Laura writes:
I am due May 20th 2011 and I do not know the sex of the baby yet. I’m doing okay with girl names but having no luck at all with boys. My husband and I have plain traditional names, Laura and Joshuah. We have an odd last name that I just don’t worry about when naming a child because there is no helping it sound less funny. Our 1st child is named Cambria Rogue. We are looking for some unique but not to strange. Something almost romantic and masculine. Josh is into music I’m into art and we are very open minded but just haven’t run into something we both like for a boy. Our list is very small so far Josh like the name Bentley (I’m not a huge fan) and I liked Adare (Josh isn’t a fan) and that’s where it stops. The only thing I think we are avoiding is the letter J. Any ideas?
One of my favorite “romantic and masculine” names is Everest. It’s exotic but familiar. One of my friend Mairzy’s favorites is Sterling: again, exotic yet familiar. Other possibilities:
Aidric
Alistair
August
Claude
Corbin
Cormac
Dario
Dashiell
Declan
Desmond
Donnelly
Edmund
Everett
Finian
Gabriel
Greyson
Heath
Hugo
Kiefer
Lachlan
Maverick
Orion
Pierce
Rafael
Redford
Rohan
Roman
Sebastian
Stefan
Theodore
Wyatt
Some of these might work particularly well as a middle name: Maverick, for example, would be a good pair with your daughter’s middle name Rogue.
[Update in comments section.]
I think your style is hard to suggest because your response may be very different to mine.
What about:
Phoenix
Lennon
London
Brodie
Jacoby
Sloane
Sincere
Cordell
Nash
Brooks
Dempsey
Rhodes*
I love Swistle’s suggestions of Everest and Sterling and wholeheartedly support those! But I’ll also add my faves:
Amos
Gideon
Viggo
Wilder
And i should say that I LOVE your daughter’s name. Especially the middle name Rogue. YOu have great taste!
There’s always Romeo…
It’s romantic, entirely masculine, and artistic.
Otherwise, how do you like any of the following:
Hawkins
Oakley
Union
Everson
Bruin
West
Davis
Drake
Very interested to hear what you choose for your new addition. Your daughter has a FABULOUS name! Keep up the great taste!
Sterling reminds me of MadMen–Roger Sterling at the advertising agency Sterling Cooper. :-) Along the lines of Maverick–Stetson is similar. I also love Skylar. That is unusual. Also unisex. Win/Winn/Wyn/Wynn is a cute name. I have a friend who’s name is Edwin, but they go by Win. Pierce is also a cool name. I just heard Declan on a movie (Leap Year w/ Amy Adams). I thought it was Dee-Clan, but it’s Deck-lan–much cooler! Good luck!
What about Rainier?
Some names that come to mind to suit your style are..
Rafferty
Fabian (love the nickname Fab)
Valentino
Pierce
Matteo
Dorian
Loris
Dante
Good luck! Would love to hear back what you decide on, I’m sure it will be great.
If Josh is into music, how about Zephyr? I know I guy with this name, and he was usually called Zeph. Cute for a little kid and very cool for a teenager!
I love your daughter’s name. Very unique but still familiar. I wish you had shared your short list for a girl this time around…
For a boy I suggest:
Caspian
Ephron
Felix
Lennox
Lorimer
Orson
Ulyses
Good luck!
I suggest Coulter, Bauer, and Harris. Good luck!
Hi Everyone!!
I’m Laura the one who sent in this question and guess what we are having a girl! I love all the great names it makes me want a boy. Even so I’m excited about our new addition. Thank you all for the great names. I’m going to print these out for friends and family all due to have a baby in the next 7 months. I swear it’s something in the water around here lol. We have picked a girl name. Tell me what you think. -Rhyley Sage- Different but comfortable and sweet. Thank you so much for the compliments on Cambria’s name. It has a whole story here http://ihaveafewnamesbutmostlyimmommy.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-cambria-got-her-name-my-rock-star.html
Love this blog such a great idea!! Thanks again
I tried to click on your link but it won’t allow me access, but wanted to comment I love the girls names. I was googling C Cambria name and came across Swistle blog about it.
Congrats on your little girl. Rhyley Sage is a very pretty name, if unconventional spelling.
For the record I really like the name Bentley for a boy, it reminds me of the old classic cars. Some other “romantic, masculine” names:
Raphael
Donovan
Heathcliff
Laurant
Milan
Congratulations and good luck.
That’s a cute name, but would you consider spelling it differently? I work with kids and I can’t tell you how mad they are when I don’t know “Kristen” is spelled “Krystyne.”
I think your chosen girl name is very pretty, but I think you would save your daughter a lifetime of frustration of having her name spelled incorrectly if you considered Riley Sage instead. Best of luck with your imminent arrival whatever you decide.
Cambria and Rhyley – very cute!
They spelling Rhyley makes me this of Rhys, which is typically a boys name, but also one that I like!
With Cambria, I also like the look of Rhylie.
Cambria and Rhylie.
Congratulations!
Oooh – I really like Rhyley Sage! And I wouldn’t change a thing about the spelling. I actually didn’t recognize the name as the far more common “Riley” until other readers pointed it out. I love how an alternate spelling can make a name seem fresh. I had a friend in high school whose name was Meredith, but she went by Merri. It never occurred to me until much later that “Merri” was essentially the same as “Mary” because it just seemed so DIFFERENT with that spelling! I think the same is true of your spelling of Rhyley. Love it! Best of luck to you!
Rhyly. Looks masculine to me. I much prefer Reily. Riley. Rhylie. Love Sage as a mm. I do feel Rhyly is very mainstream for you. I do like the name though. I like Sage Riley much better.
I agree with the previous poster. Rhyley will be heard as “Riley” and is so mainstream compared to Cambria. Sage is much prettier and more of a match for your daughter. I’m also REALLY not keen on creative spellings for names, so if you are going to go with Rhyley I’d spell it Riley. Not only does this look nicer in my opinion, but it will save her a lifetime of having to spell her name out to everyone.
How about Rhiannon Sage? Cambria seems VERY Celtic so pairing it with the equally Celtic Rhiannon (and keeping the Rhi beginning)…Cambria and Rhiannon.
If you have a boy, I vote you use Chance as a middle name tho. It has a certain swagger to it.
I like the sound of Rhyley Sage, but the “h” seems unnecessary. How about Ryleigh? The spelling is more obviously feminine and (to me) goes better with a romantic name like Cambria.