Sarah writes:
I’ve enjoyed reading your advice. I wonder if you could help my husband and I….I’m due in two weeks (end of Jan. 2012) and we’re still struggling (stressing a bit) with baby names. We have two children (Hugh Thomas age 4, Claire Ann age 3). We don’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl. (Hugh is a family name…starting with my grandfather and it goes way back and Thomas is my father-in-law. Claire was just a name we liked and Ann is a favorite family name on both sides.) Our last name is Irish – sounds like Fitzpatrick. My husband’s ancestry is all Irish – I’m of Irish and Scottish descent.
One boy name that we both like is Grant Regan. Grant is another family name and Regan is a family surname. I would love your thoughts on a quick question regarding this…do you think we’re crazy to have sons named Hugh and Grant since there is an actor named Hugh Grant? (For the record I like Hugh Grant so I don’t have bad associations with his name.)
Some of the other boys names we’re considering are:
George Regan (George – after my father + husband’s grandfather)
Cormac Regan (Cormac – a shortened version of a family surname name)
Cormac GeorgeOur hesitation with Cormac is that there are conflicting defintitions – one is impure son (not so nice), others are son of charioteer or raven. I’m not sure how much weight to give these definitions or if I should let the family tie of the name matter more.
For girls we’re even more lost. Here are some we’ve been thinking of:
Alexandra Christine (I’ve always loved Alexandra and Christine is after my late mother-in-law)
Alexandra Regan
Alexandra Jane
Sadie Christine
Mollie Katherine
Katherine Regan
Alice Regan
Alice Christine
Georgia Regan
Abigail Regan
Flora ChristineAny thoughts or ideas would be most welcome!
I will make this quick so the other commenters can get at it too: it’s already been a week since you wrote, so TIME IS SHORT.
Brothers named Hugh and Grant immediately bring the actor to mind, and for me it’s to startling and comic effect. Like siblings named Ronald and Reagan, or Charles and Darwin. I vote no—but with great regret. If nothing else, I think you and they would get completely fed up with people remarking on the connection.
Instead I suggest Graham (even this is a little close, but it helps that there is a sister in between), Reid, or Dean. (I wish I could recommend Clark, too, but I think it’s too close to Claire.)
And I love your idea of George, and feel like pushing you to use it. George Regan! Very handsome. That’s my favorite.
The iffy definition of Cormac wouldn’t bother me. I looked it up in The Oxford Dictionary of First Names, and it says “Traditional Irish name of uncertain origin.” This name, like many, many, many others, has no standard meaning; meanings found in other books have been made up (with various degrees of legitimacy) to please people who like all names to have meanings.
The family tie is definitely more important here: the meaning of the name becomes THAT connection, rather than something from a baby name book, just as the meaning of George for your family is “mother’s father and father’s grandfather” rather than “farmer.” And I would get a copy of the Oxford book, put it on the bookshelf, and refer to that if little Cormac ever looks up his name in some other book and comes to you to confront you with your choice. “The Oxford Dictionary says so, Cormac!” you can say. “Uncertain origin!”
Wasn’t I planning to make this SHORT? Then we’d better move along to girl names.
With Claire, my stand-out favorite from your great list is Alice. In the next tier of favorites are Georgia, Abigail, Flora, and Mollie (which I’d spell Molly unless the spelling has significance).
I also suggest Eve and Eliza and Rose.
Let’s turn it over to the commenters now. Which boy name and girl name are your favorites for Baby Fitzpatrick?
Name update! Sarah writes:
Hello everyone – Thank you all for your help! We had a little (6 lb. 2 oz.) girl at the end of January. I was so convinced that we were having a boy that I had to ask twice when they told me we had a girl. My husband and I were set on using either Cormac George or George Regan so we were surprised to have to come up with a girl name! We named our daughter Alexandra Jane – even though it is a longer name than our other children it really seems to suit her well.
Thanks again for all of your comments!
I love George so much, and I think it goes so nicely with Hugh and Claire. I’ve been planning on using George for my next son!
I also like Alice or Katherine or Abigail. I think any of those are just darling. But I agree with Swistle- my favorite out of the bunch is Alice.
I love that you used Hugh for your son. So underused and elegant! And I have a soft spot for Claire, it was my mom’s name. To go with Hugh and Claire,
Ian
Graham (agree w/Swistle here)
George
Mark
Ross
James
Philip
Thomas
Eve
Rose
Maeve
Ruth
Nora
Margot
Alice (my fave from your list)
Molly (but I think it lacks the elegance of Claire)
Good luck to you.
I love George, too. Seriously, love. It is so underused and goes so well with Hugh. I don’t like Cormac as much and to me it’s so associated with the author that I can’t really get past that.
(I would NOT use Grant).
For girls, I jumped a bit at Mollie Katherine, which is just great, although I would definitely spell it Molly (acutally, I’d spell it Molly Catherine ;)
Molly is one of my favorite names, and I think it goes SO WELL with Hugh and Claire. I like Molly Alexandra, actually–goes well with Claire Ann.
let us know!
Since Grant is out (for good reason), I vote for George! I know a man in his mid-twenties, and it is such a refreshing name.
I am partial to Alice, but I also like Maeve, suggested above. Maeve reminds me of Niamh (pronounced Neev), but that is a rough spelling to saddle on a little girl who doesn’t live in Ireland! I do love the sound of “Neev” though. Maybe an alternate spelling?
I wouldn’t use Grant. Sad, because I like that name a lot too.
I like Swistle’s suggestions of Graham and Reid and I also suggest Neil.
I love Alice for you with either middle name. What do you think of Amelia, Imogen, or Lucy?
Grant is such a good name but the association would rule it out for me, even though it’s not necessarily negative.
Since you are more lost on girls, I’m going to focus on that. I do like Alice. A lot. What about Jane in the first name slot? I like the suggestion of Maeve too. Others that came to mind:
Elise
Isla
Moira
Hi
Hope you are doing well,
first off I LOVE George, wanted to use this myslef but my husband vetoed it and I think George Regan sounds lovely, as swistle said, very handsome sounding! Hugh and George sound lovely together and even more so when you put it with claire too…. Hugh, Claire and George! Personally I don’t love the name Cormac but the meaning shouldn’t oput you off if you really like it.
I can also suggest some other names which I think work well for a boy and may be along the same vein you were thinking …
James
Andrew
Connor
Aaron
Aiden
Greg/Gregory
For girls, I adore your choice of Alexandra Jane, such a beautiful name and I like it with the other siblings too…Hugh, Claire and Alex(andra). I also really like your choice of Abigail Regan.
Other names you may like;
Sophie or Sophia, I particulary like Sophia Regan,
Felicity
Naomi
Olivia
Rosie
Ellie
Maria
Ivy
Phoebe
Caireen
Just some suggestions, Good luck and let us know how you get on x
How about Regan as a first name? Would work for both and I think it fits quite well with Claire and Hugh.
I do like Grant, but I think it’s probably out for you. Too bad. Do you like Garret, Garrison or Griffin?
I like Cormac best on your boy name list.
For a girl I’m torn between Alexandra Jane and Alice Christine. I like Katherine and Abigail, too. Maybe Abigail Katherine?
I love Cormac. I’m not very into name ‘meanings’ unless they’re super-obvious like Rose, so the dubious definitions don’t bother me at all.
I like Grant on it’s own, but since you’ll be putting with Hugh, plus I don’t particularly like how it flows with Reagan for some reason. So with two strikes I would say it is out.
For girls. If you really like Alexandra, that’s a great name. While it is longer than the other two, I think it goes just fine. I don’t know that I would use it with the middle name Christine, because that’s getting to be an awful lot of letters, but I love it with both Regan and Jane (Jane’s one of my favorite names, it’s so under-used. Can’t get my husband to agree though). My second pick would be Alice, probably with Christine in that case.
Depending on how closely your last name resembles the given one, ARF may be initials you want to avoid.
I would use Hugh.
People close to you will get over the link. And really, it is less of a link because the name is over two kids–it’s not like you’re naming him Huge Grant Fitzpatrick. You have a Grant and you will have a Hugh.
The only time it will be even noticed is in situations where you have to list all your children’s names. Just list your daughter’s name between them as you introduce the kids and introduce them by age. “This is Grant, and Claire, and Hugh.” Dismiss any comments by saying you just liked the two names. It’s no biggie and it’s made smaller by the fact that you used Grant first.
And really, as a kid he/they won’t know who Hugh Grant is. Hugh Grant was born in 1960 (thanks imdb). By the time they are in their 20s Hugh Grant will be in his 70s (and starring in Bridget Jone’s Retirement Home). And, again, this will only come up if they are listing their sibling names and are listing them out of order.
To summarize: Use Hugh! (or Georgia, that’s pretty!)
I say use Grant! My brothers were Andrew and Jackson. It’s not exactly the same as your circumstance since the man they shared a name with had been dead for 150 years, but it didn’t go unnoticed. But it wasn’t ever weird to them. Sooo I vote Grant. LOVE it.
I’m in favor or Georgia for a girl. It was always on my short list had I had another girl!
Hugh and Claire are wonderful together!
For a boy, George is such a great option. But Cormac is, too!
Hugh, Claire, and George.
For a girl, Flora stands out as having the same elegance, dignity, and undeniable beauty as Claire.
Hugh, Claire, and Flora.
You have really refreshing taste in names! Best wishes to you and your growing family!
Thank you, thank you all for your wonderful ideas! I still haven’t had the baby yet…hopefully it will come along very, very soon! I love that many of you are fond of George and Alice – I’m a bit sad that Grant doesn’t seem to work (and I don’t know if I can completely rule it out yet), but George and Alice are names of closer relations anyway so I’m happy to have confirmation and encouragement to use those names. Funny – some of the names you’ve suggested have come up in recent conversations too (as my due date approaches we’re feeling more pressure to pick a great name). My husband and I like Graham, Garrett, Jane, Maeve, Rose…I’ll keep you posted! Thanks again!!! S
For the record, I have a Grant, and he’s a Grant because our oldest son had Jack, our second favourite name was Daniel, but we decided NO to Jack and Daniel (Jack Daniel – the alcoholic drink) so went with Grant, so Grant is GREAT, but maybe as a middle name…? Looking at your girl choices, what about Maera (pronounced MEE-ra)? It has the sounds of Maeve and some of the others, but it’s Irish, has a lovely meaning, and it’s pretty for a little girl, and strong for a woman. Maera Rose. Maera Kate. A lot of your favourite names would work as a middle name. Hugh, Claire and Maera. Or keep the synchronicity of the single syllables with Rose or Kate as a first name, like you suggested. Rose Maera would be a nice nod to your heritages. Best of luck!
I love love love Hugh and if my kids didn’t have such a short last name I would use it. You know what else I’d love to use but can’t? GEORGE. I also like Cormac but I really like George the best. I love Aisling for a girl (Ash LEEN), it means ‘vision or dream’ and it goes so, so well with Fitzpatrick. Best of luck!
For a boy, definitely George Regan. I love that the name George is after your dad and also your husband’s grandfather. And I like George so much better than the overly Irish Cormac with Hugh and Claire.
For a girl, I’d probably choose another shorter name like Hugh and Claire, thus not Alexandra. I think Flora has the same English (as in England) sound to it as Hugh and Claire, and I think it would be so special to call her Flora Christine after your late mother-in-law. I also like Alice Christine, and think Alice fits well with Hugh and Claire too.
Just read through your comments above. I also love Jane and see that you’re considering it for a first name. We have a darling little Jane (almost 2) in our family. I think Jane Christine would be lovely for your second little girl: Hugh, Claire and Jane!
I love Cormac you could call him Mack for short!! i also really like the idea of using Regan as a first name its a great name!!
For a little girl i like Alexandra Regan or you could call her Alexis and call her Lexi for short or Alexa both names are lovely!! also love Abigail and Sadie from your list!
congrats and good luck x
I think you could use Grant. It’s kind of a funny coincidence and does sound really funny when you call them out in rapid succession, but it probably won’t happen all too often. When you tell people your kids’ names, it’s pretty easy to say “our oldest is Hugh, then Claire, and the baby of the family is Grant.” Nobody would notice that in a million years (at least right off the bat)!
I probably would choose something else, but it sounds like it’s your clear favorite.
For a girl I say Rose!!! Alexandra feels a little too long and fussy compared to your other children’s names.
I also think it would be a kind of fun story if you had George Regan picked out for a boy and Georgia Regan picked out for a girl…
Graham is a great name…we get compliments on our son’s name all the time- almost seven years later I still love it and we rarely run into other “Grahams.” I think it goes nicely with your other two children’s names.
Claire & Hugh are both beautiful names so I must first congratulate you on your choices. I agree with the other comments suggesting that you use either George or Alice – both are lovely and have a similar feel to your children’s names. The Hugh Grant connection is a little too strong for me to advocate using Grant wholeheartedly but if it is a name that you love, I see no reason why you shouldn’t use it.
You may also want to consider:
Albert
Arthur
Edward
Giles
Guy
Oliver
Oscar
Otto
Philip
Rafe
Theodore
Amelia
Annabel
Beatrice
Eleanor
Eliza
Emma
Eva
Flora
Freya
Georgina
Imogen
Iris
Josephine
Lucy
Margot
Mia
Phoebe
Serena
Sophia/Sophie
Sybella
Tilly
Good luck!
I can’t get on board with Grant because of the actor connection, but like everyone else I think that George Regan is just amazing!
For girls I think you should go with one of the shorter names from your list since you have two single-syllable name kids. My favorites from your list are Alice and Flora, with Christine and Regan both as beautiful middle names! In fact, Christine Regan sounds great to me too!
I think Grant would be a little strange. I love George, Cormac, and Graham.
I LOVE Alice and Flora! They both sound great with you names!
Good luck!
Either George or Cormac and definitely Alice (one of my favs!).
I do think Hugh Grant is too strong an association to use the name Grant. What about Garrett instead? Hugh, Claire, and Garrett? If you want a nn, Rhett would be awesome. Hugh, Claire, and Rhett. George is nice as well. Although George Regan reminds me of two presidents. Could George be a middle name? Cormac George is nice. Mac is a cute nn.
What about:
Spencer George
Jonah Regan
Arthur Cormac
Callum George
Gavin Cormac
Alec Regan
Alice and Claire are two main characters in the Resident Evil video games/movies, but that shouldn’t play a role :)
I think Sadie, Molly, and Georgia would be really sweet as siblings to Hugh and Claire.
Some other ideas:
Rosa Regan
Lucy Regan
Violet Regan
Julianne Regan
Edith Regan, nn Edie? Claire & Edie?
Lydia Regan
Louise Regan (so underused!)