Thanks so much! Your comments really did help. There were a few names that I had not thought of that I really like. From the lists, these are the ones that jumped out to me:
Seth
Isaac
Carter
Caleb
Malachi
Ian
Gabriel
Elijah
Remington
Isaiah
Simon
Sorry Tawny, not Max. I just can't picture little Max riding around on a tractor in the country. Although it is a cute name for a city boy.
This little dependent has two parents, so discussions will be underway for the next 110 1/2 days!
* More name ideas are appreciated, so go ahead and "vote" by leaving a comment.
Our baby boy doesn't have a name. Every time I think about my nameless boy, I draw a blank, then I get panicked, and I start hyperventilating as I think of the endless name possibilities that I don't like. The girls were relatively easy to name. Both Jeff and I had our favorites and we compromised (I manipulated a little) and we were both happy. We still have a few girls' names that we both like. But boy names....
(Little feet courtesy of cousin Baby Benjamin)
It seems like boy names are harder. Much, much harder. A girl's name can be different and be cool, like Willow or Cadence. If you go different with a boy's name, like Cyril or Bartholomew, it sounds strange and really un-cool. And there are SO many to look through. It is hard to see the nice names in between "Lucif" and "Shooter."
In our family we also have to be especially mindful of nicknames. Nicknames from the original names are inevitable. That is precisely the reason we named Mandy a nickname to start with. There is no use in saying "don't call him/her _____" because that is what he/she will be called. We have seen this in our extended families with Josh, Jake, Jo, and Nat. All these boys have wonderful full names that barely get used unless they are in trouble. So, if we named our son "William," we really need to like Will, Willy, Bill, Billy, and even Liam -- it could and probably will happen.
I was reading on different baby naming sites and it is common to ask others for their opinions on baby names. I think it is a little weird to ask total strangers what is best for your family, but my blog audience is different. I know you guys and I am sure you can come up with some great ideas. So leave a comment with a baby boy name suggestion. We have a little criteria we need to adhere to:
- The name should be simple/common (not too "out there" for my husband who has siblings Jayne, John, Jesse, and Juli)
- Preferably something a toddler can pronounce
- Not starting with an "E" or "M" and goes nicely with the girls' names. A "J" name is okay, but can't have a nickname of "Jo" or "Jay" because those are taken. Jeff doesn't want a Jr. either
- Has a good nickname or rather, no obnoxious nicknames
- Not in the top 20-30 most popular boy names
- And has a nice meaning
There were a few more stipulations than I thought, but I don't want to make your job too easy. We will be keeping the "for sure" name to ourselves until the baby's birth so we can change our minds. I will keep track and if we end up using the name that one of you suggests, I will send you some Dutch Bucks or a Starbucks gift card (your choice). Suggest as many names as you can think of that would be perfect for our little boy! We appreciate the advice.
24 comments:
You could call the baby 'Pete' in utero;-) Short, cute, easy to say! We are sometimes the most indecisive people, so I won't even try to give you any more suggestions. If we have a girl, I'll be asking you for suggestions!
I still like Jeffster. But in the event that doesn't work, here are some that made it to our finals:
Ian
Seth
Caleb
Samuel
Lucas (although he does have a cousin Luke, so that may not work)
Westley (sounds a lot better with your last name than ours).
I should have had another boy.
I just double checked my list and Samuel comes up #28 so you can scratch that one.
My favorites are:
Gabriel (Gabe)
Thomas (although I suppose people might call him Tommy)
Adam
Caleb
Judah
Jared
Elijah ( but it starts with an E)
So I guess Alphonso would be out of the question? ;)
Here's my list:
Austin
Ben
Brandon
Bryce
Colin
Dale
Dan
Ethan
Ezra
Gabe
Ian
Keith
Kelly
Lance
Landon
Levi
Mason
Micah
Owen
Peter (just kidding)! :)
Rex
Ross
Scott
Shane
Silas
Trent
Tyler
Wayne
Zach
Ok, so I went a little crazy with my baby name book. I didn't check to see if any of these are in the top 20. No need to worry about a gift card if you choose one of mine - I would just be honored. :)
My book has all of the name meanings, and it was fun to read some of them. Did you know that Yale means "one who pays?" I thought that was appropriate. :) Good luck choosing a name!
I just realized I included E and M names. I guess I can't read instructions well. Haha! :)
Thomas is of course the top name of all time, right next to Daniel, which I know isn't even on the list. Aso like:
Alex
Anthony
Caleb
Trent
Tyler
Don't klnow where any fall in popularity or meaning. Wesley is okay without the "t", thats just confusing, and in your case he realy is a farm boy! I'm still partial to Remington (for real, but it doesn't meet several of your criteria)
My favorite boy names are ones that I wouldn't use due to my friends and family. They are
Kevin
Dylan
Cole
Eric
Kyle
Oh boy. Boys names are hard. Really hard. My husband and I also stink at boys names. He doesn't like the names I like and I don't like the ones he likes. It was a no-win situation.
Here's some I like that might fit your criteria:
Saul
Owen
Henry
Oliver
Tory
Ryan
Elijah
Sean
Aidan
Isaiah
Zane
Matthias
o.k. i just spent an hour on a list and now it's not here hmmmm....
I am going to be risky and only enter one: Simon. Absolutely love the name. It has a great nickname, Sy. Doesn't start with a E or M. Emma, Mandy, and Simon roll off the tongue rather nicely together. Is number 261 on the popularity list. And it means "to be heard", which will be very important to him I am sure with 2 older sisters. Plus, Heidi would think Emma is even more cool with a brother named Simon, it is her favorite name and every imaginary brother is named it. And "Simon Peters" has got to get at least a laugh!
Jeff submits Tichicus, it is found in the letters of Paul he was a very faithful and useful man. Any boy would be pleased to have a name even similar to that.
I'm sure some of these have already been mentioned, and some are probably more popular than you'd like, but here is what I thought of off the top of my head: (most are names we liked or names of cute little boys I've met :)
Owen
Jack
Seth
Carter
Luke
Noah
Wade
Isaac
Landon
Aaron
Blake
Levi
You are right. Boy names are much harder! Good Luck!
I think boy names are hard too!X4!Here is what I can remember off my list:
*****REMINGTON - Rem ******
Abram - Abe
Aaron - ?
Levi - ?
Kyle - ?
Jared - just kidding
Ryan or Ryder - Ry
Tyler or Tyrone- Ty
Zane - ?
Seth- ?
Caleb - ?
Isaac - Zac
Arrow- ?
Christopher or Christian - Chris
Brandon - ?
Alexander - Alex
Gabriel - Gabe
Lincoln - ?
Weston or Wesley - Wes
Zachariah - Zach "The Lord hath remembered"
Jerome - Jer *(Jamin passes to Jerome for the slam dunk... if you were following the game via radio wouldn't you picture that being two 7ft. black guys? :)
Ever since we had the opportunity to vote on the middle name I keep thinking that Abe is a nice first name. (It was #2 winner of the vote!)
There is just something about it that I like and I think it meets all of the mentioned stipulations. (Unless you picked it for a Middle, then I am by no means suggesting you name him Abraham Abel! I kind of like the spin of Abner though.)
Is another stipulation on the first name that it not be a family name? I don't want to be disqualified and will keep thinking!
PS I looked it up briefly (since it is a family name I am sure you know more about the meaning than I could find) but something I would have NEVER thought of was a nickname of BRAM.
Choosing a name for a son is a big responsibility, When we were considering names we always took into consideration the meaning (Im glad you are doing that!)... ( I always think of it as a "prophetic" statement over the child's life, and I often remind them what their names mean)
When I was younger I knew that my name meant "pure light" and it reminded me I was called to purity!
These are a few of my favorites
Liam- (Old German or Irish Gaelic) "Protection"
Sean (Irish) "God is gracious"
Jeremiah (Hebrew) "The LORD exalts"
Wyatt (Old English) "War Strength"
Micah (Hebrew) "He who resembles God"
Nolan (Irish Gaelic) "Champion"
Malachi (Hebrew) "Messenger of God"
Have fun! Naming a boy CAN be fun!
I want to help name your baby, if only for the selfish reason that I could really use a Starbucks gift card.
I am leaning toward cool short names to go with Peters, but it goes against one of your rules. My #1 choice: Max.
Max Peters. Maxwell Harvey Peters. It's meaning is "greatest".
"Here are my kids: Emma, Mandy, and Max."
I've got more but they won't be this cool. Give me some time.
My boys' names keep popping up!
You know what's cool about Malachi? (Not that I want another Malachi wandering around) It means Messenger of God -OR- My Angel. So sweet.
Of course, we call him Kai or Kai-Kai.
Levi means Joined in Harmony which we felt was a cool name for him as he joined the family late - and in harmony.
You are making this so fun!
I have always liked Aidan - and like the nickname Aid, but don't particularly like it spelled that way - just found it spelled Aden - good hebrew name meaning attractive, handsome, pleasure giving - and I like it shortened to Ade...my next vote goes with grandma's - Remington, but actually it is Rem that I like.
Aden Thomas Peters - just thought of that while taking a shower. (Many of my thoughts in the shower have been known to be holy spirit inspired) :)
I Think Christopher would be nice.
the nicname of course would be easy, Chris is easy to say and wouldn't be in th top 20 names
Hi Alysun! I have enjoyed reading your blog and finding out who I am sending baby clothes to! (I am sending them along with Jenni Birch). I have a 6 month old charming red-headed son, Caleb.:) He is brother to Hannah, who is my other delightful child; she is 2 1/2! I hope the clothes bless you and are useful to you for your son. :) I know your husband, Jeff, from Jenni's wedding. We were both in her wedding and he actually escorted me down the isle. :)If you are on facebook, I would love it if you looked me up. :)
Emily Conklin
i like:
simon
seth
graham
hugh
henry (i have one:)
lucas
colin
caleb
oliver
elliott
good luck. i think we have finally decided on a name, but we're not telling until she's born either--so we can change our minds if we want, and to avoid having family members continue the campaign after we've chosen a name:)
Well Malachi and Elijah break the rules with their initials! I still really like Remington and think it is cool to see it still on the list. I love the short "Remi" too.
I have another one for you. I got my daily quote in my email:
"Discontent is the first necessity of progress." While this has nothing to do with this topic, it was a quote by "Thomas Alva Edison". Alva popped out at me as meeting the minimum quals for the name game, so I thought I would go look it up. It means "Brightness" and is a biblical name too. I thought it was funny how his middle name meant brightness and he invented the lightbulb!
Also, do you dare ask us to come up with "obnoxious" nicknames for any of the contenders just to make sure you have them all spelled out? HAHA
Max, a city boy? Tell that to Mad Max Mel Gibson! Course wouldn't want him called Maxi :-)
I saw some baby elephant bedding (brown and blue) at Target and it was so darling. Made me think of you!
My brother's name is Carter! Sweet. : )
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