Monica writes:
I am due with our second child at the beginning of February. We do not know what we are having, and cannot come up with a boy’s name. We have a 2 yr old daughter named Bianca Jolien. We call her ‘B’ or Bia. If the baby is a girl, she will be Daphne (unsure of middle name). We could easily agree on a girl’s name; however, we are having difficulty coming up with a boy’s name. It may be because I have too many ‘rules’. I don’t want the name to start with a ‘M’ as my husband is Martin and I am Monica, I want the name to be more than one syllable as our last name is one syllable (sounds like ‘Spam’), and I don’t want a trendy or overly common name, but also not a name that is too unheard of. Every name I come up with, my husband says it in Dutch, and it does not work. Having said that, I don’t want an exclusively Dutch name (like Jaap or Cees)! Like I said, I have lots of ‘rules’!
A commonly used boy’s name in Holland right now is Lucas, which I like, and especially like the nn Luke. I’m not sure though because it ends with ‘S’ and our last name starts with ‘S’. What are your thoughts? Yes, generally we will use Luke, but officially it will be Lucas ‘Spam’. I’m afraid it sounds too much like Luca ‘Spam’ when spoken. I don’t want to simply name him Luke as I’d like him to have the option of using Lucas when he is older.
Names we have considered, but aren’t convinced:
Kiefer – Husband likes, I used to like it too, but now feel it is too ‘different’.
Willem – Dutch form of William. I like the nn Will, but worry about how common this will be, and really dislike the nn Willy.
Wilco – same as above, it is a commonly used name in Holland, but worry it is too different.
Graydon – like the nn Grady, not crazy about Graydon
Henry – don’t like the nn Hank, and hubby isn’t crazy about the name
Callum
Griffin – love the nn Finn, but a friend recently named her son Griffin
We are planning on having only 2 children, so as of now, it’ll be Bianca and Daphne or Bianca and Baby Boy…HELP!
I think Willem is a wonderful choice, and I think you can avoid Willy unless he himself chooses it, which seems unlikely. The main downside of the name, I think, is that the popularity of the name William could create constant misunderstandings and misspellings as people assume you’ve said/written William.
I agree with you about names running into each other. I think if I loved a name above all others and with the passion of at least one or two suns, I would use it anyway, and then I would practice saying the name distinctly, with a pause: “Lucas. Spam.” Or, as I imagine going up to the reception desk at school or at the doctor’s office, I might say, “This is Lucas. Lucus Spam.” Yes, I think that would work fine. But the issue would knock the name lower on my list.
The name Wilco has seized my imagination. It seems just wonderful. It has the easy nickname Will, but without Willem’s problem with being confused with William. It’s distinctive and Dutch and easy to explain to anyone whose eyebrows go up (“My husband is Dutch; it’s a common Dutch name”), and especially with that -o ending I think it has huge potential for crossover to U.S. usage. My guess is that the only reason it HASN’T crossed over is that people haven’t heard of it. Or possibly because the -co ending might sound a little corporate? But that’s not what comes to mind with Marco or Nico or Rocco. In your particular family, I wonder if it’s too many C+vowel endings: Monica, Bianca, and Wilco.
If you like Finn but can’t use Griffin, there’s also Finnegan, Phineas, Fintan, or straight Finn.
If you like Grady, I’d go directly to that: it’s a stand-alone name, and I think Graydon sounds like a Braden-offshoot name invented to give Grady a more formal version.
I don’t like the matching M-endings of Callum Spam. I wonder if you’d like Calvin? Calvin Spam; Bianca and Calvin; Bia and Cal.
I love Kiefer best. It’s energetic and unusual, but familiar and completely fits in with the current fashion for surname names, as well as fitting beautifully with Bianca. Kiefer Spam. Bianca and Kiefer. I love that so much, it’s tempting to pressure you.
Yes yes yes — if you like Grady, use Grady, which I think of as a more-traditional name anyway. (Not that nontraditional is bad, but it may save you some hassle.)
I can’t see “Willem” being a problem in the US, but are you in the US? If not, will you ever move here? Willem Dafoe. Mo Willems.
If you do live or move in the US, I think “Wilco” might be a problem, both because of the band name and because of the phrase “Roger Wilco.”
I love Wilco and I don’t see the band name as a minus, rather a plus. I also like Willem. How about Anders?
I wonder how Grayson sounds up against your proper last name.
I think Grady is great on its own. And I think Willy is an avoidable nickname with Willem.
One last thought — Ewan. It came to mind while reading your list. Good luck!
Oooh I like Kiefer the best too. That is my vote! I also like Willem and think Willy won’t be an issue. I would also go with just Grady if you choose to go in that direction. I like Swistle’s Lucas suggestion – Lucas. Lucas Spam when introducing him. I think Finnegan is a fun way to get to Finn. My neighbor just named her baby GIRL Griffin. I don’t think Griffin is necessarily going to the girls based on that one instance, but it has soured the name for boys in our neighborhood. Wilco throws me off a bit, but I don’t dislike it. Good luck!
I love Wilco and Kiefer. I think they fit your criteria really well.
Yes, Wilco is a band out of Chicago but I don’t see it as a detraction from the name (as I would if you were going to name him Coldplay or some other more well known band).
And Kiefer is awesome. I think it is uncommon but with Kiefer Sutherland people will definitely have heard of it, which makes it less different.
How about Ruben? That my favorite and works in both languages. Or Oscar?
Starting with Wil: Wilfred (not particularly popular at the moment, but neither is Wilco)
PS. StephLove, ‘anders’ means ‘different’ in Dutch. It is not so common.
Also…
Common ‘brother names’ for Bianca in NL: Ronald, Patrick, Remco, Dennis.
Daphne’s brothers: Ralph, Jurgen, Robin, Pascal.
Lucas’ brothers: Oscar, Victor, Ruben, Caspar/Casper
See: http://www.naamkunde.net/?page_id=295 for more Dutch sibling inspiration.
(My fav are still Ruben & Oscar!)
Good luck!!
I think Kiefer is a great name. Just be aware of the word kefir which is a fermented milk drink. I would be cautious using a name that sounds like kefir spam.
I automatically think of Wilco the band… I didn’t even know Wilco was a name. I like Wilco (the band), but I think the association is too strong for a baby name. To me, it is really similar to naming your baby Coldplay. Wilco isn’t an obscure band either; they’re pretty popular and I think most 20 and 30-somethings have heard of them.
I think “Lucas Spam” definitely can sound like “Luca Spam” but I don’t know if you should rule it out completely. There are many ways to get around that. He could introduce himself like “I’m Lucas. Lucas Spam.”
I like Willem the best!
Agreed on Wilco the band being a very, very strong association. They’ve been quite popular for a long time now — I’m in my mid-20s and I’ve been hearing about them my whole adult life. Not necessarily negative … but their music’s pretty sad …
I think Willem is the one for you. The actor Willem Dafoe makes this version of the name familiar enough that I don’t think people will mistake it for William too often. I LOVE Bianca and Willem.
Kiefer is not my cup of tea personally. I think with a classic name like Bianca a more established name works better.
In military circles, “Wilco” is used to mean “Will comply.” For this reason, I would scrap this name. To me it would be similar to naming my child, “Aye! Aye!” I believe this is merely a US term, so it depends on where you will be using the name.
Hmm. I think my favorites are Lucas, Kiefer, and Willem, in that order. I do think that Luke, Kief, and Will are inevitable nn’s, and will be bestowed by peers eventually.
When I hear Wilco, I hear the rock band….and I’m well over 40. The local alt-rock radio station plays them a lot. I think folks might assume you’d honored the band. That aside, I do like the name.
If not for popularity, I’d suggest Jacob because it goes so well with Bianca. Going strictly by sound.
What about Isaac, Ivo, or Nico? Or Hendrik instead of Henry?
My son’s name is William. My husband is German and so my son answers to Will, William & Wilhelm. I think using Willem would be fine so long as you are prepared to occassionally hear all 3. And FWIW, my son has never been called Willy by anyone.
I think Willem and Bianca are great! Lucas made me think of Matthias, but that still has the problem of the S ending.Maybe Matteo? I also really like Fredrick/Friedrich for you.
I see someone already has, but I was going to suggest Nico or Ivo. OR, why not just name him Luca/Luka? You may still have the run-together issue, but you can still use Luke.
Also, I would just like to add that the NN Bia for Bianca makes me swoon. I LOVELOVELOVE it.
Are you opposed to naming him Luke? You could use a longer middle name to make it less choppy. I have a friend named Luke with a one syllable last name and I have never thought it sounded strange.
I also really like Willem with the nn Will. Wilco is cute, but I too think of the band. Just throwing this one out there…Wilken is a surname in my family that could give you the Will nn without any confusion of William/Willem.
If you like Finn as a nn, I know someone who named their little boy Finnick, which could also work.
I say go with Lucas if you love it. Of course, my son’s name is Lucas, so I’m biased. And we do call him Luca often, and get many compliments on it, so I wouldn’t worry if the names run together a bit in this case. In some cases, it’s a deal breaker but this one is fine. Lucas/Luca/Luke is one of those super versatile names that works all over Europe and the US/English speaking world. And I think Luca and Bianca is a darling sib set.
I’m going to echo Clarabella: what about Luca/Luka instead of Lucas? Especially since you’d be calling him Luke anyway. I personally wouldn’t use Lucas Spam, I think the s’s run in to each other way too much.
I would use Willem and I think Bianca and Willem sound great together. Yes people might hear William but it’s easily corrected. The actor Willem Dafoe makes the name more familiar as well.
My first thought about Wilco was the band but it’s not a negative association. Wilco and Bianca are great together too. Congrats!
I like Graydon the best from your list and Griffin but it sounds like you can’t use it now. HOw about Evan? I adore Evan. Love Luca.
William has been a family name in my family for several generations, and I don’t think anyone has ever been called Willy. Besides Will, Bill is a popular nn for William/Willem, which is a nice alternative to have. I’m biased of course, but I think William/Willem is a great name that isn’t too trendy but at the same time is familiar sounding. I don’t think Willem would be too much of an issue, especially since your husband is Dutch!
I like Willem and I know several Williams and none of them have ever been called Willy, to my knowledge. It almost seems like a different name. Kiefer has grown on me in the time it took me to read the post, though. Congratulations and good luck!
Lucas Spam DOES sound like ‘Luca Spam’; good instincts on that one.
Kiefer works well, but someone mentioned above that it sounds the same as a fermented dairy beverage… but it is my favorite from your list.
Here are a few other Dutch boy names that might work for you:
Jasper
Boaz
Damian
Niels (but it’s only one syllable)
Quinten
LOVE the idea of Bianca and Daphne! You have wonderful taste in names! Please let us know what you and your husband decide. Best wishes to you and your growing family!
WilcoHess is a common gas station here in NC, so that’s what I immediately think of when I here Wilco.
I vote for Kiefer! I really love Calvin too.
Grady is brilliant. Grady Willem or Willem Grady are fabulous ways to incorporate your favourite names. My heritage is Dutch, and my name is common in Holland but not anywhere else, so I would avoid names which constantly have to be spelled or explained, but Will doesnt need explaining, and I know several Williams who are definitely NOT Willy…!!! Can I say Keifer will constantly have to spell and explain his name (although I love love love Keifer Sutherland) Another thing, in my family boys names include Pieter (Pieter and Bianca has a nice ring), Karel (pronounced Karl-which would be my preferred spelling) and Dereck (from Dirk). best wishes!
Hi. Wilco is not just used in US military circles. The term ‘wilco’ is radio-speak for “will comply” in all walky-talky, wireless and every other professional radio user, all over the Englisg speaking world.It means that the receiver will do whatever the other user just instructed. I would not use it at all. But Willem is great. And not a Willy- its all down to how you introduce him -this is my son, Will. Cheers!
I, too, prefer Grady on its own. Graydon sounds made up and unnecessary. Grady and Bianca also look and sound great together as a sibling set!
I like Willem, and I think people would recognize it in the US because of Willem Defoe. I do, however, think he will be constantly correcting people that it is Willem and not William. Lastly, I know lots of Wills and Williams, and not once have I heard any of them called Willy!
You like Will, so what about Wilson? Bianca and Wilson. It is a great formAl name, which has the nn Wil, or Will (I like it with the single ‘n’). Best wishes!
I don’t see how Grady or Grayson would work in Dutch – the G sound alone.
Willem would be my favorite of your list – Will or Liam could still work as nicknames. Willy seems very unlikely.
Some ideas
Abel – Bianca & Abel would sound great together!
Adrian – love it. Adri or Ari could be a cute nickname.
Bram
Hugo
Casper- nn Cas?
Tygo
Mattias – nn Mats?
I vote Willem..of course, I’m biased because I have a William. He HAS been called Willy, but only by my neighbor who calls him Willy Wonka since my oldest son is named Charlie.
If you like Griffin, may I suggest Griffith. It’s similar and I like the “th” sound on the end of the name better than “in”
I wouldn’t let the repeating “s” sound stop you from using the name Lucas. It’s a common enough boy’s name that I think most will assume Lucas is being said, even if it occasionally sounds like Luka. I’ve been saying the two names together & it’s not difficult to have a little pause between the two. In occasions when the last name is being used (introductions, when applying for something, on the phone) a pause would be customary for clarity anyway. For these reasons – & because I think it’s a great name – I’d use Lucas.
Other Dutch names that I like are Kas, Alto and Falco. Falco will probably sound made-up if you’re in North America. Alto is great, but has a fairly strong association to the vocal part in a choir, which may be a drawback (or not). Kas just seems straight-up cool to me, but perhaps too cool? (e.g. harder to imagine a Dr. Kas Spam?!)
I’d go with Lucas! Bianca & Lucas, Bia & Luke – perfect!
I VOTE WILCO!!!!!
My one year old son’s name is Wilco and I love it….I’ve only had positive reactions to it as I feel it’s different with out being too weird and it’s said how it’s spelt so no confusion.
No one had tried to shorten it and if they did I would correct them as I named him Wilco not Wil, Willy etc etc.
I live in New Zealand so there isn’t much of a connection to the band here and only a couple of people i’ve met have even heared of the band.
I’m soooo happy with my son’s name, love it to bits :)
Good Luck!!!!
LOVE Wilco!
I also am from NZ but live in Australia. My two year old is named Wilco and we are very happy with our decision. It’s a good strong name and I love the meaning ‘will,desire’. My best advise is don’t over think the decision like I did, you start to find the negatives in every name. I was almost too scared to go with Wilco for fear of other’s opinions but we are so glad we stuck with it. Only two people have mentioned the band, which I think is kind of cool anyway. I know alot of pilots and no one uses the term Roger Wilco anymore. Just follow your heart and choose a name that feels right for you.