S. writes:
I’m SO thankful for your site. We are having our second boy any day now and just can’t settle on a name! We have two little girl names picked out, but of course we are having a boy! Our first little boy is named John Thomas and we call him Jack. His name comes from both sides of our family and was very easy for us to choose, we named him years before we were ever pregnant. This little guy on the other hand is still nameless!! With our complicated last name we tend to think simple names are best. I love Charlie, Henry, and Oliver; husband doesn’t love any of those. He would use Charles in a name but wouldn’t call him Charlie. Husband loves Connor, Parker, & Cooper and I’m not wild about any of them. We are closest to agreeing on Mason or William. My concern with Mason is it’s growing popularity. I really like timeless, classic names and I’m really afraid that Mason is going to be a trendy fad name which is not at all what we want. I don’t mind a name being common, like Jack, if it is also classic. William fits all of those criteria but it just feels kind of vanilla to me…nothing bad nothing great. I’d really like to feel great about our son’s name, of course! The only other requirments are that the name can’t end in T because our last name does and the first letter of our last name is S so we have to be careful about initals!
THANK YOU for any help you can offer!!!
I think the name Mason is going to be okay. I looked it up on the Social Security baby name site and although it’s true its popularity is increasing, it’s gradual not spiked—showing a name that is probably going through one of many cycles of increasing/decreasing popularity as the classics do, rather than a name that’s coming in on one wave and going out with the next as the trendies do. Since 1880 (that’s as far as the “Popularity of a Name” feature looks back), Mason has been in steady use. Its current popularity is in the 30s, like Jack. (The name John is in the teens.) If you like Mason, I think it’s great. John Thomas and Mason. Mason William, perhaps.
If William better suits your love of classic and timeless names, I am virtually certain it will grow on you even more with time. My first choice here, in fact, would be William Mason. I think that goes so nicely with John Thomas, and then you have the nicknames Jack and Will. Swoon!
My vote is for William, nn Liam. Taking a not-quite vanilla name into the 21st century. GL!!!
I second Meg’s suggestion. I love William, nn Liam. (It’s on my short list for when we finally have a child).
I was going ot suggest Liam as a possible nickname! Love it!
Jack and Liam
Jack and Will
BOTH are fabulous!
William sounds great with either nn–Liam or Will.
William Mason perhaps? Or William Charles, since your husband likes the full name, but not Charlie.
YES YES YES YES to what the professional Swistle says! PLEASE pick William…. MAJOR swoon to the max!
What about James? Jack and James? Actually my aunt named 3 of her boys Jack, James and William nn will.
I also like Andrew nn Drew. Jack and Drew.
Connor, Parker, and Cooper all have the -er ending…
What about Alexander? It’s a classic name, and may appeal to your husband.
His list also sounds like surname names. What about Harrison or Owen? Each can be a surname, but are also strong classic names.
I love the name William, and it doesn’t sound at all vanilla to my ears. I think William Mason is fab.
Or how about Nicholas? John and Nicholas — Jack and Nick.
Or Colin? It’s strikes me as more classic and less trendy than Connor, but with a similar feel. (I had a student named Colin, and the name wore well and grew on me all year long. I did love the student, and that was probably part of it!) Jack and Collin. Great!
I think that William is a much more classic and handsome choice than Mason, which I think is a bit on the trendy side. And Will is a fabulous nn!
I also love the nn Liam for William – it’s on my sister’s list for them if they have a boy as her husband’s name is William nn Bill… I think it’s ADORABLE!
William is not a favorite of mine, but I think it works in your name situation. William Mason with the nn Will is a great name. And I love Jack & Will together!
I can see how it could be a challenge to come up with another name as special as John Thomas called “Jack”. With your older son’s name you have two classic names which are also family connected for you, plus the ‘cool’ nickname Jack.
I think William “Will” would be an ideal match with John “Jack”. For your younger son’s middle name, I would recommend choosing another family name so that this little boy’s name has a connectedness to family too.
I have a 3-year-old grandson named William Robert. Will is a third son: his oldest brother, like your Jack, has a name from each side of the family; his next older brother has their father’s name as his mn; and Will has his maternal grandfather’s name as his mn. All three have classic first names.
I think John Thomas and William (family mn) would be very compatible names for your sons — and Jack and Will are great together! As Swistle said, I bet William “Will” grows on you over time. I love the name for our grandson!
The only reason I hesitate on Jack & Will is because of the guys on the show Will & Grace, but that’s not a strong association nor a negative one (for me, at least), and they do sound nice together!
I don’t love William Mason because the endings sound kind of similar. I agree with Carolyn: What about William Charles?
I like either William Mason or William (family name). Alexander was a good suggestion – great spotting the er pattern among the Dad’s names. Another classic name ending in er, the Dad might like is Peter, nickname Pete. In fact Peter William or Peter (family name), nickname Pete would also go well with John Thomas nickname Jack. Jack and Pete – I think Pete is “cool” like Jack.
Agree on William nn Liam, and I also really like the Alexander / Peter suggestions as well. I’m not crazy about Mason.
Love William Charles. It has the same feel as John Thomas, and you’ve got the flexibility of Will, Liam, or William!
My son’s name is William, to honor 2 men in my family. I’ve always liked the name, but like you felt it was a little bland…UNTIL I met my son. Now it is the most charming name I’ve ever heard, ha ha.
I like the all the same names that you like! I’d also like to suggest Louis (or Lewis) and Theodore. Both are very classic and not at all Vanilla. I also liked the suggestion for Owen as a compromise between your tastes and your husband’s.