We desperately need help deciding on a name for our soon-to-be-arriving baby boy. We already have two daughters, Adeline Catherine (8) and Eleanor Jane (5), and a son Henry Theodore who was stillborn last August just two days before his due date.<\/p>\n
Now that we’re expecting another baby boy, we’re really at a loss as to what to name him. We’ve only ever had two favorite boy names – Henry and Theodore – and nothing else we think of sounds quite right. The one thing we know for sure, is that the middle name will be August, as a reference to his brother (all of our children have middle names that relate to family). And as a note, Our last name sounds like “bungee” so all B names are out.<\/p>\n
Our top two names now are Felix August and Frederick August, but neither seems perfect. Frederick seems too stodgy (nickname Fred or Freddie, but I don’t love either) and Felix seems too hipster (nickname Fox, but sounds like we’re trying too hard). I want a name somewhere in the middle, that also goes with our other children’s names. We liked Henry so much because it’s strong and kingly but also sounds fresh and youthful. Some other names we’ve considered but more-or-less ruled out are:<\/p>\n
August – we considered this as a first name, but decided we really want it in the middle name spot<\/p>\n
Everett – seems like a good middle ground and we both like it okay but neither of us is enamored. It’s also my dad’s middle name (named after his dad) and it would feel like we’re naming the baby after my dad and grandfather if we used it, and my dad hates the name<\/p>\n
Benjamin – I like it quite a bit, but it’s a no-go with our last name.<\/p>\n
Jasper<\/p>\n
George<\/p>\n
Emmett<\/p>\n
Miles<\/p>\n
Milo<\/p>\n
Sawyer<\/p>\n
Thomas<\/p>\n
For reference, my name is Holly, my husband is Paul, and some of our other favorite girl names are Hazel, Violet, Beatrice, Margaret, and Clara.<\/p>\n
Which sounds more like a matching sib set: Adeline, Eleanor, Henry, and Felix or Adeline, Eleanor, Henry, and Frederick?<\/p>\n
Can you think of any other names we should be considering?<\/p>\n
We’d really like to settle on a name before my induction next Saturday. Thanks for your help!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
My first suggestion sets us back even further: I suggest reconsidering the middle name. “August, after my brother who was stillborn in August” seems like a very hard middle name to carry. It doesn’t even honor the person, but instead references the event. I would strongly urge you to choose another family name.<\/p>\n
I think both Felix and Frederick go well with the sibling group, but it sounds as if you have serious hesitations about both. If you’re looking for a regal name like Henry, the royal family offers excellent inspiration. You have George on your list already (though Georgie Bungee feels a little too bouncy), but other good choices include: William, Charles, Edward, Edmund, James, Louis, Philip. I find all of those charming with the sibling group. Charles with the nickname Charlie seems particularly kingly while still being fresh and youthful. Charles (Charlie) Everett Bungee (CEB).<\/p>\n
I also like Franklin.<\/p>\n
The Baby Name Wizard suggests the nickname Fritz for Frederick; I wonder if that would take care of the nickname issue.<\/p>\n
The name Felix seems so cool already, the nickname Fox feels like overkill. Would eliminating the nickname make you feel like the name was less hipster\/trying?<\/p>\n
Similar to Benjamin is Jonathan. Jonathan Everett Bungee (JEB). You could even use the initials JEB as a nickname.<\/p>\n
Or Nathaniel also gives me much the same feeling as the name Benjamin.<\/p>\n
Or Nicholas?<\/p>\n
I love Everett, and we’ve discussed<\/a> here<\/a> before how people who claim to hate their names can end up feeling quite differently if it’s a matter of a namesake. Everett feels very similar to the name Henry: dignified gentleman, while also feeling fresh and cute. This is the name I would probably choose. One reason I keep using it as a stand-in for the family middle name (besides not having access to the rest of the family tree) is that it seems like it’s not ideal as the first name here (because neither of you are enthusiastic about it) but would make an excellent family middle name.<\/p>\n I wonder if you’d like Simon? Simon Everett makes a wonderful brother name with Henry Theodore.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Name update!<\/strong><\/p>\n Hi Swistle,<\/p>\n I apologize this update is overdue – I just saw that you answered my question a year ago!<\/p>\n Felix August arrived on November 30, 2013, healthy and happy. I adore his name! :-) In contrast to concerns expressed by you and some of the commenters, I don’t think August is a sad middle name at all; I love that it’s a subtle remembrance of his brother, whom we celebrate in August. Our other children’s names also obliquely reference family members, so it’s a perfect fit for our family.<\/p>\n I’m attaching a picture of our sweet Felix.<\/p>\n Best, Holly writes: We desperately need help deciding on a name for our soon-to-be-arriving baby boy. We already have two daughters, Adeline Catherine (8) and Eleanor Jane (5), and a son Henry Theodore who was stillborn last August just two days before his due date. Now that we’re expecting another baby boy, we’re really at a […]<\/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":false,"_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":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-name-update"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3iyiG-2bC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8408","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=8408"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10562,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8408\/revisions\/10562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHolly<\/p>\n![\"IMG_3491\"](\"http:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3491.jpg\")
<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"