(Today I have several posts I ran out of time to answer at usual length in the week after they arrived, but I’d jotted down a single suggestion in the spreadsheet. I’m going to post several in a row today with my extremely brief response, so that others can work on them further if they want to.)
C. writes:
HELP!
I wrote to you during my last baby naming experience, but you, quite understandably, did not get to my letter. Now I’m in what I think is an even worse predicament. My husband, P@ul, and I (Catherine) are expecting our 5th baby, a baby boy in February. We have one son who is named after my husband and I think that is our problem. The name P@ul is not my style, but my husband felt strongly about having our son named after her him, so P@ul it was. The name has totally grown on me and I love it because it is the name of my darling boy. But it is still not my style and I feel stuck in choosing a sibling name to go with it. If I could have named him what I wanted to he would have been Knightly or Stafford. I would not use either one of these names now. Not only because they don’t go with Paul, but because I think my naming style has evolved and I would really like something classic, old school, but that sounds current without being overly popular, and is a good sibling match for P@ul. Here are my only two contenders for this baby . . .
1) Charles – I love the name Charles, I think it goes well enough with P@ul and I love the nickname Charlie, even more so than I love the name Charles. But there are so many little girls running around with the nickname Charley, and I don’t want this boy to ever feel as though we gave him a girls name.
2) Linus – I’m well aware of the Peanuts association, but it doesn’t bother me at all. I’m not totally sold on it, and my husband doesn’t care for it all. Also I don’t think it fits with Paul as well as Charles.
And a couple of names that I like but that are out for various reasons.
I also like Jack, but it is my father’s name and I already have 1 nephew named for him, and a nephew on the way who will also be named for him, I think that’s probably plenty for one family. =D
I also like Michael, but my husband doesn’t it and I have 2 brothers in law with the name, too.
I feel stuck in a baby naming rut in trying to come up with a baby name that matches a name that, I love, but is not my style. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Our last name is very Swiss and very harsh sounding to the ear. The name Groot (rhymes with Boot) is a good stand in.
This is difficult to answer without the other sibling names, but I would suggest John. I’m not sure, though, if this might be the very name being used to honor your dad Jack.
Name update; C. writes:
I have been dreading writing this letter to you, it is not the letter I thought I would be writing but I wanted to thank you and your readers for helping us to choose a name for our sweet baby boy.Our dear and perfect baby boy was born an angel. Our hearts are broken, but we know that our son is part of our forever family. When the doctor handed me my beautiful and perfect infant, and asked, “Does he have a name?” It felt like such a gift to be able to say, “Yes, this is Charles Jack. Baby Charlie”
Charles/ Charlie sounds like a good choice. What about Henry or William? Perhaps there is a surnamey name that still sounds classic and not mismatched with Paul?
I suggest Clark. Surnamey yet classic! Paul and Clark.
Thank you so much for posting this Swistle! My other children are Ann@belle, Adel@ide, and Louis@.
What a beautiful sibset. Some ideas for Paul’s brother: August, Augustus, Clive, Felix, George, Jasper, Samuel, Theo, Theodore
I’ve always thought of George as a name very similar to Charles (old England, I guess?).
Maybe Graham? The first commenter’s suggestion of a surnamey name made me think of it. It strikes me as similar to Knightly and Stafford, but a little more classic.
Silas? is that too Biblical matchy? Paul and Silas.
It just reminds me of Linus but seems to go better.
I also thought of John for you as an honor name for Jack & it fits well with Paul. I also really like the suggestion of Augustus. It doesn’t quite fit with Paul, but I think Paul & Gus are good together. Of your list, my favorite is Charles, and I would not worry at all about him thinking he has a girl name because of the nickname Charley. If anything, I think those girls have a boy’s name. And you don’t have to call him Charlie anyway.
Some other ideas: Oliver, Henry, Samuel/Sam, William, Andrew, Joseph, Jasper, Benjamin & Miles
Thank you so much for all of the great suggestions. We have ruled out John because it is my father in law’s name. My father in law is great, but I feel like my first son carries enough of his name that if I was going to use a one syllable J name, it would be Jack after my own father, but with two nephews already named Jack, I’m hopeful that I might be able to use Jack as a middle name.
I love the name Charlie, and I think it’s a good fit with the sibling set. I also think Graham is a good suggestion. My son had a boy on his t-ball team named Graham, and they called him Graham-bo when he went to bat. I thought that was so cute!
How about Samuel? Or Calvin? Or Martin?
Simon, Luke, Matthew, James, Daniel, Jacob, Peter, David, Adam, Stephen, Joseph, Robert, Michael, Thomas, Christopher and Mark.
Good luck!
To me, Paul works very well with Simon and Peter. You have two girls sharing an initial, so Paul and Peter is ok, and Peter Jack with nn possibility of P.J. Sounds great to me!
Simon also softens the surname Groot, to me, so Simon Jack Groot is nice.
Patrick also seems like a nice choice, but doesn’t work with Jack in sound. Patrick Michael and Patrick James work. Or Patrick John.
I must say, my favourite choice for you is Flynn. Flynn Matthew, Flynn Charlie Jack, Flynn (insert your maiden name as middle), Flynn Linus Groot. I think Flynn and Paul sound great as brothers. You can even give him two middle names so that he has a ‘specialness’ to make up for not being named after his dad like Paul. I also suggest your maiden name or your mum’s maiden as an option so that Paul gets his dads name but (Flynn?) gets two names in middle and one is yours, if you get my meaning?
Good luck!
A little bit softer than Simon is Simeon. Paul and Simeon. Simeon Jack.
Furthermore, I have a cousin named Paul (named after his father), and his brother’s name is Luke. Paul and Luke. Luke Jack. That doesn’t work as well. You could go Lucas Jack or Luke Jackson for better flow.
Another name that would work is Matthias. Paul and Matthias. Matthias Jack.
Or Potentially Levi. Paul and Levi. Levi Jack.
I think French Names when I see the sibset. So Charles to me fits perfectly. Your daughters names are all feminine and so I think a nn Charlie reads masculine. Are you trying to use an honor name in the middle?
What about Robert? It was my first thought when reading your letter.
I also like:
Stephen
Thomas
Colin
Gregory
I love Charles/Charlie, and I don’t think it would read as too girly. Even though I do know one girl Charlie (spelled differently), the name Charles has such a strong history behind it that I don’t think it’s going to swing all-girl the way some other names have.
Philip! Though I don’t like Phil, I do like Pip. I have a friend who always goes by Philip.
Otherwise, I’d go with Charles, and not worry about the nn of Charlie. A lot of the little Charlottes are going by Lottie instead.
I could entertain Linus, but the fact that your husband doesn’t like it at all rules it out for me. If not Charles, what about Carl?
I think the name should have an a in it; then, all of your names will contain an a. I like the suggestion of Samuel.
Here is a few to think about…..
Leon* similar to Linus:)
Ross*
Brad
Samuel
Nicholas nn Nick**
James
Christoper or Christian
Luke*
Xavier
Cole
Bennett
Jasper
Caleb*
Mark
Kevin*
Scott
Best of luck.
Here are some names you might like.:)
Leon* similar to Linus
Caleb*
Ross
Luke
Brad/Bradly
Bennett
Samuel
Nicholas/Nick*
Matthew
James
Connor
Henry
Love Andrew for you but its too close to Annebel.
Good Luck!
Oh Charles sounds so perfect with your other kids, and your last name, and you love it…so I say go for it!
I would worry about little girl Charlies sounding too masculine before I would worry about a little boy Charlie sounding feminine. And Charles alone is a very strong, classic, masculine name.
Good luck!
I second Thomas!!! And I like Philip as well. Good luck!
~Tonni
I think Charles is wonderful. I also really like Daniel for you. Your daughter’s lovely names seem to fit right into a Jane Austen novel. I think Daniel is a good fit with their names as well as Paul. (I may or may not have just watched the period piece, Daniel Deronda, and the title character is very dashing and good-hearted so I am probably a bit biased.)
I read this and was already to suggest Graham and was pleased to see that others had already done so. I get compliments on my Graham’s name all time…classic but not trendy.
Charles fits very well into the sibling set and I don’t think Linus is a clash. Linus and Paul together make me think of the Linus Paul Institute, which studies vitamins and nutrition, hardly a negative association and possibly one not many people will recognize. The more serious obstacle is that your husband is not on board with it.
I liked the suggestion of Theodore. Or how about Edward?
Such great suggestions already. I’ll add:
Eli Jackson
Elijah Jack
Nathaniel Jack
I like Charles, Graham, and Thomas from the suggestions. Linus is causing me to rack my brain trying to remember the scientist- was it Linus Pauling? or Paulson? I think something with Paul in the last name. Personally I think I wouldn’t choose Linus with Paul, but it’s kind of a vague association for many people and probably wont’ matter in the long run. :)
Thank you so much for all of the great suggestions. My husband and I have enjoyed mulling them over and trying them out with our surname. We both like the suggestions of August and Augustus, but we had a good laugh when we realized that paired with our last name it sounds alarmingly close to Augustus Gloop! Too funny. We’ll be sure and let everyone know what we choose once we meet our baby boy.
I love Charles/Charlie and I don’t think it will “go girl.” It is so lovable, along with names like Sam and Ben and Jack! Go for it.
Oh, I just simply ADORE the names you gave your daughters!
Paul is a bit different from that sibset but not too different for you to have to squeeze in a name similar enough to not make him stand out.
I think Charles would go very well with all names. If you love it, use it. I think Charlie will always be boy and to an extent, girl, but not exclusively for girls.
Some ideas,
Russell
Dashiell
Elliott
Theo
William
Byron
Samuel
Phineas
Jasper
Roman
Miles
oh, or:
Quincy (5th :))
Love Charles “Charlie” with your other names. Charles John Groot / Charles Jackson Groot would honor tour father in the middle.
I also love Linus and John, after your dad. John Linus Groot (Johnny to set him apart from the Jacks) or Linus John Groot.
other name ideas:
Philip
James
Thomas
Louis
Frederick “Freddie”
William “Liam”
Go with Charlie. Even if there are little girls using it as a nickname…it’s never going to be like Peyton. Thousands of years of history say that it’s a boys name, and most of those little girls are not named Charles, which should be easy enough to explain to your son. (And if it ever really bothers him, he can go by Charles himself.)
Oh, I love Charlie! And to me, it’s all boy – it might be cute on a little girl in the same way that a girl called Davie would be cute, but it’s still a boy name. Please use it! And Paul and Charlie is adorable.
It just occured to me that we (family only) often call Paul, Paulie. Which is a girl name also, at school he is exclusively Paul and at home he is almost exclusively Paulie. This makes the Charlie/Charley issue seem like so much less of a hurdle. And Paulie and Charlie are pretty cute together, (to me anyway. :D)
Thanks so much for all of the great suggestions, I love trying them all on. I wish I could use them all.
If Paul isn’t your style, maybe choosing another P name that is your style may help bridge the gap. For example
Paul and Parker
Paul and Porter
Paul and Percy
Paul and Pascal
Paul and Preston
I’m surprised no one has suggested Benjamin. Seems like the perfect brother name for Paul. Plus you get to sing Benny! Benny! ba ba ba Benny and the Jets.
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