Hello! I could really use some naming help!
My husband and I are expecting twin boys on Thanksgiving and are really struggling with names. These are our first babies, and their last name will be C0nlin, which I feel goes with most things. I haven’t found a name yet that I struck out just because of how it sounded with the last name.
So far, we’ve been able to pick one name. We’ve decided on Silas for one of the boys, but are drawing a complete blank on the name for the other boy. We don’t really want matching names, though I want something that at least sounds like it would come from the same family.
We haven’t decided on Silas’ middle name, but we have picked the middle name for the other boy – Prentice, after my grandfather. So, we need a name that doesn’t end in a “s” sound. For example, Silas Prentice does not work in my mind, which is why Prentice is reserved for the other boy. I suggested William for Silas’ middle name (after my husband’s father – I like the idea of both boys having family names for middle names). But my husband is conflicted because he kind of wants to stick with his family’s tradition of assigning animals as middle names (his middle name is (seriously) Raging Buffalo; and his brothers’ middle names are: Spouting Whale, Bear, and Wolf…). I think the animals are a bit random – I have never met anyone less like a Raging Buffalo than my husband. Plus, I think it would be weird to give one boy an animal middle name while the other has a family middle name (my heart is set on naming the other one Prentice, and husband has agreed to that already because it’s so important to me). What do you think? Is that weird to name them so differently?
Anyway, as for the other boy’s first name, the name I like the best is Dugan, followed closely by Jude. However, my husband won’t agree to those. He thinks Dugan is cute, but isn’t sure it’d be a good name for an adult male. And he just doesn’t really like Jude at all. He suggested Max, but I’m not on board with that one (and I don’t think it sounds good with Prentice).
Other names we’ve considered and both liked okay, though not enough to necessarily pick them are: Blake, Luke, Gavin and Dylan.
We also really like Brody, Bryce and Cody, but already have cousins with those names. We really like Jackson (or Jack) too, but it’s too close to my name (which is pronounced Jackie, though spelled differently).
Coming up with Silas was hard enough, so I don’t know how we’re going to find another boy’s name! Any suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your help!!
Jackie
When I entered this question into my spreadsheet, I put “Raging Buffalo” in the description field just so I could enjoy it again and again.
I do enjoy sibling names to coordinate, and I especially enjoy twin names to coordinate. However, I also think twins are an excellent opportunity to handle a situation where each parent wants something different, AND I don’t think middle names matter very much for coordination: that is, I ENJOY it when it works out for them to coordinate, but I think middle names tend to disappear after the birth announcements are sent out, so coordinating them is a low priority even for me.
In your situation, I think twins are an excellent opportunity to handle two different parental preferences, and I would go with using your grandfather’s name for one twin and your husband’s family’s naming tradition for the other. Those seem like nice balanced honors. I do think I’d lean more toward the Bear/Wolf type of name, rather than the Raging Buffalo / Spouting Whale kind of name. Fox, perhaps. Robin. Falcon. Or maybe Peregrine, to sound a little more like Prentice. I do think I’d be careful not to make the animal name too cool, if possible.
You know, the more I think about this, the less certain I am. I’m picturing one boy having a Cool Awesome Animal middle name, and the other saying, “Yes, Prentice was my great-grandfather’s name.” They feel like equivalent levels of honor in theory, since each represents an honor for one side of the family, but will the BOYS see it that way? I wonder if you would like to do double middle names? Each boy could have a great-grandfather’s name (perhaps your other grandfather, since the animal names are from your husband’s side, or another male honor name from your side) AND an animal name. This might also give you more flexibility pairing Prentice with Silas: Silas Peregrine Prentice, for example.
I was intrigued by the challenge of finding a good animal middle name. Some animals seem too vicious, like the name of the toughie in an over-the-top action movie: Viper, Tarantula, Snake, Spider, Piranha, Cobra, Scorpion. Other animal names seem too comical: Penguin, Squirrel, Meerkat, Gopher, Wombat, Frog, Hippopotamus, Chicken, Chipmunk, Cow. Names that seem name-like are harder to find. Badger, maybe. Buck. The big-cat names: Panther, Lion, Cheetah, Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard. Possibly Antelope. Koala. Cardinal would be nice, though then I’d probably want a songbird for the other name as well: not Cardinal paired with something really tough like Jaguar, for example. Maybe Cardinal and Oriole, or Cardinal and Sparrow. There’s Wolf and Bear, if you don’t mind repeating, and Fox, which is my favorite, and Coyote. Crane and Peregrine and Falcon and Hawk and Eagle. Dolphin, maybe. Otter.
For first names, my first suggestion is Grady. It reminds me of Brody and Cody from your can’t-use list, and I can picture handsome old-time farming brothers named Silas and Grady.
My second suggestion is Jared. Again, I can picture the brothers, working their farm. Also, I knew a couple who could not find ANY name they could agree on for a boy, and then they found the name Jared and both loved it, so I think of it as a problem-solving name.
Ditto for the name Derek: another couple I knew couldn’t settle on anything, and then they found Derek. Silas and Derek.
More possibilities:
Asher
Caleb
Elliot
Emmett
Everett
Ezra
Gabriel
Gage
Garrett
George
Griffin
Henry
Jasper
Joel
Micah
Nathaniel
Oliver
Paul
Sawyer
Wesley
Wyatt
I see a lot of long-U sounds (Luke, Dugan, Jude) and D-sounds (Jude, Dugan, Cody, Brody, Dylan) in your lists. I might look around for other names with those sounds.
D sounds:
Dane
Daniel
Davis (maybe too matchy with Silas)
Dean
Frederick
Reid
Rudy
Theodore
Wade
(I would also have suggested Gideon, Landon, Declan, Hudson, Holden, etc., but I wasn’t sure those worked well with your surname.)
Long-U sounds:
Hugh
Hugo
Joshua
Julian
Louis (maybe too matchy with Silas)
Rudy
Samuel
(I would also have suggested Ruben, Houston, Truman, and Lucien, but again wasn’t sure about those with the surname.)
For long U sounds, also Rupert and Rufus are lovely. Rupert Prentice works with a good mix of sounds with the surname.
I like Peregrine with Silas. It’s a name and an animal and works really well with Prentice as the other boys middle.
Good luck, you have lovely names already in mind, I’m sure you will find something for both of your boys.
I’m solidly in the camp that giving one twin the middle name Prentice and the other a Cool Animal Name will cause problems down the line. I think it’s also up for debate how much the middle names will fade away after the birth announcements are taken down off the the fridge, but unfortunately, you won’t know until you have the kids and call them by their names. I call my girls by first-middle name quite often, and one of my oldest’s nicknames involves her middle name. Even if you don’t end up using their middles names unless you are using a Listen Now voice, I still think the question will come up as to why their names are so different, and feelings of jealousy could arise. I got my name because it was my mom’s favorite name, and then my little sister got … well, another name. She went through a serious jealous patch over that.
Whew, sorry, that was long. I wanted to also say that I immediately thought of Jonah, and then when I saw you liked Jude, I was even more convinced that Jonah could work for you.
Good luck! Congratulations!
The first thing I thought when I read this was to wonder if the dad is Native? I am, and consequently we have some of the same family naming problems, among them: Bowl, Eagle, Pigeon, and Pig. I really want to bestow one of them on my kid in the middle name spot (although, probably in our language instead of English) but then am I forced to give all my children those middle names, lest one kid be Something Jude and the other Something Oolutsa.
I think, personally, if the dramatic animal names do have something to do with your husband’s heritage, I’d encourage you to carry on the tradition. Maybe give the boys two middle names, their grandfathers and an animal. Sure, two middle names can be a hassle, but it might smooth the whole naming process out for you.
I think I like the idea of double middle names, but in case you don’t, a very namey animal name like Orson (meaning Bear) might be a good compromise. Or one of the Leo names, or Drake. Hart? Maybe you could give both of your sons first names with animal meanings and middles with family significance?
Also just a tiny warning, especially for the combos of adverb + animal name, is that unless your husband is actually American Indian the current consensus of political correctness is more skeptical of giving your children names from minority cultures as a way to signal your interest in and respect for that culture than it probably was when your in-laws were naming their children. The middle spot is probably a good place to avoid other peoples’ opinions if you want to, but it might be something to be aware of.
The Drake suggestion with Swistle’s ideas just sealed the deal in my mind. Silas Crane and Drake Prentice?
I had a similar thought – what about a name that MEANS an animal? For example, Lowell means “young wolf”. Then you could have Silas Lowell and Jared Prentice.
You can search this website by meaning – here is a list of names that have “bear” in their meaning: http://www.thinkbabynames.com/names/1/bear
Or wolf: http://www.thinkbabynames.com/names/1/wolf
I think you might need to give both boys 2 middle names–a family name and an animal name each. Silas William Animal and —- Prentice Animal.
I think two middle names is the way to do it, although I’d probably stick to just the animal name and leave out the adverb – unless in your husband’s culture the adverb is important.
Would you like Julian with Silas? We considered Jude too, but ended up going with Julian, who we also call Jules. (And occasionally Julio, which makes singing “Me and Julio down by the schoolyard” really fun.)
Yeah, as much as it’d be neat to honor your tradition with one kiddo and your husband’s with another, I think that the coolness factor of the animal name would chafe with little boys. Not that having your great grandfather’s very unique name isn’t cool by general standards!
The double middle name thing sounds like a great compromise if you can get behind it – a family name and an animal name for each. The other great thing about this idea is that they have the edgy animal name if they want it and they can tuck it away if they want to be more professional later!
When you’re looking for a family name to pair with the unique Prentice, maybe a maiden name or surname will be a better match?
As a pairing for Silas (which I love!) my first thought was Jasper – 2 syllables with the strong S in a different spot, both uncommon strong vintagey names. I’m definitely a fan of twins having a similarity in their names without being super matchy. Jared is similar, but without the S if you don’t like that similarity.
Another vintagey name to consider would be Levi, which would echo that L sound in another spot with Silas? Levi Prentice?
Grady is really cute with a surname feel or maybe Truman? Truman Prentice might sound too much like a law firm, though…but the second animal middle name would definitely break that up!
Single syllable animal names may be easier to match up – Fox and Hawk are pretty cute together
Silas FamilyName Hawk and Jasper Prentice Fox or Levi Prentice Fox?
Or maybe more subtle animal names like Drake and Hart?
Good luck!!
I’m a bit surprised that your husband wants to carry on the animal middle name scheme of his parents, especially since you say that his middle names don’t fit him at all. Have any of his brothers had children and followed that pattern as well, or established their own criteria for the boys/children in their family? It all seems so random — just picking out any animal name for your son’s middle name. (Did you husband’s parents go through a Hippie phase?) If you must carry this on, I like the suggestion of using an animal word/name that is more ambiguous: Orson, Leo, Drake seem very workable.
I have twin grandsons whose full names are very compatible without being obviously matching:
James (classic NT biblical name) David (maternal grandfather’s name) and
Andrew (also classic NT biblical name) Leon (father’s name)
(The first names were chosen as both being strong traditional names, but later the mother realized they were both Disciples; although she isn’t strongly religious, she still likes that connection.)
I -would- pair Silas with something subtly coordinating with it. BNW suggests Jonas, Elijah, Gideon, Levi, Titus and Jasper; something along the line of Swistle’s suggestion of Grady might be more to your liking. And I -would- give both twins a family middle name of some significance. How about your husband’s first name or just “Buffalo” after your husband’s middle name? Something along the line of
Silas Buffalo (no, I really can’t suggest that — what is Dad’s first name?) and
Grady Prentice
Looking for what other parents have paired with Silas, I found that there have been only two babies named Silas in the Telegraph baby announcements in the last several years. Here are their older siblings’ names:
Silas Edward Wilfred, a brother for Sam, Martha May and Rosie
Silas, a brother for Sasha, Titus and Felix
BNW views Silas as belonging to these style categories: Antique Charm, Biblical, Saints. Looking at the list of Antique Charm names for boys, I would suggest:
Edgar (Teddy)
Emmett
Henry (maybe too popular for you, but Silas and Henry would make a fine combo)
Jasper
Theo
Not so much Edgar, but instead Edmund “Teddy”.
I would like to throw my hat in the ring for two middle names.
Hm, I remember a Silas with brother Jasper if that appeals to you?
I’d lean towards another bible name personally: Abram, Boaz, Ezra, Malachi, or Reuben?
I think an animal name and Prentice is totally fine.
I’m not big on two middle names if it’s not necessary..
I agree that you should give them both Animal middle names. (So fun!) and good to keep the tradition. Why can’t you use Prentice as a first name?
Silas Grizzly C0lin.
Prentice Linux C0lin
Silas & Prentice. I think those are great names! And you could let your hubby pick the animals. Doesn’t have to flow! Some animals I thought of: Puma, Falcon, Hawk, Bobcat, Ray, Bat, Moose, Bullfrog, Bull, Fox, Coyote, Linux, Grizzly.
Good luck! My son was born the week of Thanksgiving! Nice time to be in the hospital, it was practically empty so no sharing rooms which was great.
Jasper immediately came to mind as a great name to be paired with Silas. I also like the idea of Jared and Grady. I also like Ezra and Arlo.
What about using nature names that isn’t an animal or (an exciting one) Silas which might reduce the uneven cool factor?
Silas Forest (C)onlin or Silas Jay (C)onlin or Silas Ridge (C)onlin and
Jasper Prentice (C)onlin or Jared Prentice (C)onlin or
Ezra Prentice (C)onlin or Arlo Prentice (C)onlin
I would either two middles for each twin or end the animal tradition. That puts you in the either daunting or fun (depending on how you feel about naming) position of needing to come up with six names by Thanksgiving. Could you perhaps broaden it to nature names, opening the way for Cedar, Forest, Reed, River or something similar?
As for first names that go with Silas in my mind at least…
Alexander
David
Declan
Elijah
Ezekiel
Jacob
Matthew
Merrick
Nathaniel
Nicholas
Peter
Raymond
Schuyler
Theodore
Zachary
Zane
When I typed Declan, I meant Devin, but Declan’s good, too.
Another random idea: Silas means forest, so maybe your husband’s family’s animal theme could be expanded into a nature theme? I think Oak makes a great middle name for a boy. Silas Oak and Forrest Prentice?
If the animal name is because of a Native American or other heritage trait, I’d find a name (I like the double middle name idea). Everyone is using Bear these days, it seems:-p However, if it’s just something that his family started doing randomly, I like the idea of a name that MEANS animal. I like the name Daniel with Silas as well, maybe Silas Drake and Daniel Prentice?!
My inner hippie would love it if my husband’s family used animal names for middles. My hippie-side could hide behind tradition! It’s TRADITIONAL in our family to use animal names. I love it. Perhaps a step too far, but imagine twins boys using secret nicknames for each other based off of their animal names: Kit is a baby fox, Jake is a young male Turkey, Jack/Joey is a male Wallaby. Anyway, my imagination has clearly run wild.
Since you like William as a middle name, why not Silas and Liam?
For brothers of Silas, I like –
– Levi
– Milo
– Philip (bonus that the name means Lover of Horses)
– Ruben
– Silas Wallaby MN2 C0llin.
– Silas Tercel MN2 C0llin.
– Silas Egret MN2 C0llin.
– Ruben Fox Prentice C0llin.
– Milo Osprey Prentice C0llin.
– Phillip Talon Pretice C0llin.
Back to the animal bit – my taste is clearly for the birds (ha). I like names like crane, drake, falcon, tercel, hawk and jay.
Good luck.
I’ve never heard/thought of Wallaby before as a middle — but now that you’ve said it, I love it!
So many great ideas! I like the idea of double middle names, translating an animal name into a native language or using actual names that are derived from animals (Orson, Callum (dove), Drake). As for first names, some suggestions:
Gideon
Jonah (also means dove)
Judah
Milo
Shane
Good luck. :)
Could you do Prentice as a first name? Prentice Animal C0nlin and Silas Animal C0nlin?
I know that would end up with one twin having two honor names, but I don’t really think it matters (The naming story- we wanted both of you to have animal names, like Daddy. Silas we loved your name and chose it because we knew we would love you, and Prentice, you were named for my beloved grandfather and I am so happy to see him in you.)
Alternately could you do Prentice Animal C0nlin and William Animal C0nlin and save Silas for later (or have it on the sad did not use list that we all have in our heads)
If you don’t want to do Prentice as a first I do think you should do double middle names (Silas William Badger C0nlin, and Caleb Prentice Coyote C0nlin. This might actually make it a little more flexible for both children as they grow up, as they could decide what name goes on resumes, etc.
To that end, most of my favorites for you have been mentioned:
Caleb, Jonah, Joel, Nathan, Julian
I would add, David, Saul, Justin, and my favorite with Silas, Boaz
Expanding on Kerry’s idea, I like Silas and Linden. I’d stay away from Frasier Crane. :)
Bummer, I just realized you can’t use Philip. Phil Collins. Palm to forehead moment!
Silas William Fox COnlin
Asa Prentice Hawk COnlin
I also love the suggestions of Jared, Grady and Felix.
I also think the middle names should be the same with all your children. So either just animal or just family name or both. Or get rid of those ideas and just pick a middle name that works with the first. Example: Silas Max and Asa Jude.
I agree with previous posters that the boys should both get animal middle names. If there wasn’t such a clear tradition on your husband’s side with those names, then I’d say pick a name from each side of the family and call it a day. But the animal middle names are just so unique that it seems odd to have one child with the animal name and one with a family name from your side. And then this raises the issue for future children as well: do you continue to alternate his family name and then your family name? Does it depend on the gender of the child? For your sanity, I seriously recommend doing the double middle name that allows the kids to have great names from both sides of the family.
I really like Silas and I think here are some good options for Silas’ brother:
Jasper
Milo
Jared
Jude (I kind of hope your husband comes around on this one, because it’s so awesome)
Emmett
Garrett
I think Silas William Fox and Grady Prentice Hawk are very handsome. Silas and Grady sound fantastic together, but not too matchy, both boys get a family name, and both also get an animal name. One syllable animal names like bear, fox, hawk, colt, kit etc. work really well too because then the names don’t sound like too much of a mouthful.
I like the idea of Prentice as a first name or of having two middles.
What about Boaz? Silas and Boaz?
Silas Badger and Boaz Stag… the inverted initials always gets me with twins.
Then to add a second middle name: Silas Badger Prentice and Boaz Stag Husband’s-first-name (or your maiden name–or your mother’s maiden name–or a family surname).
OR
Both of the boys could have animal middle names based on the same animal.
Silas Kodiak and Boaz Grizzly
Silas Ulf and Boaz Lowell
Silas Falcon and Boaz Hawk (they aren’t the same animal, I know)
Silas Badger and Boaz Wolverine (same as above)
Silas Cougar and Boaz Puma
Other twin names that work well with Silas:
Ezra
Timothy
Titus
Felix
Orson
Tarquin
Herschel
Hiram
Oooh! I do like Hiram with Silas.
Anyway, best wishes to you and your growing family! Please let us know what you decide!
I also agree with using two middle names for the twins!
Names suggestion for Silas’ brother –
Bennett
Arlo
Axel
Roman
Lincoln
Congratulations and goodluck!
Levi and Milo are my favorites as a brother for Silas, all having the long ‘i’ in them. Fantastic suggestions!
What about Maxim with Silas? This would give you the nickname Max, which your husband suggested, but flows well with Prentice. For example:
Maxim Prentice Buck
Maxim Prentice Crow
Maxim Prentice Hawk
The double middle is a great way to cover all bases in this case I think.
Silas William Fox
Levi Prentice Jay
Milo Jackson Finch
Other names I like with Silas:
Draco
Atticus
August
Magnus
Gideon
Malachi
Micah (love this!) Micah Dugan Sparrow perhaps?
Roman
Theo
Hope this helps and good luck!
I actually know a family of 3 boys named Levi, Milo, & Silas.
We have friends with a son named Dagan (long A, like day), similar to your Dugan but your husband might find it more appealing! I happen to like the animal name tradition! We know a sweet little girl with the middle name bearpaw, after her daddy’s (he’s a Native American) and she wears it so we’ll. And I think Silas and prentice make nice first names together!
How about adding your spin to the family tradition? So, yes to the idea of two middles, one family name and one wild card. One twin gets a family:animal combo, the other a family:city/star/river/virtue etc. combo. Add a a “cool” name to the mix so each gets his own family story to tell- my names just like dad’s/I’m named for the place mom and dad met” or whatever the inspiration may be.
Silas and Dov
Silas and Rafe
Silas Fox and Rafe Liam?
Dont prefer 2 middles unless very good reason. Your case more than qualifies. Please consider!
It’s not often that I get to suggest this name:
Kestrel
Animal without being too animal-y (Raging Buffalo!).
Firstly, I also agree that two middle names for your sweet boys is an excellent idea. I love the idea of each son carrying an animal name and a family name. A few animal names for your consideration:
Lynx
Brumby
Bronco (might be too closely associated with the football team)
Wolf
Elk
Caribou
Bluejay
Pike
Oryx
Grayling
Finch
Heron
Also, I thought it might be fun seeing your husband has a land animal as his middle name to give one son a bird name and the other one from the sea. I truly love the idea of continuing the tradition with both boys. Please let us know what you decide! Best of luck with your pregnancy!
I have to say, Swistle nailed the middle name situation perfectly! I would, without a doubt, go with two middle names for each boy. We did this with our kiddos, one middle name for each side of the family, and I’m so glad that we did (for the record, we’ve never had any problems thus far, with filling out paperwork or anything, with both kiddos having two middle names). Plus, both sides of the family were really surprised and really touched that we wanted to honour both of them. When we decided to go with the two middle names, we decided that we would forgo caring about the “flow” of the name… as it is very, very rare that we ever say the whole name out loud so that we could honour both sides. I agree, that if you give one kiddo an intense/serious family name and then the other kiddo gets a cool animal name then one might end up feeling left out.
In my opinion, my absolute favourite animal pairing is: Fox and Hawk. Both are cool middle names, that also happen to be animals. I think I would stay away from the ones where you have to make the animal name stretch into a middle name. If that makes sense.
Silas William Fox C0nlin
_____ Prentice Hawk C0nlin
As for first names, you have some great suggestions above and don’t think I have too much to add but here are my favourites:
Arlo. Silas and Arlo. I love love love Arlo.
What about Ezekiel nn Zeke. Si and Zeke are pretty cute!
If you like Jude, what about Judah? Would you husband like that better?
OOh.. I really like Abraham too. Silas and Abraham. Or Abram if you like it shortened to suit the number of letters in Silas better. Silas and Abram. Abe and Bram are such cute nicknames.
Others:
Hugo.
Elliot.
Milo.
Malakai or Malachi
Dagan.
Griffin.
Elijah.
Oscar.
Have you thought about using Prentice as a first name? I actually really like it. I think it sounds great with Silas. Prentice and Silas. That’s a really strong combination.
Good luck! I hope you guys find something you both love!!
I love your taste! We named our November 2013 baby Silas Jude. :)
I also love Theo, Levi, and Christian.
I also love Milo but that might be too similar to Silas.
Hmm this one took me a few days to ponder. It does seem quite the conundrum for a few reasons. You seem to have some very different naming styles that you are considering. It seems like you like some more modern names but also enjoy some vintage classic ones as well. It would strike me as odd if you had a son names Silas and one names Brody. Also, the animal names themes is interesting, is it because of a Native American family tie, or was it a perhaps naming style indulgence of some ancestor that just became a tradition? It was just a naming style indulgence of someone else, I would suggest using your own naming style indulgence in the middle name spot, which may be family names that you enjoy such as Prentice. I actually like the name as a first name however I see your hesitation as it has a similar ending sound to Silas, however… maybe as a twinset that would be ok. I do think that keeping both the first names and middle names on the same level is a good idea.
I also thought of Peregrine for you. It doesn’t quite have the “cool” factor of something like Fox or Wolf and it fits really well with Prentice.
Do the animal names have to be so obvious? There are a lot of names that mean animals. Perhaps something more subtle would work better for you, create more balance between the boys names, and still work for your husband? Some examples include Arthur (which may mean something along the lines of man-bear), Dov (Hebrew for bear), Conall (Gaelic for strong wolf), Renard (French for fox), Todd (middle English for Fox), Sirius (related to the dog star), Caleb (Hebrew for dog), etc.
I suggest Wolfgang. It has the animal quality but matches Prentice better. Silas Wolfgang sounds good to me.
There are great suggestions on here already, and I love the two middle name idea, but just to add my two cents for if you only wanted single middles:
Silas Warren and Hugo Prentice
If there is an animal that is meaningful to your family, that would be cool too. For instance, the mascot of your university? Or your state animal?
I certainly like Prentice as a middle name (and paired with an animal name, too). I think I would stay away from using it as a first, as others have suggested, as it sounds a lot like “princess” which could be difficult for a boy.
I have a coworker whose first and middle names are Henry Fox. I’ve always thought that was the most lovely combo!
I’m gonna just say I like Ryder and Silas together. And I’d definitely go with 2 middle names. Maybe they could both have RB for their father’s Raging Buffalo.
Silas Denton RB C0nlin
Ryder Prentice RB C0nlin
Have fun!
I have to comment because I had twin boys the day before Thanksgiving, almost 4 years ago! And I didn’t do matching names either. My boys each have family names, so I guess they technically coordinate, but the styles are rather different. So far, it’s been a blessing. They’re personalities are radically different, so the names seem to fit them. Although, I do think one of them has a “cooler” name.
Also, my brother has a Silas, and 3 other boys, named Boaz, Isaac, and Lincoln. Any of those appeal?
And I agree with other posters and with Swistle. 2 middle names sounds like a good idea. (provided you can agree on that many names!) And I love Fox!
Good luck on the twins! If you can survive the first year, you can survive anything! :)
If you like Dugan, would you like Dougal (rhymes with google)?
Thank you for the laugh about never having met anyone less like a Raging Buffalo. That made my day.
My husband’s middle name is Fox. It’s a family name and I just thought it was downright cool (it has an X!), so we gave it to our eldest son. He loves it and it really is a fantastic middle name. One thing that hadn’t occurred to me at the time of naming, however, is that we only really see foxes when they’ve been hit by cars or are rabid. This puts a slight damper on the name. Only slight, though. I’m still glad we chose it.
Maybe it’s too late for this post to be seen, but Swistle’s suggestion of Crane is a surname in my family, maybe, if you comb your family tree, you’ll find a family name that is also an animal name (or has an animal meaning). Fox is also a surname, for example.
I do like the suggestions of Wolfgang and Peregrine, but I wonder if the animal names have to be real? Could you use mythical animals like Dragon or Griffin?