[I’m out of town for a few days but don’t want to fall EVEN FARTHER behind, so I’m leaving some name questions on auto-post!]
Emily writes:
We are expecting our third baby, a boy, on June16th. We named our first two kids very quickly because my husband and I each had family members that we wanted to honor. We have Kathryn Faith, who we call “Katy”, 4, and David Richard, 2. We don’t necessarily want to stick to family names this time around, so we have a clean slate. However, I’m struggling to come up with a boy name that I LOVE. And I want to LOVE it. I also wonder if I should stick to traditional names since my first two are traditional? I have a list of names that we like, but nothing sticks out as The One. And for some reason I find myself having a problem with every name on the list, like, “I have a cousin with that name,” or “I knew a kid with that name who was really mean.”
I also like Biblical names, but it doesn’t have to be. And I like names that everyone has heard before, but there aren’t too crazy many being born right now.
Our “traditional” list: (for all of these I like the full version, like “Joshua” instead of “Josh.”)
Joshua
Adam
Timothy
Thomas
Luke (really like, but is it too common lately?)
Benjamin (ditto?)
Joel
Andrew
Jesse
Micah
James
IsaiahOthers that I like but I’m not sure how well they flow:
Theodore (Theo? Ted?)
Owen
Nolan
Toby
JaredI’m kinda hoping that you’ll have a new suggestion for me that I haven’t thought of, but will be: YES, that’s IT!
For a middle name I’m also open. My husband’s name is Brian Keith, and he wouldn’t mind using part of his name for a middle name. But that’s just one idea.
Our surname sounds like “Mallory.”
Name update 07-08-2010! Emily writes:
Luke Brian Mallory was born on June 23rd, weighing 9 lbs, 11 oz. Thanks so much to your readers for the comments – we had Phillip and Timothy on the short list due to their suggestions, but ultimately decided that Luke was the name we loved, and the post helped me to realize that it wasn’t “too common.” I really appreciated your perspective on the Top 10/100 not being the Kiss of Death. Thanks!
You have some great names on your list! Thomas, Andrew and Theodore are my favorites, but I like the others as well. Thomas Brian Mallory, Katy, David and Theo…
A few other suggestions (although you don’t need any, you list is so great):
Philip
Quentin
Simon
Tobias
Philip Keith Mallory, Katy, David and Simon…
Good luck!
Jeremy Brian or even Jeremy Keith might be nice. Jeremy comes from Jeremiah (which is also well liked but not uber popular right now), and it means ‘God will uplift.’ Jeremiah Keith flows well, too.
Here are some traditional names I feel work with “Mallory” and aren’t too popular. I am going to use Keith for the middle name because I think that would be great, dad and son sharing a middle name.
Robert Keith Mallory.
Louis Keith Mallory. (American Loo-iss, not French Lou-ee.)
Daniel Keith Mallory. This one jumped out at me, but maybe you know a Daniel or it’s too popular?
Lawrence Keith Mallory. He could go by Larry (which I think deserves a come-back) or Law (much more modern).
Timothy and Nolan are the standout names to me.
Garrett Brian
Keith Edward
Ezra Keith
Stewart Keith
I like Luke a lot and I don’t think it’s too popular. It is #48 for 2009, whereas David is #14. I thought of that name as matching well with your kids before even seeing it on your list. I like Benjamin too.
Other suggestions:
Nathan
Simon
Seth
Micah
Best of luck to you!
I have a Peter and a Leo and considered Philip until I realized it was a tongue twister with my last name. I’m 3 months away from birthing boy #3, and I’m leaning towards Timothy. Maybe I just like names popular 30 years ago but I was really surprised that none of those are in the top 100, but they’re very spellable and pronounceable without being common with today’s kids.
Timothy Joshua is a great name! Nolan James is my second favorite. I think Isaiah works the best with Brian. All of your names are great. JM
Most traditional names aren’t beeing used as much anymore. Most names on your list aren’t terribly overused.
I like more quirky names that are somewhat traditional, but my husband doesn’t.
We named our son Paul, which is a a common middle name in my family. I wasn’t excited about it at first, but it has grown on me.
Other suggestions, Louis and Stuart were also on my list. My husband vetoed both. He vetoed Stuart because he didn’t like Stewie. But I prefer the Stuart spelling over Stewart so I think Stewie could have been avoided. I’m not sure why he vetoed Louis. I’m still scratching my head on that one.
Jesse was on my long list and my husband liked it, but I scratched it off the list early one. My husband’s name is Robert James and we wanted to use one of those for the middle name. My husband kept saying Jesse James would be a kick a$$ name; I thought it was tacky. I also know a few girls named or called Jesse as a nickname for Jessica.
In any event, everyone says my son looks like a Paul. We ended up naming him Paul Robert because I didn’t want PJ to rear it’s ugly head. But I also realized most people would have forgotten my husband’s middle name, and by using my husband’s first name in the middle spot, it would be very clear he was named for his father to almost everyone.
I like sibling names that are compatible in style, so I would definitely give this baby a traditional name too. I also like the idea of giving him one of his father’s names as his middle name. Either Brian or Keith would go with just about every name, so that should be easy to do.
You wrote that you hope to find a name you LOVE. All parents seem to have that goal, and yet I think even if they just like a name a lot, they will soon LOVE when it’s their baby’s name. You also expressed some concern about popularity: most of the best traditional names are popular now because they are such fine names. David ranked #14 in the USA last year and yet less than 1% (.7269%) of all baby boys were given that name. I noticed you wonder if Luke or Benjamin are “too common lately”, but they rank lower than David at #48 and #20. I think both are fine names. At #6 Joshua is the highest ranking name on your lists.
My favorites from your first list are Andrew, James and Thomas. Each name works well without shortening it. I like Benjamin a lot too, but I think it’s difficult to get everyone else to remember to call a child with a three-syllable name by the full name. From your second list I like Owen (not sure if all the others are solid traditionals).
My favorites:
James Brian
Andrew Brian
Thomas Brian
Owen Keith
Other suggestions:
Matthew
Henry
Here are my favorites from your list:
Joshua
Timothy
Thomas
Benjamin
Andrew
Isaiah
Owen
If you’re worried about popularity, though, you might want to strike Joshua from the list. If David has not struck you as too popular the rest are probably fine. If you’d like something a little less common, Timothy could be a good choice. Even though it’s one of the more popular names on the list, for you I like Andrew best, in terms of how it sounds with the sibling names and the last name. Andrew Brian Mallory, Andrew Keith Mallory, Katy, David & Andrew. That’s my pick. I will also throw one more favorite that seems to fit your style into the mix: Ian. Ian Keith Mallory, Katy, David & Ian. Perfect.
I have to second the suggestion of Daniel, only because my name is Katy and my two brothers are David and Daniel. Daniel Mallory – I like it!
I also thought of Tobias when I read your list. Toby for short.
Tobias Keith “Mallory”
If you are worried about popularity I’d stay away from quite a few on your first list – esp Joshua, Luke, James, etc. Many of those are in the top 100 and rising fast!
Oh! You can’t have a Toby Keith. Unless you really like that singer, I guess. ;)
I really like most of your names, but I think if you don’t want nick-names that will help you narrow down the list. Some names shorten really easily and others take more effort and are easier to avoid. Timothy WILL become Tim and Joshua WILL become Josh. I’ve been watching my friends who have a Matthew cringe at every baseball game, when their 5 year old is called Matt by all his little friends. They did a good job reinforcing the full name until he hit school age. Now he’s Matt (which they hate…unfortunately).
Other names don’t shorten as naturally…like Andrew and James…you kind of have to change the name rather than just shorten it.
I really like Luke with your other kids names. It doesn’t work with Keith, though. And of course I love Andrew.
Good luck!
I think your names are all great, but I understand the feeling that none of them are the name you LOVE. (Though I totally agree with an above poster that you might not love it until it is your actual baby’s name, and that’s fine! You will love any name, eventually.)
My favorite from your list is Owen, though, really, they are all great.
My only unique contribution has already been mentioned: Phillip. I adore the name and should I need a boy name in the future, it will absolutely be Phillip James. Phillip Brian “Mallory” PB”M” (oh! as long as your last name doesn’t actually start with J!)
Phillip Keith “Mallory” PK”M”
also Philip
Kathryn, David and Phillip
Katy, David, and Phil
???
Again, I really like all of the ideas you’ve had thus far, and I don’t think you can go wrong.