Sarah writes:
I’m 37 weeks pregnant and we have no name for our son. We have a son Brian (father’s name) Reed and he goes by Reed, a daughter Evelyn Anne (she sometimes goes by Evie), and a Lucy Margaret. Our last name is Marchese (Mar-k-z) which is Italian but as you can see we haven’t really gone the Italian route with any of our names. Each of these names we really love and this time we are really struggling to find a name we both love and agree on. My family keeps making fun of me because I have so many “rules” about this name but I would really like something that goes well with Reed, Evelyn and Lucy. First, I really don’t want an “L” name because Lucy is right before this one. I also don’t want a name that ends in a “y” since we have a Lucy and Evelyn goes by Evie sometimes. And finally I don’t want an “R” name because I would rather both boys not begin with the same letter. OK so maybe I do have a lot of rules but in my hormonal brain it all makes sense.
Here are a few names on my list:
Nathan (call him Nate)
Gabriel (call him Gabe)
Ezra
Jonah
Noah (one of my brothers names which I love but not sure I want to use)Here are a few of my husbands picks:
Jude (which I like but then we have a Lucy and a Jude which makes me automatically think of the 2 big Beetles songs)
Beck
James
Oliver (We just had a friend that had an Oliver so that’s kind of off the table)As you can see these lists aren’t that long. We are just really stumped! I’ve never been this close to my due date without a least some idea of what we would name our child. We’ve been searching baby name books and the internet with no avail. Please help!!!! Oh and our names are Brian Acra (family name) and Sarah Elizabeth.
Thank you!!!!
Looking at the three sibling names, I thought of how comfortably all three names would go in the credits of an old black-and-white movie. Trying to think of what other names would fit in that line-up (more brainstormy-type thinking than actual reality, as you’ll see), I immediately thought of Grant and Clark. Grant Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Grant. Clark Marchese (maybe too many shared sounds with surname); Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Clark.
Or Nolan, or Spencer. Nolan Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Nolan. Spencer Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Spencer.
Or John, or Jack. John Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and John. Jack Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Jack.
Or Hudson, or Holden. Hudson Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Hudson. Holden Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Holden.
Or Davis, or Harris, or Dean. Davis Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Davis. Harris Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Harris. Dean Marchese; Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Dean.
I also like Gabe from your list, or the similar name Gage. Or James is excellent, I think.
Sterling
Vincent
Glenn
Warren
Of Swistle’s list I like Grant and Davis the best.
Your children have such lovely names! Here are a few additional suggestions:
Grey. Even though this ends in a ‘y’ it isn’t a ‘y’ sound so I thought that would be okay. Grey Marchese. Reed, Evelyn, Lucy and Grey.
Owen instead of Oliver. Owen Marchese. Reed, Evelyn, Lucy and Owen.
Jasper instead of Jude. Jasper Marchese. Reed, Evelyn, Lucy and Jasper.
Drew instead of Jude. Drew Marchese. Reed, Evelyn, Lucy and Drew.
Theo. Theo Marchese. Reed, Evelyn, Lucy and Theo.
Best of luck!
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You like Jonah and Jude, so what about Judah? Judah Marchese… Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Judah. I think that’s nice! I also like Gabe and Grant with your sib set.
I really like Gabriel and Jonah with the siblings so I’m not sure I should even make any suggestions, but how about Arthur, Harrison or Silas?
Another name that fits in, and I believe Swistle has recommended in the past, is Gable.
I really like Gabriel, nn Gabe and Grant as well. I think you have great choices…good luck!
I like the idea of using either a one syllable name or one syllable nickname like Reed. I’m not suggesting this to lock you into a pattern or put more limits on you, but rather to encourage you to narrow your options.
I like Clark, Grant, Gabriel/Gabe, Spencer/Spence, Vincent/Vince, which made me think of Vance, which led to Lance.
Other one syllable suggestions:
Max
Hugh
Frank
Then I started thinking of a lot of names that are actually two syllables but the two syllables sort of run together:
Lyle
Kyle
Miles
Niles
And I like the suggestion of Owen, which made me think of Colin.
Good luck.
Oh right – Lyle and Lance are out – no L names.
Nathan!!!! Sounds great with the other kids
I like the name James Earl
How about Vincent Earl
Honestly, I think all of the names on both you and your husband’s list are great choices. They all work perfectly with your surname and with the siblings’ names, and you really can’t go wrong with any of them.
That said, if you’re needing new ideas, a few more options might be (apologies for any repeats from previous suggestions):
Henry (I know this one ends in y, but I love the name so much I left it on the list)
Everett
Max
Samuel
Hugh
Owen
Julian
Porter
August
Milo
(Also, as a final note, you mentioned you liked the name Jude, just not with Lucy. Personally, while “Lucy and Jude” alone might be a little Beatle-ish, I don’t think I’d ever make the association if I heard “Reed, Evelyn, Lucy, and Jude.”)
I didn’t pick up on the Beatles association until it was mentioned, and even then it didn’t bother me at all. Both Lucy and Jude are great stand-alone names I think :)
I would steer away from Grant with Reed, because both of them are verbs (Reed is a homonym for read, at least) and I know several people who do have verb names for their boys but not for their girls, and it always kind of bugs me. If you have boys named Chase and Dash, for example, and a daughter named Isabella, it seems like you’re expecting really different things of them. I like Clark a lot with this sibset, though I’m not entirely clear on the last name pronunciation. I really don’t like Jude. I think the Beatles association is too strong and makes the two youngest too much of a pair, and, honestly, the name Jude in and of itself is too Beatles-y, and peaked two years ago. There are a lot of little Judes out there of both genders, and while I liked it five years ago, I don’t think it wears well on so many babies. I really like Holden with this sibset, too, and I don’t generally like Holden.
Gabriel.