Laura writes:<\/p>\n
We need some help: we are stuck in that spot where no names are good enough but there are plenty of bad names to go around! We are expecting a boy-bundle, half-Norwegian and half-New Yorker. Our 3.5 year old daughter is Sofia Eloise Astri Evenson (Sofia because we did not know how damn popular it was, Eloise for Eloise at the Plaza, and Astri for her two Norwegian Great Grandmothers, who shared this name – also, SEA…why not!?). We and she call her “Fee” or “Fia”, NOT Sofie.<\/p>\n
In the boy department, we are looking for something Scandinavian, and not sure if we will do two middle names again. We plan to have at least one more child, so I guess we can break away from that tradition now or continue on. We do plan to live in Norway at some point, so the name has to have crossover potential, without making him feel like he has two separate names.<\/p>\n
Names we have talked about (and then dismissed, for a variety of reasons) include:
Bruno (too Germanic and gruff – but both my maiden name and husband’s middle name {from his mother’s maiden name} are Brown\/Bruun)
Axel\/Aksel (too heavy)
Odin (too presumptuous: the “All Father” of Norse mythology…very anti the typical Norwegian modesty)
Finn (husband’s aversion)
Dashiell\/Dashel nn Dash (husband’s aversion)
Aleksander (my opinion – common and not sure about the Slavic spelling)
Joakim\/Joachim (Y-sounding J in Norwegian is confusing\/my aversion)
Lucas (too popular here and in Norway)
Jonas (too popular – in Norway, but a family name for me, and that J!)
Kaspar\/Jasper\/Jesper (the friendly ghost, and confusing Y-sounding J in the final option)
Karl (lots of these in Norway)
Stellan (too Swedish…)
Johan\/Johann (too Swedish)
Ole\/Ola (SO Norwegian but likely to be mispronounced and assumed a girly name here)
Lars (name of my husband’s ONLY uncle, who incidentally does not speak with the family)
Miles (we both love it, even though it’s not Scandinavian: an outlier, because it’s as popular as Sofia. I also love Mila as a girl’s name, so I can let this go for now)
Espen (husband’s aversion)
Carsten (husband’s aversion)
Kai (too common in Norway)<\/p>\nMiddle Names (eg names we wouldn’t consider putting first):
Edward (a family name)
Charles
Jonas (family name)
Hans (family name)
Erling (pronounced OUR-ling, family name)<\/p>\nAny help would be appreciated – we are definitely stuck and probably going to start asking grandparents soon, which is a BIG MISTAKE!
Thanks!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n