Kym writes:
We are due with our second son on October 28 – although these last two days of contractions are making me think it’ll be sooner rather than later.
Until recently, we had 4 names on the “short list”: Noah, Owen, Riley and Gavin. The last couple of weeks, Gavin and Riley have fallen off the list. (Jonah was also a contender for a while). I really like the other two, although I am concerned about Owen with our last name, Wootton (pronounced like foot with a “w” and then “ton”) – it just looks like a word jumble to me, Owen Wootton. I do love Noah, although I just don’t get the feeling the my husband is super crazy about it – and I wonder if it’s too popular.
The middle name will be William, for my dad. Our first son is Finn Allen (Allen is for his dad).
We definitely want the first name to be only 1 or 2 syllables, and we want it to go nicely with Finn. We like the idea of having a name that’s not weird, but also not common. We feel like we did that with “Finn”, but won’t necessarily do that with “Noah” or “Owen”.
Names that I love that he hates: Reece/Reese and Luca
Name that he loves that I hate: Ender (yes, this is pretty much his ONE and ONLY suggestion)So – two questions…
#1 – if we don’t find anything else we like, should we go with Noah William Wootton or Owen William Wootton?
#2 – any other first name suggestions????
What I notice when I say those finalist names is all the W: both first names have a strong W sound (noWUH, oWEN), and then adding the W sound in both William and Wootton—it’s a lot of W. The middle name won’t often be said, of course, but both Noah Wootton and Owen Wootton are hard for me to say.
Here are some Owen alternatives without W sounds:
Evan
Ian
Ivan
Roan (unless I’m pronouncing it wrong and it’s Ro-wen rather than rhymes-with-Joan)
But three of those end in an -en sound, and I think that’s a little choppy with the -en sound in Wootton.
Here are some Noah alternatives without W sounds OR -en sounds:
Abel
Asher
Caleb
Eli
Isaac
Isaiah
Joel
Levi
Lucas
Micah
Silas
Your husband likes Ender, and so I would refer you to Baby Boy Holland, in which we worked with another sci-fi-name-loving husband. The name they chose was Gable, which I think would be a really good choice for your baby, too: unusual yet easy/familiar, good with Finn, good with William Wootton. I also suggested the name Anders to them, because it’s so similar to Ender, and that too would be good for your baby: Finn and Anders, Anders William Wootton.
BUT! If none of these appeal, and nothing else comes up that appeals, and if you like Owen or Noah best, I DO think you should use it. The “W issue” is one of those issues that, all things being equal, I would recommend avoiding—but all things NOT being equal, is not a big deal.
Name update! Kym writes:
Our little boy finally came yesterday – 6 days late (so much for reading into those early contractions!). As we were walking the halls during contractions, we finally settled on William Ender, deciding to call him Will. My husband just loved the name Ender so much and we didn’t want to do the 2 middle names thing, so we thought this was a good compromise. Although we do have the first and last name starting with the W, we really love it – and I love how Finn and Will sound together. Thanks to everyone for your input, it finally got my husband thinking more seriously about names and after he read the post and the suggestions. :)
Finn and Owen sound a little rhyme-y to me – is that ok with you?
I really like Anders!
I’m with Swistle with the “whole lotta W” issue. I’d avoid it in the first name, if it’s possible, and I might veer away from a name ending in N, too.
I LOVE Anders and tried to talk my husband into it with two of our babies. I also like Gable, too, especially with your last name.
From the list, I think Joel is a great name. It’s familiar, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it used.
Good luck!
While Owen & Noah are great names, they do seem to be a mouthful in this naming situation. If you really LOVE one the names, go for it, they are not bad names. But I would like to suggest the name Ezra. When I first heard this name, I did not like, but have recently fell in LOVE with it. Seems like a good fit, Finn & Ezra, Ezra William Wooton. A good combo of a name you like (Luca) and a name your husband likes (Ender)! Here are some other suggestions for a brother for Finn:
Alec
Conor
Egan (means little fiery one, so cute!)
Luke
Rand
Reid
Good Luck!
I think we must have similar taste because my son’s name is Noah and William and Jonah were high on our list for a second son (we had a daughter instead). Plus Owen is a favorite of mine. So I will give you some more favorites and you can see if anything clicks.
Benjamin William Wooten <-- my favorite
Patrick William Wooten
Ryan William Wooten
I love Ian from Swistle’s list but fear it may be too close to Finn. Anders, Isaiah and Micah are good, too.
From swistles list I love Micah, Gable, and Anders. And Eli. I like the above suggestions of Patrick and Ezra also. Owen and Noah are both favorites of mine as well, and if you love them and are sold on them, use them, but if you are unsure, I would go with something else. I’d also suggest the following one syllable names that would go nicely with Finn (since most of the suggestions so far have been two syllable names):
Cole
Chase
Blake
Grant
Gage
Sean/Shane
Brett
Reed
I love Swistle’s suggestions of Anders or Asher William Wootton.
I agree with Swistle – Noah and Owen are really difficult to say with the last name.
I tended to like the names with hard consonant sounds that Swistle suggested like Isaac, Lucas, and Micah with your last name.
More than the “W” sound, I noticed the hard “O” sound in the names you liked – Owen, NOah, JOnah.
How about:
Odin (like Owen, but without the W problem!)
Logan
Cody
Brody
Bodhi (pron. BO-dee)
Orion (this could possibly lend itself to the nickname Riley, which you like)
Milo
Nico
Cairo
Leo
Mateo (pron. mah-TAY-o)
Theodore/Theo
Hugo
Arlo
Jericho (pron. JER-ih-co)
Joseph/Joey/Joe
Beau
Marco
Although, I wonder if an -o ending is too blendy with your last name. Hmm. Maybe it’s not ideal, but I think it’s fine.
Of my suggestions, my favorites for your family (to match with Finn and Wootton, and your naming style/preferences) are Odin, Milo, Logan, and Nico.
Odin Wootton, Finn and Odin
Milo Wootton, Finn and Milo
Logan Wootton, Finn and Logan
Nico Wootton, Finn and Nico
I also noticed that you seem to like names that end in -ah, so I’ll also throw out Elijah, nickname Eli.
Elijah Wootton, Finn and Elijah
Elijah Wootton, Finn and Eli.
Good luck!
I have to say I love the suggestion of Grant.
Grant William Wootton
You don’t have any strange pronuncation issues. It is a 1 syllable name. It is not a “weird” name, yet it is not super common (Owen and Noah are both becoming way more common than you think). Plus listen how they sound together… Finn and Grant. I imagine two adorable little boys. Good luck!
I love Swistle’s suggestion of Isaac. Isaac Wootton, or Isaac William Wootton, sounds fantastic.
Or… what about Andrew? That was Ender’s “real” first name in the books, I think.
Best of luck!
Oh, I forgot to combine with the middle name! Let’s check:
Odin William, Odin William Wootton
Milo William, Milo William Wootton
Logan William, Logan William Wootton
Nico William, Nico William Wootton
Elijah William, Elijah William Wootton
Eli William, Eli William Wootton
Well, everything checks out, EXCEPT that names starting with O or E (like Odin or Elijah) make the initials OW/OWW and EW/EWW. Maybe something you’d want to avoid!
I think Ezra is great, it was the first thing that popped into my head while reading the post. In my part of CA there are a lot of Noahs running around, but more Elijahs. I’ve met a handful of Finns, but no Ezras or Grants.
First thought was Cormac?
Others were
Ciaran
Ewan
Evan
Noam
Sean
Lachlan
Fergus
Angus
Lorcan
Ruari
Ruarc
Quinlan
Another vote for Anders here!
Re: Benjamin William Wooten, Finn and Ben seems a bit off to me.
A couple of additional suggestions:
– Weylin William Wooten (embrace the W’s);
– Wesley William Wooten;
– Gareth William Wooten;
– Samuel William Wooten;
– Sawyer William Wooten.