K. writes:
My boyfriend and I are 20 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, due in late September.The last name will be Puente, and I’d like to use David as a middle name to honor my father. We’ve had long discussions about names and we have a list of 8, although I don’t feel strongly about any of them, and this list is definitely open to additions. Here’s the list so far:Alexander
Jordan
Joshua
Josiah
Nicholas
Noah
Samuel
ShawnI’m caucasian, my boyfriend is Hispanic, and he doesn’t want a name that’s “too white”… which takes away most of the “surnames as first names” list I tend to love! We’d like to avoid a first name starting with K, as both of our names start with K and I’m not a fan of that much matchy-matchy. Somehow though, hard C’s are fine :)My boyfriend really likes Samuel, which I don’t have a problem with except I love Samantha, nn Sam, for a girl, and I’m not sure I want to take away that option— even though we may or may not have any more kids (this one is a miracle baby, and high risk), and even if we had a girl there are plenty of other names I love too.I love the way you can look at some names and come up wtih more of the same style, so I’m really hoping you can help us out!
I think “name that would rule out another name” decisions are some of the most difficult to make. There are so many gambles and unknowns involved. I’d start by deciding which name you’d prefer to use if you knew for a fact that you would have a boy and also a girl. You may decide you like Samuel better anyway, in which case problem solved. But if you prefer Samantha, it’s a matter of putting things on a scale: on one side, how much you love the name Samantha; on the other side, things like maybe not having a girl to use it on, having other girl names you also like, how much you like the name Samuel, and how much you think you’d regret not using Samuel if you never had a Samantha.
Looking at your list, I wonder if you’d like:
Aaron
Adrian
Benjamin
Daniel
Darian
Ezra
Hugo
Joseph
Marcus
Micah
Nathaniel
Ruben
Simon
Xavier
Zachary
If you like Samuel, maybe you’d like Gabriel? I’m American and my husband is Spanish, and we named our son Gabriel. It works really well in both languages, and I just love the name!
I like Samuel, as well as the suggestions Benjamin, Daniel, Gabriel and Simon for you because of how they are spelled the same way in English and Spanish. To use Daniel you’d need to like the alliteration of Daniel David (I do). I’m not sure what to say about saving the name Sam, other than Swistle’s done a good job identifying the factors you need to weigh. I like Alexander, too, because of how it sounds with David and because Alex and Sam, or Sasha and Sam would be nice sibling names.
Rafael or Eric
I’m also on the side of using Gabriel or Daniel
I was going to suggest Gabriel and Adrian, too.
Or:
Dominic
Sebastian
Thomas
Good luck!
Maybe you would like Mateo or Matthias nn Matt, these names(especially Mateo) has a Spanish flair with a more English nn. Although Matt is quite a common nn where I live So u might not want to use it. I also like Adrian, Gabriel, and Benjamin.
On your list, Alexander doesn’t seem to white to me. I know several Hispanic Alex’s.
Also on your list that don’t seem decidedly “white:” Nicholas, Jordan, and Shawn. But, I guess it’s best to ask your husband which of those names sound “too white” to him.
If you both like Samuel and there are other girl names you like, I don’t think Samantha is a reason to cross it out.
What about looking at a list of Hispanic boy names and seeing which ones you like?
I did and some I thought you might like are-
Cristian David
Nathanial David
Emanuel David
Gabriel David
Lorenzo David
Marcos David
Nicolas David
Orlin David
Quin David
Tobias David
Gabriel is a good suggestion.
I think any name on your list would work well except Shawn — which is the phonetic spelling of Sean, an Irish name. Shawn Puente has a culture clash for me.
Swistle has some good points about saving a name — or not — for a possible future child. I’d like to add that having a little Sam (Sammie) now (and for certain) could be a plus for you. Since you’re choosing David for the middle name, maybe using the dad’s choice of Samuel for the first name is a good balance: Samuel David Puente.
I also like the suggestion of Daniel David. I know a toddler Hispanic boy named Daniel, as well as his same-age cousin Matthew. I also know young (3-7 years old) half-Hispanic brothers called Christopher, Alexander and Nicholas and their fully Hispanic young cousin Adrian Caleb (often called by his middle name.) I think any classic/biblical name would work well for your son as those names are familiar with Spanish speakers too.
Hard to say no to Samuel for a miracle baby! (the biblical Samuel was one, too). I’d avoid naming a future baby now, especially if you both like Samuel.
There may be a baby Samantha in the future, but life is uncertain. You DEFINITELY hv a baby Samuel NOW. Use a name with a nickname you love for this baby, then you will never regret not using it. As you said, there are plenty of other great girls names if that little girl ever comes. Samuel David is a fabulous not-too-white name….although daddy should remember that his baby IS half white, so maybe dont be too disparaging to whites with phrases like “too white”…. Your favourite names bridge both cultures beautifully.