Hello!
My husband and I tried to have a baby for many years, and to our delight ended up pregnant with twins due in July (a boy and a girl) thanks to fertility treatments. Yay! We’ve had girl names picked out for ages, but are struggling with what to name the boy. Having twins threw a wonderful wrench into our parenting plans.
The babies will take on their father’s last name, which is a single syllable Irish name that sounds like “schooled.” However, their second middle name will be my last name, a British name which has two syllables and sounds like “caper.” We would prefer first names with at least two syllables that don’t have long vowel sounds since my husband’s name is so vowel heavy.
We are partial to gender neutral names with a sense of family history. We’re naming our daughter Josephine. It’s significant to us because: a) There are many Josephs on both sides of the family (it’s my husband’s middle name, my father’s middle name, and the name of my husband’s grandfather), b) There are significant women with names that start with “Jo” in our families (Joyce and Joan – grandmothers), and c) I love that its short form can be gender neutral (Jo, Joey).
We would love our son’s name to have the same kind of significance as his sister’s, but there aren’t a lot of male names related to our families that we like, or that we would saddle our kid with (Chester, Ernest, and Mervin for example), or that are particularly striking in the way that Josephine is (David, Frank, Steve, Chris).
My husband loves the name Basil (his great-grandfather’s name), but I don’t because people will pronounce it differently and it reminds me of a muppet. I know we could do what seems obvious and give the name Joseph to our son, and find another girl name, but we’ve been dreaming about Josephine for years.
Other boy names we’ve considered and like but aren’t set on:
Arthur (Art)
Jasper – I’m not a fan of alliterative twin names, so it’s halfway off the table for me
Finnigan (Finn)We’ve also thought about bird names, which I know sounds weird, but my husband has been calling the babies his little birds all throughout my pregnancy (so we’ve thought about Finch for example).
Looking over this message makes us seem bananas! Syllable counts? Irish bird names? If you can help us out we will be eternally grateful.
Sincerely,
Catherine
My family tree is similar with the male names: plenty of Mertons and Jameses, but not many equivalents of Josephine.
Well. I do see one striking name I would like to pluck from the list of not-particularly-striking names: Frank. I think Franklin would be striking on a little boy, and fabulous with Josephine.
Franklin always makes me think of Frederick, which I think would be similarly fabulous: Josephine and Frederick.
Or, depending on how similar the surname is to Schooled, maybe Louis? I love that the nickname could be Lou, which is gender-neutral. But if the surname really does start with S, I probably would avoid names ending in S.
Davis would make a good freshened-up honor for a David. Josephine and Davis. But again, probably not if the surname starts with S.
Do you have any Edwards or Edwins or Edgars in the family tree? Edmund would be a nice with Josephine, and then both twins would have the first two letters of their names referencing family names.
Oh! Oh! EVERETT! Josephine and Everett! With Ev as a pet name, if not a nickname-nickname.
Or Elliot! Josephine and Elliot.
And I love Arthur from your list.
I am fond of a little twinniness to twin names: like, clearly not the Karen & Sharon / Timmy & Tommy type of thing that has thankfully gone mostly out of style, but subtler things such as reversed initials (i.e., J.E. and E.J.), or a matching number of letters/syllables, or really just any little thing that would give me that feeling of a happy little link. We ended up not being able to make any of those things work, but we DID give our twins coordinated middle names totally by accident, and that has been pleasing to me. Along those lines, and combined with the bird situation, I wonder if it would be fun to give each twin a bird-related middle name. Josephine Lark and Elliot Finch. Josephine Starling and Everett Finch. Josephine Sparrow and Frederick Jay.
Name update:
Thank you so much for your name suggestions, and for the thoughtful responses from readers of your blog! It gave my husband and I a lot to think about. In the end, Josephine Anne and Arthur Frank (Jo & Art) arrived safely on July 6th. We were stuck on Finnegan for a very long time, but decided against it because it just didn’t work for us any more. I quite liked it, but my husband felt it was too trendy. We kept circling back to Arthur and fell in love with the name all over again. Frank was my grandfather’s name. He passed earlier this year. We considered using Frank as a first name, as many people suggested, but I also have an uncle Frank who would have maybe misinterpreted the significance. Also, I’m a teacher, and I taught a Franklin earlier this year who was a complete pain which soured that version of the name for me (or at least took it off the table as a first name).
The bird names as middle names idea was solid for quite a while, but ultimately we wanted to pay homage to more family members (Anne is after my late aunt, and is also my middle name). Of course, after the haze of the labour and delivery wore off we belatedly realized we’d given our children Anne Frank as middle names. Oops!
Thanks again for your input! We had a lot to think about.
Cheers,
Catherine
What about Robin for a boys name? I think it’s darling, due to come back in style, reminds me of Christopher Robin, is a bird name, and is gender neutral. Or I suppose you could name him Robert and use Robin as the nn.
Corbin (crow) and Callum (dove) are also names with Irish learning that have bird meanings!
Love Robert nicknamed Robin with Josephine!!
This is my suggestion, except to add that A pretty common nickname for Robert is Bird or Birdie.
ST, you have done some fine work in this comment. I love all of these suggestions.
My husband is Robert nn Bob and if we had a third boy, Robert nn Robin was #1 on my list.
I know a Josephine that goes by Joey and her little brother is Kellen, which is Irish. Maybe that will appeal to you?
Personally Frank is do charming to me, and goes so well with Jo, Joey. And I LOVE matching bird middles!
I love the bird middle names idea!
Same, it’s a great idea to tie them together without being to in your face about it.
Alistair. Josephine and Alistair. Jo and Al. Joey and Ally. Josie and Ally-bear.
Honestly, when I was naming potential babies just for funsies, they were either going to be Josephine Alice or Alistair Joseph (or maybe one of each), so I’m a little biased. If you can find an Alice in your family tree, that’s bingo (imho).
If Ally-bear isn’t your jam:
Finnian. Josephine and Finnian. Jo and Finn.
Finnegan. Josephine and Finnegan. Jo and Finn.
Cillian. Josephine and Cillian. Jo and initials (CJ, CB, CC) so the nickname Kill doesn’t emerge. You could use Jasper in the middle for CJ. Cillian Jasper.
Ronan. Josephine and Ronan. Jo and Ro. Joey and Roey.
Roland. Josephine and Roland. Jo and Ro. Joey and Roley.
Cormac. Josephine and Cormac. Joey and Cory.
Donovan. Josephine and Donovan. Jo and Dove. Joey and Donny. Joey and Vanny.
The birdy middle name idea is adorable, and is a subtle twinny link.
This might be totally not your style but my favorite bird name is Peregrine with the nickname Perry. Jo and Perry.
As far as swistle’s suggestions I love Franklin nn Frankie with Josephine.
Perry is darling but I think Jo and Perry together sounds a little too Aerosmith!
Franklin is awesome for a boy, and so is Everett, love the nn Ev!
I also love the bird middle names idea, and the swapping initials, so having JE and EJ. Maybe:
Josephine Emerald (yes there is a bird called Emerald and it is a beauty!) and
Everett Jay
or
Josephine Finch
Franklin/ Frederick Jay
I also saw a bird called Francolin in my googling if you wanted to have a bird name that was a play on Frank.
More bird names here: https://appellationmountain.net/fetching-names-bird-by-bird/
For my own daughters (though not twins), one has the middle name of May, the other Amy – I love the similar but different anagrams of their middle names. Though of course the one called May wishes her middle name was Amy and vice-versa!
Swistle’s suggestion of Franklin instead of just Frank made me wonder if using Stephen (and not nicknaming him Steve) would be a better sibling name with Josephine. Josephine & Stephen. Or maybe Christopher and using Topher instead of Chris. Josephine & Christopher Jo & Topher. That’s really cute. I also like Arthur (Art).
I like the bird middles idea, too:
Josephine Wren or Josephine Phoebe?
Arthur Swift
Christopher Jay
Franklin Robin
Stephen Phoenix
Or the nickname Kit for Christopher? I know it’s not two syllables but I encountered it On a little one recently and fell in love!
Since Joseph is the dad’s middle name, what about a name inspired by mom’s middle? Like the same initial, or similar sounds. I know Catherine is the first name, not the middle, but this is just an example: Carter for Catherine.
Is there a reason you are only looking at male namesakes? Your daughter’s name will be in honor of several men, I see no reason why your son couldn’t be named in honor of a woman. For example, a Carol could lead you to Charles, Stephanie to Stephan, etc. You could also consider looking at the maiden names of women in your family-you can’t get more gender neutral than a surname.
I do like the bird idea, but would probably save Finch as a middle name. It feels a bit too insubstantial next to Josephine. However, I think it would make a fun nickname, maybe for Frederick? Someone else suggested Callum and I also saw Robin suggested, both of those would be lovely as a first or middle. Maybe something like Callum with a less exciting family name for the middle? Then Josephine could have a bird middle. I like the symmetry of that.
Yes!!! Name a boy after a female relative!! Our first baby has a name that we both just liked (plus both of our last names), but if we manage to have another (covid/work from home with a 1 year old is making my only child husband question the idea), both our boy and girl names honor female family members. Dooooooo it!!!! I’m so ready to see boys named after women.
Yes! As I was reading I was thinking how wonderful it would be to do this. Josephine for the Josephs and and masculine version of the important females in your life! Please take another look at your family tree and see if anything falls into place!
What about Nathaniel nn Nat or Nate? Nathaniel and Josephine. Nat and Jo, Nate and Josie. I think they sound great together stylistically and I love that they are both long and formal but can be shortened to a snappy nickname.
Nathaniel Jay and Josephine Wren
Nathaniel Robin
Nathaniel Hawk
Nathaniel Byrd
Nathaniel Finch
Nathaniel Peregrine
Josephine Robin
Josephine Lark
Josephine Avis
My step-father whose name is David has two friends also named David, one who goes by his last name and the other goes by Dove.
David nn Dove? Brings the bird connection, links to a family member. I am here to lobby for it.
I am definitely in the camp where I would be looking for masculine versions of women in the family to honor. Beyond that I really like the idea of a three syllable boys name to go with Josephine.
Nathaniel, as recommended above, is a great option. I also like:
Augustus – Josephine and Augustus – Jo and Gus
Oliver – Josephine and Oliver – Jo and Oz
Donovan – Josephine and Donovan – Jo and Van
Benedict – Josephine and Benedict – Jo and Ben
Like others, I also suggest looking at the women in the family to find a son’s name. Is there something you could get from mom’s middle name? That would be such pleasing symmetry.
I like Arthur/Art and think it goes well with Josephine – we had it at the top of the list if our Josephine’s little sister had been a boy.
For family names I like the suggestion of Franklin, and would also suggest Francis nn Frank.
Yes! I came to comment to suggest Francis as well! I love it!
Came here to suggest Francis too! We have a few in my family. One goes by Francis, one by Frankie, and one by Frank. A great name! I also like the idea of looking for female relatives to honor. All my boys have middle names that honor women and it pleases me.
Basil made me think of Sebastian nn Bash. I love the length of it with Josephine and what Bash is lacking in gender neutrality (perhaps) it makes up for in coolness. Maybe it would a good compromise option? Good luck! How fun to name twins!
Francis is an excellent choice if you are looking for something more gender neutral.
Maybe I’m nuts because no one else has commented on it, but what about Chester? To me it’s not in the same category at all as Ernest and Mervin, and I could see it making a comeback. It has a little bit of a nature feel (reminds me of Chestnut). Chester and Josephine, Chet and Jo?
I adore Arthur and Basil, but I’m really here to talk birds. What about Josephine nicknamed Finch or Jay? Jo is also adorable (and there’s no reason a kid needs just 1 nickname), but Phine to Finch works for me.
David to Dove, as someone suggested in the bird nicknames post. Stephen rhymes with Wren, or Laurence ends in Wren. Never mind, Jo and Laurie is right out. Heron and Kestrel are great middle names.
I think Finnegan (Finn) is a lovely choice from your list and I like Arthur too. If your surname doesn’t actually start with an S, I think Sullivan (nn Sully or Van) would be great. Or Davis or Louis/Lewis as Swistle suggested.
I do think Callum (nn Cal) would be a lovely way to tie in the bird theme. And I love the suggestions of Cormac (nn Mac?) or Donovan (nn Van). Or Everett (you could even do Rett as a nn). Or Fritz for Frederick.
I also wanted to suggest Reid, Tobin, Deacon and Dalton. Or maybe George, Milo, August, Leo, Archer or Beckett?
Mom of boy/girl twins here! I love Josephine and all of the associated nicknames for it. I would recommend giving your son a similar style with a longer name that has a shortened nickname. Our daughter does not, and wishes she had a nickname like her brother. It just didn’t work out. The names are similar in style to Sally and James, nn Jimmy.
I love Josephine—I have one who is 5. When we were naming her brother, my favorite choice was Frederick, but it just didn’t work out. I also loved Arthur, Nathaniel, Theodore, Benedict, Edwin, Calvin, Elliott and Simon.
Oh, I want you to choose Frederick because I couldn’t!
How about Francis with a nickname of Frank or Frankie! That goes well with Josephine and Jo or Joey.
I feel like Christopher with a nickname of Kip would also be dashing and fun, just like Josie!
I really enjoy Swistles suggestions of having a bird middle name for both twins, would be so special.
I’m definitely leaning towards Franklin from Swistle’s suggestions. Josephine and Franklin… Jo and Frank, Joey and Frankie, Josie and Francis, JoJo and Lin… It is fun pairing with so many nickname options depending upon your style preferences.
From your list, I’m partial to Arthur. Arthur and Josephine… Art and Jo, Ari and Joey, Artie and Josie, Thor and Jay. This pairing also has a lot of nickname options.
Bird names:
Peregrine — has a similar Victorian feel as Josephine.
Merlin — close to Mervin. Merlins are raptors found in Ireland.
Beckett — nickname Beck
Cashel — a town in County Tipperary, nickname could be Cash.
Gregory — nickname Grey or the more traditional Greg
Grantham — nickname Grant
I also like the idea of bird names for middle names:
Gregory Swift and Josephine Merle
Beckett Finch and Josephine Lark
Cashel Hawk and Josephine Teal
Can I please second Swistle on the love of Frank? My daughter’s middle name is Josephine, my son’s middle name is Frank. She has a shortish first name (M@rgot) and his is long (N@thaniel) to balance out the variation in lengths. But for you I think Franklin or Francis would also work well?
I love the Robert/Robin suggestion too. And just based on style, boy names that I think pair beautifully with Josephine:
Sebastian
Theodore (Ted?)
Laurence (ok, fine, I’m going Little Women here! Is Jo and Laurie a step too far?)
Alexander
Alastair
Christopher nn Kit. Jo and Kit!
Love Christopher and Josephine. Kit and Jo.
I also thought of Callum! And Robin.
Jasper made me think of Casper, nn Cas/Caz.
Or Calvin, nn Cal.
I love the name Jonah, which means dove – obviously it doesn’t work with Josephine, but as a middle name it could tie the two together.
What about Phoenix? That would mean that both names have the “feen” sound though, which may be too much.
Maybe you’d like Dorian? Or Devin?
Wow, the idea of two unisex nicknames (Jo and Kit) makes me feel very on board for Christopher, especially if it’s a family member you would like to honor (bonus points if there’s also a Christina somewhere in the family too).
I also like Franklin, and Francis, which feels much more unisex. It feels very recently current to me—not as popular as Josephine but not out of touch with that style.
I also wonder if there is a Charles in there? Jo and Charlie sound so fun together, and Charlie is definitely unisex now.
I just want to add: one of my children (the oldest) has an honor name that pulls from both sides of the family and is rich with personal meaning as a result, and the other we picked simply because we loved it. It’s okay to have that as an explanation.
Francis/es is decidedly unisex to me. One letter difference in spelling and in my region they’re pronounced the same. (I used to amuse myself by noting I could easily name a son after my grandmothers, Gerald and Frances. )
I came to the comments intending to suggest Finnegan with Finch as the family nickname (Finn for general use), but really really love the Robert-nn-Robin idea so much.
You got Josephine from the names of male relatives. Why not look to the names of female relatives for inspiration for a boy’s name. Why are you limiting yourself to just the men?
Maybe a name having to do with blessings since you struggled with fertility? What about:
Asher: blessing
Nathaniel (gift from God)