We’re due in February with our first kid and we just found out it’s a boy. My husband and I always said if we were having a boy we’d name it after his father who passed away some years ago. The name is Thomas and while I like it just fine, I’m not so keen on the nickname Tommy. We’ve also discussed choosing a name that pays homage to Thomas . A top contender right now is Theo (just Theo, not Theodore)<\/p>\n
We plan to have a few kids and our last name is Bride with an Mc in front of it.<\/p>\n
We’re also interested in a Spanish middle name to honor my Latino roots.<\/p>\n
For Thomas, I liked
\nThomas Emilio
\nThomas Javier
\nThomas Joaquin<\/p>\n
For Theo, I find middle names trickier. Theo Javier sounds too “h” heavy. Theo Emilio or any other names ending in “o” are a obviously a no. I don’t like names that have an obvious English equivalent like Jaime or Miguel.<\/p>\n
So two questions- one, what are some good name options other than Theo that would honor the name Thomas?
\nAnd two, what are some good Spanish middle names?<\/p>\n
Thank you!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
If you use Thomas as a first name, I don’t think you’ll have much trouble with the nickname Tommy: it isn’t used much these days. The Thomas in my son Robert’s grade goes by Thomas, not Tommy or even Tom; the Elizabeth in his grade goes by Elizabeth, not Beth. The James in my son Edward’s class goes by James, not Jimmy. The Davids go by David, not Dave or Davey; the Michaels go by Michael, not Mike or Mikey. The default seems to be that children use their full names unless they tell you otherwise; most of the nicknames have a dated sound. As The Baby Name Wizard<\/a> points out, the popular television show Thomas the Tank Engine further encourages the full form of the name.<\/p>\n Since you feel less than wildly enthusiastic the name, though, I suggest using it in the middle name position. This is a classic place for an honor name, and lets you use the name as-is rather than finding something similar. Assuming your father-in-law’s surname was also McBride, it even strengthens the namesake by giving your son his grandfather’s name with his own first name tacked onto the front: ______ Thomas McBride. It also gives you more freedom when choosing names for future children: you won’t have to try to coordinate with the style of the honor name, nor will you feel obligated to use any further honor names as first names.<\/p>\n The name Theo starts with a Th- like Thomas does, but the two names are unrelated. On top of that, the sound of the Th- isn’t the same, and there are no other sounds in common. For comparison, it’s a little like using the name Deanne to honor a Deborah: they share the first two letters plus a vowel, but that’s it. However, different families have different ways of doing things. If in your extended family it’s common for a namesake to share only the first letter of the name, for example, then Theo is an excellent namesake for a Thomas: it shares three letters and has a good visual similarity.<\/p>\n
![\"swistlephoto\"](\"http:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/swistlephoto.jpg\")
<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"