Hi, I’m 28 weeks pregnant with our 2nd son and we have hit a wall when it comes to his first name. Here are the details:
Middle Name must be: Banks (family name)
Last name: Stone
Older brother’s name: Elliott Zephyr
Husband’s name: Spencer David
Our girl name that may be used later: Vivienne JaneI am typically drawn to traditional, classic, American names. So far I like Pierson, Harrison, Colson, Colin.
My criteria has been:
1. A name that is obviously a name, not a made up name
2. Not too hard to spell or pronounce
3. Not extremely common/trendy. Being a Jessica I had to deal with using my last initial all the time because I was 1 of a million Jessica’s.
4. Goes well with Stone. Names like River, Cole, Brooks don’t pair well when you add Stone after.
5. 2+ syllables. Longer names seem to go better with Stone in my opinion.
6. Husband doesn’t like the double S (first name and last name starting with S)
We don’t need to worry much about repeating your experience as a Jessica: even the very most popular current baby names are nowhere near as common as the most popular names were when today’s parents were in school. The name Jessica was in the Top Ten from 1976 through 2000, which is so many years of Top Ten Jessicas. In 1987, according to the Social Security Administration, Jessica was the most popular girl name and was given to approximately 3% of all new baby girls in the United States; in 2021, Olivia was the most popular girl name and was given to approximately 1% of all new baby girls: for every three Jessicas you encountered in school, there’s only one Olivia.
From your list, my favorite is Harrison. Harrison Banks Stone; Harrison Stone; Elliott and Harrison.
Alistair Banks Stone; Alistair Stone; Elliott and Alistair
Anderson Banks Stone; Anderson Stone; Elliott and Anderson
Barnaby Banks Stone; Barnaby Stone; Elliott and Barnaby
Beckett Banks Stone; Beckett Stone; Elliott and Beckett (repeats -tt)
Broderick Banks Stone; Broderick Stone; Elliott and Broderick
Calvin Banks Stone; Calvin Stone; Elliott and Calvin
Finian Banks Stone; Finian Stone; Elliott and Finian
Frederick Banks Stone; Frederick Stone; Elliott and Frederick
Gabriel Banks Stone; Gabriel Stone; Elliott and Gabriel
Gideon Banks Stone; Gideon Stone; Elliott and Gideon
Henry Banks Stone; Henry Stone; Elliott and Henry
Lincoln Banks Stone; Lincoln Stone; Elliott and Lincoln
Milo Banks Stone; Milo Stone; Elliott and Milo
Nolan Banks Stone; Nolan Stone; Elliott and Nolan
Quentin Banks Stone; Quentin Stone; Elliott and Quentin
Thatcher Banks Stone; Thatcher Stone; Elliott and Thatcher
Wesley Banks Stone; Wesley Stone; Elliott and Wesley
Wilson Banks Stone; Wilson Stone; Elliott and Wilson
Calvin, Finian, and Gideon are a little iffy if there might be a future sister Vivienne. Henry may be too popular: I’m in a little pocket of what is apparently a No-Henry Zone, so it continues to feel classic-but-not-overused to me.
I think it would be nice to have something from the list that is obviously a first name, rather than a fairly common surname.
I know lots of people have two surname names these days…but for me if I saw Anderson Stone on a class list I’d just as likely think Stone was the first name – same with Broderick and Beckett and definitely with Wilson (and Stone isn’t even a well used first name but it feels more like one than Anderson, for some reason).
There would never be confusion with Frederick or Alistair though, so I’d lean toward a name that is a definite first name…but obviously people can do whatever they like!
Of your list I like Harrison or Collin (spelled like that!) I like the double letter bonus in your current son (and potential daughter) name.
Or how about:
Felix
Tristan
Calloway
Garrison
Davison
Cameron
Dylan Banks Stone: Elliott and Dylan
Ezra Banks Stone: Elliott and Ezra
Griffin Banks Stone: Elliott and Griffin
Isaac Banks Stone: Elliott and Isaac — Admittedly, IBS isn’t the greatest set of initials, but I’ve seen worse.
Do you want to lean into the triple noun or avoid it? I think making that decision early would help narrow the list.
Personally, I’d avoid Harrison in case it becomes Harry Stone, which sounds jokey to me.
Might be because the main character on Night Court was Harry T. Stone.
The names ending in -son cause a bit of a tongue twister with Stone to me. So I like Colin best of your initial four. How about:
Franklin
Wyatt
Casper
Harvey
Jasper
Maxwell
I so wish Reid or Grant fit your parameters because Reid and Grant alongside Elliott are so lovely together! Other suggestions…
Elliott and…
Nolan Banks
Desmond Banks
Isaac Banks
Jonah Banks
Nathaniel Banks (love this!)
Preston Banks
Owen Banks
Gavin Banks
Arthur Banks
Peter Banks
Davis Banks
Duncan Banks
Malcolm Banks (love this!)
Lucas Banks
Maxwell Banks
Xavier Banks (love this!)
Louis/Lewis Banks
Patrick Banks
Oh and Trevor! Trevor ticks all the boxes- easy to spell and pronounce, familiar but not too popular or trendy (very much a sweet spot name in my opinion), sounds nice with Stone, 2+ syllables
Trevor Banks Stone
Trevor Stone
Trevor and Elliott
I like Harrison from your list but if I was going to do Vivienne in the future, I would choose Maxwell.
Elliott, Maxwell, and Vivienne.
Maxwell Banks Stone
I think Callahan Banks Stone sounds pretty epic.
Elliott and Callahan.
May I offer up my own son’s name? Fordon. Like Gordon with an F. Or maybe you’d like Gordon instead? Or what about Desmond?
Maddox
Frederick Banks Stone. Elliott and Freddie
Sebastian Banks Stone. Elliott and Sebastian
Victor Banks Stone. Elliott and Victor
Julian Banks Stone. Elliott and Julian
Zachary Banks Stone. Elliott and Zach
Ack! Don’t use Colson if you don’t like Cole. Cold Stone will be his nickname his whole life.
Connor Banks Stone: Elliot and Connor
Cormac Banks Stone: Elliot and Mac
Riley Banks Stone: Elliot and Riley
Eamon Banks Stone: Elliot and Eamon
Ezekiel Banks Stone: Elliot and Zeke