Faith writes:
I have enjoyed reading your posts over the past few months! I have been looking for a sign – anything – to tell me that “this is the name” of our second son. So far, nothing.
I will have a scheduled c-section on December 8th.His brother is 3 1/2 year Noah Wilfred (Noah b/c we loved it and thought it was so original at the time + Wilfred my father’s name)Our last name is Schaff (short A sound SHAFF)Dad is Russell Eugene Schaff IIIWe have both agreed that baby #2 should have Russell as his middle name (each boy will have a grandfather’s name for the middle)We don’t have other male family names to draw from. :(My husband has had one name offering from the very beginning. Only one. Miles. (He’s a big fan of Miles Davis)I’m not sure how I feel about Miles Russell Schaff. Too many sss sounds. And Schaff sounds so close to “shaft” which tends to pull in the possibility of names that sound like porn stars. (Harry Schaff…..We aren’t tied down to biblical names, but they do sound right with Noah. I’d like a name that doesn’t skyrocket to the top 10 like Noah did. A classic, traditional name.Some on my list have beenEli Russell/Noah and EliCaleb Russell/Caleb and EliJeremiah Russell (husband says there are too many syllables in Jeremiah)/Wilson Russell Schaff (I love the name Will/Wil but William is so popular./Noah and WIlQuinn (was on my list and now off b/c it looks like there are so many girl Quinns out there)I love the name Silas (but Silas Schaff is too many ss sounds)Thank you for your help!
The first thing I notice is that you guys broke a three-generation naming tradition. I’ll bet I’m not the only one hungry for details. My mother-in-law and father-in-law broke a many-generations naming tradition when they named my husband Paul, and it caused…issues. (And I’m so grateful to them for weathering those issues so I wouldn’t have to do it a generation later.)
Anyway! On with business! Since you like Silas but it’s too much S, I wonder if Simon would work better. Simon Schaff, Simon Russell Schaff, Noah and Simon. I like it.
It’s too bad Miles Davis’s surname also ends in S, or that would be a good option. But maybe it’s a good option anyway? Davis Schaff, Davis Russell Schaff, Noah and Davis.
(I was going to suggest Milo, but then thought of your porn caution and “Mile O’Schaff” and changed my mind. Ahem.)
I think I might avoid M-names anyway, because of the MRS initials. And I-names, because of IRS.
I like the sound of Benjamin Schaff. Benjamin Russell Schaff, Noah and Ben.
I like Wilson Russell Shcaff. We had a cat named Wilson…named after the president and bridge (DC). Go for it!
From your list I like:
Caleb
Jeremiah
Wilson
William
I have a Noah, too, and our top 3 for a second boy (we had a girl) ended up being Joshua, William & Ian. Wilson would give you a less common route to Will.
From Swistle’s suggestions, I like Simon & Benjamin.
Here are some other names we considered:
Andrew
Elijah
Isaiah
Jonah
Micah
Zachary
I don’t know what the deal is, but I have such trouble with your comment pop up box here. It never remembers my info and the captcha never shows up without refreshing a few times.
I like Caleb and Noah very much. Even though Wilson was on my list 6 years ago, I don’t like Wilson anymore because I know too many people naming their dogs Wilson.
What about Winton? Like Winton Marsailes, the trumpet player. I also like Quinton/Quinten which gets you to Quin. I have a Quinn. His full name in Quinino, a great-grampa namesake. In my area I only know boy Quinns. I think it feels like its popular for girls because of Glee.
I also like Joshua. It’s such a great name and it seems like hardly anyone is using it right now. Does it have 70s/80s overuse? Maybe.
Rayne- Oh no! Is it the same on my other blogs, or just on this one?
Swistle and Rayne, I would bet the problems are related to your browser, because I have the same problem w/ all blogspot comments when I am *ahem* commenting at work, and my computer and browser are both ancient.
Anyway, I like Wilson/Winston and the suggestion of Benjamin. Maybe Elliot? Elliot Russell Schaff?
Good luck!
I’ve only just started having trouble seeing the word verification (and it consistently needs a few refreshes).OK, not this time but usually.
I like Ben.
Since you like Eli (because it’s AWESOME!), why not name him Elijah Russell Schaff?
Noah and Elijah. Noah and Eli.
Love it, love it!
Even if Eli gets wings and soars to the top ten, Elijah won’t… which is nice.
(And, for the record, the only Quinn I ever knew was a drop-dead gorgeous girl. Because of her, the name will NEVER say ‘boy’ to me).
Best wishes to you and your growing family!
This is like Christmas! Thank you all for your help…I’m taking it all in right now.
As for breaking up three generations of the family name – that was my husband’s suggestion. He has struggled being a “third.” Living in the same town with Dad, he hears “nope, you have already voted” on election day and then has to carefully explain there are two R E Schaffs. Everyday mail confusion & phone calls for the wrong Russell made him crazy and then to top it off: he was never his name….he was always “baby Russell” or “little Russell.”
That’s it. WIsh the story could be a tad more scandalous.
No, then again, I don’t.
So helpful! Thank you Swistle and commenters!
My step-grandpa’s name is Wilfred. He likes to wonder aloud (half-jokingly) WHY nobody has named a son after him… Wilfred is NOT my favorite name, but I figured I would suggest it anyway, as a full name for nn Will.
I *think* Swistle suggests avoiding the initials MRS because of “missus.” It reminds me of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus), seeing M, R, and S capitalized in a row. I know that wouldn’t bring that to mind for most people, but there you go.
A few cool biblical names to consider:
Abram Russell Schaff; Noah and Abram
Ethan Russell Schaff; Noah and Ethan
Joel Russell Schaff; Noah and Joel
Tobiah Russell Schaff; Noah and Tobiah (Silas was possibly too much S for you, so Tobias isn’t much of an option, plus the matching -ah might be a bit much, setting a pattern for any possible future children…)
Abram and Joel are my favorites (though Joel gives the initials JRS “juniors”), as they are less common than Ethan and don’t have the S ending. I think Abram and Noah are particularly nice together. They have the same rhythm, FIRST SYL-last syl, both two syllables, but not rhyming.
Brain. Fried. Edit above to say: S ending with Tobias and Silas, no -ah ending like Tobiah.
Back to my midterm studying!
I sort of like Miles Schaff… there’s really only one s-sound, followed by sh, and its not hard to say. (I’m not counting the ss in the mn, because we really don’t use our mn very often in our lives.)
I like Eli, mainly because Noah and Eli sounds like a great sibset to me.
How about Joaquin, Quincy or Quinlan to get to the nn Quinn?
I like Wilson as a way to get to Will… you could also use:
Willard
Willem
Willis
Wilmer
Wilton
(and Wilbur, but that really makes me think of a pet pig name because of Charlotte’s Web…)
I love Willem for you. Willem Russel Schaff; Noah and Will.
Good luck!
My captcha needs refreshing (on my old computer at work) but not at home. Maybe it’s a sign I should focus on work more :)
I suggest Jarod or Jeremy in place of Jeremiah. I knew a friend whose brother was named Jeremiah and he ended up getting nn’ed Miah. Too similar to Maya for me.
Gideon or Gabriel are some good biblical names to go with Noah.
Oh Faith, I wish you hadn’t said your husband hates being “little” or “baby” because we just named our son Evan III and EVERYONE calls him Baby Evan. But we knew that was going to happen and there will be no feelings hurt if he decides not to carry on the naming tradition some day.
I was going to suggest Ezra, because I thought Noah and Ezra were a great combination, until I realized the reason I thought so was because there’s a well known blogger whose sons are Noah and Ezra.
I think my favorites are
Simon
Jonah
Caleb
Although I know several baby Calebs and I can see it getting really popular in a few years, especially because it is LIKE Jacob (#1 name) but NOT Jacob.
The only name I would add is Gabriel.
Gabriel Russell Schaff
Noah and Gabe
My good friend has two boys named Elijah and Noah…they go very well together!
Caleb is such a great name!
I also second Gideon from above. Gideon Russel Schaff is so lovely. Noah and Gideon. So nickname proof. Plus, after more than a decade of religious-based education, I couldn’t tell you who Gideon is in the Bible.
As a mother of a Benjamin, I love that suggestion :)
Owen, Ethan, Elijah, Benjamin, Jacob or Jack! Or Alex or Kevin…..Dylan and Noah are cute together too.
wilson and elijah are my favorites.
will and eli both seem to go with noah very well.
Some more ideas:
Aaron
Gabriel
Gavin
Luke
Theodore
Zane
It’s just this blog, Swistle. At all other blogspot blogs I regularly visit I don’t have any trouble and my computer remembers my info. Did you make a change because TODAY, no problems. :D
Rayne– What. the. heck! I’ve changed nothing, and this blog has (I THINK) the same set-up as the others: same pop-up comments and everything. What. the. heck.