Monthly Archives: August 2010

A Note on the Name Updates

A commenter mentioned that he/she is unable to find the name updates: that when he/she clicks the links on a name update post, there’s “nothing or just the old post.” In case others are equally confused, the link does in fact take you to the old post, yes. Then you scroll down to the bottom of the post, where the name update has been added to the post, keeping the entire story (question, answer, update) in one place rather than scattering it over several unconnected posts. “Name update” is bolded to assist with the finding.

Baby Girl or Boy Smelker

22 Replies

Jordan writes:

We’re due with our first child on Sept 21st and we CANNOT figure out a boy’s name. We’ve got a girl’s name picked, but are struggling MIGHTILY with t’other. And since apparently everyone and their mom thinks I’m having a boy (up to and including the lovely woman behind the counter at Qdoba, who couldn’t speak a lick of English, but nevertheless assured me that it was indeed a niño) I suppose we had better get a good name picked.

Ok, the important info is as follows: our last name is Smelker, we’re partial to the middle name Loren (after my husband’s dad…we’ve thought about using it for a first name, but aren’t sure…) and I’d like to avoid anything that ends in -er. We don’t want anything too popular or common, but also want to stay away from the really esoteric names like Dweezil or Pilot Inspektor. My current favorite is Phineas, which husband also likes, but he’s thinking more for middle name while I’m thinking first name. (We’d go with the nickname Finn…) Husband’s current and long-time champion favorite is Abram, which for some reason I can’t STAND. (Well, I know one reason why I can’t stand it–the nickname Abe makes me want to chew tinfoil.) Other names we like include:

Emerson
Aaric
Graysen
Sullivan (husband likes this one–I can’t help but dislike both the alliteration and the nickname Sully.)
Arden
Fintan

Of course, none of these has yet proven to be “the one”, but hopefully they give you an idea what we like!

These things are hard to predict, of course, but I’d say Emerson is going to be like the name Mackenzie: first used for both boys and girls, but now used almost exclusively for girls. It’s unfair in both cases, I know, since both -son and Mac- are supposed to indicate a BOY—but not in the U.S., they don’t. (See also: Allison, Madison, Mckayla, Mckenna.) Grayson/Greyson is still considered a boy name, but is getting girled into versions such as Gracen and Graceyn.

Instead I suggest Anderson or Harrison: they have the rhythm of Sullivan (without Sully or alliteration) and the -son ending of Emerson and Grayson. Edison, too: sounds like Emerson, but so far the Eddie nickname is keeping it all boy. And I think my favorite -son name is Lawson, but that may or may not be because of a cute boy I went to high school with who went by his surname Lawson. Ooo, or Carson, I like Carson: it was being used increasingly for girls in the late ’90s but since then has been dropping like a stone for girls and rising up for boys.

Emerson makes me think of Emmett: despite the matching Em- beginnings, Emmett isn’t being used for girls so far.

Aaric and Arden together made me think of Aidric. I like how it blends Eric (getting to be a bit of a Dad Name) and Aidan (one of the Caden/Jaden/Hayden/Brayden cluster) in a way that gets rid of the slight problems with both.

You like Phineas and Fintan, so I wonder if you’d like Finian or Griffin.

Help Make a Finalist List: Three Girl Names and Three Boy Names

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Tracy writes:

We need some baby naming help. Our unknown gender baby will be born Sept 20th.
I so joyously get to have the final choice on this child’s name because my husband did on our 1st child.
But we need to agree on the final 3. Brody Charles is the name of our 3 year old son.
Now our last name is Short and it dose not flow well with every name on our list(s).
Please can you and your lovely readers help us narrow it down to 3 boy names and 3 girl names? And please tell me what names would be just awful with Brody or with our last name or just simply are……sometimes you just don’t see or hear what others do. Finally, We would love some new suggestions. Especially our boy list. The list hasn’t changed since we had our son.

Here is our list of boy names:

Eli Joseph (this was the name I wanted with our 1st boy)
Levi Joseph
Liam Reese
Owen
Desmond (not sure if this is a goes well with Brody)
Cohen
Luca (this is my guilty pleasure name. I love it but don’t think it will age well?)
Griffin Rhys (mostly b/c of the nn Fin)
Dylan Forrest (we are nature lovers so it suits us)
Greyson Michael Short
Tyler Stuart (my husband dislikes)
Cole Elliot
Rhys Michael

**the name Rhys/Reese we both really love. I feel we can not except that it doesn’t flow that wonderfully, as a first or middle name, with our last name. Am I right and just in denial?

Names that we both ‘ho hum’ about:
Gavin, Nigel, Jasper, Samuel, Ezra and Cohen
Elsie, Elise, Willa, Marina, Chloe, Lily and Julia

Names we can’t use because friends or family has:
Sofia, Louie, Nicholas, Matthew, Finley, Jack, Jacob, Ella, Ellie
Vivienne, Sadie, Molly, Grace, Hayden, Audrey, Noah, Benjamin,
Harrison, Henry and Oliver.

This is our girl list:

Fiona (this might be too classic with Brody)
Isla (this was my number 1 choice for many years until it got popular)
Freya
Lola
Olive Esme Short ( my husband dislikes)
Ivy Juliet
Quinn Isabel
Quinn Bennette (Quinn Short? Not sure if I like.)
Olivia Quinn
Violet Elisabeth
Luella Flynn
Meredith Kate
Ava Maisie (We know Ava is so popular but it is the only name we like with Maisie)

Our son’s middle name is after one of his grandpas. We don’t feel we have to use a family name.
So here are some family names thatwe could use in the middle.

Joseph, Michael, Kevin, Paul, Stone and Stuart.

Elizabeth, Lee-Ann, Isabel, Jean, Olive, Chelsea, Maisie and Helena.

Thank you so much!

Oh, fun! Yes, let’s make lists!

I agree that Rhys is (1) a great name and (2) hard to use with your surname. I wonder if you’d like Reed/Reid or Reeve? They’re still not great as first names, but might work as middle names.

Levi Short makes me think of a cut of jeans. And Luca, even though I KNOW it’s a boy name, seems feminine to me. Some other possibilities:

Camden Short; Brody and Camden
Carson Short; Brody and Carson
Ethan Short; Brody and Ethan
Keegan Short; Brody and Keegan
Lawson Short; Brody and Lawson
Mason Short; Brody and Mason
Riley Short; Brody and Riley

And now for the fun choosing! My top three boy name choices with Brody are:

Eli Joseph Short
Liam Stuart Short
Owen Joseph Short

And my top three girl name choices with Brody are:

Fiona Jean Short
Isla Jean Short
Violet Elizabeth Short

Name update 10-12-2010! Tracy writes:

Our baby boy was born Sept 20th. Healthy and beautiful.

We chose the name Liam Rhys Short.

Thank you all for your input!

Baby Boy Snykiss

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Liann writes:

My husband and I are due with our first baby, a boy, on September 20. Long before we got pregnant, I would make lists upon lists of baby names, and boy am I glad I did… I can only imagine how much harder finding the right name would have been if i didn’t already have those lists. As of right now, we have it narrowed down to three names. I would love your feedback and your readers feedback, but also any new suggestions, if you think a name just doesn’t flow. This baby will have two middle names, the second of which is my maiden name, and our last name sounds like Sny-kiss (with a long I sound in the first syllable).

Our current list is:

Emmett Rhys O’Keefe Snykiss – We both really like this name and how the whole thing flows. I particularly love Rhys in the middle – as we couldn’t use it in the first spot because it would blend into our last name. And I love Emmett, I’m just not sure it won’t get too popular with the whole Twilight situation, of which I am not a fan. Should I even be worried about that?

Arlo Desmond O’Keefe Snykiss – Arlo has been a favorite of mine for a while. It took hubby a little while to warm up to it but he recently told me it’s one of his top picks because it feels like it’s an old school name and he thinks are little boy has an old soul (I LOVED hearing that from him because our naming conversations have been mainly one-sided). Desmond is a name that has only recently been on our radar, mainly because of the character on LOST. We would not be naming him after the character, but the association does not hurt in our opinion.

Tate Henry O’Keefe Snykiss – Tate is the newest name to our list. And while we do like it, I have become worried about the bully nick-naming possibilities (particularly regarding a certain body part), and I don’t know if it’s inevitable. I have also noticed that Tate crosses the gender barrier slightly and I’m not really interested in having a gender neutral name for my son. Is Tate really going to the girls? And we chose Henry because it is my grandfather’s name and we could not come up with any other options for middles for Tate. Any suggestions?

So that’s it. We would love to have a few solid choices to go into the delivery with and hopefully once we meet him, one will just seem right. Thanks!

Would you want to reverse Tate and Henry and consider Henry Tate O’Keefe Snykiss? Tate might not go completely to the girls, but I do consider it a name that can be either for boys or for girls.

I don’t think of Emmett as Twilighty—but I’ve only read the first book. Perhaps Twilight fans can weigh in on this.

But dude, you’re not leaving me with any other work to do! Emmett Rhys and Arlo Desmond are both spectacular names. I think all that’s left to do is a poll, which I’ll put over to the right. (Poll closed; see results below.)

SnykissPoll

Name update! Liann writes:

I want to thank you and your readers for your input on our son’s name. The little man arrived on 9/23 at 7:59 a.m., 8lbs. 8.6oz., and 19 3/4 in. long. However, my naming fears came true and none of the names on our final list seemed to fit. So, we went back to the drawing board and consulted our lists, where we found the perfect name for our new baby boy.. Duncan Henry O’Keefe Snykiss is happy and healthy and we could not be more pleased with him and his name. Thank you again for your help!

Baby Naming Issue: Changing a Naming Tradition After the Birth

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J. writes:

I need help. My son was born 3 months ago. His name is William George Karsten V. We are calling him Will or William. My husband is the 4th and goes by Bill. Neither of us felt strongly about the name, just didn’t think of anything else and decided it would be nice to carry on. He was born on May 9, 2010. This was a nice date because it was mother’s day and also my paternal grandfather’s birthday. His name was Fagan Smith and he passed away 16 years ago. My father’s middle name is Fagan. He had only daughters . From the first week I came home from the hospital I have wanted to add Fagan to Will’s name making it William George Fagan Karsten. This would honor both my husband’s father who is the 3rd and still living and my grandfather with whom Will shares a birthday. But…it would take away the honor of being the V. I don’t want to hurt my father in law’s feelings. I just really would love to honor my grandfather that way. He would still have the whole name, just a little extra. Add to this the fact that my husband’s parents divorced when he was a toddler. We have wonderful relationships with both his mother’s and father’s families and mine too. Should I add Fagan as a second middle name? I have thought about it so much it’s all muddled! I kind of think I would also like Will to have something that distinguishes him from the others with his name.
Thank you for your help! I need to move on and spend my time loving this sweet baby boy!!!!

I think you should leave his name as it is. Adding Fagan would remove the V—and while I wish families wouldn’t start naming traditions like this, once they HAVE, and once you’ve agreed to do it, I think messing with it will cause problems. And particularly if you change it now, after the child has already been named and everyone has breathed a sigh of relief that the tradition has been continued.

While it would be nice to honor your grandfather, he is not alive to receive the honor, and the name is not a strong tradition in your family: it’s your father’s MIDDLE name, and you haven’t mentioned any tradition of passing it down. And as a name to be passed down, it’s an awkward one for a boy. If you have more children, you can honor a name (or even two names) from your side of the family then—and in fact Fagan might work better for a girl, reminiscent of both Fay and Maegan. Smith, too, would make a good first name for a boy, and would honor that whole branch of your family.

It may help to remember that although naming a child after a relative IS an honor, it’s not the only way to honor someone you love—and it doesn’t convey DIShonor to NOT use a name. It would have been fun to use the coincidence of your son being born on your grandfather’s birthday, but it’s also fun just that he WAS born on the birthday, even if you don’t commemorate that by using your grandfather’s name. It’s common to have some Namer’s Uncertainty after a baby is born, but you have given your son a wonderful solid name that will serve him well his whole life as well as pleasing your husband’s family. My advice is to leave it.

Baby Boy Adcock

33 Replies

Alexis writes:

Hello! We are expecting our second son this September 13, and are completely baffled as to what this little child’s name should be. Last go-round, it was easy. We named our first son Emerson immediately, and that was it. Now we find that, strangely, little girls have started appearing with the same name as boy #1. We still love his name and it totally suits him, but if we can exclude names also used for girls, it would be nice.

My husband’s last name (and the last name of our kiddos) is Adcock. We both loved the name Pierce until we realized that Pierce Adcock would probably be called Prince Albert all of his life. We also like Arlo, but aren’t 100% sold on it. We love literary names (hence Emerson) and names related to music, but are open to other suggestions. We want to use a family name as a middle name, which will probably end up being James or Douglas. Here are our finalists:

Beckett
Auden
Whitman
Miles
Archer
Elliott
Everett
Griffin

I think that, honestly, if we used any of these names, we’d probably be happy, but we just can’t decide! Also, are some of these names becoming trendy or possibly used for girls? We are open for suggestions as well. Help us, Swistle!

Thank you!

I think we need a poll! I’ll put it over to the right! (Poll closed; see results below.)

AdcockPoll

Name update! Alexis writes:

Our baby boy arrived last week and, true to form, we dithered until the last possible minute. We had it narrowed down to three names, but when the birth certificate lady came in to give us an ultimatum on the last day in the hospital, my husband and I agreed on a name at the same time. Eliot James is a lovely big boy, and we are really grateful to everyone for helping us choose the perfect name for him!

Baby Girl Naughton, Sister to Atley

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Kelyn writes:

I am due mid Sept and my husband and I are having trouble agreeing on a name for our second daughter. Our first daughter’s name, Atley, was suggested to us early in the pregnancy and we immediately agreed on it. Naming decisions have been a bit more contentious this time around. Our last name is Naughton. My husband and I both have “K” names so I’ve been steering clear of those. The main problem is that I like unusual names and while my husband isn’t opposed to them he wants them to have a very familiar sound. We’d nearly agreed on Harper but it’s steady, almost astronomical, rise in popularity has turned me off. If it weren’t for that problem, I think we’d have a winner. Other names that have made the short list we can agree on are: Beckett, Dempsey, Connelly, and Sutton. As you can see, I’m one of those…a stealer of surnames and boys’ names for my little girl. I’d apologize but I just can’t help myself. It may still come down to one of these names but since we’re not in love with any one of them, can you suggest any similar names that match well with Atley? Thanks!!!

I suggest Arlo. It’s a boy’s name, but it has a similar sound to Marlo and Margo, and its gentle sound makes it a good girl-name crossover. It also has the “ar” sound like in Harper. Arlo Naughton. Atley and Arlo.

Or Winslow. Winslow Naughton. Atley and Winslow.

It’s too bad it’s a K name, because I think Kiefer might be adorable on a little girl. Kiefer Naughton. Atley and Kiefer.

Murphy works because although it’s a boy’s name, Murphy Brown made it almost too girl-associated to use for boys. Murphy Naughton. Atley and Murphy. (But I’d avoid a middle name starting with A.)

Brice is a boy’s name, but the sound reminds me of Bree and Chrissy—as well as sugar/spice/nice. Brice Naughton. Atley and Brice.

My friend and fellow name aficionado Mairzy is going to KILL me, but Sterling is a boy name that would make a good girl name. Sterling Naughton, Atley and Sterling. (Oh, I am in such trouble.)

Memphis would be pretty on a girl. Memphis Naughton, Atley and Memphis.

Bridger is a boy name, but it’s closeness to Bridget makes it hard to use. Bridger Naughton, Atley and Bridger.

The King of England gave up his throne to marry a Wallis. Wallis Naughton, Atley and Wallis.

I love the name Percy, but it’s almost too gentle to use on a boy. Percy Naughton, Atley and Percy.

Same with Clarence: great name, but hard to use for a boy. Clarence Naughton, Atley and Clarence.

I read a book with a little girl in it named Fisher, and I have to admit I was completely won over. Fisher Naughton, Atley and Fisher.

Name update 09-03-2010! Kelyn writes:

Our liitle lady arrived a couple of weeks early. Thankfully, we’d agreed on a name the day before I went into labor. Her grandma says she decided to join us when she finally heard the name she wanted. We decided on Caris Violet. In the end it’s not a boy’s name or a surname. Despite not picking one of the many names recommended by you and your readers, you really did help us come to a decision. Caris was one of my favorite names from the start but my husband wasn’t sold. Your responses forced us to sit down and really look at all the options and hallelujah we came to an agreement. Thanks for your help!

Baby Boy Gross, Brother to Berkeley

18 Replies

Valerie writes:

Our baby boy is due in 2 weeks! My husband and I have been volleying names back and forth since the 20 week ultrasound and haven’t come up with an agreed upon name. Here are some of the pertinent facts:

Our daughter’s name is Berkeley Rose
Our new son’s middle name and last name will be Alan Gross
Since our son’s initials will end with “AG”, we need to eliminate any name starting with F, and be cautious of other letters
We want something that is unique, but not un-pronounceable or easily misspelled.
We’d like it to match Berkeley, in a way that it is a name that people know, but not many kids are named.

Some of our contenders include:

Keaton – this is my husband’s favorite, but I’m worried it will rise in popularity, especially with the -on ending
Dashiell – we both like it, but are worried about mispronunciation/spelling
Tegan – I like it, my husband doesn’t
Milen – I like it, my husband doesn’t
Milo – my husband hates it, but I love it.

The biggest issue for us, is that we can’t come together on any names!! Please help us, if you can!! I’m desperate to get the name checked off my list. Thanks!

I like Keaton with Berkeley. It’s hard to predict what a name will do, but a good sign is that it appeared on the Top 1000 three years after Family Ties started airing, but it’s spent the last thirteen years hovering in the 300s and not climbing any higher (source: Social Security Administration).

More possibilities (I’m avoiding GAG, HAG, NAG, RAG, and VAG as well as FAG—and I’m not sure about BAG, LAG, SAG, and WAG):

Barnaby Alan Gross (BAG)
Cabot Alan Gross (CAG)
Caspian Alan Gross (CAG)
Crockett Alan Gross (CAG)
Darwin Alan Gross (DAG)
Deacon Alan Gross (DAG)
Everest Alan Gross (EAG)
Langston Alan Gross (LAG)
Lennox Alan Gross (LAG)
Maguire Alan Gross (MAG)
Orion Alan Gross (OAG)
Sullivan Alan Gross (SAG)
Truman Alan Gross (TAG)
Walker Alan Gross (WAG)
Warner Alan Gross (WAG)

Baby Girl or Boy Brown

13 Replies

Suzanne writes:

We were delighted to find out that we are expecting our 3rd child. What a great joy! And what a great pain in the rear for picking a name.

Due Date is September 10, 2010 and as with the other two, gender will be a surprise.

Our first two children are daughter Allison Louise and son Peter David. All of our previous “rules” still apply: No colors, easy to spell & pronounce, 2+ syllables, no cross-gender names, and preferably has a nice nickname option.

Naming this baby is going to be a huge challenge. We only barely came up with Allison’s name in the delivery room. And Peter’s name was a given from the start so we never considered other boy names. What I’m saying is that we are short on ideas. I love the comments your readers gave previously and we are still strongly in favor of Megan and Caroline. I also really love the suggestion of Jenna. Laurel is great but we have a niece Lauren and it’s probably too similar. Someone else suggested Penelope and I really like that (Poppy) but I’m not sure hubby would agree.

We both prefer fairly traditional names and aren’t into trendy or popular. Peter was a perfect choice for us in this regard – easy to spell and pronounce, well known but not overused.

So we have a lot to consider for girls names and I think now we will still need help with a boy’s name since we never even really discussed it.

Boy names we’ve tossed around:

Andrew

Eric

Elliot (hubby doesn’t like it too much)

Henry

Jonathan (my father’s name – I love it but wonder if it’s too strange to name after a living grandfather)

Marshall

Nathan

Names that are off the table – Benjamin, Owen, Charles, Daniel, Michael, Kevin

We really need some new insight. We’ve been over the girl’s name a thousand times with the prior pregnancies and boys names are a complete mystery.

Thank you so much for your help!

I vote for Jonathan! It’s great with Peter and Allison, and I like family names. I have personal experience with naming a child after one of the child’s living grandparents and it has worked out GREAT. And perhaps a name from your husband’s side of the family for the middle name.

Baby Boy Poyer

14 Replies

Jennifer writes:

I’d love your (and your readers!) help with figuring out a name for our second son. In theory, he’s due September 8, but I’m already having contractions, so who knows when he will actually arrive (my first was early). Our last name sounds like Poyer, and unfortunately, my husband and I don’t have a lot of overlap in our name tastes. I tend to like uncommon but familiar western names (think Graham, Alexander, or Dominic), whereas my husband likes even more unusual names (Ellis, Anders, or Cyrus).

For our first son, we finessed the issue by naming our son after our fathers, giving him a very common, traditional first name (John) and a Chinese middle name which is essentially unheard of in the States. His nickname, Kue, (pronounced like the letter Q) is based on his middle name.

There are a few characteristics that we do NOT want for a name:
* is currently very popular (e.g., any of the _aydens)
* does not have a good nickname (of course, this is a grey area)
* is not a “real” name (I know this is a grey area too)
* starts with the letter K or the letter Q (due to our first son’s name)
* has a strong religious connotation (e.g. Moses)
* is a variant of “John” (e.g. Ian)

The only name we come close to agreeing on is Griffin, but neither of us loves it. My top contender is Graham, but my husband doesn’t like it. My husband’s top choice is Ellis, but I am not excited about people calling my son El (which makes me think Elle) for short. Other names we’ve considered but rejected include: Desmond, Everett, Nicolas, and Micah (mine, rejected by my husband) and Linnell, Malkmus, Munro, and Riven (my husband’s, rejected by me). Still on the consideration list are: Dominic, Alexander, Anders, Cyrus, but they are all just hanging on by a thread, as we are not too fond of the others’ picks.

Help!

Thanks!

The name Griffin makes me think of names like Finn, Finian, Flynn. Finian can be used with the nickname Finn, which sounds good with Kue.

Ellis makes me think of Harris or Harrison, with the nickname Harry.

Anders makes me think of Anderson—and now that we have Harrison and Anderson I’m thinking of Nicholson and Everson instead of Nicolas/Everett.

Griffin and Everett make me think of Garrett.

Ellis and Everett make me think of Elliot. There’s still the potential “El” problem, especially since there aren’t any other good nicknames, but Li/Lee might work as a nickname to fend off El.

Micah and Malkmus make me think of Malcolm. Or Michael, which is so good with John, and perhaps repeat your idea of using a nickname from a middle name?

Cyrus makes me think of Silas and Elias.

Nothing makes me think of Corin, but I think it’s good. Or Corbin. Or Gibson. Or Ruben. Or Lennox.

Alexander from your list is the #4 most popular boy name in the United States. Maybe Alec instead? Alistair? Albin? Alan?

Name update 09-09-2010! Jennifer writes:

Lachlan Vincent was born earlier this week! Lachlan was unusual enough for my husband, but common enough (at least, in Australia and Canada) for me, and it sounds similar to my husband’s grandfather’s name. And Vincent is my grandfather’s name. Thanks again to everyone for their input!