Maggie writes:
My sister introduced me to your blog a few months ago, and I am hooked! And now I need to ask you for your help. I’m 25 weeks pregnant with a precious little baby boy (due in early July), and the husband and I cannot agree on a name for him. My name is Maggie, hubs is Kevin, and our last name is Pearce. We have a two year-old daughter named Molly Rose, and #2 may or may not be our last child. We’re thrilled to be adding a boy to our clan…….except that we CANNOT figure out his name!
We were actually kind of surprised to “see blue” on the ultrasound, and maybe part of the reason is because we had already compiled a list of girls’ names that we both loved. In case it helps at all, they were Heidi, Charlotte, Alice and Claire. But when it comes to boys’ names, the hubby and I have very different tastes.
My current favorite is Weston, nn Wes. Husband’s response: “is that even a real name?” Close seconds are Gavin, Connor and Austin. I also love the name Parker, but something about Parker Pearce sounds silly to me.
Husband likes more traditional names, and strongly prefers that whatever name we choose be two syllables so that it flows nicely with our one-syllable last name. He brings up Andrew a lot. I’m turned off by it only because it seems kind of ordinary to me. That being said, we are planning to use a traditional, honor middle name–either David or Francis. So I’d rather have something a little more modern (but not too popular!) for his first name.
When we first discussed baby names about five years ago, we both really liked the name Ryan. It’s still in the running, but I think we both find it slightly boring having had it on our list for so long. And more importantly, I’ve seen it pop up recently as a girls’ name. We’re both really not into gender-neutral names, so that’s a definite strike against using Ryan.
Choosing Molly’s name was so simple – we both loved it as soon as we heard it, and while we pretended to consider other names, we were pretty much dead-set on using Molly from the start. Rose is an honor name, and so are both of ours, so we’d like to continue with that tradition.
Since we had that “a-ha!” moment with Molly’s name, I was hoping the same thing would happen for this baby boy. Am I being too unreasonable? Should we just go with a name that we can both live with, but one of us is not overly excited about? We’re completely open to any advice and/or new ideas that you can add to our list, and I promise to share what name we pick when he makes his big entrance into this world!
Thank you!!!!
If your husband’s tastes are more traditional, I wonder if he’d like Wesley instead of Weston?
To do this in reverse to your husband’s choice of Andrew, I think Anderson is super sharp. Or there’s Drewan/Druan, which is like a perfect combination of Ryan and Andrew, but is probably too modern/invented to appeal to your husband.
The Baby Name Wizard has Turner as a suggestion if Parker is not quite right, and it’s much better with your surname. Turner Pearce; Molly and Turner.
I know what you mean about a name getting kind of boring after spending so long on the list. You might still want to use Ryan, and it’s nice to have a “This would be fine” name available as back-up—or maybe we can find something that is similar but will feel fresher to you:
Adrian
Camden
Grady
Henry
Ian
Isaac
Kyle
Liam
Nathan
Nolan
Owen
Ronan
Rylan
Simon
Tyler
Wyatt
With Molly, I especially like Henry, Ian, Isaac, and Simon. I also like Molly and Liam, and can’t decide if the repeating “lee” sound is too much, or if it ties the two names together.
Name update! Maggie writes:
Our beautiful baby boy arrived June 30th at 8lbs 6oz, and we named him……..Ryan Garry! In the end, we decided that “Ryan” really was THE name for our little man, and we have to thank you and the many people who commented on our post for helping us to realize that. And to add an element of surprise, we used my dad’s first name for Ryan’s middle name. He was thrilled! Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and input…it helped tremendously!
Ryan’s picture is attached!
We had the same experience as you had with the name Ryan. That is, we picked a boy name during our first pregnancy, but then had a girl — for whom we found an “aha!” name, a name we considered perfect in every way. Several years later, when we had the boy, our old boy-name pick seemed kind of boring. We still liked it, but we just didn’t have that “This is PERFECT!!” feeling that we had had for our girl’s name. Nevertheless, for want of “aha!” moments with ANY boy name, we went ahead with our original pick. I’m trying to think if it was as much as a day, or if it was only an hour or so, before that old, tired name suddenly seemed like the most wonderful name ever — and still seems so to me now, years later.
I think the name Ryan has what it takes to be an enduringly satisfying name. And it sounds great with Molly!
I do like Ryan with the surname and the sibling name, but if it’s not exciting you any more how about Byron?
If you like Ryan I would still use it; although it’s being used for girls there are still more than 20 times as many boy Ryans being born than girls according to the SSA list. Otherwise, from Swistle’s suggestions I like Ronan the best.
I love Turner! I know a cute little boy with that name and I think it sounds so so cute with Molly.
You have a lot of great ideas for names!
Here’s some that I like:
Connor – I like the repeating “o” with Molly. Connor sounds so crisp. I think it could do equally well with Francis or David.
I like Swistle’s suggestion of Anderson. I especially like the three-syllable name with the one-syllable last name.
Ian is really nice as well. I like Austin and Ryan, too. The n-sound at the end of the name fits well with your last name.
I’d also add the name Adam. It’s familiar, it’s classic, but it still seems very current to me. Molly and Adam. Same with Jacob, too. Molly and Jacob. I like that repeating “o” again (like there was in Connor.)
I also like Calvin because I like the nickname “Cal” for you.
You have such a solid, friendly-sounding last name that there are so many good choices.
Maggie, Kevin & Molly all have a bit of Irish flair, while still being familiar to the American ear. Because of that, I really want to suggest Gaelic origin names for you. I think Ryan is perfect and of your other choices I also really like Gavin. Connor works, but is a bit more common which may not appeal to you. Some others I like are Ian, Owen, Liam & Gareth. If Andrew is too common for you-do you think hubby would like Alistair? I also really want to suggest Ronald–I like the repeating sounds in Ronnie and Molly but can see that Ronald is perhaps too much of a dad name still. Swistle’s suggestion of Ronan is more fresh.
Maggie and Molly, Kevin and Gavin- I like the sound of that — and keeping the Gaelic theme. I also like Owen. Anderson Pearce sounds awesome too! Best of luck to you and congrats, cousin!!
I second the previous poster’s note about the Irish flair, and think Gavin is a good fit.
I also want to put in a plug for your husband’s choice of Andrew. It’s a really, really great boy’s name. Perhaps it is not “fresh,” but I think it fits well with the rest of the family. I hope you keep it on your short list!
I think Weston is a perfectly legitimate name, but does Preston possibly sound more legit to your hubby? Preston Pearce sounds super cute to me!
Most of the names you seem to like are 2 syl ending on ‘n’. How about
Ruben (bit like Andrew)
or
Calvin (bit like Gavin)
Or maybe:
Warren,
Damon,
Wilson
to name just a few…
Good luck!
I like Graham for you – traditional for your hubby and you can use Gray as a modern nick name. Molly and Graham. Molly and Gray.
I hate to be a downer but wanted to point out that Wes Pearce sounds… off somehow to me. I find it off-putting that they’re both one-syllable names and both end in an “s” sound. (Not trying to make your job harder but wanted to point it out in case you hadn’t said it out loud.)
I would love Molly and Gavin Pearce, Molly and Isaac Pearce, Molly and Ian Pearce, Molly and Owen Pearce, and the above recommendation of Molly and Graham Pearce! Good luck to you and your husband!
Instead of Andrew, what about the classic Arthur? It’s less common and has two syllables like your husband was hoping for. Nickname could be Art or Artie.
Molly Rose and Arthur David.
If you’re feeling more adventurous (name-wise), there’s Archer. This, too, is much like Andrew, but it has less popularity, two syllables, and far more color. Nicknames could be Arch or Archie.
Molly Rose and Archer David.
Best wishes to you and your growing family!
because your name is Maggie and your daughter is Molly, I am VERY tempted to pressure you to use a K name for your son. On that note, I’d suggest:
Kieran (love this, sounds nicely Irish…might be a bit close to Kevin, but not any closer than Maggie/Molly)
Keegan
Kyle (seems similar to Ryan to me)
Kelton
Oooooooh, Anderson Pearce sounds COMPLETELY like a movie star.
I like the suggestion of Liam. And to satisfy your husband, you could pick the traditional name William with the nickname Liam.
What do you think of Charles nn Charlie? It is traditional so the husband might like it but the nickname still sounds fresh and is just so likable!
I like the K name suggestions…. How about Kellan? It also has the Irish ring to it and would go with David or Francis!
I love pp’s suggestion of Arthur–but just so you are aware, Molly & Arthur are Ron Weasley’s parents in the Harry Potter series. That’s actually a selling point for me, but maybe not for everyone.
I like the suggestions of Graham, Liam, Gavin and Kieran.
I don’t know if these names fall outside of your style, but I also like the sound of Elliott Pearce and Emmett Pearce, and both go so well with Molly (to me!)
I want to add something because I loved all the feedback on my response post, but I feel like you have awesome responses already.
Of those, I think Anderson, Conner, Ian, or Byron for satisfying your husband.
Or what about Aiden- way popular but it sounds like you guys like that and it seems different but definitely Celtic/traditional too.
Or what about Alexander? Alex and Molly or Zander and Molly and Alexander Preston and sound good to me.
Nathanial? Tobias? Dominick?
http://nameberry.com/list/301/If-You-Like-Ryan-You-Might-Love
One of my naming criteria is to picture all the names on a christmas card. If it says Maggie, Kevin, Molly and ? Then a k name would be perfect. However, if you put Kevin, Maggie, Molly, and _____ then it isn’t a pattern and any name would go. Also, let me advise you to go with a name that is not a surname. Because your last name is also used as a first name (I have Pierce on my current “list”), it can be confusing if you went with a 1st name that is also used as a surname. I work in the medical field where patients’ names are usually written last name, first name. When we come across a name with two surname sounding names, I always question the order, I like the suggestions of Kyle and Tyler and would like to add Cohen, Grant, Allen, Colin, Dylan, Evan, and Mason.
Molly amd Rohan sound great together, as would Molly and Kieran.
I love the names Owen and Ian! They would both go great with Molly. I also really like Anderson, you could call him Andy. I also think that Rowan would be nice with Molly.
I love the name Andrew and think it goes very well with Molly. Both names could be called “ordinary” and neither is “modern”. Instead they are names that have been around for a long time — each has been in the SSA Top 1000 since 1880 — and have very positive connotations for most people. In the past 10 years Molly went from #109 to #87, while Andrew has remained in the Top 15. Each name is clearly gender specific and each works well for both a child and, later on, an adult.
I also like the Irish surname/now first name Ryan with Molly Rose, which has an Irish lilt to it. So many surnames that have been used first for boys eventually are given to girls as well, and yet Ryan still remains more strongly identified as a boy’s name.
How about Ryan Albert Pearce?
This would use your original favorite first name and freshens it with another honor name for the middle name?
The meaning of Ryan is king and the meaning of Albert is bright and noble. Truly nice.
I’m so excited to see my sister’s post!
Now that I see it over and over again, I really like Ryan for you guys (not that I didn’t like it before.) It’s got that Irish flair but American familiarity. And, Mags, Mom’s right – if you’re feeling “eh” about David or Francis, Albert has a perfect honor name tie-in and seems unexpected but fun in the middle-name spot.
Too bad the family’s so big, so names like Owen are out of commission. They don’t have to be, though, if you like them.
Andrew is solid, too. I’ll give Kevin props for that one. But you’re going to have AT LEAST two more kids, won’t you, so you’ll have a chance to use that one too :)
Love you and I can’t wait to meet that little slugger!
– Laura
I like the name Turner, but I work in the medical field & all I can think of is Turner’s syndrome when I hear it. Sorry! But at least know that there is such a thing before you get hooked on it & make sure that doesn’t bother you. Someone else mentioned Elliott & Emmett & I also agree that those sound nice. Or, another “R” name that is sort of close to Ryan is Rolan. Good luck!
I looked at a list of Irish and Gaelic-inspired boy names and saint names. Here are some more ideas:
Brendan
Coleman (nickname Cole?)
Evan (though that may be too close to Kevin)
Ethan
Malachy
Sean
James
What about Bradley nn Brad?Shane?Or Alec?I like all these names with mn David
Congratulations! What a wonderful name!