Molly writes:

We are expecting our second boy to arrive via c-section on 4/7 and are stuck on name options. We keep thinking we have it narrowed down, and then one of us wavers and we’re back to square one. Our older son is named Reed Alexander Matthews. Reed is a family name, and Alexander is my husband. We do know that we want to use Wallace as a middle name for this baby. We’ve kicked around Ryan, Rowan, and Quinn, but keep getting stuck and can’t make a decision. Our only requirements are that it go well with Reed and it not be too popular or overused.

Do you have any ideas or suggestions that would meet our criteria that we’re just not seeing?

The Baby Name Wizard suggests Grant as a brother for Reed/Reid. Grant Wallace Matthews. Reed and Grant. More options:

Declan. Declan Wallace Matthews. Reed and Declan.
Casey. Casey Wallace Matthews. Reed and Casey.
Tiernan. Tiernan Wallace Matthews. Reed and Tiernan.
Keegan. Keegan Wallace Matthews. Reed and Keegan.
Corbin. Corbin Wallace Matthews. Reed and Corbin.
Cael. Cael Wallace Matthews. Reed and Cael.

But you know what I think I like best? Quinn, from your list. Quinn Wallace Matthews. Reed and Quinn. I also like Corbin. Let’s put a poll over to the right and see what everyone else thinks. [Poll closed; see results below.]

Poll results (284 votes total):
Ryan: 30 votes, roughly 11%
Rowan: 16 votes, roughly 6%
Quinn: 88 votes, roughly 31%
Grant: 81 votes, roughly 29%
Declan: 17 votes, roughly 6%
Casey: 4 votes, roughly 1%
Tiernan: 4 votes, roughly 1%
Keegan: 8 votes, roughly 3%
Corbin: 30 votes, roughly 11%
Cael: 6 votes, roughly 2%

Name update 04-22-2009. Molly writes:

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions, and for the helpful poll. We were on the fence right up to the last minute. We hadn’t considered the name Grant at all until your poll, and when it became a front-runner and we chatted about it some more, we decided that we liked it quite a bit. When we went into the OR for the c-section, we had narrowed our options down to Grant and Quinn, and agreed to see what he looked like before tagging him with a name. Once we got a good look at him, we agreed that he is definitely a Grant.

Thanks again for all of your (and your followers) helpful advice!

Allison writes:

I’m due with my first child in early April. My husband and I have completely different styles! His name (Michael) was the top name the year he was born, so he’s drawn to unusual, uncommon names. My name (Allison) was common, but never crazy popular, which is a quality I’d like to have in my own daughter’s name. We kept putting off major discussions about names because it’s been so hard to reach a solution we both like, but our little girl is going to be here soon and she needs a name!

Michael and I each made a list of our top eight, with our favorites at the top. Mine is: Lila, Sophie, Grace, Ruby, Madeleine, Isabel, Lucy, and Reese. His is: Magnolia, Cecilia, Seraphina, Christabel, Aurelia, Lavinia, Priscilla, and Portia.

From his list, I like Magnolia, Cecilia, Seraphina, and Aurelia – but I don’t love them. They’re a little too over-the-top for me to use. He says my list is too popular, and she’ll forever be known as Sophie H. (Our last name is Hayes.) We both agreed that if he gets final say on the FN, I get to choose the MN (or vice-versa), but in the ideal situation, I’d want both of us to LOVE the whole name, you know what I mean?

So, to recap: We’re looking for a name that is a good compromise between unusual names and common names, that fits with the last name Hayes. Any suggestions?

Well, Ruby’s a good one. It’s common enough to be familiar, but in 2007 it was only used for .1368% of baby girls. (Source: Social Security baby name site.) If we assume a classroom size of 20 children, with 10 of them girls, that means there’d be, on average, one Ruby per 75 classrooms. It’s possible she’d be a Ruby H., especially if that area of the country is particularly fond of the name, but it’s unlikely.

But what you’re asking for is names that are not on either list, so let’s see if we can find something between the lists. For example, he likes Seraphina and you like Sophie, so we’ll look for something between celebrity-level uncommonness and Top 20. Josephine has that “fee(n)” sound. Phoebe has the “fee” sound, too, and the rhythm of Sophie. The name Serena is like Seraphina with a chunk removed to make it shorter and simpler. Sabrina is classic and beautiful and familiar but not much used. Selina is another good one.

You like Grace and Lucy; he likes Cecelia and Priscilla. Celia shortens/simplifies Cecelia, and also avoids the song. Lucia lengthens and dresses up Lucy. (The Baby Name Wizard says it can be pronounced LOO-sha or loo-CHEE-a or loo-SEE-a; it’s loo-SEE-a I have in mind.) The name Lia might appeal to both of you: it’s short and sweet, feminine and pretty, and three of his name choices end in it–but it’s similar to Lila on your list. Clarice is pretty and unusual, without the frou-frou ending, and it sounds like Reese (you could even use that as a nickname). Clara ends in the -a he prefers, but in style it’s more similar to Grace and Lucy.

So here’s my list of suggestions so far:

Celia Hayes
Clarice Hayes
Clara Hayes
Josephine Hayes
Lia Hayes
Lucia Hayes
Phoebe Hayes
Sabrina Hayes
Selina Hayes
Serena Hayes

My favorite is Clara. Let’s have a poll over to the right to see everyone else’s favorites [poll closed; see results below], and also let people chime in with any other simplifications/dress-ups.

Poll results (309 votes total):
Celia: 46 votes, roughly 15%
Clarice: 4 votes, roughly 1%
Clara: 45 votes, roughly 15%
Josephine: 56 votes, roughly 18%
Lia: 21 votes, roughly 7%
Lucia: 27 votes, roughly 9%
Phoebe: 33 votes, roughly 11%
Sabrina: 39 votes, roughly 13%
Selina: 6 votes, roughly 2%
Serena: 32 votes, roughly 10%

Name update 04-10-2009! Allison writes:

Delilah Juliet Hayes arrived on April 5, 2009. Although ultimately, we didn’t go with any of your suggestions, we both love her name and it fits her perfectly. Thank you!

Vicki writes:

I am pregnant and due in April 2009. I don’t know yet if I’m having a boy or girl. I have a set of twin boys at home that are named Nathaniel Konnor Celozzi and Sebastian Zane Celozzi. I would like a good strong name for my next child.

We’ve decided to go with Gabrielle if the baby is a girl. We have debated about the middle name between Amelia and Tru. We can’t even begin to think of another boy name and could use some help. I appreciate all your assistance.

I like either of your middle name choices for Gabrielle. I like Tru better for coordination with your boys’ names, and I like Amelia better with the rhythm of the whole name.

If the baby is a boy, here are some suggestions:

Adrian Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Adrian
August Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and August
Benjamin Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Benjamin
Edmund Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Edmund
Elliot Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Elliot
Everett Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Everett
Frederick Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Frederick
Garrett Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Garrett
Isaiah Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Isaiah
Jonathan Celozzi; Nathaniel, Sebastian, and Jonathan

Let’s have two polls over to the right: one for the middle name if the baby is a girl, and one for the first name if the baby is a boy. [Polls closed; see below for results.]

Poll results:

Girl middle names (302 votes total):
Tru: 162 votes, roughly 54%
Amelia: 140 votes, roughly 46%

Boy names (296 votes total):
Adrian: 51 votes, roughly 17%
August: 35 votes, roughly 12%
Benjamin: 58 votes, roughly 20%
Edmund: 7 votes, roughly 2%
Elliot: 34 votes, roughly 11%
Everett: 38 votes, roughly 13%
Frederick: 20 votes, roughly 7%
Garrett: 18 votes, roughly 6%
Isaiah: 13 votes, roughly 4%
Jonathan: 22 votes, roughly 7%

Name update! Vicki writes:

Gabrielle Amelia was born March 26th weighing in at 5lbs 3.2oz. She was 3 weeks and a day early but perfectly healthy with a head full of light brown hair. She has Sebastian’s eye color so far and Nathaniel’s mouth with my chin and my husband’s ears. We couldn’t be happier. Thank everyone for your suggestions and thank you, Swistle for all your help!

Jennifer writes:

We don’t know if we are having a boy or a girl. In the past, my husband has pretty much let me have command of the names. He always has names to put on the list, but it seems that either he has chosen one that I have liked, or has acquiesced to my favorites. We already have 2 girls, Kate Lorraine (3) and McLaren Josephine (2) whom we mostly call ‘Claire’. Our last name starts with ‘S’, and has an ‘an/en’ sounding ending. One of my biggest annoyances with names is when they blend together, as in Max S–, so any name with an ‘s’ or ‘z’ sounding ending is out (sadly, this nixes Chase, Chance, and Alexis, all of which I LOVE). Also, I would like to stay away from the ‘en/an’ names to avoid being too rhymey. I am less worried about this last part if it’s a girl, but really don’t want the ‘en/an’ ending for a boy.

For a girl, I love Allie/Ally/Ali (undecided on spelling – thoughts?), but I think I would rather her have a more ‘proper’ name, and just use Allie/Ally as the nickname. I also like Lexi, so I’m sort of leaning towards Alexa. I also like Allison/Alison. Really, what I love is ‘Ellie’, I think, (and someone just told me about Ellery, which is SO cute) but the name Ellie is already taken by one of my BIL’s daughter’s, and I think my husband’s family would flip if we also used it. I also like Ruby, but am pretty sure my husband will nix that one. My husband’s top pick for a girl’s name is Audrey, which I think is okay, but we’re totally stuck for a middle name.

If it’s a boy, my favorites are Luke and Matthew (not trying to go biblical; I just like them). I also like Jack, but again with that darned popularity. I would really like to use James for the middle name (my father’s name, my grandfather’s name, BIL’s name). My problem here is that Luke James sounds sort of weird to me, as in not-flowy. But I don’t really want to name him Lucas James (which I think sounds great) because of the whole ‘s’ ending thing! I call my daughters by their first and middle names a lot, and am just not sure that I would love saying, “Luke James come here right now!” very often. Matthew James sounds great to me, but at the moment I like Luke better. My husband likes Peter, which I am not hugely fond of, and there also seems to be some family history with Nicholas. I do not have a problem with the ‘s’ ending for the middle name, just the first name, so I wouldn’t have an issue with Nicholas as the middle name, except then I can’t use James for the middle name.

My last issue is that I am also leaning towards James as the middle name for the baby even if it’s a girl. Is that too weird? Each of our other daughters have family aspects to their names, and I would like for the last child to also have some family history to her name. Any thoughts and ideas you guys have would be greatly appreciated!

Audrey is a beautiful name, and I also like Aubrey. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Audrey. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Aubrey.

You like Allie and Ellie, so I’ll suggest Elsa and Eliza and Callie and Delaney and Elena. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Elsa. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Eliza. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Callie. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Delaney. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Elena.

You like Ellery but want to avoid Ellie, so I’ll suggest Everly and Avery and Hillary. (There’s also Emery/Emory, but that ALWAYS makes me think of filing my nails.) Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Everly. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Avery. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Hillary.

And one more that comes to mind is Darcy. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Darcy.

Let’s put a possibly-too-gigantic-to-be-useful poll over to the right, and then we can move on to the next issue, which is whether it’s okay to use the middle name James for a girl.

I am in general opposed to the name-rich girl side stealing a single one of the name-poor boy side names (though I do submit to it once a name is transferred: look how I just recommended Avery for a girl with hardly a flinch), but middle names are different because they’re so often used to honor family names. Audrey James is…well, that’s really CUTE, isn’t it? I think part of it is that it’s reminiscent of the middle name Jane.

I don’t think I WOULD do it, though, with a more boyish first name. If you choose Avery, for example, it’s gender-neutral enough that people look to the middle name for a clue. Avery James is a boy. Everly James is confusing. Eliza James is a girl, and adorable.

And here is something I hesitate to mention, but I will do it anyway. When I was growing up, we knew a family that had only girls. One girl was named Andrea (called Andy) John (her dad’s name was John). It was generally assumed that this was because her father had wanted a boy so badly and had finally given up on getting one. The message it conveyed was “We were disappointed to have a girl.” The reason I hesitate to mention this is that this was SUCH an unfair assumption.

If you don’t use James as a girl middle name, here are a few others to consider:

1. Jane. Audrey Jane, Aubrey Jane, Elsa Jane, Eliza Jane, Callie Jane, Delaney Jane, Everly Jane, Avery Jane, Hillary Jane, Darcy Jane.

2. Ruby. Sometimes when one parent likes a name and the other parent doesn’t, the middle name slot is the perfect place for it. Elsa Ruby, Eliza Ruby, Elena Ruby.

3. Alexis. Sometimes when a beloved name doesn’t work in the first name slot, the middle name slot is the perfect place for it. Audrey Alexis, Aubrey Alexis, Callie Alexis, Delaney Alexis, Avery Alexis, Darcy Alexis.

4. Other first name candidates. Audrey Elena, Aubrey Eliza, Elsa Delaney, Eliza Delaney, Callie Elena, Elena Audrey, Everly Eliza, Avery Elena, Hillary Eliza, Darcy Eliza.

Okay! On to boy names! I see what you mean: “Luke James” is a nice combination, but not melodic for calling out lovingly across the house. I think the trouble here is that you like short snappy boy names, but you’ve got a short snappy middle name already and need something a little longer to carry it off. I’m going to see if I can find some names that have that snappy feeling but in longer versions.

I wonder if you might like the name Isaac? I think it has a similar sound to the name Luke (that hard c/k sound) but it sounds better with James: I can just picture you calling out, “Isaac James, sweetheart, wash your hands and come for lunch!” Well, or maybe you don’t say sweetheart; maybe you say honey. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Isaac. [Edit: Jen says in the comments that they can’t use Isaac because another in-law has already used it.]

And here’s another possibility: Eric James. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Eric.

And what about Frederick? I keep pushing this one because it’s one of my own favorites (as are Isaac and Eric, if we’re being all full-disclosurey here). Frederick James. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Frederick.

Why don’t I just keep moving down my list of favorites? Elliot James. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Elliot. There’s the Ellie sound you like, but without the tempation to use the nickname and get in trouble with family.

Carter James. Kate, McLaren (Claire), and Carter.

All right, now I’ll make another poll for the boy names. Remember there are two polls to vote in, one for (the many, many) girl options and one for boy options. [Polls closed; see below for results.]

Poll results:

Girl names (255 votes total):
Alexa: 33 votes, roughly 13%
Allison: 16 votes, roughly 6%
Audrey: 50 votes, roughly 20%
Aubrey: 24 votes, roughly 9%
Elsa: 13 votes, roughly 5%
Eliza: 24 votes, roughly 9%
Callie: 7 votes, roughly 3%
Delaney: 21 votes, roughly 8%
Elena: 7 votes, roughly 3%
Everly: 21 votes, roughly 8%
Avery: 17 votes, roughly 7%
Hillary: 4 votes, roughly 2%
Darcy: 18 votes, roughly 7%

Boy names (223 votes total):
Isaac: 27 votes, roughly 12%
Eric: 25 votes, roughly 11%
Frederick: 20 votes, roughly 9%
Elliot: 64 votes, roughly 29%
Carter: 37 votes, roughly 17%
Luke: 31 votes, roughly 14%
Matthew: 19 votes, roughly 9%

Name update! Jennifer writes:

We had our baby boy, Luke Arthur, on April 3rd at 10:03pm. Thank you for your help with names – it was great to hear what others had to say, and it certainly gave us some good ideas! My husband came up with Arthur (family name on his side) a few weeks ago, and we both liked the flow of the name. I am a little sad we aren’t using James in the name, but think the name Luke Arthur fits our baby boy perfectly.

Amy writes:

I am due with my third child on March 27th. My husband and I prefer classic names and I think we have settled on James for a first name. I have boy/girl twins whose names are Stella and Thomas. I like the way Stella, Thomas and James sound together. However, the reason I am writing is because of the middle name. I want James Francis and my husband likes James Xavier. The only compromise that we have reached is to name the baby James Francis Xavier. I wanted to get you and your readers opinion about having two middle names. My twins do not have two middle names: Stella Audrey and Thomas Richard. Will it be too confusing to have two middle names? What do you think?

Oh! I can offer personal experience on the two middle names thing! It’s a little confusing, but only occasionally, and only mildly. Some forms allow only one middle name, and in those cases you just have in mind which middle name you want to use as the default. When filling out forms, you get used to making a little arrow to the second middle name with “second middle name” written nearby, so that people don’t think it’s the first half of a hyphenated surname. It comes up maybe once or twice a year, and for me it hasn’t been a hassle that would keep me from recommending it.

A bigger issue might be Francis Xavier. But “seeming to be named for a saint” is not exactly a negative, is it? And James Francis Xavier is a glorious name.

Let’s have a poll over to the right with the three choices: James Francis, James Xavier, or James Francis Xavier. [Poll closed; see results below.]

Poll results (248 votes total):
James Francis: 83 votes, roughly 33%
James Xavier: 58 votes, roughly 23%
James Francis Xavier: 107 votes, roughly 43%

Name update 03-31-2009! Amy writes:

Hello!! I just wanted to thank you and your readers for all the great input with our new beautiful son’s name. James Francis was born on March 27th at 9:36 am. My husband changed his mind last minute and we went with one middle name. It fits him:-) Thank you again for all the great discussion!!

Dawn writes:

I am in desperate need of your help. I am due with our second child, a boy. Our 3 1/2 year old daughter is named Molly Deane (the “e” at the end is silent it’s pronounced like Dean) and was named after my husbands favorite aunt Molly and my favorite aunt Deane. We are at a complete loss for a name for this child, all the boy names I always thought I LOVED just don’t seem right for our boy.

We know the middle name will be Thomas (after both my dad and my husbands dad) so that part is easy, it’s a first name we can’t seem to find. Our last name begins with an “E” it is Welsh and sounds like Heavens.

A few of my “naming requirements” would be that I like names to flow, like our daughters name it just flows so nicely. I also prefer for sibling names to fit together, it makes me crazy when I hear siblings and the names don’t seem to fit together or to even be in the same category like one is a classic name and the other is a way out there trendy name, does that make sense? Also both mine and my husbands names begin with a “D” so while D names are not out of the question I think I would like to avoid them. Oh and no funky spellings, I have spent my life correcting people on my name (as simple as it is) I do not want to do that to a child.

Some names we like but are off limits due to family or close friends already having them would be Andrew, Kasen, Wesley, Jackson, Connor, Justin, Jacob, William.
Some names we have considered but are not loving are Jeremy, Jared, Jonathon (this is my husbands middle name but, I am afraid he would end up being called John), Mason, Max, Shane (I like, husband hates), Gavin, Liam, Ben.

I hope you and your readers can help, your our last hope, as we have scoured all the baby name books and web sites we can find and still we are without a name.

I like coordinating styles, too. In this case, it depends on how you see the name Molly. I find it hard to pin down names like Molly and Sadie and Lucy: are they down-home old-fashioned revival names? or are they modern sassy nickname names? Or both? or what?

So I’m going to give a little variety in the suggestions: some names coordinate better with a down-home old-fashioned feel, and some coordinate better with modern; some are more like nicknames and some are less like nicknames. I’ll use “Heavens” as the stand-in surname here so we can get a feel for how things fit, but I’ll keep the E in the initials to remind us.

Caleb Thomas Heavens (CTE). Caleb Heavens. Molly Deane and Caleb Thomas. Molly and Caleb.

Charlie Thomas Heavens (CTE). Charlie Heavens. Molly Deane and Charlie Thomas. Molly and Charlie.

Clark Thomas Heavens (CTE). Clark Heavens. Molly Deane and Clark Thomas. Molly and Clark.

Cole Thomas Heavens (CTE). Cole Heavens. Molly Deane and Cole Thomas. Molly and Cole.

Henry Thomas Heavens (HTE). Henry Heavens [not actually a double H sound: surname starts with E]. Molly Deane and Henry Thomas. Molly and Henry.

Kyle Thomas Heavens (KTE). Kyle Heavens. Molly Deane and Kyle Thomas. Molly and Kyle.

Leo Thomas Heavens (LTE). Leo Heavens. Molly Deane and Leo Thomas. Molly and Leo.

Luke Thomas Heavens (LTE). Luke Heavens. Molly Deane and Luke Thomas. Molly and Luke.

Milo Thomas Heavens (MTE). Milo Heavens. Molly Deane and Milo Thomas. Molly and Milo.

Nathaniel Thomas Heavens (NTE). Nathaniel Heavens. Molly Deane and Nathaniel Thomas. Molly and Nathaniel.

Riley Thomas Heavens (RTE). Riley Heavens. Molly Deane and Riley Thomas. Molly and Riley.

Simon Thomas Heavens (STE). Simon Heavens. Molly Deane and Simon Thomas. Molly and Simon.

Spencer Thomas Heavens (STE). Spencer Heavens. Molly Deane and Spencer Thomas. Molly and Spencer.

More ideas for Dawn?

Name update! Dawn writes:

Baby boy “Heavens” Arrived late in the evening on March 24th (the little stinker was a week early!) and only had to wait three more days for a name. We went into the hospital with the list narrowed down to Jeremy, Spencer or Wesley and while Wesley was on our list of can’t use because we know one already in the end we decided the Wesley we know is a great kid and we wouldn’t mind our little guy sharing a name with him. So our little guy is now named Wesley Thomas and it fits him to a T. Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions.

Heather writes:

Hi! I’m due on March 6th with our second baby, somehow having lucked out and gotten a girl this time around. Only there is where the luck ended. We have no idea what to name this little girl! I’ve been stuck on the name Elise since my 20w ultrasound, but I cannot for the life of me figure out a good middle name. So now I’m sorta back to the drawing board.

Top 9 names: [no particular order]

1. Elise
2. Isabelle
3. Lisette
4. Violet
5. Genevieve
6. Adelaide
7. Lilliana
8. Rosalind
9. Aurelia

Our last name is three syllables and starts with a ‘K’. Her older brother’s name is Logan Alexander. I think at this point I’m pretty open to a lot of things – I’d really like to see her name be Elise [blank] K, but I’m open to suggestions for other variations since I can’t seem to come up with a solution for the [blank]!

Help!

I’m trying not to get distracted by your great name list: our primary objective here is to find a middle name for Elise. Well, actually, I’m going to go ahead and get distracted, because there are a lot of good middle names in that list.

Some people like the first and middle names to slide together a little, and some people like the names to stay as distinct as possible. The name Elise lends itself to sliding: the emphasis on the second syllable combined with the easy-blending sssssss sound makes the name want to latch on to the next name. If you’re someone who prefers the names to stay as distinct as possible, that might be the snag you’re hitting.

Myself, I like a little slide. A name that slides together in a way I find appealing is Elise Aurelia. I like saying it. Both names have the emphasis on the second syllable, which I think is a nice combination.

Another good slide is Elise Adelaide, which slides together but not as much as Elise Aurelia: the consonants and the non-repeating vowel sounds help to keep things separate. Elise Isabelle is similar.

Elise Lilliana has a lot of L sounds, but I think the way the short I sound breaks up the two long E sounds keeps it from tangling the tongue. Possible problem: the initials, which spell ELK.

I’d lean toward either Aurelia or Lilliana, because I like the 2-4-3 syllable rhythm better than the 2-3-3 syllable rhythm. And I’d choose Aurelia over Lilliana, but only because I prefer not to spell ELK. I’ll put a poll over to the right and we’ll see what everyone else thinks. [Poll closed; see results below.]

Poll results (254 votes total):
Elise Aurelia: 127 votes, 50%
Elise Adelaide: 53 votes, roughly 21%
Elise Isabelle: 24 votes, roughly 9%
Elise Lilliana: 34 votes, roughly 13%
other (leave in comments): 16 votes, roughly 6%

Name update 03-13-2009! Heather writes:

I realized that everytime I went to say something to her, the name “Lilly” kept coming to me. So her first name is Lilly, with a middle of Avelina. I remembered her middle from one of my stints of researching my family tree, its the name of one of my ancestresses from the 11th century France.

Clover writes:

My husband and I are in desperate need of your (and/or your clever readers) help in picking the perfect name for our baby boy who’s due March 2nd!

The trouble is that we have totally different tastes when it comes to boy’s names. I like more traditional(ish) yet not overly popular names (my top list includes Dexter, Sebastian, & Jasper) and he likes names that are…I don’t even know what category they fall into (but his top list includes Cable, Ender & Garson)!

And did I mention that this will be our 5th (& final) child together (the only boy of the bunch!) and that we also each have a daughter from a previous marriage? That’s a lot of names already, and I’d kind of like our son’s name to fit in with his sister’s if at all possible, which seems unlikely with the husband’s list of strangeness..*sigh*

Anyway, hubby’s daughter is the eldest and her name is Dorothea (called Thea), my daughter is next and is named Willa. All the girl names that we’ve come up with together and have totally agreed upon are; Charlotte (called Lottie) Katherine (called Kat) Rebbecca (called Bex) and Elanor (called Ella). Pretty traditional, yes? I don’t know why his taste in boy’s names is so out there, but it’s driving me nuts!

Some other names that I like but hubby isn’t sold on; Davis, Vincent, Edwin, Aleck. More names that he likes; Cage, Dock, Red, Blade (I keep telling him these are THINGS, not NAMES lol).

So you see our trouble? Are there any names that maybe combine out tastes, at least a little bit? We need to find something that we can both live with, even if it’s not exactly to our tastes. I am willing to compromise a bit, but I’d really like to find a name that is an actual NAME and not a THING. We are open to any and all suggestions here, and our last name is Holland so it’s pretty easy to find names that work with it.

Thank you so much for any help you can provide!

Okay, here is my list!

Gable. Close to his choice of Cable, and in fact gable is a noun which may please him, but also it’s a surname name with the name Gabe as a nickname.

Gage. Close to his choice of Cage.

Cade. Close to his choice of Cage.

Carson. Close to his choice of Garson.

Slade. Close to his choice of Blade.

Reed. Close to his choice of Red.

Anders/Anderson. Similar to his choice of Ender.

Mac/Mack. This is similar to current popular choices Jack and Max, but less common. His choice of Dock made me think of it.

Anyone have other suggestions?

Name update 03-14-2009! Clover writes:

Thanks so much for all of the great suggestions everyone! Gable Ender (had to give in to hubby on the middle name lol) Holland was born March 10th @ 8:09pm, a respectable 8lbs 9oz 22inches! The name is never something I would have come up with on my own, but I absoultly love it and it fits him perfectly! Thanks again Swistle!

Taylor writes:

I am due with a baby girl in early March. Our son’s name is William Jack (goes by Will) and I love the flexibility of a cute nickname and more formal given name. Will is named after 3 men in our family. I knew the namesakes would be special, but was unprepared for the significance Will’s name has held for our family! When we discovered it would be a girl this time, I knew I wanted to give her a name that would likewise bless some of the women in our family.

It’s become a bit of a puzzle. Here are her namesakes: My mom, Karen Lee, and my MIL, Leslie Anne. Also a possibility, my grandmother, Rae. My mom’s maiden name (and grandmother’s last name) is Taylor, which is a possible mn, but it is my first name. I’m not interested in naming her after me, and I fear that’s how it would appear.

My husband and I are pretty set on calling her Annie. Another favorite name was Lucy, but Lucy seems very nicknamish to me (not a fan of Lucille, Lucia, Lucinda, etc). So our dilemma now is to build the name around the nickname.

Since “Annie” obviously will be a nod to the MIL, I want to honor my side of the family with the mn.

My husband’s current favorite is Anne Katherine. My husband doesn’t like the name Karen–too dated, so I did some research and discovered Karen is a form of Katherine, and they have the same meaning (pure). I think Anne Katherine is very pretty, but I am not sure about Anne. Some days I think it is sophisticated and elegant and others I wonder if its too plain. Also, I am not sure about the flow of the this name, seems a little choppy or something.

I really like Annabel as well. Annabel Lee and Annabel Rae were early contenders, but I have reservations on each…Annabel Lee is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe, definitely on the creepy side. Also you get “Annabelly” if you say it fast. Annabel Rae is iffy since our last name is similar to “Rothschild”… the double R is a mouthful. Annabel Katherine makes for a really long name when paired with “Rothschild”. I like the idea of a 1 syllable mn with Annabel.

Another idea I had was to name her Annabel Kay, using similar logic as Katherine…Kay being a form of Katherine/Karen. I could even spell Kay, “Kae” to try and eke out a nod to my grandmother, Rae. But Kay seems a bit…old- but-not-in-a-cute-way to me. Am I taking this too far??? I feel like I’ve over-thought it, and I am not sure if these roundabout ways of namesaking are too much of a stretch. I hate to announce her name and then have to go in to a 20 minute explanation to her namesakes.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

All right, let’s see. You’re going to call her Annie, so we want a first name that gives you that nickname. And then we want a middle name that honors your mother Karen Lee (or perhaps your grandmother Rae).

Since your mother-in-law gets the first-name slot, but with her middle name, it would be neat if your mother’s middle-name slot used her first name, for balance. Your husband doesn’t like the name Karen, so my first suggestion is Kara. I think it’s beautiful, and it has a more contemporary sound than Karen. I think the flow would be better if you used the first name Anna instead of Anne: Anna Kara Rothschild. One thing that’s nice about this name is that both grandmothers’ names have been modified, and in very similar ways. Also, I like the rhythm of Anna Rothschild better than the rhythm of Anne Rothschild, though of course some will prefer the rhythm the other way.

A second possibility would be to name her Leanna. You could still call her Annie (or Lee), and it blends the two grandmothers’ middle names. Give her the middle name Rae, and little Leanna Rae Rothschild is covering all the name bases.

Anyone else want to help out? What are some more ideas, ideally of the sort that won’t make the namesake think, “This is ‘after me’ HOW?”

Name update! Taylor writes:

Thank you for all the great feedback on my naming dilemma! I appreciated all the creative ideas/combinations as well as the comments that said, “just use the namesakes’ actual names…don’t make it so complicated”. Reading all the feedback helped me identify my favorite first name and how to best honor my mom–by using her actual name and not a variation.

Annabel Karen “Rothschild” was born March 13 at 3:23 am! Annie is beautiful and her name fits her perfectly. Best of all, both Grandmas felt so honored by our choice. (My mom cries every time she tells someone her granddaughter’s name).

Courtney writes:

We are due in early March with our second baby boy and we need help picking a name.

Our two-year-old’s name is Caden James Morales.

There are several names that I really like–and my husband seems to have no strong opinions this time around.

I like Asher, Corbin, Cael, Zane, and Lucas. I am afraid that Lucas seems too traditional after a more contemporary name like Caden–and I am afraid that using another “C” name of Corbin or Cael will lock me into “C” names if we decide to have a third baby. Zane is the only name my husband isn’t really thrilled with, even though I love it. My concern with Asher and Cael is their Hebrew and Gaelic roots…is that strange with our last name?

Any thoughts, suggestions?

My favorite is Lucas. I think I’d go with Lucas Zane Morales, so you can use that name you love that your husband doesn’t like. Caden James Morales and Lucas Zane Morales. Yes!

Let’s see what everyone else thinks with a poll over to the right. [Poll closed; see below.]

Poll results (264 votes total):
Asher: 82 votes, roughly 31%
Corbin: 32 votes, roughly 12%
Cael: 14 votes, roughly 5%
Lucas: 136 votes, roughly 52%

Name update 03-26-2009! Courtney writes:

Just wanted to say thanks for all of your help and your readers help for baby names! Our son, Zane Rylan was born on March 4th, 2009. He was 7lbs 4oz and 20 inches long. My husband finally saw the light and now loves the name Zane…and Rylan was a reader’s suggestion that we fell in love with. Thanks again!