K. writes:
My husband and I are expecting our second boy in June. Our first son is Simon Albert (last name is three syllables and starts with an H). We love the name Simon because it’s a “normal” name, but not incredibly popular. His middle name, Albert, is a family name. We are not fond of names that are super trendy or sound made up, and we tend to lean towards classic names.
Now, the problem…we cannot seem to find the “perfect” name for baby boy #2. We know his middle name will be Scott (family name). My husband loves Sebastian, but I can’t get on board with having sibling names starting with the same letter. Is it too cutesy? I like Jude, but my husband isn’t a fan. We like Isaac, Owen, and James, but all three seem to be pretty high on the popularity lists these days. We also like Oliver, but good friends just used the name for their dog. The names Ian, August, and Ezra have also been some that we have liked but not loved. Theodore is one of our absolute favorites, with the nickname Theo. So here’s the question…if we have a Simon and a Theodore, will everyone automatically think of the chipmunks (you know–Alvin, Simon, and Theodore)? Since we plan on calling the new baby by the nickname Theo, we would probably introduce them as Simon and Theo, which I hope wouldn’t trigger the chipmunks association.
So I’m torn. I want to use Theodore, but I don’t want to spend my whole life answering the question, “Like the chipmunks?” Should I use it anyway? Or toss it out and go with one of our “like but not love” names? Or start from scratch completely?
I’d appreciate an outsider’s perspective!
Oh, dear, I’m afraid I did immediately think of the chipmunks—though not, if it helps, with the kind of “No no no” feeling I’d have if you were considering, say, Romeo and Juliet: The Chipmunks just came to my mind in a rather neutral way. The nickname does help considerably: I don’t think “Simon and Theo” contains any chipmunks for me. The Chipmunks is not a negative association, so I think the thing to consider is how many “What, no Alvin? hur hur hur” jokes you can stand to put up with. Maybe just a few people would say it right after the birth announcements, and then after that the incidents would be few and far between. We got “Like ______?” a few times after one of our kids was born, but we said “No” a few times and it hasn’t come up since then. And I don’t know how well-known The Chipmunks will be among your children’s peers; perhaps it will not be a problem there, especially since children often don’t know their classmates’ siblings’ names.
You say Theodore is one of your absolute favorites, but then you ask if you should give up the name you love for a name you just like. If Theodore is one of several absolute favorites, then I guess my inclination would be to go with one of the other absolute favorites. If Theodore is the only name you both love, and all the rest are names you only like, then I could go either way: I do think the name would come with The Chipmunks association, but whether that’s a problem or not depends on your own personal tolerances: every name is going to come with a downside or two, so the trick is to choose the ones that bother you less. I doubt it would be a daily hassle, and I’d suspect it would be fairly infrequent—especially if you introduce them as Theo and Simon.
One useful exercise is to pretend that the name Theodore is off the table, or that you’re definitely willing to use it, and then look again at the other name possibilities. A “want but can’t have” name can sometimes make parents feel as if they don’t even WANT to consider other names. It may still turn out that Theodore is the only name you love, but it could also happen that when you take it off the list or decide to go ahead and use it, other names will rise to your attention. I don’t think you should use a name you just like instead of one you love, but I do think you should look for more names you love.
Are you planning to have more children? One possibility is to gamble on having another boy later. Simon, Sebastian, and Theo completely eliminates chipmunks for me. This option depends on how much you think you will regret not using the name if there isn’t in fact another chance to use it, and that can be hard to predict: sometimes by the time we’re naming the next baby our favorites have changed, and sometimes not.
If you’re mostly planning to call him Theo, I wonder if you would like Milo or Leo or Hugo or Matteo? Or you could name him Theo: it’s a stand-alone name as well as a nickname for Theodore.
While three or more siblings with matching initials does seem to fall into the Cute category, just two matched siblings doesn’t for me. The other day I mentioned how I only noticed the name issues of my friends’ children when I actively turned my mind to it—and one of the issues I noticed was a two-child family where both names started with the same letter. It hadn’t even caught my attention before then, let alone seemed overly cute. The main issue, I think, is whether it would make you feel like you had to keep going with the same initial: we’ve had so many letters from parents who have used the same first initial twice and now feel that pressure when naming a third.
Another tactic I might suggest is to be slower to cross names off the list. Every name will have something non-ideal about it, so if you love a name, I’d reconsider whether it matters to you that some friends used the name for their dog, or that a name has a somewhat higher popularity ranking than another name. Some of these things will indeed be important to you, but others might fall right down as soon as you apply the “Does this ACTUALLY matter to us, or not?” question. Simon and Oliver seem like an ideal match to me, and the dog will only be an issue for a limited number of years. Simon and Isaac also seem great, and although Isaac has been in the Top 100 for nearly 20 years, I’ve only encountered a single one in any of my children’s classes/activities.
I completely agree with swistle on this one. I personally would not want to deal with the chipmunks jokes for the rest of my life even if Theo is a great name. Try to find another favourite, there are so many great names out there!
What about…
David
Collin
Arden
Benjamin
I wonder if you would both like Judah or Bastion (as alternatives to Jude and Sebastian).
Charles Scott nicknamed Chas might be a fun pick, too.
The Chipmunks association didn’t occur to me, and it definitely won’t occur to your kids’ generation, either. I think Simon and Theodore/Theo is a fantastic pair! Definitely go ahead and use it.
Based on your style, I would also suggest Eliot, Gordon, Gideon, Henry, Jonah, Noel, and Xavier.
Sebastian just doesn’t seem “classical” in the sense that your other possibilities do.
Jude, Isaac, James, Ezra.. would make me think you were rather religious since you already have a Simon.
I think its a mistake to rule out a name because a friend named their DOG that. .. a dog is a dog.
Theodore, does unfortunately, make me think of the Chipmunk.
If you chose an A name this baby would have opposite initials of Simon Albert since you’ve already decided on mn Scott. Abram Scott? Andrew Scott? Simon & Andrew are a cute pair.
The other one I like with Simon is Henry. Henry Scott. Hth!
I’m sorry, I went right to chipmunks. I rather like the Leo option swistle raised; Leo Scott H___; Simon and Leo? I love them as a sibset. Or how about Peter-Simon and Peter-Simon and David (my brother was a David Scott so I’m partial to it!) Alexander Scott is nice; you could have Simon and nn Zander… Lloyd? Bruce? Thomas! Best wishes to you and your family!
I immediately thought of the chipmunks as well, but I might not have gone there at all if they were introduced in the other order. “These are my children, Theodore & Simon.”
If you decide the chipmunk thing will bother you though, then I’d go with Oliver. The fact that your friends named their dog Oliver should not be a deterrent. As Swistle said, it will be for a limited number of years and your toddler will probably think it’s cool that your friend’s dog has the same name as he does.
I agree, I don’t think that your friends dog is something that should stop you from using Oliver. I have a dog called Harry, and my best friend had a baby boy last year and called him Harry. I didn’t think it was weird at all! Harry is a great name, that’s why I bestowed it on my fur baby 7 years ago. It really honestly isn’t weird and it’s just a non-issue. So re-think Oliver if you decide Theo is out.
I agree with Swistle…. I have a Juliet, and we’ve only got, “Like Romeo and Juliet?” once or twice and it didn’t really bother me, as I had decided that there would be times where we would likely hear that comment. If you love Theodore, then I say name him Theodore!!
We just named our one year old son Oliver, and had he been born a week earlier would’ve been a Simon (we went back and forth with these two names). Our short names are identical so I will give you other names that were also on our list…. and are still on the list if we have another boy.
If Oliver is completely off the table, then what about Arlo? I LOVE this name soo much. or Oscar? I think Oscar can have a trendy feel or have a classic feel… having a brother named Simon, I think it brings Oscar down to the more classic Oscar name. Plus Oz is super cute nickname.
What about Wells? LOVE THIS. If we have another boy, 99% chance we will use Wells.
If not Wells, then we have Theodore and Louis (lou-ee) on the next to use. SO I personally love Theodore for you, despite the possible Chipmunk connection.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jude. Or you could go with Judah and use nn Jude. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go with our last name so it was off the table.
What about Maxwell? Juliet would have been a Maxwell, but this time around we felt like we new soo many Max’s so we didn’t really discuss it.
August . I love the nickname Gus. I find August less fussy then Augustus.
What about Walter? Walt is such a cute shortened name. Love this.
Jack? Simon and Jack.
Or Charles. Charlie is still a classic, cute name to me as well.
Good luck and keep us posted!!
And of course, I totally 100% agree that you shouldn’t just throw Oliver out because of your friends dog. We personally love Oliver’s name and have had so many positive comments. Plus Simon and Oliver give the same feel, they are very cute together. So I would encourage you to revisit it :)
Great comments!
Try to keep Oliver in the running! I think Oliver Scott sounds very nice.
Love the suggestion for Oscar with possible nn Ozzy. Classic Charles/Charlie is a great choice as well.
As much as I adore Theodore, I wouldn’t be able to deal with the chipmunk connection. I don’t think it would be as obvious though if you just named him Theo.
I agree with Swistle, you might want to store it away for a son #3 if you plan on having more. For a future girl you might consider Theodora!
Simon Albert and Milo Scott
Simon Albert and Zachary Scott
Simon Albert and Julian Scott
Theo is trending up like crazy in my community, for what that’s worth. Not an unusual name anymore in Austin, TX.
I vote for Oliver or Leo. The chipmunk thing is just too obvious for me.
I like Oliver and Leo as well, but maybe also Leon? I feel like this name should be more popular than it actually is. Leon Scott H…I like it!
Its a deal breaker for me, the chipmunk thing. Also there was a Chipmunks movie in 2011 which was the third in recent history and a 4th Chipmunks movie is in preproduction with a potential release date of Summer 2015 according to the internets. So while my children have not seen the films, many children will. And the original theme song is so catchy, so my vote is no. If I met a family with children named Simon and Theo, I would do my very very best not to say anything, bc I hope I am polite like that but it would be ear worming in my head for sure.
My second child would have been named Simon but was a girl.
My third child would have been named Theodore but was also a girl.
(My first child would have been named Miles but was a girl.)
Other names that made our lists for all potential boy babies:
Aaron
Nathan/Nathanial/Nate
Abraham/Abram/Abe
Milo
Jonah
Judah/Jude
Louis
Peter
How about Bradley with the nickname Brad?
I read the title of the post first and thought that you’d named your first son “Simon Theodore” and my first thought was “Oh, like the chipmunks!” I’m not sure that my kids have seen the movies but they do seem to know who the characters are. I know that Build A Bear had the characters available there when the last recent movie was out. So I do think that kids today would make the association still.
I don’t think it’s a complete “no no” to name Simon’s brother “Theodore” but it does make me want to ask “Where’s Alvin?!” It could be cute to even get them both chipmunk toys. (I like to buy my George “Curious George” stuff. But if you find the chipmunks very annoying and would want to avoid all ties, then you might want to avoid using Theodore.
The friend’s dog thing is tricky. We considered using the name Oliver for our first son and then good friends went on to call their dog Oliver. It did kind of ruin the name for us a bit. Though they ended up giving the dog away.
I like the suggestion of Oscar – that’s one we also had on our list. Or another “o” ending name would be nice, since you like Theo so much.
I did think of the Chipmunks right away, but that’s not something I would ever mention to the parents of a Simon/Theodore sibset. I would assume they had already made the connection & decided it wasn’t important enough to not use Theodore.
Another option would be to totally embrace the Chipmunk connection. Point it out yourself in the birth announcements and when you introduce them to people. Joke about how you can’t wait to have a 3rd boy so you can name him Alvin. Get your sons a couple of Chipmunk stuffed animals (I’m already seeing S and T initial shirts for Halloween). Let them watch the movies. Letting people know you get it and just don’t care will likely stop the comments before they happen. People won’t think the joke is so clever if you beat them to the punch line.
If you just can’t do Theodore, I do I like the suggestion of Theo as a full name. I also really like the suggestion of Milo. Simon & Milo are really cute. I also would not rule out Oliver just because friends used it on their dog. The friends could move or you may find you just aren’t that close to them in a few years. And let’s face it, the dog won’t be around forever. I doubt your adult son will be forever scarred because friends of his parents had a dog with the same name when he was little.
Reading the title of the post I did immediately wonder, “Will the question be about whether people will think of the Chipmunks?” Sigh. They are both such great names. I think calling him Theo could help as well as altering your order of introduction. It seems as if it’s your top choice and I have a strong inclination to advise people to use their top choices, so I lean toward recommending going with Theodore, chipmunks be dammed. But Sebastian seems high on your husband’s list as well, though, and I don’t object to repeating an initial. I also think it’s worth reconsidering names that were eliminated for popularity or because of a friend’s pet’s name. Those don’t seem like deal breakers to me.
I also would stray from using Theodore with Simon. The association is SO strong for me. Maybe kids wouldn’t notice it, but I think fellow parents would and that would bother me. If you decide to go for it, I’d urge you to just use ‘Theo’ and not the longer version. I agree that Theo is getting a LOT of buzz lately, so if popularity is a concern as well, maybe this isn’t the name.
I like the idea of Leo. Leo Scott.
I think Simon and Leo are perfect together.
These days people treat their dogs like children so personally I would not go with with Oliver. While I think a dog is a dog..other people may not see it that way and say “o Oliver like Judy’s dog!” and that would suck because a baby is not a dog.
Both Sebastian and Theodore are very popular here in Southern California. Leo is a great name, sounds similar to Theo, isn’t crazy popular, and solves the chipmunk issue.
Oscar makes me think of Oscar the grouch, which might be more recognizable then the chipmunks.
Names we thought of when having our two boys: Robert, Gabriel, Zachary, Christopher, Jacob… Matthew we ended up with Robert and Carson. Carson was never on the list..long story!
Zachary Scott sounds nice. Simon and Zachary. Simon and Zack. Simon and Leo. Both sound great!
How about Theophilus? The ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ connection will be less pronounced, and it will be easy to respond to those who try to make it anyway.
Theophillus instantly made me think of acidophilus (probiotics) that are on tons of commercials to keep you “regular” and for good “GI health” (although the claims largely have zero evidence to back them.). Anyways not an association that I would like
I totally went to the Chipmunks. And, alas, the movies will mean that your children’s friends will go there, too.
I love Leo as an option.
I know a teenager named Peter and he’s the only one in his high school. He loves his name because everyone recognizes it, but there are very few kids of his own age with the same name. We older people tend to think it’s more popular than it is, so it gets overlooked.
I hate to pile on, but I also immediately thought about the Chipmunks as well. I was somewhat enamored of the poster who suggested that if you need to do the name, why not embrace the connection. Still given this, should I ever have another child, I certainly would take Alvin and Theodore off the table, as I would be unwilling to deal with it.
That said, I am the mother of a Simon (born this year) and would not choose Theodore. Since we have a baby name in common- here are some of my other favorite names:
Gabriel
Abraham
Adam
Tobias
Malcolm
Isaiah
James
Daniel
Gabriel, Abraham, James, Daniel and Adam are all Biblical names, which with Simon might make your family seem quite religious. Still, in our society some of the oldest ‘name’ names are biblical, so you might end up with one anyway.
Tobias and Malcolm would skew more secular and could be a very good sibset with Simon. It does sound like you have other like options, though, so you might go ahead with them.
Simon and Theodore together makes me think of the Chipmunks- I started humming the ‘Dave I want a Hula Hoop” Christmas song as I read Swistle’s post. They recently came out with a series of new Chipmunks movies so I think the association will still be strong amongst the boy’s peer group.
Too chipmunky for me, especially with a last name of Albert, which sounds a lot like Alvin. I like the earlier suggestion of Daniel. Maybe Henry or Edward?
Okay, I didn’t think of the Chipmunks! I knew Alvin and Simon were Chipmunks, but somehow Theodore was lost in the shuffle for me, and prior to reading this I could not have come up with the name of the third rodent brother.
But– I am obviously in the minority, and I agree that you should consider other alternatives.
I’m going to hone in on the dog named Oliver for a second. How close are these friends with the canine Oliver? Are they friends with kids that your kids will play with (meaning they will be less likely to fade out in coming years, and you will see them often)? Are they friends with other close friends of yours, or more like an isolated friend-couple? If they don’t have kids, aren’t your best friends ever, and aren’t friends with other close friends of yours– then Oliver the dog will be isolated, and you should put Oliver back on the table for your son. Also as Swistle pointed out delicately, it is a issue with a “limited number of years”.
Do you like:
Roland
Arthur (Artie is a cute nickname)
Miles
Frederick (Freddie)
Linus
Maxwell
Julian
Peter
Casper
Martin
Good luck!
I thought of the Chipmunks right away, especially with Albert being so close to Alvin. Sorry, this would be a deal breaker for me because I find the theme song so annoying! I know a kid Theo who is just Theo, not Theodore, so you could use that. I also know a baby Theodore who goes by the nickname Teddy, so that’s another option.
My favorite from your list is Sebastian, though. I don’t think 2 kids with the same first initial is too cutesy, especially if they are not twins and have different middle initials. I love Sebastian and think Sebastian Scott sounds adorable.
My kids and my husband’s names all start with R, and mine doesn’t. Some people comment on it, asking me if I feel left out because I’m not an R name (not on purpose, just family names that we liked)….Um, no, I do not feel left out of my own family because of an initial! It’s a weird question.
Also my son’s name is River, and some people will say, “oh, after River Phoenix?” But no, we did not name our child after a druggie teen actor, sorry. All this to say, if you do go with Theo/Theodore, be prepared for Chipmunk comments/questions. And if you do go with matching initials, some people will also comment on that, but neither of these issues should prevent you from using a name you love if you think it is the perfect name for your baby!
Good luck!
The Albert is what tipped me over to thinking of the Chipmunks, because it is so like Alvin.
What about George?
I think I would go with Theo as the full first name. It is the name you want to call him anyway. It lessens the Chipmunk connection. It parallels the two-syllable name of his brother. And Theo Scott H…… flows well.
I like Sebastian and see no problem with two brothers with the same first initial. Sebastian Scott H….. Flows well. I do like the nn Bas. But I prefer Theo on its own and with Simon.
It occurs to me that I also wouldn’t go with, say, Paul as a first name (Paul Simon). Or Scott as a first name instead of a middle (NPR’s Scott Simon). Or Brooks (since your last name is Albert and it would be the reverse of the actor Albert Brooks).
Sebastian doesn’t feel too matchy, especially since it starts with the seh sound instead of the sigh sound.
Wow, I blissfully had no idea the Chipmunks had been regenerated, rebirthed, & reissued. Regurgitated? My first thought upon reading the query was even along the lines of “Such an arcane association…….” But as someone above me already said, clearly I’m in the minority.
We named our 2nd daughter a name we didn’t love but liked a lot, and now she’s 30 and sometimes when I think about her name as just a name, apart from her, it occurs to me that this is still the case: I like her name a lot, but still don’t love it. But this is a kind of strict mental exercise on my part. It’s practically impossible to not associate the name with my beloved daughter. I’m sure someone like Swistle could parse this phenomenon thoroughly, but it seems so immaterial to me even though I love names enough to be following this blog, and aware of what’s hot in different countries & states, etc. And I never wish we’d named her something else. Maybe I’m saying all this because in an overall sense, having a grown daughter with a name that I like a lot but wouldn’t recommend has become liberating for me as a self-defining name nerd–part of an ongoing project of becoming more accepting & moderate as I age. So: don’t worry so much. Every single one of the names you’re considering is a really solid choice, and will soon be the name of someone you dearly love.
I also thought of the Chipmunks connection right away, and for me, that would be enough to turn me off to the name.
Other suggestions of Peter, Daniel, and Tobias are great. I think the name Calvin is a good choice as well. My favorite out of those names is Tobias.
Good luck!
I’ll admit, the first thing my mind jumped to when I heard “Simon and Theodore” was Alving and The Chipmunks, especially since Simon’s middle name is Albert (sounds similar to Alvin). However, I wouldn’t say that’s really a negative association and if you really love the name Theodore I’d say go for it. I also like Swistle’s suggestion of just naming him Theo.
As for the Oliver issue, I can tell you from personal experience that that won’t matter as much as you think it will. My name is Ruby, and there are a surprising number of people who name their pets Ruby. I hear, “Your name is Ruby? That’s my dog/cat/hamster/etc.’s name!” all the time. Usually I just kind of say something like, “Oh, you gave her a great name then!” or (jokingly!) “Aww, you named her after me? That’s so sweet!” and move on. Not a big deal at all! In fact, as a little kid he’ll probably think it’s the coolest thing that he and the dog have the same name.
I have to just vote against some of the suggestions of “Peter”. Simon Peter is the name of Jesus’ disciple. It’s a very strong association for me. Anyone else?
I love Oliver! Maybe with a nickname Ollie to add distance from the dog? Also loved Swistle’s rec of Leo.
I have two friends with boys named Simon. One has another boy named Oscar and the other has a Nigel.
Perhaps you’d like Julian, Felix, Lucian, or Levi.
I don’t have much to add as far as name suggestions, because they all seem like classics that would be good, solid names…..but yes, I did immediately think of the Chipmunks with Simon and Theodore, for what it’s worth!
I’m 8months pregnant with my second. My first’s name is Theodore. My husband and I both love Simon for a boy, but we threw it out because of the chipmunks. They have been around forever and will continue to be…
Also- we get asked the chipmunk question by other kids at play dates all the time ( under five crowd) and that for just a Theodore so kids are definitely still up on the chipmunks.
One last thing- Theodore was 197 when we named our son…looks like it will be in the top 50 this year. That’s a big jump.
No offense, but where are you getting your statistics on Theodore? It was #197 in the USA in 2012, the last year available for SSA statistics. 2013’s stats will be available in a week or two, but I’ll be shocked if Theodore has climbed even into the top 150. There just isn’t a cultural trigger for it (no hit character or celeb baby I can think of). Also some of Theodore’s statistical thunder is inevitably stolen by all the boys being named plain Theo.
Oh and we still don’t have a name for baby number 2- right now our strategy is hope it’s a girl because we have a girl name….
I did immediately think of the Chipmunks, and at first I was going to say at least it will only be a problem with other parents mentioning it, but I forgot there was a new Chipmunks movie recently, so … yeah. I do think introducing them as Simon and Theo will help a little, but not much. Theodore/Theo is a nice name, but it seems like it’s headed for the top of the top ten list in the next year or so. I know SO many new Theodores/Theos/Teddys scattered all over the country. If that bothers you, it’s good to know.
I would like to second (third? fourth? not sure) the comment that Simon and Oliver together are AMAZING, and while it will be funny for the baby to share the name with your friends’ dog, that will not last long, and I don’t think anyone will think you “named the baby after a dog.” Good luck with whatever you choose! Congratulations!
As the mom to a little Simon and a fellow lover of the name Theodore, I feel uniquely qualified to answer this question: NO. My husband and I both loved Theodore, but we took it off our lists for baby #2 because of the Chipmunks. Even though there was nothing else we agreed on.
Baby #2 wound up a girl, but if she’d been a boy, we would have gone with Arthur, nicknamed Archie.
My absolute favorite boy’s name with Simon is Alistair. I never could get my husband on board, but maybe you’ll have better luck.
Other names on our lists were:
Felix
Linus
August
George
Oscar
Dashiell
Elliott
Hope this helps!