Anna writes:
I hope that I can enlist your help and your reader’s help in naming my husband Eric and my first child who is a boy! It seems like we had a solid list of 5 names picked if the baby were a girl, but we only have 4 names for a boy now and we aren’t sold on any of them yet. Our last name is Milot – pronounced Me-Low.
The boys names that we agree on are Jack, Grant, Graham and Callum. Our problem – Jack is too popular (we wanted to use Jack because that is my late grandfather’s name.) I LOVE Callum, but my husband doesn’t like the nickname Cal. Grant is ok in our book, and we like Graham, but call my grandmother “Gram.” Talk about confusing!
We also liked Camden and Tyler but family and friends have named their children those names. Some names we are on the fence about are Cohen and Coleman (but we like to camp and think it would be strange to call our child what we call our stove…)
We would like to use Joseph as the middle name because that is Eric’s middle name, but I would still like to honor my grandfather, so Jack or Brennan (his surname) would also work.
My husband and I are both graphic designers so we feel like it would not be fitting to give our child an ordinary name. We are not into classic names (besides Jack I guess.) We don’t want anything that is too popular so he won’t grow up being one of 5 with the same name in his class. We also don’t like super trendy names (Jayden, Aiden, etc.)
If it helps we liked all unisex names for a girl. So, if we end up ever having a girl we wouldn’t want people trying to figure out which one of our children is a boy, so the name should be somewhat masculine.
We hope you can help!
I wonder if you might want to use your grandfather’s surname Brennan as the first name? Or perhaps hold that in reserve for a future girl, if you like androgynous names for girls. It’s so lucky to have a family surname that would make a wonderful first name! I have a lot of Dutch ancestors so have surname-as-first-name choices such as VanderWyk. Catchy!
I see your point about Graham/Gram, but it’s not likely to be a long-term problem, if you catch my tactless drift.
If you like Coleman, I wonder if you might like Chapman? Or Truman?
Another possibility is Lawson. It’s unusual and masculine, and I really like it with your surname: Lawson Milot.
Wilson is good, too: Wilson Milot.
And Gibson: Gibson Milot.
Sullivan is a name I think is underused: Sullivan Milot.
I wish Ruben sounded good with my surname, but sadly no. It’s good with yours: Ruben Milot.
If you like Tyler, maybe Tanner? Oh, or Turner! I really like Turner: Turner Milot.
If you like Camden, maybe Keegan? That’s high on my own boy name list. Or Corbin? Or Campbell?
If you like Jack, maybe Clark? Ike? Mack?
Name update 07-12-2010! Anna writes:
I just wanted to give an update for Baby Boy Milot. He decided to arrive a little early on 6/27. After taking our list of names and looking at our little man, we decided on Graham Joseph. Thanks to you and all of your followers comments, we felt it was a great fit. We have gotten many compliments on it and how strong a name it is.
Thanks for all of your help!
I like Brennan Joseph for you.
Or how about Garrison or Griffin? Those seems to fit your style.
I think Graham is a fantastic name, so that would be my first choice from your list. (I also like Brennan or Jack (Jackson?) as first names.) Other suggestions:
Bennett
Clayton
Doyle
Flynn
Griffith
Warner
Bennett Joseph Milot; Flynn Milot, Warner Brennan Milot…
Good luck!
I really like Brennan Joseph. I have two concerns with this name that I think you should consider just so you are aware. The first is the TV show Bones. On that show, the female character is referred to as Brennan, her fictional last name. Depending on just how adamant you are about it being a “male” name, this might be an issue. The second is the possible awful nickname of BJ. If you can avoid that, then no worries.
To me, you seem to like names that originated from British surnames. With that in mind, I wanted to suggest the following:
((Kingsley)) – I think it works as Kingsley Joseph. An added perk is that this name is not ranked in the top 1000 in the US. My only hesitation with this is that the name can also be used for a girl.
((Lyle)) – Lyle Joseph sounds great!! Again this name is not ranked in the top 1000 boy names in the US. This is such a strong masculine name.
((Prescott)) – I’m slightly hesitant to suggest this one because people sometimes think it sounds way too prep school to consider, but you may like it. This one is is also not in the top 1000 boy names in the US. Prescott Joseph and Prescott Brennan sound good to me. He could also choose to use the nn “Scott.” There is absolutely no mistaking this for a girl’s name.
Good luck! Jess
Love Swistle’s suggestion of Lawson.
I also like Grant from your list.
Good luck!
Colton instead of Coleman?
i like Jack best from your list.
From Swistle’s: love love Sullivan, like Winston
My suggestions: Carter, Harrison, Colton and Connor, Hunter.
I know a 20-something yr old girl named Brennan, so I think of it as a more feminine…so if it were my son, I would use it as a middle name or save it for a daughter. Just my opinion :)
Good Luck
What about Graham with the nickname Gray?
how about Grayson, Judson, or Hudson? I, too, think Brennan is very feminine. Grayson is my favorite suggestion with a NN Gray.
I think you have a great list. I like Jack, Grant, Graham and Callum. You could try narrowing down to 2 and seeing what he looks like.
Jack Joseph “J.J.” for short?
Grant Brennan
Grant Joseph
Graham Joseph
Callum Joseph
Callum Jack
I like them all!
If you want more suggestions I also like Grayson and Wilson.
Grayson Jack
Wilson Joseph
Best of luck and congrats!
Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. We are going to write them all down and bring them to the hospital with us. Hopefully we will have that “ah-ha” moment when he is born and we will know what his name will be!
Love your list, my husband and I have all of those on our list, here’s a few others we have;
Aiden
Connor
Davis
Desmond
Jude
Liam
Nolan
My husband is from Ireland, hence all the irish names… best of luck!
How about Carson? Carson Milot sounds fantastic; it’s masculine (think Carson Daly), but not too common. My husband’s cousin has a 3-year old named Carson (who has a more androgynous-named sister, Avery), and I always think it’s such a fantastic little-boy name that will be just as great when he’s an adult.
I like the suggestion of Lawson as well. Good luck! :-)