S. writes:
Our first baby, a boy, is due to arrive any day now and we do not have a name…or even close really. Surname is a four syllable Dutch name ending in hazen sound but we are both English speaking only. My husband’s family typically all have short easy to say and spell names to balance out the surname with no middle names. I love nicknames and middle names. I have convinced him we need a nickname and middle name but he’d still like to keep it really simple.
Here are names we are considering:
Sam Avery
Theo James (can you use Teddy as a nickname in this case?)
Edward Avery (nickname Ted or teddy, husband also likes the option of just calling him ted as the properHusband also likes classics like Eric, Alex, Henry. I like jasper.
The other main issue is that I have been calling the baby Georgie since I found out I was pregnant. We kinda ruled out George as an option after the prince was born and husband isn’t a huge fan anyway but I just can’t stop calling him that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I think it would be fun and lovely to use George as a middle name so you can keep calling him Georgie if you want to, especially since your husband doesn’t care much about either a middle name or a nickname. It wouldn’t even need to be a part of his legal name, however; plenty of people still call their children by Fetus Nicknames such as Bean, Peanut, Bear, etc.; Georgie seems like a particularly good one.
I would encourage George as a great short, easy first name, except that your husband isn’t as keen on the name even without the Baby Prince factor. If he’d be willing to reconsider it, though, I think it’s a great choice. The princes Charles, William, and Henry haven’t ruined those names for use, and I don’t think the name George needs to be ruined either.
My top favorite of all the short and easy names is John. I will not be surprised if your eyes have glazed over a bit, because I think John is a name the eyes skip right past in the name book. But say it a few times. Imagine it written on a cute kindergarten drawing, perhaps with a backwards J and N. And think of how few CHILDREN named John you know: depending on your area of the country, it may be pretty much none. In my area, there is almost literally a Jacob in each classroom in one grade (the names are outside the classroom doors, and while waiting for a parent-teacher conference I looked with increasing incredulity at each batch—we must have had a run on them that year), but almost ZERO boys named John. In fact, I asked the kids and none of them have ever had a classmate named John (though there have been a few Jonathans). So! That’s my vote for classic yet surprising, unless you are in an area where three of your friends already have sons named John.
John isn’t great with the middle name George, though. Theo George ____hazen works better. I tend to be on the picky/strict end of the spectrum, nickname-wise, so I wouldn’t use the nickname Ted/Teddy for it—but society at large is less picky/strict than I am, so you’d be in good company if you used it anyway. One thing I wouldn’t like about it is that it adds a second explanation to the name: you’ll already sometimes have “No, just Theo—not short for Theodore,” and adding “We call him Ted—no, short for Theo, not for Theodore or Edward” seems like it counteracts the benefits of going short and simple with the first name.
I wonder if you’d like the name Milo? Or Leo? Both are short and easy. No natural nicknames (Lee, maybe, for Leo), but it’s harder to find nicknames for short and easy names. Perhaps an initials nickname (A.J., etc.), if the middle name works for it? T.J. is cute for Theo James.
It’s tricky to come up with more suggestions without knowing what other sounds are in the surname, but here are a few more nice short first names:
Ben
Dane
Dean
Evan
Ian
Finn
Jack
Jacob/Jake
Karl
Luke
Grant
Max
Owen
Paul
Reid
Wes
I also think you could re-examine longer names, especially if they’re easy ones. For example, Charles/Charlie is longer, but it’s still only two syllables and a very familiar, easy name. Or Samuel is still quite short and simple. Or Benjamin and Jonathan and Christopher and Alexander are all considered long, and yet they’re easy. Theodore doesn’t seem unnecessarily long or difficult to me with a four-syllable surname: it’s long, certainly, but not WEIRDLY long—and only one single syllable longer than Theo.
The winner in my family is my daughter, who has a twelve syllables total in her name; it hasn’t been an issue, even though I fretted about it when we were naming her. Flipping through one of the kids’ yearbooks has considerably rested my mind on this type of issue: TONS of people have names that would have seemed too short/long/alliterative/choppy/difficult in the naming stage, and yet seem completely fine once they’re a done deal. And since nicknames are important to you, I can really see how you’d get stuck. I think your husband’s family may be overcompensating; if you’re having a lot of trouble choosing a name, I’d recommend expanding the field of candidates to include longer (but still easy/simple/familiar) names.
Name update!
Hi there,
I never responded to your blog post and all the great feedback I received on my naming dilemma. And now baby is almost 6 months old but better late than never. We narrowed it down to Sam, Ted or Leo. All short and sweet and all options both my husband and I liked. But then when I was in labour I said to my husband “If I survive this I am naming this baby Georgie” and then as soon as he came out (perfect and healthy) I said Georgie! and instantly fell in love. He was Georgie all along, I should have never second guessed it. His full name is George Leo. I haven’t received a single negative comment about copying the royal baby and my husband totally loves the name now too and says he can’t imagine him as anything else.
Thanks!
Sarah
Victor (Vic!)
Louis (Lou!)
Orson
Todd
Elian/Elias (Eli!)
I love Teddy! We named our first son Edward Anthony and called him Teddy. But he became “Ted” when he was older and as an adult uses that as his given name, rarely Edward. I noticed he has Ted A. Surname imprinted on his checks. So while -I- would say go with Edward or Theodore as the given name, I can see it would be just fine to use Ted. And of course Ted could be “Teddy” while he’s young (just as many boys named John are called Johnny).
Ted Avery Dutch-name-hazen seems ideal for your son: he called be called Teddy or Ted – maybe Teddy by mom and Ted by dad.
As for Georgie, I can see how it could be hard to let go of that, yet if you -both- prefer Teddy/Ted, commit to that name and start using it right away (maybe Teddy-Georgie at first?), I’m sure he’d soon be “Teddy” and Georgie would just be his ‘silly’ pre-birth nickname. On the other hand, I wouldn’t stay away from George just because the baby prince has that name. Maybe this baby already IS Georgie and Teddy could possibly be his younger brother’s name. George Avery would be an excellent name too.
I want to add that when we named our son Edward and immediately called him Teddy, an English friend asked why we didn’t just name him Ted or Teddy as his given name. I’ve noticed more recently that many parents in England/Wales are giving their baby boys what many Americans think of as nicknames only. In the most recent — 2012– UK government baby name stats for boys’ names, several such names are in the Top 100:
#4 Charlie
7 Alfie
23 Archie
38 Freddie
55 Tommy
64 Jamie
66 Frankie
73 Ollie
79 Louie
90 Sonny (the ultimate nn as a given name!)
Among the names that could lead to the nn Ted or Teddy:
#36 Edward (2,088 baby boys)
#44 Theo (1629)
#97 Theodore (655)
#141 Teddy (422)
#226 Ted (227)
There were also 5 boys named Teddie and 4 named Tedd.
As for George, William and Kate chose a name for their baby that was already very popular in the UK: in 2012 George ranked at #12, with Georgie ranking #515.
I LOVE the suggestion of Luke. Luke is one of my favorite boy names, and even if you go with Lucas, it is short and sweet, but still has room for nicknames. My brother-in-law is a grown man but we often call him Lukey. :)
I agree with Swistle that you might consider names that are just a bit longer. A name that comes to mind for you is Timothy/Tim. It sounds classic but in no way overused, in my experience. Timothy James is very nice, and Timothy George works, too. Timothy George – – hazen. I like it very much!
Of the names you list, I love Edward called Ted/Teddy! Edward is a wonderful name and Ted is probably my favorite nickname of all – it is absolutely adorable on a little boy but sounds classic and strong on a grown man.
How do you feel about naming him Theo D_____ (maybe David? or Davis)? and then I think you can absolutely get “Teddy” from “T.D.” I think Theo is an adorable name and so is Teddy. You can’t go wrong. Good luck!
What a good idea! Theo David “Teddy” sounds perfect to me! I love every aspect of that name combination.
Theo James is the name of an actor that is starring in a YA movie coming out soon that may well become very popular (there could end up being three movies) just in case that matters to you.
My vote is for Sam Avery. It is gorgeous.
I agree with Swistle that maybe it’s time to branch out into longer, but still easy & recognizable names. Really, no body is going to stumble over something like Daniel instead of Dan-or Samuel instead of Sam. No matter what, it sounds like you’re likely to get the first name, then a pause as they try to figure out the last name. Keeping the first name short isn’t going to simplify the last name for them.
If husband is OK with the full Edward, I see no reason why Samuel or even Theodore shouldn’t be acceptable.
Of the longer list, Henry & Jasper seem to have great potential in that they are full given names, but short & recognizable. Eric sounds dated to me & I don’t see any reason why Alexander would be any harder than just Alex.
Swistle’s suggestions are all really good. I especially like John, Charles, Milo & Leo are all really good. I’ll also throw out Ethan, Eli/Elijah & Ian. If Benjamin is too much for husband, maybe he’d like something like Bennett better? Or you could go with a classic like Thomas, William, Timothy or James.
I can’t believe I forgot to comment about George! My youngest is named George & nobody has ever mentioned the royal family to us. It really is a shame you can’t sell your husband on the name, it seems like it should be perfect-short, recognizable, easy to say. I do think it is a very strong middle name option for you.
Maybe letting your husband have more say on the first name would be worth it if it means you could have George as the middle and keep the nickname Georgie. Eric George, Henry George, Edward George are all lovely.
I really like Swistle’s suggestion of John. Jack is a great nickname possibility too. Otherwise, I think a shortish two-syllable name with a one-syllable nickname, paired with Edward or George as the middle name strikes a great balance. That way you can still have Georgie or Teddy as pet names available for him. I guess your husband will keep asking why not put the nickname on the birth certificate, but I think it’s ok to say, because I said so! Here are some ideas:
Andrew (Drew)
Charles (Chaz or Chase)
Henry (Hank or Hal)
Marcus (or Mark on its own)
Joseph (Joe)
Nathan (Nate)
Calvin (Cal)
Thomas (Tom)
Wesley (Wes)
Clayton (Clay)
David or Davis (Dave)
Isaac (Ike)
James or Jason (Jay)
Judah or Judas (Jude)
Asher (Ash)
Oscar (Oz)
Walter (Walt)
Edwin (Ed or maybe Ted?)
Philip (Pip)
Peter (Pete)
August (Gus)
My daughter lives in Switzerland, and there, as in Gt. Britain, giving children names usually viewed here as nicknames is all the rage. Unlike Gt. Britain, though, the names almost never end in “ie” or “y”–what they’re doing is simply shortening names and using those as the full legal first name. This trend seems to be mostly a boy thing–just in the past month alone, newborn boys have been named Sam, Ted, Tim, Tom, Ben, Rob, and Jack. Almost never are the full names being given. Faced with this dilemma, my daughter chose John for her first born son–a name viewed as exotic and brave in Switzerland, but one everyone knows. She’s received nothing but extremely pleased responses for this choice.
Here in the US, one of my daughter’s friends recently named her newborn son Sam. Just Sam. I think this is a trend that we’ll see continuing, albeit one that name-lovers may cringe at.
I know Theo is used in as a shortened form of Theodore already–reducing it yet another step to Ted seems a bit strange to me, but then again, why should it? I think it’s completely doable, as is your husband’s idea of simply going with Ted.
My husband’s story is the only one I know that provides a sobering reason for a child needing the “long” version of a nickname. He grew up being called Dick, and it’s proven nearly impossible to change this so late in life. When he was a kid, Dick was a very cool name. But we all know what happened with that culturally, so he takes harbor in Richard whenever possible–Starbucks situations, legal papers. Richard has ended up being an odd consolation prize for him. But I really see this as a name exception, not a norm.
(I just want to add that I’ve sometimes wondered if the “nickname in place of full name” trend is happening because subliminally we don’t actually expect this generation to ever grow up? An awful thought, I know, but one I think a sociologist might consider).
I laughed out loud at your comment. Or could it be that we’re in an anything goes period of naming?
I’m very traditional about naming and like full names as birth certificate names, but would far prefer a child in my family be given a traditional nickname (spelled the usual way) on his birth certificate — like Ted, Sam or Johnny — than be given a modern name like Danger or Jett or many of the other new “names” now being used.
Also, I noticed Rob on your list of names from Switzerland. We named our third son Robert and called him “Robbie”. That eventually evolved to “Rob”. But as a professional now, he prefers Robert. Giving a child the usual full form of what you plan to call him gives *him* a choice of what he wants to go by as an adult.
I personally don’t think a 2 syllable first name (or 3 syllable first with a one syllable middle) is too long to go with a 4 syllable surname. Also it seems to me that a long surname from another language is given more emphasize when there is only a short first name and no middle name to go with it. For example:
Sam Nijenhuiskampe (as an example) is all Nijenhuiskampe, while
Samuel Avery Nijenhuiskampe balances out the rather unwieldy surname.
I think Theodore James Nijenhuiskampe would be fine too.
With any of these three the surname is just as difficult to pronounce and spell, but with the second and third choices the boy with the Dutch surname gets to have a first and middle name like all the other boys he knows. (However, really long first and middle names, like Theodore Alexander Nijenhuiskampe, probably would be a bit much.)
I totally agree with the “balancing out” concept … good point!
Also, what about the name Scott? It is been falling in popularity since the 90’s, but doesn’t sound dated (at least to me?), and it’s still in the 300s.
Chiming in to say that Scott is a nice name, but when I hear it I immediately think the person is between 30 and 50 years old. It seems like a Todd, Chad, Jason, Keith era name. Not current.
I just checked the stats and they reflect my gut feeling. It peaked in 1971 at #10 on the US boy’s chart, and has been falling ever since. Now in the high 300s.
But, it is a nice name! Just not in style exactly at the moment.
Gail, your comment made me laugh out loud, but in a kind of horrified way because I have a sinking feeling you might be sort of right on the money. :(
The story about Dick reminded me that I have a 30-something friend named Ben, just Ben, and he has headaches whenever he has to fill out paperwork or have to deal with customer service over the phone. People assume his name is actually Benjamin and he has to correct over and over to keep his records from getting garbled. Compounding matters is he has only a middle initial, not a middle name. I’m kinda surprised that your husband hasn’t experienced this firsthand. It may be a reason to use a formal name that will resonate with him.
Sorry, I guess I wasn’t clear enough….His given name is Richard. He may have been able to start going by Richard when he was young, say, when he started college, or when we moved to another state. But now it’s just been too long-nearly 6 decades-to make this change naturally, seamlessly, or even psychologically. He tried once, ten years ago, and it simply wasn’t worth it.
Sorry! I wasn’t paying attention. I have a similar issue that the nickname my parents have called me since birth is a little on the little-girl side (Katie) but I’ve never been able to transition to another version of my given name or the name in full.
You’ve been given some great suggestions, and I don’t think I can add any more. I do want to say that I love the idea of Theodore David getting you to the nickname “Teddy”! I also think that George is a terrific name, and that few people will consider the royal family connection. It sounds like he might already be George. If he comes out looking like a “George” I say just roll with it, it’s a great name. Good luck and please keep us posted!
Of the choices, Theo James is by far my favorite. I think Teddy or Ted could be used as a nn.
Sam/Edward don’t do anything for me (more in that too common/overly used category for me). Also, the name Avery is all girl to me (although I know it can be either). If you were sold on Sam or Edward I’d suggest Avett, Averette, or Emory instead.
About the name George…..I guess it would depend on if you think you can/will stop calling him George when he’s really here. I don’t think Theo George or Sam George works. Edward George is ok. I don’t think George Sam works either. George Theo does work to me, but not if your husband won’t have it in the fn spot (although I like it because it gives *so many* options).
I like Averitt too–looks more surname-y than Averette. But both read unisex to feminine to me, not any more masculine than Avery.
Why Averitt or Averette instead of Everett? Seems needlessly complicated unless it’s a family surname?
I love Ted, that’s really cute.
I have a George (and a Charlie) and his name gets so many compliments. People are surprised by it, but think it is so charming and cute. We call him George, Geo (Gee-oh), and Georgie.
I like Edward George for you. Nickname options Ted, Teddy or Georgie. You get the nicknames you like, your husband does too, you get to keep Georgie also, and Edward is an old classic. I think the two syllable first name balances out a four syllable surname better than a one syllable first name anyway, without adding too much length on its own.
I always encourage the full name for the birth certificate. I ended up with a nickname version of a fullname on my birth certificate, and I’d really give a lot for my parents to have thought it through further and put the full one down. It gives options.
My vote would be for George, Edward (nickname Ted/Teddy), or Theo. Theo feels like a full name to me. How did Henry get ruled out?
Sam feels too short and androgynous. If you don’t like Samuel, what about Samson?
Also, have you considered:
Miles
Milo
Willem (Dutch form of William)
Jack
Peter (so uncommon now)
Theodore has one big plus: you could use either Theo or Teddy as the nickname with no real confusion. You could try out both and see what sticks.
My husband is Edward, but has gone by Ted/Teddy his entire life. I adore his name; if we weren’t very anti-naming-kids-as-juniors, I’d totally use it again. Edward is such a fantastic name and Teddy is SUCH a great nickname, I really can’t advocate for this choice enough.
A lot of middle names work with Edward as well. James, George, Joseph, the list goes on.
One thing: when your son gets older and starts going by Ted instead of Teddy, try to start calling him Ted as well. My husband’s mom still calls him Teddy and it bugs him to no end. She even still puts Teddy on their family Christmas cards. It’s hard to hear the name “Teddy” and connect it with a 25 year old man.
I haven’t read all the comments so I don’t know what people have come up with, but I’m finding the short-with-nickname combo hard. I like Ian and Dane from Swistle’s suggestions but they don’t in general have standard nicknames. John with Jack or Johnny could work.
Also I’d consider using a longer classic name with a nickname: Alexander (Alex/Sasha/Xander), Andrew (Andy/Drew), Benjamin (Ben/Benji), Charles (Charlie/Chase), (Chris/Topher), Daniel (Dan), Maxwell (Max), Nicholas (Nick), Robert (Rob), Samuel (Sam), Theodore (Theo/Teddy), Thomas (Tom), William (Will).
I also do not have many new suggestions for you, but will give my opinion/favourites anyways!!
First of all, I think that it would be perfectly acceptable to use a longer first name (ie. doesn’t have to just be one syllable) with your last name. I sometimes find that using an equally, or almost, as long first name as the last name gives it some balance.
I am in the same boat as quite a few of the other commenters as well, I prefer to give an official first name rather than the shortened version. That way, he has options throughout life… can stick with a nickname or if choses to have a more professional name at work can go back on his official full name.
I also agree with most that I see no reason to throw George out based solely on the prince. If your husband doesn’t care for it for a first name, that’s another story. BUT it would be great in a middle name position and that way you can still use Georgie as a nn for him.
I really like Sam Avery, however, I would personally go with Samuel or Samson Avery as Sam has become a unisex name (for Samantha) and Avery is also in the unisex category. He can certainly be called Sam, however, the offers some clarification, either on class lists or on resumes. But I do really like this combination. I also really like Samuel George. I actually think Samuel George is a fabulous combination and gives you Sam and Georgie :)
I also LOVE Theo James, but once again, I would personally use Theodore James Dutch-sounding-hazen. See… I think the longer name gives it a nice balance, both verbally and when seen written out. You can then choose to use Theo or Ted or Teddy as nn. This would DEFINITELY be my first pick.
Other names I love:
(shorter)
Jack
Arlo
Jude or Judah —> LOVE
Henry
Luc or Luke or Lucas
Finn
(longer)
Oliver nn Ollie
Simon nn Sims
William or Willem
Charles nn Charlie or Chuck
August/Augustin/Augustus nn Gus
Maxwell nn Max or Wells –> LOVE
Louis nn Lou although pronunciation as “Lou-ie” is so sweet on it’s own (just wanted to clarify as some people read it as “Lou-is”
Good luck and keep us posted! I think you have a great set of names already :)
Ooh.. Oscar nn Oz or Ozzy…. super cute and spunky! Love this!
I vote for Peter (nn Pete) because a) short b) good nickname and c) Pete Seeger. Also, Peter sounds good with Dutch last names (see: Peter Stuyvesant).
And Peter George sounds good as a name. It also gives you the option of P.G. for a nickname, which I love.
I love Jasper and Theo! I also like the suggestion of Miles/Milo, Judah/Jude.
You might also like Asher, Hugo, Lachlan.
I also just wanted to add to the discussion above that I named my son Tully, which sounds like a nickname, because I loved it and it means peace. I named him this because I absolutely expect him to grow up and contribute to his world in a meaningful way.
Also, my brother Ben and my husband Tim went by their full names until they started school, where they were quickly shortened, and have been ever since. I think is just as common as the opposite expectation that kids will have a nickname that they’ll outgrow in adulthood.
I understand your husbands desire for a short and simple name with such a long and unusual last name. I faced the same dilemma naming my son as I had a 5 syllable difficult to pronounce last name to work. I also wanted a nn option but did not like using a nn ending in the ee sound for a boy. (My brother was called Joey to far into adulthood and hated it.).
I named my son Jacob (before it took off in popularity as he is 20 now). However, from birth he has always been Jake except for those rare circumstances when the birth certificate name is required. He never uses Jacob and signs everything with Jake.
That said, I would stick to simple names with nn options but make sure you like the nn as much as the full name. If you husband doesn’t like George, that should come off the table- you should find a name you both love.
I do like Theo as an option for you and Theo James is lovely. TJ could be a cute nickname. To get Teddy from Theo, I do like the idea of a middle name beginning with D. Theo David or Theo Daniel are simple yet sound very nice.
I like Sam Avery and Sammy is a cute nickname you could use but do prefer Theo.
I thought of another 2-syllable first with a great 1-syllable nickname: Abram, nickname Bram. I saw it on a Nameberry blog this morning and Bram is actually quite popular in the Netherlands. I know you’re not looking for a heritage choice, but it’s a fun coincidence!
That’s a good one! I know a 10 year old Abraham who goes by Abe– Abe could be a good, short nickname for Abram too.
What about Keith or Sean/Shawn? Both nice names. :)
I wanted to put in a vote for David. Probably my 2nd favorite boy name ever! No one will ever spell or pronounce it wrong, that’s for sure, and it works in every language (with various accents)! : )
Also, I love long names. I do think your in-laws have over thought it. As long as it’s easy to spell and pronounce, a 3 syllable name would even be fine. Alexander is an excellent example because everyone can spell it. If you paired it with a 1 syllable middle, you’d still only have 8 syllables in the entire name.
Something like. . .
Theodore George ______hazen
Congratulations! :) I have a 3 year old George, who we sometimes call Georgie. So I love your son’s name. Glad your husband loves it too and that you got to use your favourite name. :)