Raigan writes:

I am panicked. I am due at the end of January with a baby which will be a brother or sister to our three year old son Ronan Darren. We went into the delivery room with a few names we liked and as soon as we saw him we knew he was a Ronan and Darren is his father’s name. Our girl name, had Ronan been a girl, would have been Lily. It has been “my name” ever since I was a little girl and although I hate the popularity of it, I’m not sure if I could actually name a girl anything else. I have also never heard of a Lily in our area and trust me, I’ve put some effort into snooping around about the name. Her middle names will likely be Noelle Elizabeth after my sisters.

Now, boy names….. we have problems. My husband and I are both teachers and are therefore VERY aware of common names and I really do not want my son to be a multiple name in his class (this is the only reservation I have about the name Lily). We also have very large families and groups of friends which eliminates many names that aren’t already associated with a student. Some names that we have considered but just aren’t right are:

Hudson – I have liked since Ronan was born but my husband isn’t sold. Honestly, neither am I.
Oliver – My husband doesn’t think it’s strong enough.
Lincoln – I just can’t get the car, band, president out of my head.
Finn – My husband liked this with Ronan but I didn’t think it was serious enough and friends now have a little boy Finn.
Sam – Mieh…it’s whatever to me.
Milo – I liked, husband wasn’t sure but we now have friends with a little Milo.

I don’t want an overly traditional name like Mathew or Joshua. These names are great but not my style. Some names we have in our families/friends are Max, Grady, Tate, Owen, Cole, Reece, Duncan, Dane, Logan, Marco, Simon, Will and Kade among many many others.

I read your blog very faithfully and have yet to come across something that stands out to me. My son is also registered in every tot class they offer so I truly feel like I have heard every name out there. I’m starting to worry that the strong yet cute, original yet not made up name that I want just doesn’t exist. Please help me come up with the perfect name. Oh yes, our last name is a a three syllable McD______ name and the middle names will be Christian Leo after his grandfathers. Any help or suggestions would be fantastic.

 
I think Declan, if it’s not already in the family, friends, or classroom. Declan Christian Leo McD____, Ronan and Declan.

Or Keegan: Keegan Christian Leo McD_____, Ronan and Keegan.

Callum: Callum Christian Leo McD_____, Ronan and Callum.

Emmett: Emmett Christian Leo McD_____, Ronan and Emmett.

Camden: Camden Christian Leo McD_____, Ronan and Camden.

Felix: Felix Christian Leo McD______, Ronan and Felix.

Carrick: Carrick Christian Leo McD____, Ronan and Carrick.

Teague: Teague Christian Leo McD____, Ronan and Teague.

Lorcan: Lorcan Christian Leo McD____ Ronan and Lorcan.

Lachlan: Lachlan Christian Leo McD_____, Ronan and Lachlan.

I also like the idea of using Leo as the first name. It’s similar to the name Milo you liked. Leo Christian McD_____, Ronan Darren and Leo Christian.

I think this would be a happier and easier process if you could bring yourself to avoid an insistence on the child being the only child of your acquaintance with that name. Total non-duplication isn’t a practical goal for parents who are teachers with large social circles and large families. Even if you find a name that (1) you love, AND (2) is not the name of any student, friend, or family member—you’re highly likely to encounter the name in one of those groups in the future. Coming to terms with a duplicate now is like getting the first ding or scratch on the new car: nice to get the inevitable over with.

Name update! Raigan writes:

Although we were unsure about a boy’s name throughout my entire pregnancy, the closer I came to my due date the more I was sure about our original choice of Hudson. So during my surprise c-section (we found out he was coming face first when I was seven cm), my husband and I finalized our name choices; Hudson Christian Leo or Lily Noelle Elizabeth. Minutes later our perfect baby boy arrived and he was absolutely a Hudson. Thank you for your help – I’ll probably be asking for more in a couple years.