Taylor writes:
I am expecting baby #3, a boy, in late October. The hubs and I are having a hard time with naming the little fella…its more challenging each time I think. My son is William Jack, who we call Will, and my daughter is Annabel Karen, Annie. Will is named after my FIL, my grandfather (both Williams/Bills) and my father, whose mn is Jack. Annie is named for my MIL (whose mn is Anne), me (also mn of Ann) and my mother, whose first name is Karen. To keep with our naming pattern, ideally I would like a traditional first name with a nickname, and a namesake (one will do this time, haha). But there’s the rub… we covered almost all our bases with our first two kiddos…with all 4 of our parents accounted for, we don’t have many special namesakes left for this little guy! I don’t want him to see his sibling’s meaningful names and feel left out… but out of necessity we decided to branch out to first names without family ties and use a family name for the middle name.
My list of first names right now are:
Henry, nn Hank
-This is our frontrunner. I love how Henry sounds with William and Annabel and how Hank sounds with Will and Annie…like they could fit in at Buckingham Palace or in the cast of “OKLAHOMA!” depending on whether they go by their given name or nickname. BUT, Henry seems to really be gaining in popularity. When we named our first son, I knew William was a popular name. Since the name has so much family significance, I don’t mind. But since there’s no tribute involved with this baby’s name, I’d rather not pick a popular name. What is your take on Hank?? Is it rising too or are the majority of Henry-namers calling their boys by the full name?Calvin, nn Cal
– I like this one much more than my husband does. I immediately think “Calvin and Hobbes” but hubby worries it sounds a little wimpy. I’m also not sure Calvin fits with our other names.Charles, nn Charlie
– we love it but have pretty much eliminated it b/c of popularity, and my husband is scared to death someone might call him Chuck or Chaz, names he really dislikes.Jay
– This actually is my husband’s middle name, so it is a namesake. I love it–seems carefree and masculine to me, but I have some reservations. One is no nickname, which is a change from my other kids. Also, I worry little Jay might get lumped in with a slew of Jaydens and Jalens his age…and those names are not really my taste, so its a negative connotation for me. Also, it sounds just like the letter “J”, obviously, and sometimes that sounds funny when you say the whole name, like he goes by his mn and uses the initial in front of it…does that make sense?As far as middle names go, my husband and I both have brothers, but we don’t want to choose one brother over the other for a namesake. We don’t like any of their names, first or middle, enough to give a first name spot to one, and we do not want to use two middle names, so unless I am having a surprise twin I can’t think of a way to honor both with one pregnancy. Our other grandfathers aren’t options for various reasons. So we are left with some family surnames and my husband’s name, Andrew Jay (nn Andy). We thought about doing a junior, but since we already have the confusion of an Andy and an Annie so Andrew junior seems like too many “An”s for one family! SOO….Our best middle name options are Andrew, Jay, and Patton (my husband’s grandmother’s maiden name, which holds significance to my mother in law).
Our last name is similar to “Roshcold”.
Here are my favorite combos: Henry Patton “Roshcold”, Henry Jay “Roshcold”, Calvin Jay “Roshcold”, Jay Patton “Roshcold”. I would love more opinions and suggestions!
Thanks!
I do think it’s okay if the first boy and the first girl have family names, and then the next children don’t. But I also do love family names, so if you’d like to use them you’ve got me on your side!
I’ve definitely been hearing of Hank as a nickname for Henry on baby name questions—and yet I THINK all the actual Henrys I’ve encountered have gone by Henry. (Chime in, everyone: do you know Henrys who go by Hank?)
The nice thing about the name Charles is that although it’s popular, its popularity is falling. Henry is rising and it’s hard to predict how high it will go, but Charles has already gone as high as it’s going. And it’s wonderful with the others: Will, Annie, and Charlie is so perfect. You can probably keep him from being called Chuck or Chaz while he’s young…but it’s true he might choose one of those nicknames himself later on.
I know what you mean about Jay sounding like an initial, and I don’t know how to get past that problem either. Well, one thing is that it’s uncommon for someone to refer to himself by all three names: like, he’ll say, “Hi, I’m Jay” or “Hi, I’m Jay Roshcold” WAY more often than he’ll say “Hi, I’m Jay Patten Roshcold.”
One option is to give him another name and nickname him Jay: that would give him a nickname like the other children. James would be so nice with your surname—but I realize that’s probably more common than you want, and also it’s a lot of fuss to go a roundabout route to make Jay a nickname if you really love Jay. But if you DID love James, or Jameson.
Or, I do like your Jr. idea for him. If you nicknamed him Drew, it gives you the nickname AND prevents you from adding to the Andy/Annie confusion. In fact, I think that’s my favorite option. Or, you could make him a double namesake (like the other two kids) but not a Jr. by naming him Andrew Patton and calling him Drew.
My brother’s name is Jay and, to my knowledge, I don’t think anyone has ever been confused/thought he was saying an initial when he was saying his name. He’s never mentioned it, everyone seems to get that his name is “Jay” and not “J” just fine.
I only know one Henry (age 2) and he goes by Henry, not Hank. Not that one kid proves anything.
I also know a baby Calvin and the more times I hear the name the more I love it. I don’t think it’s wimpy at all and “Cal” goes well with Will and Annie.
But I think my favorite name for you would be to use Andrew and call him Drew with a different middle name from your husband. That’s how my dad’s family did names: four generations of William without a junior or a number (and all different nicknames – Will, Bill, Biff).
Andrew Calvin
Andrew Charles
Andrew Patton
Or you could use Jay Andrew.
I know Henrys and none goes by Hank. I like Henry Jay Roshcold.
I generally don’t like using the Jr. and here I think Charles/Charlie is such a great name for you guys, that it almost feels like a sin not to use it. I think so long as the future kidlet doesn’t love Chuck or Chaz and you always call him Charlie or Charles, then you should be okay on the nickname front…plus that is the thing about nicknames, sometimes you get stuck with one that doesn’t really even have anything to do with a name at all, like my sister Diana who for years was “Meatball” or “Meatball-head.”
Good luck!
This is a tough one because I like them all for different reasons.
My favorite combos (not in order) are:
Charles Jay
Jay Patton
Henry Jay
It looks like all the most important cast members in this baby’s life already have a namesake within your two older children’s names, except your husband, poor guy. ;-) And with Andrew and Jay available, I see no reason not to include one of those fine names. I love the nickname “Drew” for Andrew and since Dad doesn’t go by that, it seems just waiting to be used. For the middle, though, I’d choose another name than Jay to give this little boy his very own name. I like Andrew Henry or Andrew Patton.
My other choice for you would be Henry Jay “Roshcold” –very distinguished and Hank is a nice nickname. As for your concern that the name may become too popular, I don’t think it will ever make the Top 10. I also think most young Henrys are called “Henry” and never Hank. (I have a baby grandson named Henry, and his parents intend to always call him Henry.) Hank may catch on, but right now I’m not hearing it on little guys. Henry “Hank” would be more unusual than Andrew “Drew”, so for that reason — and to introduce another first initial into the family (since your family already has two A-names)– I would probably choose Henry Jay. Henry Andrew Roshcold would be a fine name too.
Best wishes!
PS I love your older kids’ names — and it seems that I recall helping out with Annabel’s name on this blog too. I love the name Annabel! And I have a grandson named William “Will’ — love that name too!
James Anderson, nn. Jay.
Anderson means “son of Andrew”, James sounds great with William and Annabel, and Jay sounds great with Will and Annie.
Done. James Anderson. Or whatever you want. ;)
I know two Henrys and one of them goes by Hank.
I like all of your names. Henry Jay is my favorite. I like Calvin too, and it’s not a name that strikes me as wimpy. Calvin Jay. It works well. I guess I see Jay in the middle name position. Charles of course is a wonderful name that you can’t go wrong with, I know several Charlies and none of them go by Chuck or Chaz.
Maybe this is one of those situations where you have to take two possibilities to the hospital and decide when you meet him?
Good luck!
I love all your name choices, although I have to say that I feel like Calvin is really gaining in popularity. I am hearing it everywhere these days!
I really like Swistle’s suggestion of Andrew Patton (or Andrew Jay) and calling him Drew! Good luck!
i REALLY like Henry Jay!!! Hank would be adorable with Annie and Will.
second favorite would be Andrew/Drew Patton.
How about Joseph Patton? I know a couple people named Joseph who go by Jay. Similar style to your other kids’ names. And I do know a 4yo Henry who goes by Hank
I have a Henry and he’s never gone by Hank. (My husband almost wouldn’t go with the name Henry, because he didn’t like the nickname Hank.) I don’t know any other toddler Henrys (oh, there was one at the library storytime recently. His name tag said Henry, so I guess he doesn’t go by Hank in public either.)
I noticed that Henry was rising in popularity too, but I really liked the name and it’s classic. Plus boy name popularity seems to bother me less than girl name popularity. And it would sound great with your first two children’s names.
I do know a couple of Andrews and one goes by Drew.
So I like Henry Jay or Andrew (Drew). I also like James (nickname Jay).
I know several new baby Henrys, none that go by Hank. I love Jay because it meets the family connection and it sounds like a great carefree classy prohibition-era name, a la Jay Gatsby.
I love the name Jay and I don’t hear it enough. In fact, I never hear it.
Jay Patton would give you two family names which is a bonus.
Some further thoughts about your naming dilemma, described so clearly in your letter:
“Henry, nn Hank
-This is our frontrunner. I love how Henry sounds with William and Annabel and how Hank sounds with Will and Annie…like they could fit in at Buckingham Palace or in the cast of “OKLAHOMA! depending on whether they go by their given name or nickname. BUT, Henry seems to really be gaining in popularity…”
Henry does seem to be the perfect fit for your family. AND I don’t think you have to worry about the name suddenly becoming a very top name or that little Hanks will soon turn up everywhere. Henry (currently #71 in the SSA Top 1000, the year before, #78)) isn’t likely to attain the popularity of William because Henry is not as favored by all sections of the population. As American Name Society president and baby name author Cleveland Evans, Ph.D., has written, “…Henry today is perhaps the boys name whose use is most marked by educational status; physicians and lawyers seem to think Henry is a great name for a son, while blue-collar parents still seem to think the name sounds a bit whimpy.”
Hank, as you noted, has a more regular guy kind of image. Evans lays out the interesting history of the nickname Hank, long ago in England connected to John but now used primarily in the US as a nn for Henry: “Hank. The name existed in medieval England as a short form of Jehankin, itself from Jehan, a Middle English form of John. The name died out in England, but in America it is now used as a nickname for Henry. This probably came about when English speakers had contact with the early Dutch settlers in New Netherland (New York), because Hannek and Henk are common pet forms of Hendrik, the Dutch version of Henry.”
I don’t think you need to be concerned that Henry will suddenly become a Top 10 name, and the odds are in favor of your son always being the only Hank in his class.
I second Swistle’s suggestion of naming him Andrew Patton and calling him Drew.
Cool family ties with all your kids!
Best wishes!
Because your first son already has a popular name, I would suggest giving the second son a popular name for the sake of continuity.
I think Charles “Charlie” and Henry “Hank” are both perfect with William “Will.”
But here are other ideas:
I have a distant cousin named John who goes by Jay. I like the idea of John Andrew Roshcold, “Jay.” You can use Jay as a nickname, but in case your son doesn’t want to be Jay, you are still honoring Dad with the middle name Andrew and I think the name as a whole flows well.
Oliver, to me, is like Henry’s natural brother. Of course both Henry and Oliver are up-and-coming names. I can see either one or both easily getting into the top 10 (it might take 10-20 years), but since William is already in the top 10, I wouldn’t really worry about that. The downside to Oliver is that the only nickname I can come up with is Ollie and I don’t know what you think about that. Personally I like Hank better, but I’m pretty confident that of all the new Oliver’s popping up, few if any are called Ollie. Therefore if you like Ollie, it might be a good way to get a popular name that goes with William but still has a distinctive nickname. I like Oliver Patton, but it sounds like a famous person I may have forgotten about.
There’s Julius “Jude” but if your husband thinks Calvin is wimpy, I can just imagine what he would think of Julius. Now, Julian is a little more masculine, but may still sound wimpy to your husband. Still, I like Julian “Jude” for you too.
Good luck.
Henry nn Hank is such a great fit with your other children and a wonderful name by itself! Pick Henry!
Or, if thou wilt not, I like Frazzled Mom’s idea of Julian nn Jude.