Sarah writes:
Help! We are struggling with boy names for our baby due 31 March. We have one million excellent girls’ names but it’s definitely a boy. I have seen the evidence on the ultrasound myself…
My husband likes very unusual names, often ‘made-up’. These have all been vetoed. We solved this problem with our daughter by choosing a real name that’s unusual: Tatiana.
We are not so concerned about middle names. Our daughter has my grandmother’s name, my surname, and my husband’s as her surname. (That sounds confusing: she is Tatiana Blank Blank Blankman!). We honestly don’t really care how the first name goes with the middle names.
For our son, we’d like something similar. We really, really liked Noah but have dismissed it because it is just too popular for my husband. We are considering Gabriel and Josiah.
I know these are all biblical but we are open to other suggestions, and as the surname is Jewish we are also keen to avoid dooming him to becoming a rabbi with something that’s just a little too OT (old testament rather than over the top!).Incidentally: girl’s name choice winner was Rafaella. SIgh. And no, we do don’t like Raphael!
Thanks!
Since you like Noah (#15 in 2008), I wonder if you would like Nolan (#131) or Noam (not in the Top 1000)? [All rankings from the Social Security Administration.]
Since you like Gabriel (#24 in 2008), I wonder if you’d like Grant (#142) or Gideon (#534) or Gable (not in the Top 1000)?
Since you like Josiah (#96 in 2008, but way way higher-ranked in religious circles), I wonder if you would like Jude (#224) or Jonas (#274) or Jaron (#819)?
Maybe Milo (#449). And I really like Arlo (not in the Top 1000).
Silas (#313). Aidric (not in the Top 1000). Atticus (#689). Felix (#354). Barnaby (not in the Top 1000). Corbin (#262). Alistair (not in the Top 1000).
I have a son named Noah and the name I really wanted to use for a second son but rejected as too close was Jonah (#137).
Or you could go with a Russian name to match Tatiana. I recently read a story with a Russian character named Maksim. That might work for you. Or Alexei or use the nickname Sasha for Alexander.
Going with the Russian theme above I really love Demetri!
Something like Jaron and Josiah: Jairus.
My first thought was EZRA EZRA EZRA, use EZRA! But I don’t know, is that too Old Testament??? I like Gabriel, also like Swistle’s suggestions of Gideon and Gable. A couple more:
Gentry
Jacoby
Kellan
Luka
Zander
Good Luck!
I like Gabriel from your list.
How about:
Anton
Jackson
Maxim
Nathan
Quentin
Zachary
I never thought of Anton as a baby name, then i met a baby Anton and now I think it’s perfection. Is Zachary too OT (or too popular)? It’s my favorite from this list. Tatiana and Zachary; I love it.
Good luck!
Oh oh oh! I Looooovvveeee Barnaby!
I love your style! I’m a biiiig Shakespeare fan (son called Henry, dog called Puck!), your daughter’s name reminds me of Titania, Queen of the Fairies!
I typed Tatiana into Nymbler and came up with these:
Roman
Tomas
Felix
Julian
Dominic
Ivan
Leander
A couple of Shakespeare names, since I’m inspired…
Orlando
Adrian
Balthazar
Sebastian
Antonio
Fabian
A great crossover name (Nymbler+Bard) is Demetri. Dimitri is Russian, like Tatiana, and Demetrius is one of the primary characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
what about Judah? I love it – or I love Nolan as well! Blessings.
As the first few posters mentioned, if you tend toward Russian names, what about…
Liev Blank Blank Blankman
I’ve always liked that name. Or Leo, of which Liev is a variant.
Leo Blank Blank Blankman
Good luck!
I also like the name Etan, (pronounced AY-tahn) and have seen it in some Israeli films I’ve watched. Bold syllables and modern.
I really like the suggestion of Liev-beautiful name really
What about Roan? Similar to Noah and Jonah but much less common.
Joshua? Jake?
Thanks everyone, love the suggestions – it’s amazing how many of them feature on our list! We love Leo but can’t use it (our nephew is Leo) and have another nephew, Alex (we loved Alexei).
I think the leading contender at the moment is Jonah, which we’d arrived at just before all this was posted.
Not sure if you’re still looking for names or not but here’s the list of names that we are working from for our little boy due in June.
Alexander
Bentley
Carson
Carter
Dawson
Jeremiah
Lincoln
Logan
Mark
Remington
Rylan
Sullivan
Timothy
Wyatt
Xavier
At the moment Carson is at the top of our list…