K. writes:
My husband and I are expecting our first baby—a boy!—around Christmas this year. We are having a difficult time agreeing on names. For some reason, it seems like boy names are a whole lot harder than girl names. If this baby had been a girl, we would have named her Tessa Noelle (middle name ties into the holidays). Our last name is Italian, has 3 syllables, and sounds like vin-dig-nee. I love the name Gavin, but that’s out because of the “vin”-sound in our last name.
Some names that I like and have suggested, but my husband is lukewarm about:
-Ezra
-Nicholas
-Elliott
-Weston
-Zachary
-Lucas
-Joshua
-Caleb
-Garrett
-NolanHe really likes the name Simon, but one of my cousins is named Simon. I think it would be weird because I have a dozen of cousins with whom I’m close, and Simon wouldn’t necessarily be an honor name. I feel funny using the name Simon when I could honor my brother or other cousins first–does that make sense? We’ve tossed around the name Simon Elliott, but I can’t get over the fact that it’s my cousin’s name. Aside from that, I don’t necessarily LOVE the name. My husband has given me the following list, many of which are “presidential” sounding:
-Harrison (but we don’t like Harry as a nickname)
-Truman
-Lincoln
-Benjamin
-Jefferson
-Austin
-Brandon
-Oliver (the “v” sound again makes makes it hard to say)
-Samuel
-William
-Jackson (too popular)
-Carter
-CampbellI suppose none of these are terrible, but I just don’t love them and don’t know if I want such a weighty name, if that makes sense. Help! Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you!
I don’t think it would be weird to use Simon, if you grew to love it. It isn’t as if you thought, “We really want to honor a man from one of our families. Our dads? No. Grandfathers? No. Brothers? No. How about one of our many, many cousins? PERFECT, let’s list their names and choose one!” Instead, you first liked the name Simon, but coincidentally you have a cousin by that name. The way to present this coincidence is to tell everyone your husband thought of the name and you both loved it—and as a bonus, you had a positive association with the name because it’s also your cousin’s name. This makes it clear to everyone that you didn’t skip over other honorees; it will be even clearer if you have more children and give them non-honoring first names, or if everyone including Simon gets a family middle name.
Silas is similar to Simon from your husband’s list and Lucas from yours.
I’m especially drawn to Nicholas for the Christmas tie-in. I would probably be hoping that would work out as the middle name if it didn’t work as the first name. Christian or Christopher are two more possibilities.
Your lists have so many similar names and sounds, it feels as if there should be a great name you’ll both like. You have Weston; he has Austin. You have Caleb; he has Campbell. You both have a lot of longer names on your list, and it looks like you’re both comfortable in the same approximate popularity range. I’d look at each name on your list and see if you can find names on his list that are similar to it in any way. If what makes them similar is what you both like about those names, then see if there are other names with that same similarity.
For example, you’ve got Nicholas and Lucas and Zachary; he’s got Jackson and Lincoln—very similar sounds, lots of hard-C. Do you both like that hard-C sound? I’ll bet so, since there’s also Caleb, Carter, Campbell. Are there more candidates to consider? Isaac, Jacoby, Ezekiel, Clark, Connor, Micah, Declan, Marcus, Beckett, Malcolm, Alec, Callum? You might also like the sound of X: Alexander, Maxwell, Felix.
You also both have a lot of names featuring L-sounds. This might lead me to suggest Liam, Leo, Milo, Eli, Gabriel, Daniel, Nathaniel, Callum again, Malcolm again, Ezekiel again, Declan again, etc.
Elliott and Oliver feel very close to me in sound and style. Together they make me think of Theodore, Felix, Louis, Edmund, Milo, Miles, Hugo, Henry, Leo, Charles, Sebastian, Owen, Jasper, Emmett, Everett which might be out because of the V, and Graham. Simon fits here beautifully.
Or you’ve got Garrett, but maybe Grant would have the presidential sound he likes while still not being too weighty for you.
This exercise might make things harder rather than easier, but sometimes it helps clarify things to start clustering names into possible sibling groups. Maybe your husband loves the name Lincoln but doesn’t love any names that would make good brother names for it; maybe you love the name Lucas but feel like it’s too much S if you have a Tessa later on. Do you see yourself more as the mother of an Ezra and a Nolan, or more as the mother of a Nicholas and a Joshua? Does your husband see himself more as the father of a Carter and an Austin, or more as the father of a Truman and a Jefferson? That sort of thing.
Name update! K. writes:
Thank you so much to you and your readers for weighing in on my question and providing great suggestions and advice. Our son, Simon Elliott, was born on December 16, and we are so in love with him. My husband and I didn’t decide on a name until about a day after he was born. We even re-read your post and all the comments in the hospital! After a lot of back and forth, we went with Simon Elliott. My husband reminded me that we had gotten engaged on St. Simons Island in Georgia, so that convinced me that the name was right. I love that there is meaning behind our little boy’s name. Thank you again, everyone!
(I’ve attached here a photo!)
This isn’t helpful, but! My nephews are named Simon and Elliot. Simon Elliot! Ahhh!
Swistle’s reply is already cram packed with awesome suggestions, so there’s not much more to throw out. However, Simon Elliot seemed so familiar to me that I had to search my own “if we have a boy” list from years back. It wasn’t the same pairing I had fallen in love with, but close. Spencer Elliot was mine.
Spencer Elliot Vin-dig-nee is pretty great. :)
Good luck! PLEASE be sure to update!
My two boys are named Spencer and Elliot :)
I liked the suggestion of Silas. Silas Noel perhaps?
Wow. Swistle pretty much mentioned every single possible name that I had to suggest. Sounds like to me, we have very similar naming styles as most of these names were also on our short list.
I love Simon (our Oliver was almost a Simon had he been born on time rather than 2 weeks overdue). I agree with Swistle, so long as you learn to love the name, then I don’t think it’s an issue that one of your many cousins has the same name. But if you don’t love it, then obviously throw it out.
Other names that I think of when looking at both yours and your husbands lists are:
Isaac
Ezekiel
Elijah or Eli
Callum – I really like this one
Maguire. I’m not sure why, but Campbell and Callum made me think of Maguire.
Leo
Luc (rather than Lucas or Lincoln)
Jack
Instead of Weston, what about Winston? Or Weldon?
Instead of Maxwell, what about Wells? Wells Vin-dig-nee. I love the sound of this. Actually, this is probably my favourite…. ok the more I say it, I totally love it!
Good luck. We really struggled with boy names too, but I think there are a lot of great options out there for you. Can’t wait to hear the news!
I love Swistle’s suggestions. When I was reading your question, I noticed that you had several Biblical names and that your husband prefers longer names that end in N. Instead of Simon, would you like Solomon? I like that it means “peaceful”, even though Swistle is usually skeptical about meanings.
Here are some of my favorite Christmas-Inspired Boys Names for the Middle Name:
– Douglas (like the tree)
– Shepherd
– Nicholas
– Felix
– Emmanuel
– Jasper (one of the Three Wise Men)
My favorite combos are Solomon Douglas Vin-dig-nee, Solomon Jasper Vin-dig-nee, and Solomon Nicholas Vin-dig-nee.
I noted the “n” endings too! Solomon is a great name. It made me think of Simeon, which is a name I love… just unsure whether any gradeschoolers would make the monkey (simean) connection? Otherwise it’s so unique. :)
And almost Simon, which was how I stumbled upon it….
Another vote for Solomon! Or Samson, which was my first thought on seeing Simon and Samuel.
Following Swistle’s lead on names inspired by both of your lists:
Ephraim (Ezra/Jefferson)
Harris (Harrison/Lucas)
Oscar (Oliver/Caleb)
Liam (William/Elliot)
Ellison (Elliot/-son)
Bennett (Benjamin/Garret)
I think siblings named Liam and Tessa would be adorable!
I’m loving Felix…Felix Elliott Vin-dig-nee is a GREAT name and Felix makes me think of Christmas without being as obviously seasonal as Nicholas or Christian. It means lucky in latin, reminds me of “good-tidings” and other holiday appropriate greetings.
I don’t even want to discuss runners up, I LOVE Felix.
I’d love to be in camp “so what if it’s your cousin?” but having been there I know how weird it is! I have not one but two cousins with awesome names that my husband I both love but feel funny about actually using.
Felix is a great suggestion. Do you like Nico? Nico Vin-dig-nee, Nico Simon, Nico Zachary.
It’s funny, I feel like you and your husband are pretty close name-wise. I thought of Isaac immediately and it’s my favorite suggestion. That said, I really like Simon too and don’t think it would be weird at all. Oh and Samuel is such a great name. I was recently pushing a friend to use it mostly because Sam plus her last name were amazing together. Good luck and keep us updated!
because I am a mature aged student studying part time it is likely that when I do have children it will be in the Australian summer holiday season which is christmas time so I have a Christmas name list ready to go!
The three wise men
Melchior
Caspar/ Jaspar
Balthazar
Noel or reverse Leon
Christian/ Christopher/ cristobal
Nicholas
Emmanuel
Joseph
Gabriel
Wenceslaus
Pax for peace
Evan kind of like Eve as in Christmas or NYE
Winter( northern hemisphere)
Natalio would be a gorgeous Italian name for Christmas!
Bing or crosby ha!
Rudolph ha! ( it’s the festive season why not have fun with it!)
Perhaps a name that means star or snow etc
I must say while it is completely fine to use Simon I personally think it is strange especially when you are not that keen on the name anyway, I wouldn’t do it.
Swistle has suggested some wonderful names. I might add…
Hard “c” ending in “n”
Cameron
Collin
Colton
Corbin
Crispin
Caspian
More Hebrew names…
Tobias / Toby
Elijah/ Eli
Levi
Jonah
Noah
Micah
Surnames that might fit your style
Archer
Cooper
Hunter
Hudson
Ashton
Some gorgeous Italian names
Matteo nn Matt or Teo
Luca
Lorenzo nn Enzo is like Ezra
Natalio nn Lio/ Leo plus it’s Christmassy
Leonardo nn Leo
Orlando nn Orly a little like Oliver
Lazaro
Dante
The list goes on here but Italian names are so awesome
Good luck
I’m married to a Garrett, so I’m bias, but I do truly love this name! It’s one you do not hear often and everyone always comments on how much they like his name. Also, his name has never been shortened to a nickname. It has a similar feel to Gavin and the double t ending like Elliot!
You simply cannot use a name you aren’t in love with or have doubts about using. If you don’t love Simon, for whatever reasons, even though it is a great name, don’t use it!
I too would be squeamish about using the name of a cousin, but not being an honor name. Both too much and too little meaning. I love the idea of a Christmas tie in. Noel for middle?
Swistle has all the good options, and I love her advice on thinking about which sets of children’s names you would want to be parents of. I wish we had done more of that.
I saw this name somewhere the other day, Watson!
I love the suggestion above of Douglass. It has that classic feel you both seem to like, is Christmas related, and has a historical feel your hubby might dig.
Simon made me think of Cyrus and Gideon. And Gideon has the “long name, ends in N” thing your husband likes! Gideon Vin-dig-nee might be a tad heavy on the short I sounds, but I think it still works. Gideon and Tessa is adorable.
I think it might be a little weird at first to use a cousin’s name, but I don’t think the weirdness will last long at all. My uncle’s name is Julian and my dad’s cousin is Julie, but my parents named my sister Julia anyway — not an honor name, just one they liked. Just food for thought! I don’t ever remember it being a big deal in the family.
What about Garrison? It has the Ga/Gar from Gavin and Garrett, with the -son ending in so many of the names your husband likes.
Garrison Elliott Vindignee.
I also like the suggestions of Gabriel, Gideon, Felix.
I also like Ethan for you. I was going to suggest Griffin but that might have the same problem Gavin has with your last name.
Good luck!
Another vote for Gabriel — for Swistle’s reasons PLUS Christmas-without-being-in-your-face-like-Noel-Christmas.
I want to put a vote in for Felix. I love it and am hoping to get my husband on board! : )
Here’s a link to Appellation Mountain’s list of Christmas names for boys. http://appellationmountain.net/unexpected-christmas-baby-names-for-boys/
You could consider these for middles. My favorite Christmas name is Noble! Felix Noble, perhaps? ; )
I love the tie with the location of your engagement! Smashing name for an adorable little fella!
Simon Elliott is a fabulous name and he is just gorgeous. Congratulations!