Ashley writes:
I would love your (and readers help) naming our second son, who is due August 25th. Our first son is named Reuben Harm. I love the softness of the name Reuben, but that it’s still a masculine name. His middle name is after my father (it’s the Dutch form of Harry). We’d like the second to have the middle name Alfred, after my husbands father.
The problems we’re having naming our second son is:
1. A lot of the names we like rhyme with Loewen. Because if the rhyming factor, we would prefer not to have a name with a strong “u” sound or “en” ending.
2. For flow, an “L” at the end of a name doesn’t really work either.
3. We have a lot of nephews with great names: Nathanael, Isaac, Toby, Levi, Eli, Benjamin, Jonas, Asher, Callum, Ronan, and Aaro.
4. I’m not a nickname person. It just doesn’t come naturally to me.Names like and could work:
1. James Alfred (my favourite so far, my only qualm is that it’s quite more common than Reuben, and “Reuben James” is a song).
2. Josiah Alfred (it’s okay, maybe a little too Biblical for me).Names we like that don’t work: Hugh, Samuel, Simon, and Owen (the worst!)
Vetoed names my husband likes: Carson and Calvin (I just don’t like the hard “C”).
Vetoed names I like: Edmund and Henry
Please help us find a nice, soft, yet masculine name. :)
Thank you!
I suggest Oliver!
And I suggest Otto!
Phew, you have quite a list of well-named nephews! Some nice names NOT on that list:
Felix
Hugo
Arthur
Edwin
Milo
Elliot
Emmett
Everett
Matthew/Matthieu/Matteo
Soft yet masculine makes me think of:
Beckett. Reuben and Beckett.
Emmett. Reuben and Emmett.
Graham. Reuben and Graham.
Philip. Reuben and Philip.
Good luck!
Caleb, Isaiah, Samuel, Maxwell, Noah (this one’s quite popular now- top 10 I think but I think it fits the bill for you– it’s also my son’s name).
My vote is for Felix!
I suggest Otis and Spencer. Not at all sure why Spencer came to mind for you, however it just seems to “fit” to me.
I second Felix, Phlip and Beckett. I’ll also suggest Marshall, Garrett, Miles, Silas and Gabriel.
Here’s my suggestions:
Amos
Archer
Joseph
Adam
Maxwell
From PP I like:
Silas
Felix
Philip–like the initials PAL for this one!
How do you and your husband feel about:
Lane Alfred Loewen
Glenn Alfred Loewen
Evan Alfred Loewen
Ernest Alfred Loewen
Cyrus Alfred Loewen
Daryle Alfred Loewen
Jude Alfred Loewen
Best wishes to you and your growing family. You’re going to pick the perfect name for your new little wonder!
My vote is Caleb or Philip.
You won’t reconsider my Owen or Rowan suggestions? ;)
How about Ezra? Good luck!
Your nephews DO have some great names (as does your son)! I’d suggest:
Aiden
Miles
Kenneth
Good luck and congratulations!
Softer boys names, in my opinion:
Marcus, Malcolm, Adrian, Damian, Joshua (although this might be a bit popular for you), and Joseph (although Reuben and Joseph were brothers in the Bible so not sure about this).
Good luck.
My vote is for Seth. It goes really well with Reuben, is soft, and meets all your other criteria. Other suggestions I really like are Felix, Asher, Malcolm, Ezra, and Caleb. Oliver is also great but way more popular than Reuben, but maybe that’s perfectly OK.
Good luck!
Jonathan is a soft boys name and it goes nicely with Reuben. Is does have a few nicknames though.
I came back to suggest Benjamin, then I saw it on the nephew list. How about Jackson? I like Reuben and Jackson.
I like the suggestions of Felix James and Miles (I prefer spelling Myles) James. But i also felt Baxter James was charming. Oh, Caleb James is great!
Im so sorry! I meant Alfred for those middle names-Myles Alfred, Caleb Alfred , Baxter doesnt work unless you are ok with initials BAL , and I am not! Felix Alfred works.
Love some of the suggestions. Hugo seems like a good choice because you liked Hugh. I love Miles/Milo as well.
How about Oscar? Julian is nice too but might be too close to Rueben.
RHYS! Or if you don’t want the two R names, Charles.
Wesley or Westly. Martin. Paul. Darrin.
Peter
Philip, Paul, Finn, David, Jonathan, Thomas, Jesse, Morris (my friend has grandfathers named Reuben and Morris, I like them)
Jacob? Edwin? Caleb? Jude?
I really like Reuben with any of those names.
You have a bunch of great suggestions but I just want to say that I don’t think one of your thrown out names really clashes.
Samuel Loewen
Sam Loewen
Samuel A. Loewen.
Samuel Alfred Loewen.
Sam A. Loewen.
Samuel Loewen really seems to flow to me. Of course, if it doesn’t flow for you, don’t use it. But, just in case you thought you can’t use the last letter of the first name the same as the first letter of the last name- it could work.
Caleb, Phillip and Felix all go well with Alfred, Loewen and Reuben, in my opinion. Myles is also nice, but the first three are the best. Oh, and I agree not to throw out Samuel. It could also work and is nice with Reuben, Alfred and I think, Loewen.
I also think that Samuel works (and is great!). Here are some more suggestions:
Elias Alfred Loewen
Matthias Alfred Loewen
Caspar Alfred Loewen
Emrys Alfred Loewen
Joah Alfred Loewen (not a typo! Joah is apparently a biblical name)
What about Oliver,
Oliver Alfred Loewen ..
Of all the names suggested I think Miles and Seth are both a really good fit with Rueben. They not only have the soft sound that you like but also don’t have nicknames.
They both sound good with your surname too.
Miles Alfred Loewen
Seth Alfred Loewen
Another great name from the bible that has a soft sound is Joash (pronounced Jo-ash)the boy King. I actually know someone with this name.
Joash Alfred Loewen
Good luck!
Following this as I also have a Reuben and am expecting a brother for him in 5 weeks – we’re stuck finding a name as much as we love Reuben!
Wondering what name you ended up landing on Ashley?
This is so long ago, sorry. We ended up with an Alistair (I wanted Oliver). We met an Alistair at 38 weeks pregnant and my husband was sold. We have a Lewis now too.