Stephanie writes:
I am expecting twin boys right after January 1st ish and hopefully not sooner! We have one name picked out, but are having a really tough time with the 2nd. We have one daughter already and her name is Maxine Ruth. Our last name is hyphenated (L-M) and the first last name is three syllables and is French, the second last name is one syllable. Any middle name needs to be Hebrew/Jewish because it also serves as the Hebrew name for our children. So Maxine’s Hebrew name is Ruth. Right now we agree on Theodore Rahm for Baby Boy 1. Incidentally, that was the only name we agreed upon when I was pregnant with our daughter. Finally, we would like to honor a dear uncle that has passed and his name was Thomas. But I don’t want a Teddy and a Tommy…..
Some names that we like, but just are not sure about are:
Elias
Elliot
Gideon
Ira
SimonWe like older, classic names. Simon is my favorite, but my husband thinks that they will get “Chipmunk” jokes…Alvin, Simon and Theodore. My husband really likes Elias, but Eli is so popular right now and I don’t love popular. I also like Samuel, but a cousin has a Samuel, though we are not that close.
Teom might be a good middle name b/c is it Hebrew for twins and Thomas means twins in aramaic. So that would allow us to honor Uncle Thomas, but what first name goes with Teom???
HELP!
Teom definitely seems like the perfect solution. I had to look it up to see how it was pronounced, and it’s teh-OHM. I think that sounds good with all the names on your list.
Simon is my own favorite. I think your husband might be right about the chipmunk thing, but for me it wouldn’t rule the name out completely—just a single mark in the “against” column. If I heard of twins named Simon and Theodore, it would come to mind; if I heard it in the other order, Theodore and Simon, I think I would think briefly that something sounded familiar about that, but not make the connection. Hm. Actually, the longer I think about it, the bigger a problem it seems like. Well, I like Elias a lot, too, but since you’re having reservations about it, maybe we can see what happens if we rule out both your top choice and his top choice.
Of the remaining possibilities, my favorite is Elliot. I like the way it sounds with Theodore. But Gideon is a close second, and I prefer the way it sounds with Teom, since it doesn’t have the problem of a repeating T sound.
I’m hesitant to add to your list because I think you have so many good options already, but I also like Everett and Frederick. Frederick is probably out because of Teddy and Freddy, but the full names are so good together, and I do deep-down enjoy some fun twinniness in twin names. Well, I also like Franklin, and Teddy and Frankie is cute without rhyming.
Could Theodore and Franklin seem a little political? (Like Roosevlet and Benjamin, I mean) Still there are definitely worse associations.
My favourite combination is Theodore and Elliot.
I am going to weigh in, because I have a Theodore, whose best friend is named Simon. :) Yes, we get the Chipmunk jokes a fair amount of the time, but these boys are just friends, not twins…so I think the chances are good that you will hear that a lot.
I am going to suggest that you go with your first instinct, Thomas. You don’t have to have a Teddy and a Tommy unless those are the nicknames you love. And I don’t think those are too cutesy a pair, like a Teddy and Eddie would be. anyway. >;) Our Theodore is Theo, which IMO feels even more classic and old-timey but also very fresh for a little boy. Theo and Thomas, or Theo and Tom (ooh! or Theo and Thom, for a subtle twin pairing…unless the potential spelling correction would make you nuts), both work very well. :) Congrats, and good luck!
I’d like to throw Gabriel into the discussion. Theodore and Gabriel. Maxine, Theodore and Gabriel. Teddy and Gabe. Cute, but will work when they are adults.
How about Ezra Teom?
I agree about the chipmunk thing – I think it’s best to avoid both those names together.
I also like Everett and Elliot
I don’t know if you intended this, Swistle, but Theodore & Franklin are also the Roosevelts, although that wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me. I like them together as well.
Anon- Ha ha! I hadn’t thought of that, and you’re right! In fact there was also Franklin Roosevelt! No wonder they seemed to go so well together!
What about Simeon? Like Simon, but you don’t have the Chipmunks reference.
I like Elias best. How about Julian?
I should have read ALL the comments before replying to the first one—Clarabella beat me to it!
I will throw another name in the mix – Levi. Close in sound to Eli but maybe not as popular?
Theodore Rahm and Franklin Teom are wonderful!
Otherwise, Gideon Teom is excellent!
Congats on your twins!
As much as I like Simon and Theodore together, I’m afraid you might be right about the Chipmunks…
I really love Elliot for you. And I really like the suggestion of Gabriel.
Good luck!
Honestly, I think all of your choices are good ones, but my favorite is Thomas. I love the family connection, and Theodore and Thomas are great twin names without being too matchy. If Teddy and Tommy really bother you (though I think they’re fine), you can go with Theo and Tom or other nicknames. Personally, I prefer Thomas with Theodore and Maxine over Teom, but I’m sure it would grow on me over time.
Best of luck!
I like Theodore and Gideon for the repeat -eo. It’s a cute parallel for twins without being overly matchy.
Sorry, but Simon and Theodore is DEFINITELY too Chipmunky. It’s a shame, but I noticed it immediately. :(
I think Thomas could work very well with Theodore.. it´s a bit matchy so I don´t know how you feel about that.
With reference to the Roosevelt´s, I don´t think anyone will remember this but Theodore Roosevelt had a brother named Elliott.
Personally I would choose to give both very different sounding names as they will always be seen as ´twins´. From your list I love Elias Teom, it´s fantastic and very different from Theodore Rahm.
Would you like Arthur, Tobias, Joseph or Archer (Theo and Archie)
I love Teddy *and* Tommy but agree that they might be considered too ‘matchy’ now days. However, they would have been PERFECT twin names when I was naming my boys in the ’70s, especially with Thomas meaning twin. We named our first son “Teddy” (Edward) — love the name, so cute on a young boy with Ted as back up and, with your boy, Theodore as a grand formal name for your grown son (on diplomas, etc.)
I really like the little boy nicknames ending in ‘y’ or ‘ie’ (our Teddy’s younger brothers were Johnny, Robbie and Jamie — later called John, Robert and James). Thus, I looked for some names that would follow your Theodore “Teddy” pattern for his twin brother:
Robert – Robby or Bobby
Walter – Wally
Louie – Louis
Martin – Marty
I like Swistle’s suggestion of Franklin “Frankie” too, and I don’t think it matters that the two Roosevelt presidents had those names — in fact I think it’s a great combo because of that!
We are also expecting twin boys (the week before you) and have a 2 year old daughter. I don’t have a lot of suggestions but what about Silas, kind of a mix of Simon and Elias? Good luck!
Giving this further thought, I would strongly consider Thomas because it seems to mean a lot to you “to honor dear uncle…Thomas”. You could call Thomas by his full name (very popular to do that now) and stick with Teddy for Theodore: Teddy and Thomas. Or let them be Teddy and Tommy — why not?
I’m raising twin boys and have discovered that twins are special; they’re not just brothers who happen to be twins. I think it’s fine to name them names that match in some way. Theodore and Thomas don’t sound alike. The little boy nicknames Teddy and Tommy are more similar, but when the twins are older they most likely will be called Ted and Tom or maybe Theo and Tom. Either way the twins would have darling little boy names — Teddy and Tommy, but would later on be called less ‘matchy’ names.
I think your husband has a point with Simon/Theodore.
My nephews are named Simon and Elliot (brothers, not twins), and they are both good, sturdy names.
Thinking of Theodore Roosevelt, I checked to see what his sons were called:
Theodore, Jr. “Teddy”
Archibald “Archie”
Quentin
Kermit
Archie was suggested above, with the given name Archer.
How about Archibald “Archie”? I recall that comedians Amy Poehler and Will Arnett named their baby “Archie” (Archibald). It’s a name from the same period as Theodore. In the UK Archie was the 20th most popular name for baby boys in 2009 (Archibald, #510).
Theodore Rahm and Archibald Teom — Teddy and Archie? Unique in the US and yet very ahead of the game with the name Archie being a top name in the UK.
Thank you all so much for the suggestions! I am having a hard time giving Simon, but maybe I will have to. My husband is now really wanting Thomas as a first name. I worry a bit that one twin will be named after a beloved relative and the other not, is that weird? How do you choose between the twins?
THANK YOU! Stephanie
Stephanie- One of my friends had that exact dilemma, and I really liked her solution: she gave the family name to the secondborn twin. So one boy was the firstborn boy and the other had the family name, and they each had something special.
I like Simon a lot, but I wouldn’t use it with Theodore because of the Chipmunks connotation. (Pity!)
If you like Elliot (which I also like) and Elias – Silas, maybe?
After reading through the comments, and given your husband’s feelings on Thomas, go for Thomas! You can do Theo and Tom and it doesn’t seem too matchy, and I think Swistle gave a good suggestion for how to handle giving one son a family name while not using one for the other.
Good luck!
Elias and Elliot are on my shortlist too. I think Elliot goes best with Theodore.
I would definitely avoid Simon.