Jennifer writes:
My husband and I are expecting a baby boy February 24th. Our last name starts with an L and rhymes with Vogue. Our first son’s name is Rhett Ezekiel, we chose his name within a week or two of finding out his gender. This second guy is giving us a little more trouble!
I like more unusual names, but my husband is much more traditional. I prefer names that are longer than one syllable since we have a one syllable last name. I don’t mind nicknames. He does not like nicknames and prefers shorter names. Obviously, I am not dead set, because our first son has a one syllable name. I made up for it with a long middle name. I do NOT want a name that is used as a girl’s name.
His father passed away last year, so my husband would like us to use either his first name David, or his middle name Warren somewhere in the name. I have agreed. I’m not overly fond of the name David, but will use it as a middle name (especially if the name we choose ends in the letter N). I would prefer our son to have his own first name (our first son does and so do all of the nieces and nephews on both sides). However, I am willing to use the name Warren as a first name if we don’t find something we both love. If we use Warren, his name will be Warren Elias.
Names that I like, but hubby doesn’t:
Elias (this would be my name of choice)
Thatcher (was the name I liked for the first baby)
Oliver
EzraNames he likes, but I don’t:
Walter
Henry
George
HarryNames we both like (really, the entire list is about 10 deep)
Tyson
Owen (seems so popular to me as does Tyson)
Sawyer (starting to be used as a girl’s name)
Coleman
Conrad
Roy
Oakley
Wilson (but we might as well use Warren, they are so close)We are leaning towards Conrad, Coleman, or Warren. I think that I am preferring Coleman, but then will have to use David as a middle name, and I would rather use Warren, but not sure I like the two N endings. I think he is preferring Warren at the moment, but he has gone back and forth on Warren.
Can you help?!?
Thank you!
Name update! Jennifer writes:
Thanks all! Eli Warren was born today 9 lbs .09 oz 21.75″
You’ve likely considered this but the E’s in your list, plus the style of Oliver and Henry make me think of Eliot. There are rumours that it’s “going girl” but the numbers don’t support that, IMHO. I picked that spelling because it’s 3 syllables but only 5 letters, so a compromise on “length.” But given your choice of Rhett, maybe the compromise that works is the opposite, short sound, more letters.
Owen makes me think of Noah, which is also a nice fit with Ezra and Elias.
Other ideas:
Jasper
Jude
Silas
Levi
Simon
Hugh
Benjamin
Grant
And as for Wilson vs Warren, well, they _different_ names. If Wilson speaks to you and Warren doesn’t, then Wilson David is the right pick!
Oh, my 4 y.o. has a Chance in his class, which sounded surpringly fresh to me.
I think if all of the kids in your family have their own names, it seems like maybe this kid should get his own as well…? I think Conrad Warren is a great name.
What do you think of Davis? To my ears, it’s a bit fresher than David, and it has some of the feel of Elias. Not sure if that defeats the purpose of naming him after your FIL, but it does afford some of the honor without giving your son a “used” name.
Davis Coleman Vogue
Davis Conrad Vogue
Seeing that you seem to like surname-y names, here’s a go at thinking of new ones:
Elias reminds me of Elston, Emmeric, Eaton
Thatcher- Torphin (Finn, Tor), Thayer, Turner, Trevor
Walter- Wade, Winston, Warwick
Some more random suggestions:
Brennan
Griffin
Blake
Rohan
Sinclair
Conall
Cormac
Callum
I especially like the sound of Rhett and Callum; Rhett and Wade; Rhett and Thayer
First a word of warning. In 2010 the name Oakley was given to 117 girls and 134 boys. Very much unisex these days.
OK, now a little analysis of the names you like. ALL of the names on your ‘both like’ list have an ‘o/aw’ sound in them.
ALL the names of your DH’s list have an ‘r’ in them. Except for Elias, the names on your list do too. It makes them match Rhett’s name very well.
So… Perhaps an ‘o/aw/au’ sound as well as an ‘r’. There you go: Warren!
But, if you’d like a new name, how about (bit of a mix in style):
Brock Warren, Rhett & Brock
Troy Warren, Rhett & Troy
Connor Warren, Rhett & Connor
Porter Warren, Rhett & Porter
Trevor Warren, Rhett & Trevor
Leroy Warren, Rhett & Leroy
Oscar Warren, Rhett & Oscar
Hector Warren, Rhett & Hector
Victor Warren, Rhett & Victor
Without the ‘r’ sound I also really like: August Warren and Colt Warren
And without the ‘o’ sound, I also really like: Albert Warren, Edgar Warren and Drake Warren and Parker Warren.
Hope you find something you love!
My favorite name on your list is Owen, but you’re right that it’s more popular than the rest. (And if you’re ruling on Tyson on that criteria, Sawyer should go, too.)
I like Coleman, Conrad and Wilson for you. Since you have Roy on the list I’m assuming you don’t mind repeating an initial. I like Royce and Rory. Royce Warren sounds really good to me actually.
Maybe Cohen?? Sounds like a combination of Owen and Coleman sort of. And I think Cohen David sounds nice.
Good luck!!
Sorry another thought. Would you consider going with just Cole instead of Coleman. Then you could use Warren as the middle name. I really like Cole and the suggestion of Colt above.
I don’t think the two “n” sounds at the end of Coleman and Warren are a problem. Coleman Warren (V)ogue sounds nice.
I like Tyson or Coleman – Ty and Cole go well with Rhett to me. They do both end in n though.
i would take oakley off the list.. the only oakley i know is a woman.
I love the name Warren. I think the problem may be finding a middle name that matches.
– Warren Alaric
– Warren Louis
– Warren Thomas
– Warren Eugene
For combos that use David, how about some of these:
– Sebastian David
– Gideon David
– Gibson David
– David Wyatt
Good luck!
I just ran this by my family (husband & grown daughter), and they were unanimous in their choice: Owen David.
Second choice: Conrad David.
Thanks all! Eli Warren was born today 9 lbs .09 oz 21.75″
Jennifer
A Leap baby! Congratulations on your strapping baby boy and coming up with the perfect name for him – Eli Warren.