EllaJune writes:
So my husband and I, we need HELP. Like a lot of help.
My name is the somewhat absurd EllaJune. husband is Omar. Our kids have my surname (Thorpe) with his (Isaacs) as the second middle (and we refer to our family as the Isaacs/Thorpe family).
We have kids: after years and years of IVF etc I finally got pregnant. We were thrilled. Then we found out we were having triplets and we were excited AND SCARED. we didn’t have a name planned except that we thought we’d give any kids middle names after our favorite kids books (i am a children’s librarian and Omar teaches elementary school language arts). So when the dr started referring to our trips as Baby A, Baby B, and Baby C, we let our general obsessive tendencies…take over, and ended up with three beautiful daughters named Ayelet Minerva, Bellamy Scout, and Carys Eloise. we LOVE THEIR NAMES. for me and I think for Omar, they still give me a little thrill to say.
anyway, now we are expecting a BOY CHILD in March, which used to seem very far away and now seems very very close. this is definitely our last child and we were not expecting to have another baby–obviously, but WHATEVER BODY–and we are going to be, erm, FIXED so that there are no more babies. But we are thrilled to be getting this one. We just dont know what the heck to name him! We love having our ABC girls (they are four now!) and so we are VERY tempted to use a D name for this baby. But will he feel left out if we dont, or if we do, will he feel like an afterthought? Is this is a stupid trend? We dont need to give him a name that is a D AND has a Y but…what do we do?
our middle name ideas are:
Milo
Max
Charles Wallce *maybe our favorite, but this would give the poor kid FIVE NAMES)
Huck
FerdinandSome random boys names that we like, to give you a sense of our style (such as it is)
Nolan
Henry
Jasper
Declan
Mattias
GeorgeOh. we’d PREFER to have his name have a different number of letters than any of the girls names (6, 7, 5). Um, or ours, if possible (4,8). Do you see how we are SUCH A GOOD MATCH, my crazy obsessive husband and my crazy obsessive self?
Ugh. Soon a baby will be here, and we will be forced to go with Ayelet’s suggestion of Little Dude. Little Dude Isaacs Thorpe. LD!
THANK YOU.
I like the idea of using D for his initial, but I suspect it will not be a big deal to him either way. Spin will handle most of it: you can either spin it as inclusion or as specialness.
The different-number-of-letters preference is a challenge that may limit your options too severely. If he can’t have 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 letters in his name, then we are limited to names with 3 or fewer letters, or names with 9 or more letters. Neither are common. I suggest considering the adults separate from the children (as you are already doing with the initials), so that 4 and 8 can also be possibilities.
D names that meet the number-of-letters preference (if the adults’ names are removed from consideration):
Dane
Dash
Dashiell
Davidson
Dax
Dean
Del
Dennison
Devereaux
Dex
Dion
Donnelly
Drew
Names from that list that meet the requirements if the parents’ names are included: Dex, Del, Dax, Devereaux. More D-names with 9+ letters: Demetrius, Dionysius, Diederick, Desiderio.
But I recommend abandoning the letter-count preference altogether, since it’s so unnoticeable. People are likely to notice the A-B-C-D idea all the time, but I would bet five dollars that no one will ever say “Hey, all of you in this family have a different number of letters in your names!” Patterns and sameness are much more noticeable than a lack of patterns/sameness.
In which case it seems like Declan from your list would be great. Declan Thorpe; Ayelet, Bellamy, Carys, and Declan. I like it with Milo: Declan Milo Isaacs Thorpe. If it calms the letter-related impulses, note that now each child (and in fact each member of the entire family) has an average of six letters, and that you have begun and ended with 6-letter names. Darian/Derian/Darien and Darwin and Deacon and Denver would also work for this.
Another possibility is to count total letters: Ayelet Minerva has 13 letters, Bellamy Scout has 12 letters, and Carys Eloise has 11 letters. Would it satisfy if child #4 had a total of 10 letters? Again, Declan Milo fits the bill. Or Dane Jasper would work, or Davis Henry, and so on.
Oh, wait, I’ve been forgetting that the middle names on the list are chosen for their literary ties, so I can’t go all willy-nilly by putting first-name options in the middle-name slot. So then I’d stick with Milo or Max or Huck (or Finn), and find a 6- or 7-letter first name. Or if you like Tom Sawyer as well as Huck Finn, Sawyer would make a good 6-letter middle name to go with any of the 4-letter first names.
Name update! EllaJune writes:
dear Swistle, thank you so much for all of your help and your commenters were so great too! we thought a lot about everything you guys said and finally decided that a Z name was the best- A-Z SO CUTE. also our christmas card next year will say from A-Z and it will be adorable.
anyway, the middle name was definitely the hardest. we thought about lots of the suggestions that we use just charles but that seemed too diffuse for us, with no real relationshop to the book character we loved. but tehn we happened to be watching a rerun of veronica mars, where the moral center of the show is wallace, and the rest as they say is history.
So we are thrilled to introduce:
Zachariah Wallace Isaacs Thorpe
Because that is such a long name for such a tiny baby we are calling him Zac mostly, or sometimes, and wait for it you will die of cuteness-Zac Waldo. we love it.
Thank you!
I am suspecting that an uncommon name is important to you as well, so what about Davies rather than Davis? I think Davies Finn is great, and it gives you the ten-letter total name as well. Like your daughters’ names, it does not appear in the top 1,000, ever. Congrats!
How about Holden? (Catcher and the Rye)
I would not worry about the # of letters in your son’s name. Especially since you’re having a hard time naming him. I wouldn’t make it more difficult.:)
Oscar, Max, Holden, Finn, Sawyer, Charlie and Simon.
Oscar Alex
Charles Holden
Max Holden
Oscar Sawyer
Holden Finn
Oscar Simon
Simon Charles
For a 3 letter name I really like Tye.
3 letter names./or less
Eli or Leo. Dex or Dax. Zek. Rio. Bo
I really like Declan. Here are some other D names I like but they don’t follow the letter count requirements:
Dempsey
Doyle
Duff or Duffy
Drake or Draco
Dawson
Duke
Dermot
Good luck!!
I say either pick a “D” name that you love, like Declan, or one that goes well with the girls’, like Dashiell. Otherwise, simply pick a name that you love that starts with any letter at all–who will really notice? Just a little blip until whatever name you choose is embraced.
Dashiell Henry Issacs Thorpe
No better time than right before a birth to let go of obsessive musings over anything!
How about another A name? He’s the #1 and only of this second pregnancy, and this may make him feel important.
Andrew may be nice because a nickname could be Drew, which would use the ABCD trend.
My daughter’s name is Carys so obviously partial to Carys and Andrew sibs :)
Ah, Charles Wallace – such a great character! I wonder if you’d consider Uriel as a homage to AWIT instead? Ooh, as I abbreviated that book title a new thought came to mind… could his initials be AWIT?
A. Wallace Isaacs Thorpe? A double play? Here are some names that start with A and also have three or nine letters: Abe, Alejandro, Archibald, Ali, Ari, Ash, Augustine.
Love how you and your hubby’s brains work.
Augustine Wallace Isaacs Thorpe is my favorite of the bunch. I think the meanings behind the names are complementary as well.
I’d disregard the # of letters criteria; it’s too limiting. But I do like the D name idea and you have Declan right there on your list. Declan Milo would be my pick, though I also like Dane from Swistle’s suggestions. I agree 5 names is too many, but how about just Charles for the middle? The character is occasionally called that and Declan Charles is nice.
The reasoning behind another A name appeals as well. Adrian? Alistair?
I quite like the idea of another ‘A’ name, it’s less obvious but fun.
The first thing I thought was: Why not choose a ‘Z’ name?! ABC…Z, as he will be the last one. Also a bit less obvious and more special.
Zachariah or Zac or both. Or just Zed.
I also like Swistle’s suggestion of another 6 letter name as the happy mean and median.
My favorite is Zephyr, with the added bonus that it is a proper Greek god name with a ‘y’ in it and occurs in children’s book Barbar the elephant! (cute little monkey)
Good luck!
I love the suggestion of Doyle. It was on my list for my second son, but my husband nixed it.
On Swistle’s list I like Dean, Dane, Dash and Dax best.
Dean Charles Wallace Isaacs Thorpe
Dean Milo Isaacs Thorpe
Dean Sawyer Isaacs Thorpe <3 <3 <3 that one
You could go with an S name and have the ABC’s :)
I am of no help otherwise – so many great names have been mentioned.
DEX! Choose Dex. Instead of a ‘y’ in his name like his sisters, he’ll have an ‘x’ — even a bit of a fun (crazy obsessive?) twist that your x-chromosomed children get ‘y’s in their names, while your y-chromosomed child will get an ‘x’ in his name.
This solution is so pleasing to my crazy-obsessive self that I am VERY MUCH HOPING you will find it equally exciting and compelling.
Dex Ferdinand
Dex Milo
NAME HIM DEX.
Or Dexter
Like a commenter above, I also thought of using a name beginning with Z, so that you have A-Z. What about Zeke? But I also am intrigued by the idea of an X in the name.
I think the A,B,C,D would be cute, but I also think that not having a D would not be a big deal. There could also be an argument for not using the D, so that instead of him tagging along with his sisters, he has something special all to himself.
Another nice tie-in would be to have your son’s name have four letters, like his fathers, so that they will have common ground, and make his name special.
Good luck and would love to hear your decision!
I like Declan, Dashiell, and Dex or Dexter. Z names like Zack or Zane might be cool too! Best of luck!
OOOH! My baby’s mn is Ferdinand after his great-grandfather, so that gets my vote. It’s so wonderfully quirky!
I like the idea of a D name, or a Z name, but don’t think it’s obligatory. I like your Declan, and really I think your list is great, you can’t go wrong. I like Swistle’s Dex/Dexter and Dash/Dashiell.
I suggest:
Dorian Ferdinand
Finn/Finnegan (Finian?) Milo
Tate Charles Wallace
Zander Max
Good luck!
Your girls have beautiful names – and there are so many great ones to choose from now. An embarrassment of naming riches, really.
My favourites so far are Dashiell, Declan and Dex/Dexter (love the x/y thing that Elle came up with!). My favourite of your middle names are Milo and Max and I also like the suggestions of Sawyer and Holden.
Dashiell Sawyer, Declan Milo/Max, Dexter Holden…all fantastic!
I like the D idea. And the Z idea. Other 3-letter names are Don, Dan, Des. They can be short for longer names or stand alone. Yes, a bit old fashioned but that’s supposed to be in fashion isn’t it?
I admit I would notice a pattern of names containing a Y before I would notice a pattern of different length names. Unless the girls were Alice, Brenda and Caitlyn with each name getting longer and longer.
Names starting with D and containing a Y:
Dylan
Darryl (too close to Carys?)
Dayton
and the aforementioned Doyle
On the other hand, you have Max in your list of middle names. It has three letters. How about naming him Max Ferdinand?
Ayelet, Bellamy, Carys and Max.
All the best.
I really like Max/Dax. In stead of: all children have a ‘y’ in their name, you could view it as: all children have an ‘a’ in their name! (But I still think Zephyr is pretty cool!)
i LOVE the Z name, and my own OCD tendencies lead me to point out that you have an E name, so if this baby has a D name, then your husband will be the only one who doesn’t fit the pattern. I like:
Zane
Zeke
Zachery/Zack/Zak
I love Charles Wallace too, but yeah, five names is a bit much. Would one of the other brother names work? What about Dennys? I know he’s no Charles Wallace, but hes kind of awesome anyway…
good luck. I love your daughters names!
Love the Z idea- what about Zephyr?
I love the D or Z ideas best of all. I would never have noticed the number of letters in the names if you hadn’t mentioned it.
My faves:
Dylan
Desmond
Dane
Devon
Dyson
Zane
Zach
Zephyr
Zyvan
So many great ideas! I really love the D name best I think. Declan, Dashiell and Doyle would be great with your daughters’ names. I’ll also suggest Donovan. I think the number of letters is minor. Great if it happens but since most people won’t notice I don’t think you should let it limit you too much. I also really like the suggestions of AWIT initials and the X/Y theme.
Zachariah
Zaryc
Zayn
Zethyn
Dayc
Darryn
Davoryn
Dymetrius
Dennyson
Dyn
I was coming here to completely dismiss the letter-count idea…but I admit I love the Z idea. I like Zane, Zavier, and Zachariah.
Another option would be to give him an O name since he is an only and it would connect to his father. Oliver, Owen, Olan, Oren would be possibilities.
I like the D name idea, and I love the literary character idea! Both of my top girl names are inspired by characters from books!
The number of letters thing seems a bit too picky to me though. I’d hate to see you pass up an amazing character’s name just because the number of letters didn’t work.
Swistle, You are GIFTED =)! GIFTED!!!
How about Duncan? A great underused D name that I’m surprised to see hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Good luck!
Loooooove the name Duncan!