{"id":12498,"date":"2017-01-06T11:14:41","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T15:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/?p=12498"},"modified":"2017-01-06T15:50:28","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T19:50:28","slug":"baby-boy-or-girl-calbert-without-the-c-sibling-to-theodore-teddy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/2017\/01\/06\/baby-boy-or-girl-calbert-without-the-c-sibling-to-theodore-teddy\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby Boy or Girl Calbert-without-the-C, Sibling to Theodore (Teddy)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi,<\/p>\n

We\u2019re in a bit of a naming quandary. We\u2019re expecting our second child (due in June) and we won\u2019t be finding out baby\u2019s gender. We\u2019re all set for a girl\u2019s name, but we\u2019re extremely stuck on a name for a boy.<\/p>\n

We have a little boy named Theodore, called Teddy. Our last name is like Calbert \u2013 minus the \u2018C\u2019. My favourite names are Frederick and Edmund – but then we\u2019d have Freddie\/Eddie\/Neddy and Teddy! We can\u2019t do that…can we? Does it matter if the nicknames rhyme when the full names are so dissimilar? I assume Teddy will want to go by Theo as he gets older and that would mitigate the rhyming names \u2013 but then again, he may not. Unfortunately, these are the only names we\u2019ve liked so far and we\u2019re feeling very stuck and a wee bit panicky (why, I do not know. Pregnancy hormones maybe?).<\/p>\n

Arthur was a strong contender when we were expecting Teddy \u2013 but I worry Arthur is too alliterative with our surname and one of Teddy\u2019s close buddies is an Arthur. That said, it would solve our boy name issue if we just forged ahead with Arthur. I also have an aversion to surnames-as-first-names because our last name sounds like a first name and it gets confusing (to which my husband can attest). I\u2019m also not a fan of names that rhyme with our surname; my husband suggested Calvin but I can\u2019t get past Cal Calbert. Same with Alexander, etc.<\/p>\n

If we have a girl, her name will be Rosalie. Our other girl picks are Georgiana and Clementine. if it matters, we\u2019re hoping to have at least one more child after Teddy and his sibling.<\/p>\n

Any name suggestions we\u2019ve overlooked? Thoughts on a possible Teddy, Freddie, or Neddy sibset? Am I overthinking the alliterative nature of Arthur?<\/p>\n

Thank you so much!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are exceptions, of course, but in general I don’t worry very much about nicknames the way I worry about given names. I do like to think it over and take them into account, but I don’t really mind if they rhyme, or repeat an initial, or sound odd together, or any of the other things I do care about with given names.<\/p>\n

In this particular case, I find I am drawn to the idea of allowing for rhyming nicknames—I think because the given names are quite dissimilar and so the possibility of ending up with rhyming nicknames just seems fun. In my extended family there is a sibling group that includes a James and a Timothy—so, Jimmy and Timmy, or Jim and Tim. It seems as if it would be an issue, but it’s just been slightly fun whenever anyone notices it, which is seldom (there are two other siblings, which I think dilutes the noticeability). And as you mention, your kids may not even end up using the nicknames that would rhyme, so I’d hate to see you rule out a great name on something that might not even come up.<\/p>\n

I do have trouble saying Arthur with your surname. Not so much trouble that I’d rule it out if you both love it—but enough trouble that if I were making a list of names, I would make a note of not being sure if I liked it with the surname. It’s not so much the alliteration, I don’t think, since the two A- sounds are different; it’s something else I can’t quite put a finger on, with the particular mix of sounds. Something about the way -thur and Alb- connect, and then the not quite repeating first syllables Ar\/Al. I prefer either Frederick or Edmund—though I also DO like Arthur, and again I don’t think the sound of it with the surname needs to rule it out.<\/p>\n

I think you have three strong choices here, and at this point could let it simmer a bit to see if your feelings get stronger for one name in particular.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi, We\u2019re in a bit of a naming quandary. We\u2019re expecting our second child (due in June) and we won\u2019t be finding out baby\u2019s gender. We\u2019re all set for a girl\u2019s name, but we\u2019re extremely stuck on a name for a boy. We have a little boy named Theodore, called Teddy. Our last name is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3iyiG-3fA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12498"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12503,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12498\/revisions\/12503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}