Adrienne writes:
Hi Swistle!
We really need some help! Our second baby boy is due July 3rd, and we have no idea what his name is! Our last name is H0ward, and older brother is named Justice.
We obviously value the meaning of a name, given our choice for our first son. We love his name, and many others do as well. However we didn’t think ahead very well to finding something to “match” it. I say “match” in quotes because we don’t really want anything too matchy… for example, I don’t think we’d want to use another virtue name (what other options are there for boys that aren’t too unusual?), and I don’t love the idea of another J name, although I’m not completely opposed. At the same time as not wanting another name that is too matchy, I also don’t want something that will clash in style too much. My husband’s take on it is that each child gets their own name and it doesn’t matter too much how it fits with sibling names. I see his point but still would like other opinions on this.
Here are some ideas we’ve thrown around – but really we don’t like any of these enough to decide on them at this point.
Luke
Noah
James (so much more common than Justice, but there is something about it…. but would a 3rd child have to be a J too?)
Jackson
Gabriel
Samuel (but don’t like the nicknames Sam or Sammy)
Silas (I love, but husband says no due to a negative association)
Everett (like the ‘ev’ sound, but don’t love the meaning)If he had been a girl, some ideas we had were:
Evelyn (I love this one but realize it’s a completely different style)
Eve
Eva
Elise
Kira
Juliet
Victoria
VivianAs I said above, we aren’t set on any of these boy names… they all feel a bit ‘blah’ and we are hoping to come across the right name soon! We’d love to hear some new ideas and perspective from you and your readers. I think our main criteria are: not super common, but not super unusual or hard to pronounce, works reasonably well with Justice… and that’s about it! We are open. We are unsure if we will have a 3rd. Oh, and most likely his middle name will be Gordon, after my father. If we find a first name we love and it doesn’t flow too well with the middle name, we aren’t too worried about that since we so rarely use the middle name, and the honor aspect is more important than the flow. (Unless there were a big glaring issue).
Thanks in advance for your help!
I too find virtue/word names a unique challenge in sibling groups: another virtue or word name feels immediately Very Themey, but anything else seems to lack a certain punch.
What I generally look for is the “certain punch”—but without the virtue/word. If the virtue/word name has a whimsical feeling, I try to find something with whimsy; if it has a sweet gentle feeling, I try to find something with sweetness and gentleness. The name Justice, I think, has strength and righteousness, so I would look for another name that has a similar sound.
My mind immediately turns to biblical names. I think there are three basic batches of biblical names:
1. So common they don’t necessarily sound like biblical names (James, John, Andrew, Matthew)
2. Names that one generation ago would have been considered shockingly biblical, but now they sound hip (Noah, Ezra, Judah, Elijah)
3. Names that still haven’t gone mainstream (Azriel, Hillel, Hosea, Jamin, Balthazar)
I’d be looking mostly in the second category, and I’d be leaning toward the more recent additions such as Ezekiel and Malachi, rather than the ones that have made it to the Top 10 such as Noah. (I’m pulling candidates right from the Biblical section of The Baby Name Wizard, without looking up the associated stories; I’d look up the stories before using any of them. I see Jezebel on the list, is what I’m saying.)
Justice and Abel (Abe)
Justice and Abram (Abe)
Justice and Barnaby
Justice and Boaz (Bo)
Justice and Cyrus (Cy)
Justice and Elijah (Eli) (this one is almost Top 10, but I still like it here)
Justice and Ezekiel (Zeke)
Justice and Ezra
Justice and Gabriel (Gabe)
Justice and Gideon
Justice and Isaiah
Justice and Jeremiah
Justice and Judah (Jude)
Justice and Levi
Justice and Malachi (Mal)
Justice and Reuben
Instead of James, I might consider Jabez. It’s a gutsy choice: only 44 baby boys were given the name in 2011. But it’s quite similar in sound to James and Gabe and Jason, as well as to recent biblical choices such as Ezra. Jay or Jabe would work as nicknames.
Solomon is one of the biblical names I wish would get more common, but to me Solomon is SO associated with justice (the case of two women both claiming to be the mother of the same baby), the connection to Justice feels too strong.
If you use another J name, I don’t think that has to mean using a J name for a third child as well. It does add some pressure, however; I’d suggest ignoring such pressure, but only you know how easily you could do that.
If you did want to go with another virtue/attribute name, here are a few for boys (and we did a post on the subject that might also be a good source):
Able
August
Earnest
Loyal
Maverick
Merit
Noble
Sterling
Worth
Hey, how about Victor? I don’t usually think of that as a word name, but it’s a good one—and I see Victoria on your girl name list. This is a situation where one sibling’s name spins the other: as soon as it’s next to Justice, I see it as another noun. Victor H0ward; Justice and Victor.
Name meanings can vary considerably depending on what baby name book you’re looking at. I’m using The Oxford Dictionary of First Names, and for Everett I see the definition “hardy, brave, and strong.” Well, okay, and also “boar.” I really like it with Justice, though. Everett H0ward; Justice and Everett.
If Silas is out only because of a negative association, I suggest the similar Elias. Elias H0ward; Justice and Elias. I think those have a good Early Settler sound to them.
Other names that seem like they have a certain something:
Justice and Alistair
Justice and Deacon
Justice and Felix
Justice and Ranger
Justice and Zane
According to The Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Alistair is from Alexander and means “to defend man.” This is a subtle and interesting connection to the name Justice.
Felix means happy and lucky, which is an excellent meaning—but I wonder if it’s too light a meaning alongside Justice.
Name update: Luke
I quite like Everest and Justice together.
Maybe you’d like one of the international variations of James that’s less common and doesn’t start with J? Both Hamish and Seamus match the strong feeling of Justice, in my opinion, without being matchy at all.
I really like Swistle’s suggestion of Victor. I suggest Blaise or Slade.
August.
Ooh, there are some good ones here. Sterling and Gabriel leap out at me, and go nicely with your middle and last name, and with Justice. I also love Deacon, but Deacon Gordon is a bit of a mouthful.
Other ideas:
Nathaniel (Nate)
Bartholomew (Bart or Barty)
Sebastian
Craig (not Biblical or virtue, but I think it’s a solid name that doesn’t get suggested/used that often)
If you like the “ev” sound, what about Evan?
I really like Gabriel. Justice and Gabriel seem equally strong and punchy to me.
“According to The Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Alistair is from Alexander and means ‘to defend man.’ This is a subtle and interesting connection to the name Justice.”
Oooo … I really like this idea of defender.
Other defender names:
-Alexei/Alexy (another Alexander form)
-Liam (though probably too popular .. means “protector”)
-Faramund (“protection for the journey”)
-Esmund/Eastmund (“grace and protection”)
-Raymond/Reimund (love this!)/Redmund (“advice” and “protector”)
-Wymond (“battle protector”)
-Odin (too much? but cool…)
I personally like Justice and Merit. Merit is a name I have heard before so it doesn’t feel too “hard core’ virtue like Justice does. Justice and Merit.
I immediately thought of Theodore nn Theo. Or Leo/Leon. Justice and Theodore. Justice and Leo/Leon. Or Ceasar. Justice and Ceasar.
I know someone whose kids’ middle names are Justice, Ransom and Valor.
Of Swistle’s suggestions, I like Victor best. Gideon also really works for me, as do most of the Biblical names. Matthias is one of my favorites.
James works too, somehow. It’s a strong name.
I could see Constantine, Conrad, Marius, Simeon.
I like August. but that’s a lot of u/s letters and sounds. I also like Josiah–Justice and Josiah.
A nature name might be nice. I like Elias with Justice because of the similar ending.
Of your list, I really like Everett & Gabriel. Or maybe Everest? Similar sound but brings to mind the mountain/strength, which seems fitting next to Justice.
Of Swistle’s Biblical suggestions, I really like Abram & Gideon. I also really like August & Sterling. They are nouns, but they don’t feel too noun-like, and I like them both a lot with Justice.
Some other noun names I like with Justice would be Fletcher & Griffin.
I love Swistle’s suggestion of Victor!
Other suggestions:
Tobin
Elias
Cosentine (with a long “o”, a little different sound than Constantine)
I’m really liking Swistle’s suggestion of Abel nickname Abe!
I also like Samuel, Everett and Gabriel.
Vincent could be an alternative to Victor. If you like Juliet, there’s Julian and Julius. Or Darius. Or Damien.
What about Aaron, which means “mountain of strength”?
I understand the dilemma of a first child with a virtue name. Our first daughter is Felicity and we had a hard time deciding on our second daughter’s name. It’s tricky finding one with the same feel but not overly matchy.
I really like Theodore, Gideon, and Gabriel nn Gabe. All sound strong and can hold up to the strength of Justice.
Good luck!
Man, this is the kind of question where Swistle really shines. Excellent post.
Of her suggestions, I think Victor, Gabriel, Gideon, and Merit(t) are my favorites.
Also, there’s a Malachi on my son’s soccer team. Parents call him Kai for short. He’s an ass-kicker and I like him, for what its worth.
I was also going to suggest Elias as an alternative to Silas – it’s a form of Elijah and Elijah was a pretty awesome prophet. Other names that I like with Justice are August, Blaze, Isaac, Josiah, Malachi, Moses, Slate, True, and West.
Oh, and what about Shepherd?
I really like the suggestion of August!! I think it sounds very handsome with Justice.
I really love the suggestion of Fletcher! Fletcher Gordon H0ward sounds wonderful! Fletcher and Justice seem like a great sibling pair without being matchy and gives you many options for your third. Good luck!
This post has been covered too perfectly for me to add much, but I would like to put in another vote for Abel or Victor. I like the subtle virtue connection. I’d also suggest Stetson, based solely on the rugged, off-beat sound.
Luke is at the top of your list of boy names – have you considered Luca? It feels a lot more international and interesting to me. You could still use nn Luke.
I love the Alistair suggestion too! Of the Biblical names, Gideon, Gabriel, and Ezekiel feel like really nice fits with Justice to me.
I’d like to suggest one of my absolute favorite names: Amos! If my daughter had been a boy she would have been Amos. It’s different but easy to pronounce, and since the Amos in the bible is so closely associated with justice (and was so often quoted by Martin Luther King) I think it works with Justice without being too matchy.
Another option is to go with the name of a real-world hero: Lincoln, Luther, or someone else that has personal meaning to you. That gives you the sense of deep-rooted values, but with a completely different spin. Several of the names on your list could be connected with historical figures that did good things, so that might be a way to sway you in one direction or another.
Swistle always does such a great job. My first thought was Wyatt. I have no reason why just that I thought Justice and Wyatt would make great names for brothers.
Just putting in another vote for Victor. I also really like Pax for you. Pax Gordon H0ward; Justice & Pax. Justice & peace.
I love the suggestion of Pax.
Of Swistle’s ideas, Victor jumped out at me too.
Some less common names that seem like they might fit with Justice:
Arrow
Venture
Sylvan
Clement
Corbin
Another biblical name I’d put into the second category would be Micah. I think it could go well with Justice. I also think Julian would work well.
What about Revere?
I immediately thought of the name Rebel when I saw Justice. It is a great name for a boy but I wonder if they sound a bit “themey” together.
Justice and Rebel
I also like:
Steele
Storm
Cade
Axel
Gage
Blade
West
Fox
Wolf
Tanner
Thorn
Domino
Slater
Shale
Vale
Good luck!
I have a little guy named Josias, who we call Sias sometimes. Sounds a lot like Silas. Josias is the Latin form of Josiah.
For Biblical names, how about Judah (another J name, I know…) or Canaan?
If you’re into very unique names, I suggest Thor. Or Thatcher, although I’m not sure the meaning of that one.
Echoing previous suggestions: Gideon, Gabriel, Leo, Luca, Amos. Asher also fits with these.
I also think a modern surname (which often have noun origins) could be a nice balance: Thatcher or Fletcher (as suggested), Porter, Drake.
My husband’s name is Koan, which is a Zen Buddhist term. Maybe you could look for possible non-obvious noun names within religions/cultures that are meaningful.
Since Justice has such a unique and exciting name, I feel like the second baby deserves something equally exciting. I think a noun, nature, place name or surname could sound like it “matches” with a strong virtue name.
Justice and August
Justice and Rome
Justice and West
Justice and Wilder
Justice and Slate
Justice and Revere
Justice and Atlas
Justice and Calix
Justice and Stone
Justice and North
I like the suggestions of Gideon, Amos, Victor, and August. Perhaps you would also like Roland or Truitt?
My favorite for you is Merit. Justice and Marit are rather matching, but I love them together!
Since you like Luke, what about Lake or Lochlan.
Your interest in James and Jackson makes me think of Jameson. It is less common than both of those and you could just James as a nickname, if you wanted.
I love the name Ezra, I have yet to meet anyone with the name, but it really feels like the new Noah to me.
If you want to go even more biblical, have you considered Moses?
I agree that you need a name with a punch that isn’t matchy matchy virtue. I disagree that a biblical name automatically provides this. The suggestions of Noah and Gabriel for example are just too “normal” next to Justice.
I do like the idea of Victor, which I would never see as a virtue name if it wasn’t in this specific context. I also like Sterling – continuing the “word as name” without the virtue necessarily.
Other ideas:
I think the less common “occupation” names work well – Sheppard, Deacon, Abbot, etc.
Or old Greek / Roman or mythological names – Amycus, Argus, Chronos, Caius, Orion, etc
I would go with a nature name or an object/place/occupation name. In addition to Everett how about Reed, Mason, Grey or something along those lines?
How about Barnabas, it means son of encouragement
I like Merit and Sterling for virtue names, or if you’d just like a noun name how about Roman?
I dont like Victor with Justice. Yes he can be a virtue name, but he’s very common and unexciting, unlike Justice.
Here are some others: August, Kai, Lucian, Wynn, Blaise, Forrest, Saylor, Bridger, Micah, Judah, Elisha, Steele, Koa, Ever, Everly.