Gretchen writes:
I just ran across your blog today and am so excited for your input!
My husband, Dominic, and I are expecting our first child around October 9th. We opted to keep the gender a surprise so we won’t know the gender until he/she is born. Our goal is to have 2-3 boy and 2-3 girls names picked out … that we agree on, then we’ll decide for sure once we see their smiling face :)
Our name goals are:
-Unique, but not crazy (per Dominic’s request … I love crazy)
-Flows well with our last name, Bossio
-Perhaps incorporate our heritage … German and ItalianWe are on the same wavelength when it comes to girl names … our top ones are Tallulah (we’d nickname her Lula, still searching for a good middle name), Elsa Kathleen, Jemma Janell, Belle Francine and Petra Louise.
Boy names have been the trouble, we don’t agree on much and the ones we do agree on don’t POP for either of us. This is what we have considered:
AGREE
Miles
Dean – family name so could be a middle name
Rocco (Dom’s #2), I’m concerned about it sounding too “mobster” with our last name
Noah
Liam
ReidDominic’s Favorites
Peyton (Dom’s #1)
Anthony
CooperGretchen’s Favorites
Wilder (my #1)
Bennett
Lennox
Koehler (Koehl, prounounced Cole)
Brodie
Reuben
Edgar (Eddie)
Ryder
I’m thinking we are to the point where we just need something fresh … any ideas?Thanks for your help!
Name update 10-07-2010! Gretchen writes:
Thank you so much for the help … turns out our little surprise was a girl, born on October 2nd! I loved reading all of the boy name input though and will definitely tuck them away for future children. We decided on Jemma for our little one. We just knew the moment she was born … she wasn’t a Tallulah or Elsa, she was a Jemma! We chose Janell as the middle name after her paternal grandmother.
How about Dane?
Just throwing out some ideas…
Desmond
Dorian
Linus
Roman
Congrats! I love your style.
The only girls’ name that might be an issue is Belle Francine – Bella is common as a nickname for the mega-popular Isabella that you might feel like you’ve ended up with a common choice. But the others seem perfect – unusual, but easy to wear.
For a boy, it seems like you’re leaning towards more common names – or ones that might not seem common, but like Belle, will feel very ordinary. (Cole has been in the US Top 1000 since 1997. Koehler is different – but probably not enough.)
So maybe:
Archer
Crosby
Tate
Orion
Baylor
Abel
Ronan
Dante
Dexter
And I like Janet’s suggestion of Desmond – cool name, very underused!
Boy names we considered:
Jasper
Espen (a Norwegian name)
Quinn
Theodore
Grant
August (Gus)
Girl names we considered:
Vesper
Marguerite (Daisy)
Polly
Maren
Josephine (Josie)
Good luck!
I think Wilder Bossio is ‘mobster’ like too. Just like Rocco Bossio. Brodie Bossio has way too many similar sounds.
From your lists I like:
Miles Dean
Lennox Dean
Edgar Liam
I’d like to suggest Colton.
I really like all your girl choices. But Elsa Kathleen and Petra Louise are so, so lovely!
Adding my 2 cents on Italian boys names (I’ve got nothing for girls names sorry). My son is Rocco and you will be hard pressed to find someone (especailly an Italian) who doesn’t like the name. I think if you were going with Guido you might have more of the “mobster” issue or Jersey Shore issue. Here was our list of Italian boys names in case something pops out at you:
Rocco, Luciano (might be too mobster), Marco, Enzo and Alfredo (after my husband’s grandfather). We went with a common middle name in case when Rocco gets older, he doesn’t like Rocco and wants to use the middle name instead.
I love your style, too!
Two cautionary notes about the boys’ names you have listed: I think Peyton is becoming more of a female name. Also, Koehler brings very strongly to mind Kohler, one of the biggest makers of toilets and sinks in the country.
A few more Italian names for boys.
Rosco-less common than Rocco but very similar
Marcello-My VERY favorite Italian name, I picture a very handsome and charming guy with a sexy accent. AND I think it sounds great with your last name.
Augustino-nn Gus or Auggie. Not common in the states (Even the English versions of August or Augustine) but a very common last name in Southern Italy
My favorite Germanic girls name to throw into the mix is Adelaide. Very pretty with LOTS of nicknames.
Liam reminds of Linden, which reminds me of Declan.
Miles reminds me of Milo, but I don’t know about the repeating O ending.
Reid reminds me of Reve. Another option is Rainor (apparently from German, “strong counselor”), which reminds me of Randon.
Noah reminds me of Nolan, which reminds me of Nelson and Nerian.
Bennett reminds me of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice(though she spelled it with one T). Just to add some more names for you to think about, from literature: Lucas, Gardiner, Dash/Dashiell (I was inspired by the Dashwoods), Hugh, Amiens, Francis, Cade, Haslett, and Walden.
From your girls’ names: Elsa Kathleen Bossio.
From your boys’ lists:
Miles Bossio
Reid Bossio
I’d avoid Peyton because it’s now used far more for girls (5270 baby girls named Peyton in 2009) than for boys (2677 boys). And I’d be hesitant to name a boy Wilder (even though it’s a surname in my family tree).
Best wishes!
I like Elsa and Petra for you quite a bit.
As for the boy names, I love Noah (it’s my son’s name) and Anthony is very nice, too, but neither is uncommon. They are #9 and #10 right now. I like Cooper, Miles, Reid and Reuben, but you said you were looking for something new.
Givoanni and Giacomo are my favorite Italian boy names. I want to steer more to German, though, since the surname is already Italian and a mix would reflect your family better. I found these on a list of names popular in Germany; my guess is they are not all Germanic in origin but it might point you in the right direction:
Alexander
Felix
Jonas
Louis
Luca
Lukas
Niklas
Good luck! Please report back.
I will suggest my boys’ names, though I see at least two of them are mentioned. :)
Linus, Oliver, Miles
I like your selection. I’m absolutely swooning for Petra Louise! Petra Bossio sounds great too…
For a boy I like:
Noah Wilder Bossio
Miles Cooper Bossio
and I suggest:
Lukas Dean Bossio
Felix Reid Bossio
Anton Peyton Bossio
Good luck!
I like Rocco and didn’t immediately think of the Sopranos so there’s that.
I triple love the suggestion of Marcello!
It sounds like you have a good list of girls name, it’s just time to see if she arrives and what fits!
I think if Swistle had commented on this one she would have suggested Karl, so I will suggest it on her behalf.
I like Rocco, but I think it is hard to say with Bossio. Sorry!
I like your girl’s name choice of Tallulah. I like Miles, a lot(!), from your boy’s list.
Other suggestions: Alessandro, Carlo, Leo, and I really like the suggestion above of Marco.
I love Dane, Abel, Lukas, Felix, Rex, Desmond, August, Marco, and Enzo.
StephLove- HA HA HA! And you’re right!
Everytime I hear the name Dean, I think of the name Clark. So I’ll suggest Clark! Reid makes me think of Clark, too, as do Dane and Grant (mentioned by other commenters).
Rocco Bossio is just plain awesome. It sounds VERY masculine… but friendly… like a nice lifeguard or a helpful fire fighter.
Miles Dean sounds swanky, kind of Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin/Miles Davis. Smooth.
What about Frank Martin Bossio?
You’ve got great lists. Your little one is sure to have a moniker to be proud of.
And Petra Louise IS a charming name!
I think Rocco is one of the coolest names I’ve ever heard, and that it would be stellar with your last name. Good luck!
Congrats on your baby girl. I LOVE the name Jemma. Gemma was one of my top 5. This name hits all my favorite things: unique but not made up, not popular, but you’ve heard it before. I am so glad you chose it for your little darling.