Erica writes:
We just found out that we are expecting our 5th, yes FIFTH B.O.Y…wowzers! I LOVE playing the name game and thoroughly enjoyed picking out GIRLS names for the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy…but alas, we need another boy name! I am now 33 weeks along and we still have no name! This is especially hard because we usually are great name pickers! We actually picked our #5 child’s name the day our #4 child was born, so with it being this late in the pregnancy is really hard for me. I feel like having a name helps me bond with the baby during pregnancy and without it I’m struggling.
My husband and I are Eric and Erica Johnson and we are a blended family with “our” 3rd on the way. The older 3 children are from my previous marriage, but they all live with us. The children’s names are
Perry Thomas B. (13)
Parker Logan B. (12)
Libby McClairen B. (9½)
Corban Joseph J. (2½)
Clayt Daniel J. (18m)
Baby boy J. due 12/15/10
All but one child (Parker Logan) has a family name, or a family inspired name (meaning we have a really long story how I got from my dad’s name Clayton to McClairen for my daughter’s middle name….but to me it is the inspiration more than the exact name that matters)
It is important to me that the meaning of the names have no negative meanings and its important to me that we find the closest meaning based on etymology rather than “baby-naming” websites that like to flower up some of the less desirable meanings. We are word of faith Christians, and its really important to me that we are speaking nothing negative about our child every time we call his name! I would really like this baby’s name to reflect that he is appointed, a gift, a reward or something with that kind of meaning. I’ve been dealing with a bit of disappointment (as much as I don’t want to be but I was so hopeful for a girl this time around)
Our 2 youngest children’s middle names are family names but we are pretty much out of male names…we are a family surrounded with females! Hubby’s father is Joseph Daniel (hubby is Eric Joseph) It really bugs me to not have a family name, but to “force” the issue seems to be no good either.
Possible Middle names:
Eric- haven’t run it by hubby but with the right first name he might go for it
Ray- I don’t like it much for the sound of the name, but it is a family name (my dad’s middle name, and my DH great grandpa’s first name) Coming from the name Raymond, it means Advice protector…Downside….my sister used the name for her daughter (who is 2 years old) and we are close…So maybe another name with the name “ray” with in it….though Raymond doesn’t really ring my bell either! UGH…
Since we are running low on family names, a known biblical name might be an easier route (I’ve looked through nearly all of them by meaning and picked out a nice long list of instant vetos…
I like Eli or Elijah for a middle name, because I felt God used a baby named Eli to help prepare my heart for this son. DH hasn’t vetoed or approved the name
The few first names that we have on the still considering list…but none really feel like they fit….
Names I’ve suggested (all have meanings that “pass”)
Ramsey – my favorite but DH doesn’t like names that end with and “ey” sound.
Gentry Foster
Foster EliNames DH has suggested
Roman
Titus
Lock(e)
Given
Wyatt – DH current like, but “meh”…if you ask me and I don’t like the meaning.Thanks for your help!
Is it possible that there are any female names that might have a male equivalent, or other possible surnames on your family tree? You’ve mentioned it a few times, so it seems like you might really want to consider going back to look through the branches just once more!
The name that springs to mind when I hear gift is Theodore – literally, God’s gift. With siblings like Libby and Clayt, I’m guessing you might like Theo better. Theo Elijah is a great combo.
Seth means appointed, and has the same sort of vibe as Clayt and Wyatt.
Rayner comes from one of the same roots as Raymond – ragin, advice. Rayner Eric would fit with your other kids’ names.
Congratulations on baby #6!
Along the lines of the previous commenter’s suggestion about using the male equivalent of a female family name, my son’s middle name is Louis, after his great grandmother Lois. You might be able to do something like that with one of your family names.
I think Elijah would be a wonderful choice for you. It sounds like it has personal meaning for you. And if you decide not to use a family name for the middle, you will still have a meaningful name to you, which is why most people use family names in the first place. Maybe you could pair it with one of your husband’s choices. I like Elijah Roman
I also like the name Elijah in either the middle or first name slot.
The names Matthew, Jonathan, Nathaniel and Theodore all mean gift of God.
I think Nathaniel goes best with the other kids’ names. Nathaniel Eli? or Nathaniel with a variation of a family name?
Good luck!
From your lists, I like Elijah, Roman, Locke and Foster. But what about Canaan? It’s biblical, Hebrew and means to be humbled, low. Good luck!
I love Elijah… Some others I dug up in the realm of your requirements are:
Asher – “happy” or “blessed” in Hebrew
Edgar, Edric, Edwin, and Edmund all have “rich, blessed” in their meanings
Jesse – comes from a Hebrew name that may mean “gift”
Shai – means “gift” in Hebrew
And as other commenters pointed out, Seth and Theodore also have similar meanings.
Good luck!
Ian, Ivan, Jonathan, Mathias, Zane and Zebadiah – gift from God
Jed, Jedidiah – beloved by God/friend of God
Lucas, Luke – bringer of light
Nima – blessing, thread, melody
Samuel – asked of God, God has heard
Saul – asked for, borrowed
Shayne – God is gracious
What about Aaron Ray? Elijah Ray is also lovely. Good luck!!
What about Tobin, or Tobias? They both mean God is good!
Do you like Titus Eli?
What about Lucas Elijah? (All your other kids share an inital… but not Libby).
Best wishes on your new addition!
Hi everyone, thanks for the responses so far…the family tree has been checked branch by branch and shaken…NADA! Even the girls names…Fama, Vera, Loretta, Sara, Winona, Debra, Susan and 4 versions of Jean…which we have chosen Gina/Regina as a girl name for the future. Surnames too…Grove, Cherry, Furr, Douglass (means dark river, so veted) Jones (considered for a middle name), Key and Christopherson (loved Christof, but dh vetoed about 10 seconds after HE mentioned it..ARG!)
I’m what most people would call an analyst…my thought process causes people’s eyes to glaze over when I start talking. I”m soooooooo detailed…I deleted probably 50% of my post, so It woudln’t be overwhelming, but alas, it did cover all the areas that we had been over and vetoed.
I feel like I’ve looked at every name in the Bible that I could possibly consider…and came up empty…so I’ve pretty much given up on biblical or family names.
Any new name ideas inspired from our “considering” list…even though we are “considering” them none of them feel right, so its more of a “style” of names list than an actual “name” list, if that makes any sense! Hope this little bit of extra information helps new ideas to spring forth! Thank you so much for your time and thoughts!
I love my little Jonathan, also a December baby and absolutely a “gift of God” as his name means!
i know that name has already been submitted and you’ve already seen it, though.
It looks like his last name will begin with J so that may not work.
Anyway, good luck with your quest!
Hi, Erica –
Here are a few of my ideas.
– Gage. It has a unique etymology and has been both an noun and a verb, something I noticed in your names “Gentry,” “Foster,” and “Locke.” It’s ranked 144 in the US.
– Quest.
– Aaric. Might I suggest this as an alternate spelling, if you choose to name your husband’s third son this way?
– Canon. Ah, the great meanings… fundamental principal, sacred books, etc. Because it is a homonym of the military cannon, the name has such a strong connotation. I love that your older boys would have P names and that your younger boys would have C names.
Herald. Think “Hark! The herald angels” not Harold. Again, this is a verb/noun name with great meanings, ie. a forerunner, the give good news, etc.
Good luck!
Hi, Erica –
Here are a few of my ideas.
– Gage. It has a unique etymology and has been both an noun and a verb, something I noticed in your names “Gentry,” “Foster,” and “Locke.” It’s ranked 144 in the US.
– Quest.
– Aaric. Might I suggest this as an alternate spelling, if you choose to name your husband’s third son this way?
– Canon. Ah, the great meanings… fundamental principal, sacred books, etc. Because it is a homonym of the military cannon, the name has such a strong connotation. I love that your older boys would have P names and that your younger boys would have C names.
Herald. Think “Hark! The herald angels” not Harold. Again, this is a verb/noun name with great meanings, ie. a forerunner, the give good news, etc.
Good luck!
Geeze! I posted that twice and now can’t delete it. Sorry.
The name David is from the Hebrew beloved. I prefer the variant Davin for you as it reminds me of your husband’s choice Given.
The English word Beloved literally translates to Benediction in French, so how about Benedict for your son. Benedict Eli.
Good luck on having three boys under three!!!
my favorites from above: canon and benedict
some other ideas:
israel, emerson, merit, asher, felix, xavier, keefe, rocco, ellis, miles, ambrose, tate, beacon, temple
Benedict was my previously married last name…just don’t think it would fly ;)
There is a little boy about a 15 months old at our church named Creed…love the name/meaning, but since it’s uncommon, seems like I’m being a copier…what do you think? The baby or mama isn’t in my “social group” but I guess I just feel like a copier using it…funny thing, her older son (3 or 4 years) is Clayton :)
Whoops, guess Benedict wasn’t such a great idea then.
The name Geoffrey means Peaceful Gift and Godfrey means God’s Peace. Plus they both end in “rey” which at a stretch could be a tribute to the Ray’s in your family.
Maybe a name with an L to balance two names starting with P, and two starting with C?
What do you think of
Leon
Loyal
others:
Callum- Dove (seems fitting for December :))
Garrett
Man…WHY does this have to be so hard!?
LOL, Megz…My ex-husband’s FIRST name is Jeffery…and just for the record, Robert will also be out, that is his middle name, and Gregory as well…that is his brother :)
Leon, is also a veto by association but I won’t get into all of that here!
Love the meaning of Loyal…It has the PERFECT meaning to me, and believe me I searched for every name and word that could possibly fall into the meaning category of faithful and trustworthy. I tried the thesaurus, dictionaries in different languages, word etymologies, you name it…but came up with another list of vetoes. The only one I could put on the list was Loyal but I couldn’t get DH to really consider it and even after having it on my mind for a long while I can’t seem to fall in love with it either.
After we couldn’t find any C name…I wasn’t “spell” bent on it, but its where I wanted to start (plus I seemed to be drawn to mostly C names at first)…..my first choice was Cruce (I like the soft C ending rather than the “z” sound of Cruz, but couldn’t get DH on board with that one…and we steadily eliminated all of the others…so I moved to L’s and exhausted that list as well…after that I figured we just need to not put any requirements on the “first letter” as there are plenty of other issues…like no “forms of John” names or names ending in “son” or the “ey” sound, or names to similar to our other boys names..
Maybe I should write a book about all the names we vetoed when trying to name this baby!
Darn, well the only other idea I’ve got is Quinn or Quinton since he’s the fifth boy.
What about Royal? Royal Eli or Royal Elijah.
JJ in KC
Hubby has decided he likes Wyatt. I think I had it on a ideas list a long while back but I didn’t love it…I kinda like it but I’m totally balking at it…
it means war/brave, hardy
We live in OK so Wyatt Earp the gunfighter comes to mind…not sure if that is an issue or not.
Wyatt Eli Johnson (not sure I like the WEJ initials)…or Wyatt Foster Johnson are the contenders for middle names we’ve talked about…Foster has the best meaning for me, but not sure I like how it sounds together…