Allyson writes:

I was wondering if you could do a poll on the boy’s name Tucker. While I know it obviously rhymes with, um, that word, I know my mind didn’t go there. Or if it did, it was more like a quick visit than a long stay. Meanwhile, other people I’ve mentioned the name to immediately say “it’s cute, but it rhymes with *ucker.” What are your thoughts? Is a boy named Tucker doomed to endless taunting of “Tucker the *ucker”?

Thanks!

Good question! I’ve wondered this myself. Not only about The Word, but also about the less-severe word “sucker.” Let’s have a poll, over to the right. [Poll closed; see results below.]

Name update!

Hi again! I wrote you a while ago, regarding whether or not the name Tucker had too many rhyming issues. We ended up having a baby boy and named him Tucker Jack. At the end of the day, we loved the name and cared less about the potential bad rhyme situation. We’ve gotten great feedback and nobody has brought it up (well, at least not to our faces).

Here is is (at 3 months)! Born 1/26, 9lbs 2oz, 21.5″ long (and two weeks early, thank God!)

Thanks,
Allyson

Amy writes:

I really hope you can help us, I feel like I have looked at every name out there and am still not finding “our” name. Our first child, a little girl, is due July 15 and we are having trouble deciding or even narrowing down our list. We have lots of contenders, but none have really struck me as “the one.” Since our last name (Hall) is so common, and short, we thought we could get away with a more unusual first name. We like names that are clearly gender specific and maybe a little old-fashioned. If we were having a boy, we would have named him either Oliver or Phineas.

Here are the names we have on our short list:

Agatha Rowan (Previously our first choice but do not like nn Aggie, and am getting a lot of negative feedback)

Gretchen Faye (pretty, but don’t love)

Lucia Faye (pronounced LOO-sha, we think this is pretty safe, aside from the pronunciation issue that we foresee)

Briar Wynn (love how whimsical this is, but is it too out there?)

Imogen (cannot think of any nn)

Bryn (too short?)

Evie (pronounced EH-vee) I love this but would rather have it as a nn, however we don’t like any of the names the nn would be derived from (Evangeline – I like, DH hates, Evelyn, Genevieve, etc.)

Juliette (just kind of meh)

Astrid (no nn, maybe a little too wacky for us)

Names we considered but rejected, mostly because of rising popularity, or because someone else is using them:

Olivia
Sophia
Charlotte
Scarlett
Caroline
Norah
Ella

We aren’t fans of names like Madison, Ellery, Harper, Greyson, etc. or any name that is too popular.

Thank you!

 
I recently read a novel with a character named Imogen, and they called her Immy. You could also call her Genny or Midge. Imogen Faye Hall.

I wouldn’t give up on Agatha yet. The trouble with collecting feedback while pregnant is that people don’t have a visual to go with the name. If you were to present an infant and say, “This is Agatha!,” some people would still dislike the name (this is true of every name that ever was and ever will be), but others who would have THOUGHT they disliked the name would find that actually they find it fresh and interesting and adorable on the little woogie-moogums oooooo look at her sweet little KEEKS. Especially since newborns can look so critical and disapproving, and it’s amusing to think of a critical and disapproving infant named Agatha.

If you’ve already been put off the name, however, I suggest Beatrix. It’s similar in style, but has the cute nickname Bee (or Bea, but I don’t think I could resist the Bee spelling, and then the way I’d feel inclined toward bee-themed things her whole life). Beatrix Rowan Hall.

Or Martha, which has the -tha ending with Marty instead of Aggie. Martha Faye Hall.

Or Augusta, nickname Gussie. Augusta Rowan Hall.

Or I like the repeating double-L of Camilla Hall, and that gives you Cam and Cami and Millie. Camilla Faye Hall.

Or Philippa? Philippa Hall has dignity, but the nickname Pippa has ADORABLE. It occurs to me that you could use some of your too-common list for middle names. Philippa Scarlett Hall has a fun double-letter theme.

Or Louisa? Louisa Hall, with nicknames Lou or Lulu. Louisa Faye Hall.

Or Winifred? Winifred Hall, with nicknames Winnie or Fred. Winifred Norah Hall, Winifred Agatha Hall.

I’d also like to suggest Harriet and Henrietta. I think these are names very similar to Agatha in that the initial reaction might be not entirely positive—but that with time and cute baby cheeks, people may wonder why they didn’t realize all along that these were the best names ever. Both have cute nickname possibilities such as Hattie and Etta and Ree. Harriet Astrid Hall. Henrietta Faye Hall.

For something lighter, maybe Felicity. I don’t know why this name isn’t more common: it seems to me to have the same rhythm and front-of-the-mouth sounds as Olivia and Elizabeth—and yet Olivia is #3 and Elizabeth is #11 and Felicity is #782. It has the appealing pioneer-days sound of Abigail, and yet Abigail is #8 and Felicity is #782. Felicity Faye Hall. Felicity Charlotte Hall.

If you like Gretchen but it’s “not quite,” would you like Greta? Greta Hall. No nicknames, unfortunately. Or you could go straight to Margaret Hall and have TONS of nicknames, from Greta to Maggie to Meg to Daisy to Maisie. I love the sound of Margaret Hall. Margaret Rowan Hall, Margaret Faye Hall, Margaret Olivia Hall.

Or Geneva, which could give you Evie (though I would pronounce it EE-vee, to match the vowel sound in the name). Geneva Faye Hall.

I don’t think of Briar as being too out-there (like you, I consider it whimsical and botanical, like Ivy and Violet and Juniper), but it’s a name that’s a little trickier than usual to find a sister name for. For me, using one botanical name would eliminate all the others, so I’d need to think ahead of time whether this was my favorite of all of them.

Name update! Amy writes:

I spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy baking several recipes from your other blog, so I am all set for postpartum snacking. :)
Just wanted to let you know our little girl arrived quickly and healthily at 12:57 am on July 19. We thought we would instinctively know what name to choose when we saw her – we had narrowed it down to Agatha Rowan or Briar Wynn, which were also the clear favorites from your commenters. However, when she came out, we still weren’t sure so we slept on it for a night. In the morning I told my husband he could make the final decision since I loved both names. He chose Agatha Rowan, and I very happy with the decision. She’s such a joy to us already! I’ve attached a picture of our little doll.

Thanks for your help!

Ashley writes:

I check your blog daily for insight on naming baby #2. It’s a boy and I’m due June 2nd. I’m Ashley, my husband is Patrick. And we have a very hard time agreeing on names. :)

Our first child is Benjamin {middle name Patrick} and it took forever to name him. But we love his name and it’s so perfect for him. Any chance that can happen twice?! Although, I think we’ve used up our one agreeable boy name with Benjamin!

Our last name is McBride. Benjamin’s name is very strong and I want that for this sweet boy, too. I’ve been researching names and making lists and letting myself get pretty stressed out about naming a child! We have a girl name set, but these boy names are just too much for us! :) We would like several children, so here’s hoping at least one is a girl to cut down this stress of baby naming during pregnancy :)

Here is the {very short} list of names we agree on {as in we both like the names okay}:
Andrew {My husband is already calling this baby Andrew. I don’t mind it, I just don’t know if I love it. And I don’t like the nickname Andy at all. But I do like Drew. This name is so wishy-washy for me}
Jackson
Owen
Evan (Does this sound odd with Benjamin? Benjamin and Evan.)

Names I like, but my husband does not like at all:
Levi
Ethan
Issac
Collin
Henry
Everett

Names my husband likes:
Calvin (which I don’t mind, really. But we’ve had so many people say negative things about this name. It’s tainted the name for me)

Middle names:
Calvin
Shotwell (family name)
Knox
John (family name)
Reid (last name of close friends of ours)

We tend to like more traditional names and also like having a family name in there – first or middle. Benjamin and Patrick are family names, which worked out nicely. But it didn’t happen on purpose. In fact, we just found out that Benjamin is a family name and he’s two.

Could you just name this baby for me?! :) Your help would be so appreciated!

Okay, I will! Wesley Reid McBride. Ben and Wes.

I would have used Wesley John (I love family names) except it seems like that takes the pleasing John Wesley association from a suggestion to a declaration. Shotwell would work too, but is Wesley Shotwell the perfect amount of cowboy or is it too MUCH cowboy? I wasn’t sure. Calvin would work as a middle name (this would decrease negative feedback while still letting you have the name), but then it seems like John Wesley AND John Calvin.

I wanted to suggest Callum as an alternative to Calvin, but I’m afraid the blend with your surname might sound like Calla McBride.

Would you be willing to consider John as a first name? It’s a name that I think seems “too plain/common” at first consideration, but then sounds surprisingly fresh and interesting on an actual child. There are so few children named John actually going by John. And John McBride sounds so wonderful to me, I can hardly stand it. Maybe John Shotwell McBride, so each boy has two family names?–or maybe it would be better to save some family names for future children. John Michael McBride has a nice crackling sound, or John….heh, I almost suggested Wesley. Maybe use your maiden name or another family surname (I think those tend to work particularly well with John as a first name), or use a name that you really like but wouldn’t want to consider as a first name.

If John seems too short, maybe Jonathan. Benjamin and Jonathan make a nice brother pair. Jonathan Reid McBride, maybe, or Jonathan Calvin McBride (I THINK that works without too much of a John Calvin reference).

If Andrew is “not quite,” do you like Anderson? Anderson McBride, Benjamin and Anderson. I’m not sure what to do about a middle name for it. Maybe Reid: Anderson Reid McBride. Oh, but then his initials spell ARM. Anderson John McBride?

Or do you like Anthony? Anthony R…oh, ARM again. Anthony Shotwell McBride. Anthony Knox McBride.

Or Joshua: to me, the name Joshua has the same “strong but kind” sound as the name Benjamin. Joshua Calvin McBride, Ben and Josh.

Nathaniel is in that group for me as well: Nathaniel Reid McBride, Ben and Nate. Strong but NICE.

Or Nicholas? I like the sound of Benjamin and Nicholas. Nicholas Reid McBride, or Nicholas Calvin McBride.

I once knew a Benjamin whose brother was Christopher. Christopher McBride. Christopher John McBride, or Christopher Reid McBride.

Name update! Ashley writes:

I am so grateful to you and everyone who commented about name suggestions! More so, though, I was so encouraged to hear all the positive things said about “Andrew”. Our sweet boy came early, on May 17th, and is so precious! We chose the name Andrew Reid McBride. Sure, his initials are ARM, but the name is so great for him and we love that we can tell him how special the name is to us! Big brother Benjamin loves his little brother and it’s pretty stinkin cute to hear him say, “Where’s An-dew?” :)

Thank you again for your help and suggestions!

Kinsey writes:

we are having our second child soon and want your opinion on the name we are 95% set on. we have a 19 month old named Joseph Hank, he goes by Hank. this baby is a girl and we have decided we love the name Stella Rose, to mainly go by just Stella. Rose is my mom’s maiden name, and her mother is my only living grandparent left, so we really like this for the middle name. The part I would like your advice on is — Stella. when i was pregnant with Hank, we didn’t have ANY girl names that we both loved. actually not any that we even liked. so, when we found out this baby is a girl, we started to wonder if we’d ever find a girl name we both loved. after LOTS of ideas, i suggested Stella (i’ve always loved it) and my husband was pretty much hooked from the beginning. my questions to you–is it too popular? is it going to be too popular in a few years, like when she starts kindergarten? do you have another suggestion that you like better with Hank? we LOVE hank and stella together, but i want to make sure we aren’t missing something better. i have a unique name, especially the spelling–Kinsey–and i love that Hank is not weird or out there, but still not that common. we want the same for her! help!

ps. we have a LARGE group of friends and family with kids the same age as ours, and i’m a teacher, and i’ve never personally met another stella. and if it wasn’t for facebook i wouldn’t know two of my sorority sisters named their baby that either ;-) but that also makes me nervous that it’s too popular. what do you think?!

thank you!

 
Let’s start with the chart from the Social Security Administration:

(screenshot from SSA.gov)

When there’s a little blue “a” in the slot, that means the name wasn’t in the Top 1000 that year. So for the name Stella, we have a name that was very, very uncommon, and then went from #907 to #126 in a dozen years—a rapid rise.

We won’t have the 2010 data until next month, and we won’t have the 2011 data until a year after that, but if you’d had a baby named Stella in 2009, she’d be sharing the name with .1267% of the baby girls her same age—or roughly 13 Stellas per 10,000 baby girls. An uncommon name.

Whether it will become more popular is anybody’s guess. Ella and names ending in -ella are in favor right now; some parents who love the name Ella but want something less common may head for Stella. It may even be that by the time your Stella is in kindergarten, the name will be given to more like 1 in 100 baby girls, as the name Isabella (the #1 most popular girl name in the U.S.) is now. Or it may be that the St- (reminiscent of Stephanie and Stacy and less-used currently) will keep it from rising too high, and it’ll find its level at around #50, or #100, or #75, or even dropping back down to #150, and never get any higher than that.

If it DOES get significantly more popular, your girl will still be ahead of that group: her class will have the same percentage of Stellas in it as the year you gave her the name. But if you’re looking for something that will stay as uncommon as the name Kinsey, I don’t think Stella is a safe bet: it hits the current name preferences too solidly, and it’s already so far ahead.

But you both love it, you agree on it even though you can’t find others you agree on—you may want to go with the name that’s a little more common than you’d like, rather than choosing one you like less. It depends on how important the uncommonness is for you, and what you’re willing to trade to get it.

You could also consider naming her Stella Rose but calling her Rose, as you call your son Hank: Joseph is #16 and Hank is #970; Stella is #126 and Rose is #352. Hank and Rose is an adorable sibling pair.

Name update! Kinsey writes:

i wrote in to you way back in april about whether or not the name we loved for our little girl was too popular or not…well, after MUCH consideration and NO luck finding anything we loved as much, we stuck with our first choice and sweet Stella Rose was born on July 15th! even though we might run into another Stella eventually, I LOVE her name too much to care! And my mom is thrilled that she is carrying on her maiden name, Rose, as well. Thanks for your help!

Melissa writes:

We are having a BOY! Big sister is Paige Irene. Last name is phonetically Hayworth.

Boy’s middle name will be Clay (Irene and Clay were agreed upon as family honor middle names before we knew Paige was a girl).

Criteria: No noun/verb names. I totally broke this one and only criteria with Paige and I love her and her name but regret that because I HATE saying “turn the page, Paige” etc. Oh, and Clay clearly breaks this rule as well but middle name, family name, whatever, can’t worry about it.

Other criteria: Not a name prone to nicknaming. I want a name where he is called by his full name on a regular basis (I like this about Paige’s name). The other thing I like about Paige’s name is that everyone is familiar with it and it feels common enough without feeling super trendy. I know girls/women of many ages with the name
Paige.

Back to boys: when we were first married we somehow agreed we both loved the name Tyler and promptly named our new puppy Tyler so that’s out. And we have very close friends with a son named Ty so that’s out. I think that’s the only boy name we’ve ever agreed on. I do not like the name Tyson.

Very early in this pregnancy the name Quentin was brought up and I agreed I kind of like it and now hubby is CONVINCED our son is Quentin Clay. End of discussion. Meanwhile all my initial reservations are resurfacing: We live near San Quentin prison (death row) and that is the first connotation that comes to mind for me AND Quentin Tarrantino whose films are so violent is the second. It makes the perfectly nice name, Quentin, sound very violent to me. Oh, and I don’t want to end up with the nickname Quinn. On the up side, Quentin is my father in law’s middle name so it would be another naming honor. But also for his side of the family so it’s a double honor to dad’s side while Paige’s middle name is a single honor to my side and my mom, love her,
but she’s sensitive to such things.

And there we’ve stalled out. Hubby is set on Quentin and I am not.

Having obsessively read Swistle Baby Names and paid close attention to names in general since the start of this pregnancy I’ve decided I only like girl names. The only boy name I like that comes to mind is Cade and that doesn’t work with Clay.

Help!

and:

An update on this naming situation: Quentin is off the table, criteria and middle name Clay remain. Our ‘fetus name’ is Oscar and we don’t want to use it for real but I do like the sound of the name if not the many cultural references.

We find we’re drawn to names with a K/C/Q sound. I don’t mind the repetition of sound with Clay; it’s more important the the first and last names work together than first and middle. Nobody uses their middle name much.

I’ve checked out the Baby Name Wizard from the library and here’s what we’ve got. We seem to like the “Brisk and Breezy” style where Paige’s name is found and the “New Classics” for their timelessness. The “Nickname Proof “list was also helpful. On our list:

Drew (verb name). We like Andrew but so nicknameable I’d rather use just Drew (or Andy?)
Lucas (very nicknameable to Luke but I don’t love just Luke)
Colin (seems fine–maybe we should just use it?)
Lincoln (after our boat engine, not the president. Hubby and I get a kick out of this inside joke but nickname Linc seems really possible and the name’s a bit out there)
Kyle (I like, hubby is a teacher and it has bad connotations for him so it’s out)
Carter (this one seems really bad with the middle name–even though I said that didn’t matter. Much.)
Eli (seems fine but don’t love)

Any other ideas or thoughts?
Thanks!

 
This is a name that probably doesn’t fit your style AT ALL but I want to mention it anyway because I’ve recently started thinking of it as one of those “Why isn’t anyone USING this GREAT NAME?” names: Pascal. It has a similar sound to Oscar; Paige and Pascal is adorable. But it definitely fails the criterion of being familiar and common.

Another one that might be too unusual but I want to suggest it anyway: Felix. Felix Hayworth, Paige and Felix. And it’s a little in-joke on the name Oscar if you ever watched The Odd Couple.

A more likely suggestion is Scott. It too has the “sc” sound of Oscar, but it’s definitely more familiar. Scott Hayworth is wonderful, as is “Paige and Scott.” Because the name was much more common in the 1960s and 1970s, the main downside is that it’s a bit of a “dad name.” On the other hand, I know a little elementary-school-aged boy named Scott and it didn’t seem ODD to me—the way it DID seem odd when I once ran into an elementary-school girl named Kristen.

From your list I think Kyle is a wonderful idea: close to Tyler, but without duplicating your friends’ use of Ty. Lyle is another similar possibility, since the name Kyle has teaching associations. Or there’s Kyler, or Schuyler. Which makes me think of Spencer and Parker.

I wonder if you would like the name Caleb? It’s somewhat similar to Cade and Kyle. I’m not sure if it works with the middle name or not (the L sounds and the AY sounds might get too tangley), but my inclination is to think it’s cute and works well enough: Caleb Clay Hayworth. And I like the matching vowel sound with the sibling name: Paige and Caleb.

Or Isaac? It has that nice hard-C sound, which runs into the C of Clay just a little but I think it’s fine: Isaac Hayworth, Isaac Clay Hayworth, Paige and Isaac. No automatic nicknames (though he’d have Zac and Ike if he wanted them), and familiar at different age levels.

Do you like Charlie? I was just mulling Hayworth and Paige and it popped into my head. Charles Clay Hayworth. Paige and Charlie.

Or Keegan? Keegan Clay Hayworth, Paige and Keegan.

Or Ian: Ian Hayworth, Paige and Ian.

Or this is a stretch, but I got to it by looking for other names that started with a sound similar to Ty: Milo, or Miles. Paige and Milo is so cute I can hardly stand it. Milo Clay Hayworth.

Same thing with this name (Ty to Sy): Simon. Simon Clay Hayworth, Paige and Simon.

Or Wyatt: Wyatt Clay Hayworth, Paige and Wyatt.

Oliver has the O beginning and the R ending of Oscar: Oliver Clay Hayworth is handsome. Paige and Oliver.

Grady is similar to Cade but is better with Clay: Grady Clay Hayworth. Paige and Grady.

Similar to Quentin but without the issues is Benton. Downside: Ben is such an easy nickname. But otherwise, it’s so good: Benton Clay Hayworth, Paige and Benton/Ben.

Less similar but still within reach is Edmund: Edmund Clay Hayworth, Paige and Edmund.

Or Kent or Trent, but they don’t work well with Clay. Well, maybe Trent does? Trent Clay Hayworth, Paige and Trent?

I also love Lincoln from your list. I think it will continue to become more common, which might make it more comfortable to use.

(screenshot from SSA.gov)

Would you like Eli better as Elias? Elias Clay Hayworth, Paige and Elias. I like the pleasing mirror symmetry of their ai/ia.

Name update! Melissa writes:

Thanks for naming our baby! Baby Boy Hayworth now known as Charlie Clay Hayworth arrived on May 27. We’re already used to saying “no, not Charles, just Charlie.” Charlie was a name I considered early on but you suggesting it in your response brought it up for discussion with hubby. After getting beyond the fact that it was his family dog’s name growing up all agreed we love the name Charlie. Scott and Colin were our runner up names.

Still trying to get used to not calling this little boy Oscar as we did in utero :)

Photo attached and thanks for your wonderful naming service!