Carolyn writes:
I’m due with our first child in 3 weeks (eek!). We didn’t find out the baby’s sex. We have a girl’s name figured out…Claudia Katherine Shields. We picked Claudia because it is pretty/unusual and Katherine is both of our moms names.
We’ve decided on Dixon for a boy’s first name. It’s a family last name on my mom’s side and it’s also to honor my dad, Richard, who passed away (Dixon means ‘son of Richard’ according to the websites I’ve read).
I’m emailing you to request help deciding on a middle name for Dixon. Here are the middle names we’ve narrowed it down to:
-Page (My maiden name but I’ve never heard it used for a boy…too feminine?)
-McQuade (It’s a family name/my father-in-law’s middle name but are Dixon and McQuade both too unusual to pair together?)
-James (It’s my husband’s favorite and somewhat of a family name on my side. I’m not sure if it sounds funny to have both his middle and last name ending in ‘s’. That could be the speech-therapist in me talking, though!)So…what do you think?:
Dixon Page Shields
Dixon McQuade Shields
Dixon James ShieldsAny input you could give would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Thanks :-)
The name Page/Paige is currently used exclusively for girls in the United States. Here are the 2012 numbers:
Page, F: 25
Page, M: –
Paige, F: 2892
Paige, M: –
If you were using a more familiar first name, I’d still be open to the idea of using it for a boy’s middle name: the sounds themselves are not distinctly feminine, the Page spelling seems significantly more usable for a boy than Paige, and I love the idea of getting your maiden name in there. But with a name like Dixon (a name given to only 54 babies in 2012), I’d be more inclined to find a familiar and clearly masculine middle name—especially since your girl-name choice is an uncommon first name followed by a familiar middle name.
McQuade seems a little too cool with Dixon. I like McQuade itself, and I like the idea of using it, but I don’t think I’d pair it with Dixon. I’d like it so much more in a name that could use a bit of a coolness injection: Robert McQuade Shields, for example, or Henry McQuade Shields, or Benjamin McQuade Shields. It seems like it would work particularly well if you had another son later and were worried your favorite first name weren’t quite cool enough with Dixon: using McQuade in the middle would even things out, and also give each boy a great family name. Or McQuade might be a very cool first name: Dixon and McQuade.
My own first choice for the middle name would be James. It’s handsome, masculine, and simple, and it coordinates nicely with Katherine if you have a girl later on.
Let’s have a poll to see what everyone else likes best!
[Edited to add: I had another thought, if you reconsider the name Dixon: Richardson would honor your father in a similar way, without some of the issues mentioned in the comments. I think Richardson Page would work well.]
Name update! Carolyn writes:
Thanks so much for printing my letter a few weeks ago. Your input and your readers’ input was very helpful. I wanted to update you that we did end up having a baby boy and we named him Dixon James Shields. The name suits him perfectly. We are madly in love with him!
Thanks again!
Swistle–You are very persuasive. After you give an opinion, do the results of a poll EVER differ from your suggestions? I always find myself agreeing with you.
I was just thinking this same thing! I so rarely disagree with Swistle!
I was torn between McQuade and James. (McQuade is pretty cool looking.) But then I read the poll and instinctively said Dixon McShade Sheilds, so then that clinched James for me. James is such a classic. I don’t think you’d ever regret using it.
I don’t see anything wrong with the s sounds of Dixon James. Not at all. For the reasons Swistle mentioned, the other two middle names don’t work with Dixon as a first. Dixon is such a harming name and James is wonderful, too!
I went with James too, because with the way things are going, some of these unfamiliar last name first names instinctively read girl to me. If I looked down my roster and saw Dixon Page I would definitely look for a girl, and if I saw Dixon McQuade I would not be sure if I should look for a girl or a boy. This is fine, BUT Claudia Katherine is so clearly a girl’s name that I would be concerned that it would not match. Seeing James would certainly tip it to a boy for me and make the sib set work.
Still you have such great family names…
Dixon McQuade Shields has that law firm sound to me., it seems more like just a list of surnames that a single, whole, name.
I agree Page does seem to feminine to use on a boy, especially since the first name is so uncommon. Dixon Page Shields also has the law firm effect going on.
So, I voted for Dixon James.
I think James is fine, but be aware (if you aren’t already) that there is a Major League baseball pitcher named James Shields. So if that winds up being the choice, there may be an association, especially while the pitcher James Shields is still playing.
Luckily, the pitcher James Shields isn’t involved in any current baseball scandals that I know of!
I read the title of the post and without reading any further, James immediately came to mind. Then I saw it as one of the options – so James definitely got my vote!
This was what I did, too! I saw the title and immediately thought “James.” So that’s my vote!
I agree with Swistle’s assessment of Page and McQuade 100%.
I don’t really like James Shields together, but the s/s problem is much less of an issue for me than the issues with your other options.
I knew a boy named Page. ( I also knew a girl named Page.) That influences me in the direction of Page since it seems like an androgynous name. Dixon seems like a clearly masculine name so pairing it with Page as a middle “works” for me. Looking at other people’s comments, though, I believe my instincts about the gender of names is hopelessly outdated.
Thank you so much for printing my letter! I appreciate everyone’s input and votes!
Random but I actually know a Claudia Shields… funny!
McQuade is an awesomely cool name! So much so I think I’d be tempted to use it as a first name with the nn Mac. McQuade Shields is very distinctive! It sounds very masculine too so I think you could easily use Page as a middle name here.
McQuade Page Shields
The actor Matt Damon has the middle name Page by the way!
If you are still hesitant maybe save Page for a future daughter. Claudia Page is lovely too.
Dixon and McQuade sound great together and I agree that James is the perfect middle name for Dixon. James McQuade is pretty cool too!
All the best!
It sounds like you are feeling you need to have both first and middle names be family names for a son. Whereas your choice of daughter names only the middle is a family name. Unless I misinterpreted. So in that case why not pick a middle name you just like the sound of to pair with Dixon. Dixon Michael. Dixon Paul. As an odd coincidence though today I met a man who introduced himself as Dixie. And I was taken back. It wasn’t til I heard him say his name again while shaking hands with another person that I was convinced I heard him right.
Do you want to honor your husband’s family as well? Then use McQuade so you honor both fathers in one go.
If you consider the last name to be honor enough, choose a mn you love :)
Am I the only one that thinks Dixon is a bit odd to honor a grandfather if it mean’s Richard’s son? So it’s saying that Dixon is RIchard’s son, and they’re using in that context….but it’s not Richard’s son? I’m probably way overthinking this.
I wasn’t sure if I should bring this up, because it sounds like the name Dixon is settled on. But I cannot help but hear “dicks and shields” when the full name is said: Hi, I’m dicks and shields. I think it’s because shields is also a plural noun; it would not be as pronounced with another surname, like, say, Campbell or something. Anyway, I do not mean to be critical, but I wanted to share.
Yikes. Good point!
Oh my, I thought the exact same thing! I implore you to rethink this one, Carolyn. I mean, seriously, say it out loud a few times. * cringes*
I’m ‘de-lurking’ because this conversation interests me, since my father’s given name is Kevin Page ______ (surname). His middle name was his mother’s first name. While I think that his name is really cool, I know that he is embarrassed by it, and has been his whole life. He felt like his older two siblings were named ‘properly’ and that he was given a girl’s name.
In this discussion I would agree that Dixon Page is too neutral a name combination – I wouldn’t know whether to look for a girl or a boy. If the first name chosen was different – more masculine than Dixon – I don’t think it would be a problem (as with Kevin) – but then you have to think of your child’s potential reaction to their name.
I think that Dixon James removes the potential difficulty of a neutral name and at least gives a male identity.
Personally, I’d choose Page. I think it’s unisex enough to work as a boy’s MN.
I don’t like the ending S sound in James and the beginning S sound in Sheilds. I don’t like the way they run together, but might just be me.
Hi just wondering how you are liking The name dixon? We’re strongly considering it for a first name but wanted feedback now that it’s been a. Few years. Any flack or people calling him dick?