.
I like Layne (no Mc). And I would use it, too. It’s pretty. And I think Layne Leigh makes it even prettier.
Congratulations!!
i agree with swistle 100%. Layne or Hank! Great names! Even though Layne has been used recently middle names are so often unknown or unused that I don’t think that is a problem. Since Hank will be Hank and not Henry I don’t see any trouble there either…people will think of him as Hank and not even notice that there are really two children named Henry in the family.
not sure is Layne Leigh works but I guess it would depend on your last name. I love the name Leigh though.
My daughter’s middle name is Laine (from Elaine, my mom’s middle name). I love it and think it’s a great name on its own.
Yeah, I agree you should stick with both of your original name choices. Henry Scott and Layne. They still work and are nice names. I do not like Layne Leigh together though. Since you like “playing around with baby names” (as do I) maybe picking out a different middle name will give you the opportunity to come up with the uniqueness that you are looking for! Good Luck!
Is there any reason you couldn’t just name your son Hank and skip the nn confusion and the multiple Henry problem? Hank Scott P? Seems great to me.
As for your girl, I LOVE Layne (and Laine and Laney, actually) and agree you should just use it.
Good luck!
this is so fun! thank you for all the feedback! my husband is going to be REALLY excited that yall all agree against McLayne and just say go for Layne ;-) also, don’t worry, i’ve thought about how Leigh does not go with Layne, unless we combined it to make the first name just Lainley…but i like the meanings the true spellings have. ANYWAY…love that yall say to still go for Hank as well. not too much longer until we have to have it all figured out!
I think Henry Scott, nn Hank is fine and it’s what you really want, so I’d go with it.
I prefer Layne to McLayne. Elaine and Delaney are good suggestions as well.
I like Layne. I suggested it to my huz if baby 2 was a girl but he thought it would be too confusing to have Rayne and Layne. Maybe that’s why I liked it, so close to my middle name.
What is with all of the Henrys lately? I knew it was getting popular but it’s all over the place all of a sudden! We had a Henry nine years ago and everyone hated the name (even strangers! boo!).
I say use the name you love, despite what other people think (remember, I speak from experience!).
I think Elaine would be a great way to honor your friend.
Best wishes!
Hey! my names Layne Breanne, and i have always gotten compliments on my name. Although i sometimes wish my name was spelt Laine insted, because many people mistake my name as Laynie. Your childs full name could be Alayna, or delaynie. My favorite baby girl names are Savannah (anna), aiden, spencer, emma, Adrien, Addison (addi), Jaylin, and elsie/elle.