Cyndee writes:
Boys are difficult. At least this one is proving to be already – and he isn’t due until October 10.
His two sisters – 10 yr old Hannah Lauren (emphasis on REN) and 2 yr old Avery Lynn (Lynn after both our mothers) were very easy to name, but boy’s names seem to be harder than childbirth itself!
It could be a problem with our last name – Boos (pronounced “bows”, not “booze”), but that’s just something we have to work around.
The other problem is that we just can’t seem to agree on anything, and even the names I’ve come up with I’m not all that thrilled about when I think about them for any length of time. Names I like (in no particular order): Dexter, Charlie, Lewis, Oliver… well, that’s really about it, and I’m not that keen on any of them. My husband is terrified of picking a name that will cause teasing (I’m sure the last name has already taken care of that), but I think what he doesn’t understand is that our son will not be in school with a bunch of Steves, Brians, Matthews, etc. All the other boys will have similarily sounding names and if they’re going to tease, it will have to include everyone.
Any suggestions? I seem to like more odd-type names, geeky perhaps, which would be cute for small boys, and then hopefully be quirky without being too out-there for adult males. I’m not sure what my husband likes in a name, only what he doesn’t like – which seems to be anything I like.
I don’t want to make unfair sweeping generalizations (I’m sure there are plenty of husbands saying, “Honey, come on, we need to talk about names” while their wives roll their eyes and make exasperated sounds and act like their husbands are hormone-crazed crazycakes to be bringing this up so often), but there does seem to be a common problem of the man wanting to do none of the thinking and all of the vetoing. Well. We’re hardly going to be able to solve that worldwide problem right this second, are we? I should stop fussing about it and turn my energies instead to making a list….that your husband can reject. Okay, I’ll stop!
Geeky/quirky brings to mind:
Elliot Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Elliot
Emmett Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Emmett
Simon Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Simon
Wesley Boos: Hannah, Avery, and Wesley
I thought of Leo and Milo, too, but the -o names don’t work as well with your surname. Then I thought of Henry, but it’s almost a mix of the two sisters’ names: “Hannah, Avery, and Henry” makes my eyes struggle to untangle the three names. And I thought of Everett, but rejected it for being too similar to Avery.
Or perhaps what’s needed here is a name that would feel comfortable and familiar to your husband—a name that was around in our own youth but hasn’t yet gone out of style?
Alec Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Alec
Christopher Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Christopher
Eric Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Eric
Evan Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Evan
Jonathan Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Jonathan
Kyle Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Kyle
Those don’t have the geek chic going for them, but it sounds like maybe those geek chic names appeal to you but then don’t settle into serious contenders. How about a familiar, nearly tease-free first name for your husband, with a quirkier middle name for you?
Alec Dexter Boos (ADB)
Christopher Elliot Boos (CEB)
Eric Lewis Boos (ELB)
Evan Wesley Boos (EWB)
Jonathan Everett Boos (JEB)
Kyle Oliver Boos (KOB)
Let’s have a poll! It’s over to the right! [poll closed; see below] Vote for your favorite, but also pipe up with your own combinations.
[Poll results (203 votes total):
Alec Dexter: 29 votes, roughly 14%
Christopher Elliot: 45 votes, roughly 22%
Eric Lewis: 6 votes, roughly 3%
Evan Wesley: 67 votes, roughly 33%
Jonathan Everett: 26 votes, roughly 13%
Kyle Oliver: 30 votes, roughly 15%]
Hmmm, reading Cyndee’s list, I immediately thought of Oscar. I don’t know why. Hannah, Avery and Oscar. Hmmm. It could work. Oscar Lewis Boos. I like it.
Also, I don’t know if you (Swistle) know this site, but I just discovered Nymbler, and it is rocking my world. A friend of mine who’s expecting (and who has been promptly directed to this website) and is working on names found it, and it’s awesome. You type in names you like, and it generates lists based on those. Check it out.
When I typed in the list Dexter, Charlie, Lewis and Oliver, among the MANY names it suggested were these:
Russell
Stuart
Miles
Warren
Graham
I think they all fit the “geek” inspiration pretty well, but also work with the surname and the sisters. Good luck!
(P.S. I LOVELOVELOVE Miles and Warren. And since Swistle would’ve suggested Milo were it not for the long “o”, Miles has the same sound, but without that aggravating vowel. Graham may be too similar to Hannah. Or not.)
I like Miles from Clarabella’s list. I like Evan but I think that is too close to Avery. i think that Oscar would be good too.
I really really like Eliot Boos!!
Hannah Avery and Eliot :)
Maybe it is just my taste being similar to the mom in this one, but I looooooove all of the “geeky” choices. I don’t love any of the voting possibilities. Please talk your husband into Dexter, Charlie, or Emmett!
Emmett.
Uh, that’s as far as I read.
I mean, why continue when what we have here is perfection?
And how’s this for a name:
Emmett Oliver.
Seriously.
Emmett Olive Boos.
Le SWOON.
Emmett OliveR Boos
Geesh.
*slaps self upside of the head*
I also like Mom’s names best. And I agree with aibee, Emmett Oliver is a great name. I also love Dexter and Lewis.
Before I saw Clarabella’s list, I thought of Stuart. I even like the nickname Stu. I like Stuart Miles. Stuart Miles Boos. Hannah, Avery, and Stuart.
Ooohh… I’m all squee about having my question posted – yay! Thanks for the advice – and the comments!!! Just thought I’d update on the name situation, as I’m about 3 weeks away from delivery and we’ve actually decided on a name, but not without many more (ridiculous) arguments about choices.
I’d discovered the name Bennett, and fell in consistent love… meaning that other names I’d liked fell in and out of favour, but Bennett stayed the course.
For a middle name I really wanted to honour my grandfather who had passed away a few years ago. There’s even a cute story to go along with the name – my grandfather’s name was Julius (not exactly a popular name now or ever). So to make it a little more palatable, I wanted to use Julian instead. This name is also in our family as my uncle’s middle name – my grandmother had wanted to name him after my grandfather, who refused to let his child be named Julius – they settled on the middle name Julian. Anyway, long story short, I was set on Bennett Julian.
Now why do you think my husband was opposed to this name?? Simply enough – the initials B J. I kicked and screamed and pleaded, but he would not let up – no kid of his would have the initials BJ, which would just invite the nickname BJ, which would come along with relentless teasing – at least according to my husband.
It was too late – I could not think of another name I liked more than Bennett, and Julian sounded great along with it and it was important for me to have my grandfather remembered in this way.
We’ve finally reached a compromise – we are including his grandfather’s name also and are going to have two middle names – Bennett Alexander Julian.
Thoughts? Is my husband crazy about the BJ thing?? Am I crazy for not thinking it’s a big deal??? How does the final choice sound???
Also, what spelling of Bennett do you prefer? Bennett, Bennet, Benett…. something else? So far I’m going with 2 n’s, 2 t’s.
Thanks for your comments so far and I hope to see more!
Cyndee-
Excellent choice on the name Bennett. I also prefer the double N/double T spelling. No big deal about the BJ thing. Those were actually my first name/ maiden name initals. And to be honest, I never thought about the “meaning” until late in high school when a boyfriend mentioned the correlation. Whatever. No big deal. Especially when the “J” stands for a nice, meaningful middle name.
I think I’m having a difficult time with this one because Hannah & Avery aren’t in the same “style category.”
BUT… Bennett is a rad name. I’m a big fan of the Bennets from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, so I’m sort of… well… prejudiced. :)
Go with it. Hannah, Avery, & Bennett. Bennett Boos sounds cool. I like the alliteration.
BTW, I think it’s kind of lame to worry about the BJ thing because how many times do we actually “go by” our middle names in school? Never times? Would that be a correct estimate? ;)
Do it! You’ll regret it otherwise. Tell your hubby to quit being obstinate! LOL
P. Gardiner and Kimberly- ME TOO! But notice she says in her letter she’s not thrilled with any of them when she thinks about them for any length of time. And her husband doesn’t like them. So I didn’t want to get all strong behind names neither of them want, and then offer a poll of names neither of them want.
I also like the 2 n’s and 2 t’s and my husband has also voiced opposition to the BJ initials–maybe it’s a guy thing? They just think about it more? I like the three names, by the way…
Bennett Alexander Julian Boos is a perfectly lovely name. A very important-sounding name, actually.
I love Bennett. And I really like using two middle names to solve the BJ problem.
(Also, as a middle school teacher, and wife of a coach, I would avoid the initials BJ. Boys always notice, and locker room jeering, about being a BJ, happens. But, perhaps Bennett won’t have obnoxious middle school friends… :))
Bennett is awesome. Great choice!!
Um, can someone let me in on why BJ is a bad nickname? I like the double N and double T spelling for Bennett. And the two middle names sound fine to me (having two and the two in particular).
I think your final name choice is great! And I do think I would lean away from the BJ initials. I like how you are spelling Bennett too!
Jan – BJ stands for bl*w j*b. Can I say that? Swistle please delete if you want. I couldn’t think of how else to explain.
Ohhhh, I see. Thanks for enlightening me. :)
Great name!! I think Bennett Alexander Julian Boos sounds good.
Only one comment … Alexander Julian is a clothing designer! Not a big deal since it’s the middle names. But I thought I’d send along the info! http://www.alexanderjulian.com/flash_content.html
I love the name Christopher and would use it for the boy I’m expecting in February if only my husband liked it, too!