Toni writes:
I’m due January 22, 2010 and we don’t have a name yet. We’re having our second child, a boy, and have possibilities narrowed a bit- here’s what we’d like/need:
My first child is a girl, named Rachel Lynn.1. We’ve decided on the middle name James.
2. We lean more towards traditional type names- no creative spellings, no trendy names, etc
3. I’ wanted to stay away from some of the more popular names, but (as in #2) don’t want to get too trendy/creative
4. Our last name has a strong B sound, so we’re trying to stay away from B sounds in the first name
5. To us, it seems like two syllable first names work best with our last name
6. The only possibility that we have both agreed up so far is Ethan, but I don’t think we’re sure of that…I’d appreciate your help!
Thanks!!!
Oh, Ethan is nice! Or maybe Evan? Rachel and Evan? Or Ian: Rachel and Ian. My favorite of those possibilities is Evan: Evan James.
Or Andrew: Andrew James, Rachel and Andrew.
Lucas: Lucas James, Rachel and Lucas.
Simon: Simon James, Rachel and Simon.
Edmund: Edmund James, Rachel and Edmund.
Eric: Eric James, Rachel and Eric.
Stephen: Stephen James, Rachel and Stephen.
Nathan: Nathan James, Rachel and Nathan.
Calvin: Calvin James, Rachel and Calvin.
I really like the name Evan. Ethan is good too, but seems somewhat trendy right now since I have several Christmas cards with pictures of Ethan still hanging up right now.
I really like the name Peter. Peter James. Traditional, classic and not over used right now… I knew a sibling set Rachel & Peter growing up so that me think of that.
I like Ethan. Ethan makes me think of Aidan and Aaron. From Swistle’s suggestions i like Andrew, Evan and Simon. Here’s my list.
Aaron
Aidan
Alan
Alexander
Benjamin
Jacob
Logan
Oliver
Quentin
Samuel
You can’t go wrong with any of these great traditional names. I like Quentin. Rachel and Quentin, that’s a nice siblingset. Or Samuel! Samuel James. I like them all.
Good luck!
Simon! Love it and Rachel & Simon is very sweet.
I’m a bit partial to Evan since my third child is named Evan James. It fits him perfectly and flows really well, especially when he’s being naughty and I use both names. :)
Evan is great, but when combined with the sibling name Rachel, it makes me think of the actress Evan Rachel Woods. Could be a non-issue, but just wanted to point that out.
I thought of Evan Rachel Woods right off the bat too.
I too thought of Evan Rachel Woods. Isn’t there also a Rachel Evans?
But I love Evan and think shes not nearly popular enough for that to deter you. Ethan is nice but very popular, so if you were trying to stay away from that, I would stay away from Ethan. What about Matthew? Colin? Henry?
I thought immediately of Evan Rachel Woods too. That said, I like Ethan even if it has been quit popular.
I would probably use Ethan over Evan, personally.
Of Swistle’s list I really like Simon. I also like Edward, Conner and Isaac. Good luck!
Ethan James is a great name. But here are a few more options:
Nicholas
Robert
William
You have a couple of great things going for you – the name Rachel is fantastic to match names with, I think a Rachel could be a sister to so many possible sibling names… and James is one of my favourite middle names as it’s the name of my two grandfathers and a few of my cousins are “Firstname James” — really, great choice!
I love the above suggestion of Matthew. It’s a name that has stayed popular, obviously, but it’s not trendy-sounding, I think it’s a classic and would be great for you. Similarly with Michael or Marcus/Mark/Marc — all well-known and fairly well-used, and yet the younger generation isn’t seeing as many Michael’s, Mark’s and Matthew’s as it could be (there aren’t as many Michael A, Michael B, Michael C in the classrooms I work in now).
Matthew James; Rachel & Matthew
Michael James; Rachel & Michael
Marcus James; Rachel & Marcus
I also love Swistle’s suggestions of Andrew, Evan or Lucas/Luke. This style of names would work really well for Rachel’s brother and with the middle name James.
Some other ideas:
Tyler James
Travis James
Gavin James
Christopher James
Thomas James
Daniel James
Zachary James
Colin James
Connor James
Adam: Adam James, Rachel and Adam
Austin: Austin James, Rachel and Austin
Carson: Carson James, Rachel and Carson
Derek: Derek James, Rachel and Derek
Nathan: Nathan James, Rachel and Nathan
What a fabulous name Rachel Lynn! *wink*
I vote for Evan,Colin and Matthew!
Well, whadya know! MY name is Rachael Lynn AND I have a younger brother! Hmmm, what a fun situation to be in. His name is Jordan Michael and growing up as Rachael and Jordan was just swell. I love our names. You should totally name him Jordan. Oh wait, I don’t think I like Jordan James, it sounds like the first and last name of an old man who smokes cigars. Wait, let me say it again – Jordan James. Okay, now I kind of like it. I think it’s classy. And I’m still all for Rachael and Jordan. Great sibling names…just great!
I like Evan, think it is nice with Rachel too.
others
Matthew
Adam
Timothy
Julian
Isaac
Xavier
Bradley
Benjamin
Oliver
Peter
Graham
Neil
Dean
Leon
Wilder
Dominic
I know a sib-set named Rachel & Ryan and always have thought that was cute. Ryan James sounds great to me. Some other ones I like are:
Alec
Conor
Dustin
Eric
Justin
Owen
Good Luck!
I like the name Evan, but the name with Rachel makes me think Evan Rachel Wood…the actress who dates Marilyn Manson :-/ so I don’t know if I personally would go with that name. As I was reading, I was going to suggest Lucas, and then, Swistle did so for me :) I also like Brady James alot! Happy Baby Naming!
I have an Oliver James and my niece has Owen James. Remarkably, no one has made an OJ joke in nearly 5 years since they were born (one day apart).
Best of luck!