We are having our third and last child in early June. I am having a terrible time making a final decision on what his name should be. Our oldest is a girl, Gretchen Elizabeth, and our son to be middle is a boy, Adam Gray. I would the new little one to have a four letter name in following with my father, Gary, fil, Kurt, and husband, Leif. I am also thinking a two syllable name would sound nice since our other two have them. Right now Ezra John is the front runner but I have told a select few this name and their facial responses weren’t what I was looking for. Middle name will most likely be John or Paul after family on my husband’s family. I also like Bode and Rory which my husband is not as fond of. Any help in naming this Olsen baby is greatly appreciated.
31 thoughts on “Baby Boy Olsen, Brother to Gretchen and Adam”
Christine
I like Ezra for what it’s worth. Also my mother hated the name we chose for our son. Like told me how much, and yet now she loves him an is over it. That said other four letter two syllable names:
Abel (probably won’t work with an Adam)
Amos
Cody
Evan
Ivan
Iker
Liam
Levi
Luca (Luke)
Milo
Toby
Or you scrap the two syllables and name him John or another four letter name. And maybe give him a middle starting with A, since Adam has a G middle and a big sister Gretchen.
You are looking for my favorite type of boys name – 4 letters, two syllables. I do like Ezra and think it may be the perfect name for you. Arlo is my favorite name of this genre but unfortunately it is another A name and the o ending doesn’t work well with your last name. If you are okay with another A name – Amos Paul Olsen works well.
What a perfect opportunity to use either John or Paul as the first name! Both are timeless in the same way that Gretchen & Adam are timeless. I think this “timeless style” may be what to go for in tying the names together–both the sibling names and the fathers/grandfathers.
If you go with something trendier (and there will be many such suggestions) it will be a much different style than either Gretchen or Adam.
With John or Paul, you could use a longer Scandinavian name. I love Magnus in this regard.
John Magnus Olsen
Paul Magnus Olsen
Luke Magnus Olsen
I would agree with this! I really like the name Ezra, but it doesn’t sound like a good style match for Gretchen and Adam to me, whereas John (love love love for a baby) and Paul definitely do, and then you can have a fun family or culturally-referencing middle name to go with it.
Ezra John is great, imo! If you and your husband both love it, then don’t worry about other people’s responses. But if you would like some more options:
Gretchen, Adam, and…
(2 syllables)
Arlo
Noah
Hugo
Theo
Remy
(1 syllable)
Cole
Jude
Dean
Reid
Zane
Another option could be to use John as a first name and Paul as a middle. You could call him John, Jack, John Paul, JP, or Paul. Good luck!
I love Ezra and Bode. I think Ezra goes a little better with Gretchen and Adam though. I feel like Rory and Remy are trending girl, though I do like them too.
Love the suggestions of Toby and Theo.
Abel
Aden
Coby
Cody
Huey
Hugo
Cory
Liam
Otis
Otto
Owen
Ryan
Good luck!
Do people react negatively to the name Ezra, or to the sound of Ezra John? I think Ezra is a fantastic name and goes so well with Adam and Gretchen. For me, Ezra John *sounds* a little bit off (it’s the ah-oh sound), but that’s a personal thing. I love the sound of Ezra James for example.
I love Ezra John & I think it goes great with Gretchen & Adam.
Personally, I would stick with Ezra, but using Baby name wizard (the website sorts out 4 letter, 2 syllable boy names for you):
There were a large # that seemed like a mismatch with Adam & Gretchen, so I eliminated them (Abel Adan Aden Ahab Ajax Ajit Akon Alan Aldo Alec Alek Alon Alun Amir Amos Aram Ares Aric Arlo Aron Atom Axel Azzo Beto Boaz Cian Ciro Coby Cuco Colm Dino Egan Eian Elam Elan Elio Elmo Eloy Eoin Esau Ewan Gary Gino Hugo Igor Iker Ilan Ilya Imre Iven Ivor Jago Jair Joah João Joar Jose Kian Kobe Koby Koda Kofi Kyan Lalo Leon Liev Lino Loïc Luis Luka Lupe Mako Myer Nico Niko Noam Odin Olmo Omar Omni Oren Orin Otis Otto Ovid Paco Pepe Polo Raul Rémi Reno Rico Riot Roan Rudy Shia Shon Timo Tito Tony Vito Xabi Yuri Zeno Zion).
When there is a 3rd child in a family that already has a girl & a boy, I like if the name for the 3rd is not unisex. So I would eliminate: Alex Cary Dana Dion Eden Gael Ivey Jody Kody Kory Noel Rene Rory
That leaves:
Andy Bode Cody Cory Emil Enzo Eric/Erik Evan Ezra Iain Isak Ivan Joey Levi Liam Luca Milo Noah Owen Remy Ryan Theo Toby
My favorites: Evan, Ezra, Levi, Liam, Owen, or Remy
I think Ezra’s a great name that would fit well into your family. I also liked the suggestions Evan and Ryan, and there’s my son’s name: Noah. Owen works, too. I wonder if having two rules (4 letters, 2 syllables) is what’s making it hard, though. Is one more important to you than the other? If you drop the less important rule, possibilities may open up for you.
I personally love Ezra. Go with a name that both you and your husband love. You don’t want to choose a different name that you don’t love as much as Ezra, because a few people gave you an impression that they didn’t like it, and regret it later. I think Gretchen, Adam, and Ezra all sound great together. I say DO IT! (plus, many of my family didn’t like the two names that we chose initially for our kiddos and now everyone can’t imagine them being named anything different… people will get over it)
What about Emil (Eh-meel). I Love the sound of this name, Emil John 0ls0n, that’s a pretty fabulous looking and sounding name. Gretchen, Adam, and Emil. This would definitely be my favourite. SWOONING
I also like Iver/Ivor. Iver John 0ls0n is very nice as well.
Otto or Otis – I love both of these, although wondering if Otis 0ls0n has too many repetitive sounds, so perhaps Otto 0ls0n flows better. Hmm… although I love these names, not totally sold on the sound with the last name.
I also agree with staying away from Remy and Rory as they becoming/are unisex names. When you have two kiddos that are clearly, a girl and a boy, I would also be consistent in choosing the last baby’s name as being a ‘boy’ name.
I like Emil, Amos, Boaz, and Luke from the lists others have created. I really like Ezra from your list. If you and your spouse like Ezra, other people will come around.
For what it’s worth, over the years I really hated several of the names my sisters chose for their children when I first heard them before the baby was born. Now that they are actually the names of my darling nieces and nephews? Love them. All of them. I would ignore the people that reacted negatively to Ezra. If it feels like the right choice use it. Once it is attached to an actual baby they will likely feel differently.
FWIW, I quite like Ezra. If you & your husband like it, I say for it. People will warm up to it once it’s attached to an actual baby and not just a hypothetical name.
You’ve gotten so many great suggestions already, I’m not sure I have much to add. If you like Ezra, maybe you’d also some more common Biblical names (that might get a better reaction from some people). A lot (or all) of these are probably repeats, but I thought of Noah, Levi, Abel, Luca, Silas.
Jude is also nice, though it isn’t really great with John or Paul as a middle. Any chance you’d consider John or Paul as a first name? Or perhaps something like Jack as a first name to honor John?
Bode & Rory make me think of names like Cody, Toby, Brady & Tory.
Perhaps someone has already suggested Nico? Not especially British-classic though.
Alan and Adam might work well. But not if you are trying not to repeat initials.
Have you considered Theo? Theo John?
Noah? Noah John? Adam and Noah?
And, by the way, I love Ezra. It IS a great parallel to Adam… both two syllables, four letters in length, Old Testament biblical, and will ALWAYS be men’s names.
I think Ezra works great! Good thematic fit with Adam and sounds good with Gretchen. The whole ‘facial expression’ thing is the reason we no longer share our baby names with people – especially my mother! She’s much more polite after the baby’s born! And I wouldn’t choose her names either so it’s nothing personal!
I had a nephew named Joel last month and I realised how much I loved that name too!
I also like Rhys, Jude, Finn, Hugo, Milo.
They may not be your taste, but they’re the 4 letter names on my list. :)
Have courage to choose a name you love!
I like Owen or Evan with this sibset.
Gretchen, Adam, and Owen.
Gretchen. Adam, and Evan. (Although as I write that I wonder if it’s too close to Adam and Eve? So Owen is definitely my favorite).
Owen Paul and Owen John both work.
And the o sound of Owen makes me think of Leo. Two syllables, but only three letters.
Gretchen, Adam, and Leo.
Leo Paul or Leo John.
Hmm, this is challenging! Many of these are probably repeats, but here’s what I came up with:
Marc
Arlo
Milo
Cory
Hugo
Carl
Eric
Evan
Aron (if you don’t mind the non-traditional spelling)
Would you be willing to name him something a little bit nickname-y? You could either name him the “full version” of the name and just call him by the nickname, or just name him what you plan on calling him if it’s important to you that his birth-certificate name have four letters. (Honestly, that might be easier anyway!) If so, I’d suggest:
Davy
Eddy
Jake
Mike
Luke
Joey
Zach
I also really like your choice of Ezra. I understand why it might be hard to use a name that you know some people close to you don’t like, though. I’d also suggest using John or Paul as the first name…they’re both great names (John is one of my personal favorites), both four letters, and then you’re free to use something longer as the middle name.
In all honestly, though, if you can’t find a four-letter name you’re happy with I’d say it might be time to start branching out and considering other names. You’ve already continued the four-letter name pattern with your other son, and in the end it might not be worth turning down a name you love because it has too many letters.
For some reason, when I hear Ezra, I think of a girl’s name. I realize that some names are unisex and that may not bother you at all. I just wanted to throw it out there in case it was something you had not considered. However, I did look it up and it does not seem to be a popular name for girls. I think I have that association because there is a female Ezra in my child’s class. My favorite of all of those mentioned in the comments is Milo. I love Milo John with MJ as a cute nickname.
I like the name Ezra, but it’s not my favorite for you. I like John Bode or Paul Bode best. Ezra John/Paul sounds overly biblical compared to his siblings. Ezra 0lsen also runs together for me if I’m not being deliberate in my pronunciation. It would probably be best to pick a name that ends in a consonant. Bode has the same problem of running together, but it doesn’t bother me in the middle spot.
If you LOVE the name Ezra, then you should go with it! People will always have their opinions and preferences, but when naming your child, you can’t let others sway your likes/preferences! I’ll say I prefer Ezra Paul over Ezra John, but that’s just my opinion.
Some other 4 syllable names I thought of that could work nicely with your sibset are:
Jonah. Gretchen, Adam, & Jonah (my favorite) Jonah Paul….
Thomas. Gretchen, Adam & Thomas
Boden nn Bode. Gretchen, Adam & Boden
Nathan. Gretchen, Adam & Nathan
Micah. Gretchen, Adam & Micah
Thank you all so much for your suggestions! Ezra might be out, my daughter keeps referring to it as a girls name which one of you had also mentioned. A reoccurring name on people’s lists which has also been tucked in the back of my mind was Theo, I think I might have needed reassurance in making it a front runner! Will keep you posted as to where this goes, I have a lot of names to mull over now!
Ezra is mostly predominantly a boys name, however I find that the -ra at the end, especially the -a we mostly associate with girl names… When I first saw it a year or so ago, I remember thinking how it strikes me as more feminine then not, but now I am used to seeing it used as a boys name (largely due to this blog).
Otherwise, I think theo is a great option. Love that name! Good luck
I like Ezra for what it’s worth. Also my mother hated the name we chose for our son. Like told me how much, and yet now she loves him an is over it. That said other four letter two syllable names:
Abel (probably won’t work with an Adam)
Amos
Cody
Evan
Ivan
Iker
Liam
Levi
Luca (Luke)
Milo
Toby
Or you scrap the two syllables and name him John or another four letter name. And maybe give him a middle starting with A, since Adam has a G middle and a big sister Gretchen.
You are looking for my favorite type of boys name – 4 letters, two syllables. I do like Ezra and think it may be the perfect name for you. Arlo is my favorite name of this genre but unfortunately it is another A name and the o ending doesn’t work well with your last name. If you are okay with another A name – Amos Paul Olsen works well.
I like:
Evan
Eric
Levi
Leon
Lyle
Rudy
Ryan
What a perfect opportunity to use either John or Paul as the first name! Both are timeless in the same way that Gretchen & Adam are timeless. I think this “timeless style” may be what to go for in tying the names together–both the sibling names and the fathers/grandfathers.
If you go with something trendier (and there will be many such suggestions) it will be a much different style than either Gretchen or Adam.
With John or Paul, you could use a longer Scandinavian name. I love Magnus in this regard.
John Magnus Olsen
Paul Magnus Olsen
Luke Magnus Olsen
Good luck, such a lovely problem to solve.
I would agree with this! I really like the name Ezra, but it doesn’t sound like a good style match for Gretchen and Adam to me, whereas John (love love love for a baby) and Paul definitely do, and then you can have a fun family or culturally-referencing middle name to go with it.
Ezra John is great, imo! If you and your husband both love it, then don’t worry about other people’s responses. But if you would like some more options:
Gretchen, Adam, and…
(2 syllables)
Arlo
Noah
Hugo
Theo
Remy
(1 syllable)
Cole
Jude
Dean
Reid
Zane
Another option could be to use John as a first name and Paul as a middle. You could call him John, Jack, John Paul, JP, or Paul. Good luck!
I love Ezra and Bode. I think Ezra goes a little better with Gretchen and Adam though. I feel like Rory and Remy are trending girl, though I do like them too.
Love the suggestions of Toby and Theo.
Abel
Aden
Coby
Cody
Huey
Hugo
Cory
Liam
Otis
Otto
Owen
Ryan
Good luck!
I think Otto is so great and underused! Although the long /o/ at the end and the long /o/ of Olsen might run together too much.
How do you feel about EJ? Perhaps anyone who truly dislikes Ezra can refer to him as EJ. I love Ezra and think it works great with the sibling names.
Do people react negatively to the name Ezra, or to the sound of Ezra John? I think Ezra is a fantastic name and goes so well with Adam and Gretchen. For me, Ezra John *sounds* a little bit off (it’s the ah-oh sound), but that’s a personal thing. I love the sound of Ezra James for example.
I love Ezra John & I think it goes great with Gretchen & Adam.
Personally, I would stick with Ezra, but using Baby name wizard (the website sorts out 4 letter, 2 syllable boy names for you):
There were a large # that seemed like a mismatch with Adam & Gretchen, so I eliminated them (Abel Adan Aden Ahab Ajax Ajit Akon Alan Aldo Alec Alek Alon Alun Amir Amos Aram Ares Aric Arlo Aron Atom Axel Azzo Beto Boaz Cian Ciro Coby Cuco Colm Dino Egan Eian Elam Elan Elio Elmo Eloy Eoin Esau Ewan Gary Gino Hugo Igor Iker Ilan Ilya Imre Iven Ivor Jago Jair Joah João Joar Jose Kian Kobe Koby Koda Kofi Kyan Lalo Leon Liev Lino Loïc Luis Luka Lupe Mako Myer Nico Niko Noam Odin Olmo Omar Omni Oren Orin Otis Otto Ovid Paco Pepe Polo Raul Rémi Reno Rico Riot Roan Rudy Shia Shon Timo Tito Tony Vito Xabi Yuri Zeno Zion).
When there is a 3rd child in a family that already has a girl & a boy, I like if the name for the 3rd is not unisex. So I would eliminate: Alex Cary Dana Dion Eden Gael Ivey Jody Kody Kory Noel Rene Rory
That leaves:
Andy Bode Cody Cory Emil Enzo Eric/Erik Evan Ezra Iain Isak Ivan Joey Levi Liam Luca Milo Noah Owen Remy Ryan Theo Toby
My favorites: Evan, Ezra, Levi, Liam, Owen, or Remy
Ezra Olson is a great name. I really like it. And I prefer Ezra Paul Olson.
I think Ezra’s a great name that would fit well into your family. I also liked the suggestions Evan and Ryan, and there’s my son’s name: Noah. Owen works, too. I wonder if having two rules (4 letters, 2 syllables) is what’s making it hard, though. Is one more important to you than the other? If you drop the less important rule, possibilities may open up for you.
Eric, Evan, Ryan, Colin, Toby, Brian, Aaron.
It doesn’t fit you rules, but a name I think goes well is Jeremy.
I personally love Ezra. Go with a name that both you and your husband love. You don’t want to choose a different name that you don’t love as much as Ezra, because a few people gave you an impression that they didn’t like it, and regret it later. I think Gretchen, Adam, and Ezra all sound great together. I say DO IT! (plus, many of my family didn’t like the two names that we chose initially for our kiddos and now everyone can’t imagine them being named anything different… people will get over it)
What about Emil (Eh-meel). I Love the sound of this name, Emil John 0ls0n, that’s a pretty fabulous looking and sounding name. Gretchen, Adam, and Emil. This would definitely be my favourite. SWOONING
I also like Iver/Ivor. Iver John 0ls0n is very nice as well.
Otto or Otis – I love both of these, although wondering if Otis 0ls0n has too many repetitive sounds, so perhaps Otto 0ls0n flows better. Hmm… although I love these names, not totally sold on the sound with the last name.
I also agree with staying away from Remy and Rory as they becoming/are unisex names. When you have two kiddos that are clearly, a girl and a boy, I would also be consistent in choosing the last baby’s name as being a ‘boy’ name.
Good luck and keep us posted!
I would suggest using John or Paul; Paul in particular goes very well with Gretchen and Adam!
I agree. Paul is very nice with Gretchen and Adam.
I like Emil, Amos, Boaz, and Luke from the lists others have created. I really like Ezra from your list. If you and your spouse like Ezra, other people will come around.
I really like Owen, Liam, Emil, Dale, Neil, Drew, Nate or Will. I know those 2 are typically nicknames though. Noah, Seth or Zeke would also be nice.
I love Ezra! It’s in my own short list for a boy. If not Ezra, then:
Theo
Liam
Noah
One syllable, four letters:
Finn
Beau
Hank
Bret
For what it’s worth, over the years I really hated several of the names my sisters chose for their children when I first heard them before the baby was born. Now that they are actually the names of my darling nieces and nephews? Love them. All of them. I would ignore the people that reacted negatively to Ezra. If it feels like the right choice use it. Once it is attached to an actual baby they will likely feel differently.
FWIW, I quite like Ezra. If you & your husband like it, I say for it. People will warm up to it once it’s attached to an actual baby and not just a hypothetical name.
You’ve gotten so many great suggestions already, I’m not sure I have much to add. If you like Ezra, maybe you’d also some more common Biblical names (that might get a better reaction from some people). A lot (or all) of these are probably repeats, but I thought of Noah, Levi, Abel, Luca, Silas.
Jude is also nice, though it isn’t really great with John or Paul as a middle. Any chance you’d consider John or Paul as a first name? Or perhaps something like Jack as a first name to honor John?
Bode & Rory make me think of names like Cody, Toby, Brady & Tory.
Perhaps someone has already suggested Nico? Not especially British-classic though.
Alan and Adam might work well. But not if you are trying not to repeat initials.
Have you considered Theo? Theo John?
Noah? Noah John? Adam and Noah?
And, by the way, I love Ezra. It IS a great parallel to Adam… both two syllables, four letters in length, Old Testament biblical, and will ALWAYS be men’s names.
I think Ezra works great! Good thematic fit with Adam and sounds good with Gretchen. The whole ‘facial expression’ thing is the reason we no longer share our baby names with people – especially my mother! She’s much more polite after the baby’s born! And I wouldn’t choose her names either so it’s nothing personal!
I had a nephew named Joel last month and I realised how much I loved that name too!
I also like Rhys, Jude, Finn, Hugo, Milo.
They may not be your taste, but they’re the 4 letter names on my list. :)
Have courage to choose a name you love!
I like Owen or Evan with this sibset.
Gretchen, Adam, and Owen.
Gretchen. Adam, and Evan. (Although as I write that I wonder if it’s too close to Adam and Eve? So Owen is definitely my favorite).
Owen Paul and Owen John both work.
And the o sound of Owen makes me think of Leo. Two syllables, but only three letters.
Gretchen, Adam, and Leo.
Leo Paul or Leo John.
Hmm, this is challenging! Many of these are probably repeats, but here’s what I came up with:
Marc
Arlo
Milo
Cory
Hugo
Carl
Eric
Evan
Aron (if you don’t mind the non-traditional spelling)
Would you be willing to name him something a little bit nickname-y? You could either name him the “full version” of the name and just call him by the nickname, or just name him what you plan on calling him if it’s important to you that his birth-certificate name have four letters. (Honestly, that might be easier anyway!) If so, I’d suggest:
Davy
Eddy
Jake
Mike
Luke
Joey
Zach
I also really like your choice of Ezra. I understand why it might be hard to use a name that you know some people close to you don’t like, though. I’d also suggest using John or Paul as the first name…they’re both great names (John is one of my personal favorites), both four letters, and then you’re free to use something longer as the middle name.
In all honestly, though, if you can’t find a four-letter name you’re happy with I’d say it might be time to start branching out and considering other names. You’ve already continued the four-letter name pattern with your other son, and in the end it might not be worth turning down a name you love because it has too many letters.
For some reason, when I hear Ezra, I think of a girl’s name. I realize that some names are unisex and that may not bother you at all. I just wanted to throw it out there in case it was something you had not considered. However, I did look it up and it does not seem to be a popular name for girls. I think I have that association because there is a female Ezra in my child’s class. My favorite of all of those mentioned in the comments is Milo. I love Milo John with MJ as a cute nickname.
I like the name Ezra, but it’s not my favorite for you. I like John Bode or Paul Bode best. Ezra John/Paul sounds overly biblical compared to his siblings. Ezra 0lsen also runs together for me if I’m not being deliberate in my pronunciation. It would probably be best to pick a name that ends in a consonant. Bode has the same problem of running together, but it doesn’t bother me in the middle spot.
If you LOVE the name Ezra, then you should go with it! People will always have their opinions and preferences, but when naming your child, you can’t let others sway your likes/preferences! I’ll say I prefer Ezra Paul over Ezra John, but that’s just my opinion.
Some other 4 syllable names I thought of that could work nicely with your sibset are:
Jonah. Gretchen, Adam, & Jonah (my favorite) Jonah Paul….
Thomas. Gretchen, Adam & Thomas
Boden nn Bode. Gretchen, Adam & Boden
Nathan. Gretchen, Adam & Nathan
Micah. Gretchen, Adam & Micah
Sorry, meant 2-syllable names!
Thank you all so much for your suggestions! Ezra might be out, my daughter keeps referring to it as a girls name which one of you had also mentioned. A reoccurring name on people’s lists which has also been tucked in the back of my mind was Theo, I think I might have needed reassurance in making it a front runner! Will keep you posted as to where this goes, I have a lot of names to mull over now!
Ezra is mostly predominantly a boys name, however I find that the -ra at the end, especially the -a we mostly associate with girl names… When I first saw it a year or so ago, I remember thinking how it strikes me as more feminine then not, but now I am used to seeing it used as a boys name (largely due to this blog).
Otherwise, I think theo is a great option. Love that name! Good luck