Sara writes:
I’m due September 21 with my second child. Like our first, we didn’t find out the gender and are stumped with boy names once again. Luckily, our first child is a girl and we named her Marin Nora. The first name means sailor (my husband races sailboats) and the middle name is after my grandma. If we have another girl, we are 99% sure we’ll name her Kinley Josephine. Kinley is my husband’s middle name and the middle name is after my grandpa, Joe.
When we were pregnant for Marin, I reluctantly agreed on the name Carson for a boy, but was so relieved when we didn’t have a boy! The middle name would have been (and will be with baby #2) Kinley – as it is a fourth generation tradition to have the first boy’s middle name be Kinley.
My husband’s only consideration is Grayson. I don’t like it – for no explainable reason. Names that we have talked about, but don’t “speak” to us are … Conner, Ryan, Gavin. If it were up to me, it would be Grant. I also love Bennett or Benjamin and a new favorite, Tyson.
Marin’s name is unheard of in the area we live and hopefully won’t be come “popular” for awhile. So, I’m also struggling with this baby having an “original” name, but nothing too out there. I also love the fact that Marin’s name has the sailing/water reference too. Help! Oh, and our last name is Webb.
I suggest Caspian. It’s uncommon but not unfamiliar, and the Caspian Sea gives it a water reference. Caspian Kinley Webb; Marin and Caspian.
You could go straight for Sailor: again, uncommon but not unfamiliar, and similar to the currently-popular name Sawyer. Sailor Kinley Webb; Marin and Sailor. It has a slight feminine association because Christie Brinkley named her daughter Sailor.
The Baby Name Wizard says Keeler means “boat-builder.” Keeler Kinley is a little much but also sounds good to me. Keeler Webb; Marin and Keeler. But I hesitate to recommend it, because Keeler sounds a little feminine to me.
Leif Ericson was a famous sailing guy, and while Leif Webb seems a little abrupt, Ericson Webb is nice and reminds me of both Grayson and Carson. Marin and Ericson.
And there’s Christopher Columbus, of course, and Christopher Webb is a wonderful name.
Lachlan is a nice name and means “land of lakes.” Lachlan Webb; Marin and Lachlan.
Name update! Sara writes:
I appreciated all your comments and it caused us to go back to our original list when we were pregnant with our first child. An old favorite emerged and seemed perfect for a boy – which we ended up having! Beckett Kinley Webb was born on September 18. We are getting lots of compliments on his name, which means “dweller by the brook.” Thanks again for your help!
I really like the suggestions of Caspian (which reminds me of the Narnia books– and Caspian did sail to the end of the world) and Lachlan. I like them better than my own rather literal suggestion of River, but I’ll throw it in there anyway. You could also think of bodies of water near where you live or that are important to you and see if any of them have promising names.
I want to find a way to work Joseph in there because of your grandfather, but I know you want a more unusual name. Maybe Kinley Joseph, or a name with a similar beginning– Josiah Kinley?
StephLove, I also thought pleasantly of Narnia at the mention of Caspian. Having a seafaring connection with a classic and well-loved children’s book seems perfect.
I like all the Swistle suggestions. I started to say which was my top favorite, then changed to another, then finally decided I just flat out liked them all a lot.
Hmm…going the other way (from the water-related names), I wonder if you wouldn’t like Graham? It’s similar to both Grant & Grayson, but a kind of compromise. It sounds great with Marin (a favorite of mine & high on our girl list!) AND you could use the nn Gray if you really wanted to, which may appeal to your husband since he likes Grayson so much.
Good luck!
I like all of Swistle’s suggestions, and agree that Christopher Kinley Webb is a wonderful name! Also, as a tie-in that may either make you cringe or make your day, who could forget Christopher Cross’ fabulous song “Sailing”? :)
Some other themed names to add to the pile:
Hudson (as in the river. Kind of a stretch, but I really like how it sounds with Kinley as a middle name and Marin as a sister!)
Drake (as in Sir Francis Drake. Could end up sounding like Dray Kinley when saying his full name, though, if that’s a concern for you)
Calder (means rough waters, stream. Calder Kinley is kind of a mouth full, but I like it!)
Derrick (nautical term/device)
Hank (nautical term/device)
Jack (slang for sailor)
Good luck!
~ Annie
Crew Kinley Webb…
It sounds strong and familiar (like Drew or Bruce) but is DEFINATELY not a “popular” name. And if you race sailboats, you’ve got to have your crew!
Otherwise, Swistle’s suggestion of Ericson is masculine and distinctive.
My only hesitation with Grayson is that it I keep hearing it on little girls where I live! It’s kind of like naming a boy Ashley or Leslie or Kelly (perfectly acceptable boys’ names when I was in school).
Best wishes to your family! You’ll pick the perfect name!
I really really like Lachlan. But you know, as usual, all of Swistle’s suggestions are very good. :)
Good luck!
First of all I love your girl name Kinley Josephine.
For a boy… how about Dylan?
(Welsh: sea) It’s close-ish to the Grayson your husband likes. Its popularity is going down. Marin and Dylan. Cute! Dylan Webb works really well.
There is also Irving (friend of the sea), and Zale (strong sea). Irving is great too! Marin and Irving sound like siblings to me.
Good luck!
Okay, I am probably an anomaly on this one, but I would avoid any name (Caspian, etc.) with a sea motif. I am familiar with the name Marin (have known too), and regardless would immediately think “sea” in reference to this name — I’ve studied a lot of romance languages! If I head about Marin and Caspian, say, as a sibling set, I would recognize the connection, maybe think it a bit contrived, and be distracted from the true beauty of each name. A word person would pick up on these links immediately, which could be cool, I suppose, but would turn me off as contrived. Sorry!
Oh Swistle, I LOVE Caspian. I was always afraid it had too strong of a tie to the Narnia books, so I’ve kind of put it off my radar. But if you, most trusted namer of names, think it’s a-okay, perhaps I should reconsider! It just sounds so darn handsome. Caspian. I love it.
I don’t care for Caspian but I love, love Carson. Carson Kinley Webb sounds great. We have 1 Carson in our daycare and I always think what a cool name. Marin and Carson are a good sib pair. An alternate could be Carter-also a good choice. I also like Zander with Marin, Webb, and the middle name Kinley. Best wishes!
I like Caspian, but prefer Ericson with Marin.
Maybe ask your husband to make a list of ten names and rank them from 1 (his favorite) to 10 in order of preference…that way you at least have more of a jumping board than just Grayson. I like the suggestion of Graham above. I also like Lachlan.
I think it is too close to Marin, but Florian is a Saint affiliated with protection from fire and water.
I like the suggestion of Hudson. For a more obscure water reference how about Douglas, “dark river”?