Leigh writes:
In my desperate attempts to search the Internet for an appropriate name for my soon-to-be born son, I came across your website. My husband and I have gone round and round in our discussions about what to name him, and we’re no closer to a decision than when we started. I am due at the end of August, and I really want to start referring to him as something other than “the baby” so I feel as though I know him when he’s born! I’m a planner by nature, and it’s driving me crazy that we don’t have a name picked out.
There are a few considerations that I have when it comes to choosing a name. First, it has to sound right with our odd last name – Face. That means no “Happy”, “Smiley”, or anything else that’s already a common or cutesy phrase. Second, it shouldn’t rhyme with the last name. That rules out “Chase Face”. Third, I have many names that I won’t consider because they conjure up the image of certain students I’ve had in my teaching career or they are so common that I’ve had ten of them in my classes. I’ve been teaching for ten years, so there are too many to mention, but as examples, no “Tyler”, “Garrett” or “Matthew”.
I really think, rhythmically speaking, that the first name should have at least two syllables to go with the one syllable last name. Ideally, I would like a name with three or more syllables that can be shortened into a two syllable nickname. My husband’s main concern is that it sounds cool when spoken across the loudspeaker at his future Little League baseball games. We have a daughter already and her name is Natalie Elizabeth Face.
I’ve suggested so many combinations to my husband, I don’t know what else to do. He just doesn’t seem to like anything other than Aiden, which to me sounds too much like other modern names (Jaden, Braden, etc.) Maybe if I can give him ideas from non-biased but interested individuals, he will be more open to considering them. I would really appreciate your input! Thanks for any suggestions you may have!
Teaching is a tough profession, baby-names-wise!
You’re hoping for a 3-or-more-syllable name that could be shortened to a 2-syllable nickname, and the one that comes immediately to mind is Alexander, nickname Alex. That’s unfortunately fairly common—but maybe all your Alexanders were bright students with pleasant, respectful personalities.
This discussion has brought to light something I hadn’t realized, which is that most boy nicknames now are one syllable: Timmy and Tommy and Johnny and Ricky sound like children from another era. Still, I did find some boy names with contemporary two-syllable nicknames:
Elias, nickname EliTheodore, nickname Theo [suggestion withdrawn; see comment section]
Anderson, nickname Andy
Carlton, nickname Carl
Jameson, nickname Jamie
Tobias or Tobin, nickname Toby
Leonardo, nickname Leo
Jordan, nickname Jordy
Charles, nickname Charlie
Do any of those appeal? You do indeed seem double-cursed: the years and years of former students, plus a challenging surname!
I’ll put a poll to the right [poll closed; see below], but I hope the rest of you will chime in with more suggestions.
[Poll results:
Aidan: 1 vote, roughly 0%
Elias/Eli: 23 votes, roughly 15%Theodore/Theo: 28 votes, roughly 18% [suggestion withdrawn; see comment section]
Anderson/Andy: 20 votes, roughly 13%
Carlton/Carl: 2 votes, roughly 1%
Jameson/Jamie: 14 votes, roughly 9%
Tobias or Tobin / Toby: 14 votes, roughly 9%
Leonardo/Leo: 4 votes, roughly 3%
Jordan/Jordy: 2 votes, roughly 1%
Charles/Charlie: 18 votes, roughly 11%
Alexander/Alex : 31 votes, roughly 20%]
Since I originally wrote my question, we thought of another possibility…Cameron Alexander. Any thoughts on that?
I love Cameron Alexander, but am curious what you get for a 2 syllable nickname.
The title of the post made me giggle.
Anyway, how about Nathanial, Johnathan, Finnegan, and Gabriel
Not to take away from the genius that is Swistle, but have you tried http://www.babynamegenie.com/ yet? You put in your last name and they generate names for you. Yes, I have much time to waste.
Since I’m done after my 3 girls, I will offer my boy name: Benjamin -> Benji.
Leigh,
I like Cameron Alexander. I voted for Alexander in the poll as well. I’ll also offer up one of my boy names…Benjamin Alexander. Like Linda said, if you are looking for the 3 syllable nickname, you could call him Benji.
I also am a fan of Nathaniel, but do not prefer the shortened versions of this name.
Good luck with the naming challenge. I so hope you can steer your husband away from Aidan. This name (and the ones like it) are so overused!
I don’t have much to add- I think many of your choices are good ones. Just make sure that you definitely don’t use Clifford or Ichabod. Ichy Face and Cliff Face are mean. :)
I really like Cameron Alexander… or even Cameron Nathaniel…
I voted for Toby, but I’ll be honest I don’t like Tobias or Tobin. I really only like Toby. Toby Nathaniel Face.
I love the name “Nathaniel.” Like Kate, I wouldn’t have thought I liked any nicknames for it. However, a friend who used it called her son “Thanny,” which I felt “eh” about at first, but it grew on me. I got to the point where I loved everything about that name. (VERY nice boy, too, and that does make a difference.) It’s a name that’s not over-used, yet everyone is familiar with the name, and I’ve gotten the feeling most people really like it. I think it’s a winner.
Well, of course Elias/Eli is a personal favorite of mine, but I like Cameron, too!
Leigh, I feel your pain, my husband and I are both high school teachers. I think Cameron Alexander is beautiful. I also like Nathaniel. I would totally avoid Aidan. It is super popular right now. Good luck
thanny face is going to get the nickname – fanny face. not good.
i like cameron
jeb
Ooh. I like Cameron.
I had voted for Jameson/Jamie; because it appealed to me most on the poll. But I wasn’t really “feeling” those names, to be honest. I do like Cameron Alexander. Good idea!
Other 3-syllable names:
– Alistair/Alister
– Nicholas
– Sebastian
– Julian
– Jonathan
I’m just throwin’ names out there, LOL.
William/Liam – kind of popular, but classic
Anthony/Tony
I sort of think the husband is on the right track with the strong “an” or “en” ending to the first name though. Like;
Brandon
Keenan
Kevin
Gavin
Javen
I think the strong consonants go well with all the soft consonants in Face.
Just chiming in on Nathaniel because it’s one of my favorites!
We have a Nathaniel, and four years later I still love his name. We considered Nathan, but didn’t want Nathan shortened to Nate, and thought maybe if we named him Nathaniel it could get shortened to Nathan and that would be okay. Logical? Maybe not entirely. But now I’m glad we chose the longer version because I just like it better…
We never did end up calling him Nathan at all. Usually he’s Nathaniel. Fairly often we call him Thaniel. I never would have picked that nickname, but that’s how his brother said his name when they were little and it stuck. People sometimes think his name is Daniel or Samuel when they hear us call him by this nickname.
I voted for Theodore/Theo, which I also love. Elias is great too. For some reason I like Elias much better than Tobias.
Another vote for Nathaniel — beautiful name, I’m hoping to use it for our son. My other favourite name (but DH won’t allow it) is Jonathan, (shortened to Johnny if you want). Jonathan Face sounds great, and it goes well with Natalie. I also like the suggestion of Benjamin.
I love, love, love the name Natalie! Good choice! Now for a brother…
I do like Nathaniel but I very much dislike that it begins Nat-. It’s one thing for Natalie’s brother to also have an N name, but I just don’t think Nathaniel & Natalie are a good fit.
What about Nicolas? Without the H it is tres French, like Natalie, but still a very American name. Nico Face. How adorable is that? (There is a band called Neko Case, in the interest of full disclosure!)
I must also echo the recommendation of Benjamin/Benji.
Sebastian is a name that I’ve been suggesting to everyone these days! Bastian could technically be three syllables, but you could definitely get away with two.
Adrian and Julian are in the same vein, but I guess they’re not very nickname-able.
Ugh. Sorry, I have to edit, as per my husband. Neko Case is a singer, singular. (…though her band used to be called Neko Case and Her Boyfriends. Before that she was with the New Pornographers.)
Boys are lame!
This is kind of a tough one. I like the idea of Nicholas/Nick. I think Nick goes well with Face. Nick Face.
I’m going to throw a few out here that may not meet your criteria, but I think might work with your name.
Brandon Face
Ryan Face
Cael Face
I hate to burst the Cameron bubble, but with the last name Face, Cameron could turn into Camera Face. Also, as Shelly asked, what two syllable nickname is for Cameron? I’m only aware of Cam. Cam Face? My vote would be Nicolas/Nico or Alexander/Alex. If you want the trendy “n” ending like Aidan, go with Jameson.
My husband and I are also teachers. Naming our own kids proved a little harder than we expected. We even had three different sets of names picked out (sets meaning we like having sibling names of the same first initial – the horror! ;)) And, by the time our first was born, two sets had been ruined by former/current students. If you’re ok with a one syllable nickname, Timothy is also a good classic name. Tim Face. Sounds like a shortstop to me!
Thanks for all your suggestions and comments! Amazingly, a lot of your suggestions are names I liked, but my husband didn’t.
I really, really like Nathaniel but thought it was too close to our daughter’s name Natalie – we call her Nat or Nattie most of the time. My first choice was Alexander, but my husband just doesn’t like it as a first name. I have a nephew named Nicholas and my best friend’s son will be named Benjamin. My husband likes Jameson (he was a bartender years ago and a fan of the whiskey bearing the same name).
I know Cameron doesn’t have a viable two-syllable nickname, so if we use that I’ll have to insist on calling him by his full name – I don’t like Cam.
Thanks again for the ideas!
I’ve a suggestion: if your husband likes Aiden and you’re not too keen on it because of the whole Jaiden, Brayden outbreak (which, I CONCUR), how about tossing “Adam” into the ring?
Similar sound, totally different feel.
What say?
Adam was another name I liked, but close friends chose the name for their son in April.
I’m coming a little late to the party, and my suggestion may not get seen, but I have an idea for a name that follows the “en” ending like Aidan and even begins with “A” (as a side note, if you end up settling on Aidan, at least spell it the traditional way Aidan NOT Aiden – varient spellings on trendy names just irk me for no good reason other than I’m a name snob).
Ok, after that tangent, my suggestion is Alan.
Alan happens to be my brother’s name, and I’m just beginning to appreciate it. It is not the least bit trendy, and if you don’t like the nick name Al, rest assured NO ONE calls my brother Al.
And in my opinion, Alan Face sounds good.
And another word on Aidan, I used to love it, and I’m now really bummed by the wide-spread popularity, which has ruined it for me, at least for now.
Did anyone else like Andrew?
Andrew Alexander Face sounds good to me.
or Andrew William Face
William Andrew Face
I love the name Andrew. Nicknames Andy or Drew are very nice.
FYI I don’t like the name Cameron … it always makes me think of a girl I knew, so it doesn’t ring well to me as a boy’s name.
Cameron is a good name. It is used for girls, but seems to hold its own with the boys too.
I originally voted for Toby, but changed it to Theodore, a name that can be dignified or breezy, depending on the nickname you use.
I am going to second Andrew. Great nicknames of Andy and Drew. Except Drew Face…not sure on that one.
I also like Gavin. No nickname there. I guess you could call him Gav.
I know I’m totally late commenting on this one, though I actually agree with the majority vote on Alexander. That sounds quite cute and doesn’t sound weird at all with the last name.
I just wanted to mention that perhaps Theo is not the best name to go with the last name Face. Theo Face. The first thing my hubby said in response to this choice was “Like ‘The O Face’ from Office Space??”. NOT a good nickname…
Mel- OMG! HA HA HA HA HA HA!! It is NEVER too late for a comment of this quality! YES. You and your husband are RIGHT. Theo Face is a TERRIBLE option!