Hi Swistle,
We are expecting our first baby (gender unknown) next year. Our surname is Jorge (pronounced like the Western version, or the royal baby’s name).
We have our girl’s name chosen and locked in – it was a very easy decision. It will be “Eva.” Partially because we like the sweet, classic simplicity; and partially because it is a name found in my family a handful of generations back. If we have a boy now, and our second child is a girl, the name will still be “Eva.” We are unlikely to have a third child at this stage.
Boy’s names are much more difficult for us, and we are at a standstill. I have a few names I like, but my husband isn’t really “into” any of them – and he doesn’t really have any suggestions of his own. Some contenders (at least on my end!) are:
Alistair (my absolute favourite)
Toby/Tobias
Lucas
Laurence
Rory
Blythe
Arthur
Henry
SebastianWe are looking at middle names that begin with ‘R’, to continue an ongoing prevalence of ‘R’ names in both his and my families.
He doesn’t mind “Arthur”, and neither do I. It’s a family name; my great-grandfather, whom I knew and loved, was called Arthur, and it would be lovely to offer a tribute to him. Whilst I can see it being a cute name for a little boy, and old-fashioned names are making a come-back, I can’t decide whether it is a difficult name for a child, a teenager or a grown man to carry in this day and age. Do you think it is flexible enough to work, or still too borderline?
I also love the name “Blythe” (having been a life-long fan of Anne of Green Gables and therefore “Gilbert Blythe”) but I am told it’s more of a girl’s name now. This puzzles me, as I don’t know any girls with this name, and it sounds like a masculine name to me. Is it really a name most commonly associated with girls? Or is it still a unisex name?
Can you help us with any suggestions for our conundrum? We have trawled through baby name books and have found very few names that appeal to us.
Thank you!
I don’t think I know anyone named Arthur (other than PBS’s cartoon aardvark), which makes it hard to judge. But my immediate impression was positive. If I encountered it on a child, I think I’d find it an appealing and surprising choice, along the lines of Alan or Warren, but with a hint of the romance of King Arthur. I would definitely expect it to age well, and in fact I would think the concern would be something more like “We think this works great on a man, but does it work on a little boy?” (To which I’d say “Yes!”)
I was startled by the idea of Blythe for a boy: it was Gilbert Blythe’s surname, but as far as I knew it had only ever been used as a first name for girls—as in, not that it has come to be used mostly for girls, but that it had never been used for boys. I looked it up in The Oxford Dictionary of First Names, which says only that it’s a modern name from the word blithe; they have it listed as a girl’s name. I was not sure what a book like the Oxford Dictionary would consider “modern,” so I started looking through the Social Security Administration’s data base.
The name Blythe has never been in the Top 1000 for either boys or girls. Using their “Beyond the Top 1000” documents, I started way back at 1880 (the first year of the data bases): no Blythes, either male or female. I skipped to 1900: no Blythes. In 1904, we see it: 6 new baby girls named Blythe. But then no Blythes in the data base for 1905-1911 (which doesn’t mean there were none, just that there were fewer than 5). Now we’ve hit Gilbert Blythe territory: Anne of Green Gables was first published in 1908. In 1912, there are 5 new baby girls named Blythe; none in 1913-1914. In 1915, there were 11 new baby girls and 5 new baby boys named Blythe; none in 1916. In 1917, 10 new baby girls and 5 new baby boys. Let’s start going by five-year increments now:
1920: – F, – M
1925: – F, – M
1930: 7 F, – M
1935: 11 F, – M
1940: 8 F, – M
1945: 8 F, 5 M
1950: 22 F, – M
1955: 16 F, – M
1960: 22 F, – M
1965: 26 F, – M
1970: 50 F, – M
1975: 66 F, – M
1980: 47 F, – M
1985: 84 F, – M
1990: 73 F, 5 M
1995: 46 F, 5 M
2000: 60 F, 11 M
2005: 79 F, 8 M
2010: 85 F, 5 M
And in 2013, the most recent data: 172 F, 7 M.
I’m a little suspicious of the accuracy of the data, especially in the earlier years: in 1935, for example, there were 41 new baby boys named Elizabeth, 72 named Margaret, and 276 named Mary; were there really, or are these entry errors? But we can see it appears there has been some very light usage of Blythe as a boy’s name, though overall it has been used for girls; it has always been a very unusual name.
I am intrigued instead by the possibility of Gilbert. Most of the -bert names are out of fashion right now, but I would not be surprised to see them coming back in. The Anne of Green Gables association is quite a positive one, giving the name an extra boost of likeability. Gilbert Jorge.
Rory Jorge has a little too much “or” sound for my own tastes, but I like it as a middle name possibility. There are tons of other good R names, too: Robert, Russell, Ryan, Rufus, Riley, Rhys, Reid/Reed, Reuben, Roland.
I think the next step is for your husband to go through a name book and make his own list. It’s hard to make progress if he’s saying “eh” about your choices but doesn’t have any counter-offers. If he made his list and it were, for example, Cody and Rylan (or Eric and Brian, or Max and Jack, or Stanton and Hollis), we’d know what we were dealing with and could start making some middle-ground suggestions.
Name update:
We went on to have our little girl – Ev@. Thank you again for your suggestions!
I adore both Gilbert and Arthur. I think they work quite beautifully together, too—hi, I’d like you to meet my boys, Gilbert and Arthur Jorge. Or, meet Gilbert and Eva. This is Arthur and Eva.
Definitely against Blythe on a boy. But Eva Blythe is rather sweet.
I know a little baby called Arthur, I think it works and it’s nicknameable if you want too.
Blythe would make me think girl every time.
Gilbert’s cute, Tobias, Sebastian and Henry are my favourites on your list.
For a more recent and well known Blythe, Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother. That’s my only point if reference so I immediately thought girl.
Yes this. She is a pretty well-known actress, in addition to being Paltrow’s mother, so I would imagine to a lot of people it would ring as a girl name.
Yep. Definitely Blythe Danner came to mind. But Gilbert/Gil would be soo sweet. Especially with a sister Eva.
I’m with everyone that has said that Blythe sounds more like a girls name. I have never met any Blythes but there was one on the USA show Royal Pains (older lady).
How about Albert, Prescott, Harris (or Harrison), Bennett, or Charles?
You’ll have to go name by name to match up an R middle name.
I agree that Blythe is a girl’s name. I’m not exactly sure why it is seen as “more girl” — the only idea I could think of is it’s meaning of “cheerful/merry.” Those meanings seem to go more toward “girl” names while names about strength/bravery/etc. go more toward boy? There were also these (maybe slightly) creepy dolls that some still collect called Blythe Dolls: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blythe_%28doll%29
I grew up with an Arthur who went by Art. Would Art and Eva appeal to you?
Part of me loves Gilbert because of the Gilbert Blythe character, but then I’ve noticed a lot of guys associate the name with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape rather than Anne of Green Gables, and I’m not sure how I feel about that association.
I have a two year old girl Blythe! And I fell in love with it for the same reasons- Anne of Green Gables + pregnancy hormones = big crush on Gilbert Blythe. I would absolutely use Gilbert, but I my husband vehemently vetoed, so I campaigned for a girl named Blythe. We love her name, and have tonnes of compliments. Swistle, I wonder how the data for the spelling Blithe stacks up? Only because we know another girl spelled with an ‘i’, and that’s how the actual word is spelled. I am THRILLED to see all the info on the name, as I’ve known it’s out of the top 1000 and was unsure how to get real data beyond that- so thank you!
I also love Arthur, I think it’s completely usable. Or, if you like Tobias, maybe Tobin?
Good question! I did a quick “every 10 years” search for it in the data base, but didn’t find it used at all in any of the years I checked (1900, 1910, 1920, etc., through 2010). It must have been used SOME, but not enough to show up in the broad scan for it.
No pregnancy hormones are required for a big crush on Gilber Blythet! My husband is now against the name (names) unfortunately because he knows why I like them so much.
I too love Gilbert Blythe, and while I don’t objectively love the name Gilbert, I do love the nickname Gil. The character and the nickname are enough to make seriously consider the name. I actually quite like the combo Gilbert Arthur Jorge. I know Arthur doesn’t begin with an R, but it does begin as though you’re saying the letter R …
I really like all the names on your list; the only one that I would cross off as perhaps “not like the others” in terms of style/feel and not the best match as a brother for Eva is Rory. It’s one of my personal favorites but feels less formal/more sprightly than your other choices, and I agree with Swistle that Rory Jorge is “or” heavy. The repeating sounds in Laurence Jorge, however, are quite pleasing to me, despite the fact that Rory and Laurence have the some emphasis and number of syllables. (Or do you say LAW-rence? I say it LORE-ence.)
Blythe has always been a girl’s name to me as well.
I immediately think of Gilbert Grape when I hear Gilbert, but then I love the nickname Gill for its ‘Finding Nemo’ connection. I think it’s usable. Arthur is one of my favorite boy names – so regal and powerful, even on the playground!
I know a baby girl Blythe who is nearly a year old and she is just so sassy that now the name takes on that sass for me. I would be startled if I heard it on a boy.
I agree you probably need to get some suggestions from your husband, but i do like your list. i think Arthur would be good for all ages. Unlike Swistle I like Rory with Jorge, I also think Tobias Jorge has a pleasing sound. I’ve only known one Blythe. A woman who would be in her 30s now. Would you like Blake? It’s used for girls, too, but I think it’s unisex. And Gilbert is an interesting idea. Gil would be a cute nickname.
Just a shout out for Laurence on your list. I’ve mulled over this name a lot and think it’s ready for a dashing comeback. Such a flexible name. Forget Larry, go with Ren (the R name tradition) or Lars or Laurie (Little Women not AoGG but still!) as nicknames. Laurence and Eva sounds Old Hollywood adorable to me.
I love your choice of Eva and think Eva Blythe is lovely.
I would not use Blythe for a boy.
Alistair is a great choice. If your husband can’t get on board with it, think about what you love about that name and look for something that has similar characteristics. Arthur is similar but have you considered ,
Angus, Andrew, Archibald, Stuart, Simon, or Graham.
I do like Gilbert as a choice. However, you could also go with Gables as name to reflect your love of the books.
Other boys names I like with Eva include Arlo, Otto, Eric, Owen, Silas, and Jonas.
I like the name Arthur Jorge! I think it is very appealing on a baby, toddler, teen and adult! I like that someone also suggested that you can use nicknames, Art, Arty, etc.
For what it’s worth, I have a list of baby names that are what I would use for a possible child and some that are just interesting that i have never heard of before that I wouldn’t use personally but happen to be somewhat fond of. Here those are for your possible consideration:
Anvy
Dmitri
Cortlund
Bradford
Bevin
Dougrey
Fenric
Irwin
Hadrian
Gareth
Japeth
Furian
Baxter
For possible middle names:
Randall – Arthur Randall Jorge
Rayne- – Arthur Rayne Jorge
Radley – Arthur Radley Jorge
What can possibly be wrong or inappropriate with using Blythe as a name for a boy? We hear all the time on this blog of parents seriously considering Emerson, Eliot, Parker, etc. for their baby girls’ first names, yet when this possibility arises for a boy, we lose our collective nerve? (just saying…..)
Well, OK. I love your idea of Laurence–immediately recognizable, classic, and under sung. Plus you could call him Ren or Laurie, adorable on a little boy, very Alcott. I also love Alistair–so elegant and sophisticated. Overall, I’d say the “safest” names on your list are Henry & Lucas.
But how to tease your husband into thinking about names? We’re grandparents now, names aren’t one of his stronger interests, yet even he enjoys reading all the names in the credits at the end of films. And often both of us are introspective at the end of a film, not quite ready to let it go, and reading all the names together and saying the ones that jump out at us has become a kind of hobby, a way to come back gently.
Great point! I, too, immediately think girl when I hear Blythe, but given that there aren’t all that many Blythe’s of either gender running around, why not use it for a boy?
I love the name Eva.
I like Arthur, but the fact that it ends in R can blur into an R middle name.
Raphael is one of my favorite R names. Russell is also nice.
Laurence Raphael Jorge (Laurence and Eva brings to mind some old fashioned movie romance)
Henry Raphael Jorge; Henry and Eva
Tobias/Toby Raphael Jorge; Toby and Eva
Lucas Raphael Jorge; Lucas and Eva
Suggestions:
Felix Raphael Jorge; Felix and Eva
Gavin Raphael Jorge; Gavin and Eva (too matchy with the V’s?)
Cody Raphael Jorge; Cody and Eva
Callum Raphael Jorge; Callum and Eva
Liam Raphael Jorge; Liam and Eva
Noah Raphael Jorge; Noah and Eva
Marcus Raphael Jorge; Marcus and Eva
Samuel Jorge (Raphael wouldn’t work well); Sam and Eva
Alternatives to Alistair:
Alfred Raphael Jorge; Alfred and Eva
Alexander Raphael Jorge; Alex and Eva or Zander and Eva (also has the R issue though)
Alexi Raphael Jorge; Alexi and Eva
Alan Raphael Jorge; Alan and Eva
Albert Raphael Jorge; Albert and Eva
Raphael is also one of my favourites! As is Raphaella for a girl. :)
I think Arthur is a charming name and carries well on someone of all ages.
What about Oliver? Or Oscar or Arlo?
What about Otto? For some reason Otto and Eva sound so charming to me. Short and sweet and classically male/female names. Love this combination.
I also really like Henry (my husband vetoed it for us too…) and I also like Henrik for a bit of a flair.
Other names on our short list:
Charles. In your case, I think Charlie flows better into your last name.
Simon
Luc
Theodore.
Louis or Louie
Walter. I think a little Walt is so charming.
I also agree with everyone else, that if I heard the name Blythe I would automatically assume it was a girl. I do like the suggestion of Gilbert though. A little Gil is so uncommon that it seems so fresh.
Good luck!!
I love your style of naming so I felt inclined to comment. I also love Anne of Green Gables and recently found myself pondering the name Blythe and also assumed it to be male because it looks and sounds so to me and is also a surname. It however is considered female. The only reason I can think why that may be is because even before its use as a surname it was a part of speech, for example a literary reference of a blythe spirit (it means happy and care free). Although its meaning is neither female nor male it seems that many qualities are more suited for girl names than boys. However I find it unusual that it never was traditionally used as a boys name as surnames usually are and then stolen for the girls. It just skipped this and went straight to girls but as Swistle pointed out was never really popular. Regardless, I do not feel that it fits well with your last name. I also do not think that Rory or Laurence sound well with it either and I feel that Rory goes as well with the name Eva as a sibset. I do however like all of the other names and would make the hubby give them a second (or 3rd or 4th) look until he either likes one or comes up with one of his own that you also like.
I know a Blythe (female) in real life, and then I think of Blythe Danner immediately. I love the name, but based on those two it definitely skews female for me. That said, it may be rare enough that you can get away with it on a boy.
I like Arthur and along the same lines, Walter. Laurence is sweet, but only if you’re okay with the nickname Larry, it’s not inevitable – but a definite possibility . I love Eva and a lot of the others on your list, so I’ll share some of my favorite boy names. We have a Julian, but I also advocated for Henry, Simon, Elliott, and Isaac. Isaac Jorge is particularly handsome, I think.
Blythe is all girl to me. Like other posters, I also thought of actress Blythe Danner.
Arthur is adorable and I think it grows up quite well. In fact, I would be more considered about it seeming too serious on a little one. However, I think Art & Artie give it some flexibility in that area. I also like how it is almost an R name, since it starts with that sounds.
I agree Rory is too much R for your last name. Perhaps Rowan or Ronan instead?
If you are set on Eva for a girl (and prefer for sibling names to coordinate in style) my favorites from your list are Arthur, Henry, Lucas & Toby/Tobias.
On class lists etc where they are listed by surname then first name, it may sound when read out loud as if George is your son’s first name. Your husband can no doubt tell you if this is a problem or not. But there are some names on your list I would avoid because of this. Especially Lucas.
haha, I just realized that Lucas Jorge would be “George Lucas” backward!
The name Gilbert Jorge makes me think of the British visual/performance artists Gilbert & George (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_%26_George). Depending on your familiarity with Post-War British art this may or may not be an issue but I think it is important to consider!
I love Blythe on a boy- there was one in a recent announcement on ‘waltzing more than Matilda’. It’s a great choice, fresh and bright. One thing to consider is whether you will pronounce it with the ‘th’ sound from ‘the’ or ‘three’, as I believe most use the latter but the former may be the correct prounciation of blithe. (Happy to be corrected if I have that wrong).
Good luck!
My 8 year old is Gilbert, named for Gilbert Blythe (swoon!!) We call him Gilly mostly, but also Gil and Gills.
We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on his name. We love it!
I love another poster’s suggestion of Randall for a mn! Of your favorites, Henry, Alistair, Lucas, Arthur, and Laurence seem to go best with Eva. The alternate spellings Lawrence and Blithe look more masculine to me.
There’s something appealing about Jasper Jorge. Jasper and Eva would be a great sib set, too!
Franklin Jorge would be nice as well. Frank and Eva… that has an old Hollywood feel to it!
As for unusual middle names: Roosevelt, Ripkin, Roy, Rook, Reeve, or Ragnar.
Best wishes as you anticipate the arrival of your child! Please let us know what you decide!
Blythe is totally a girl name to me because of the dolls, which are now part of the Littlest Pet Shop stuff. I think she’s on the cartoon too. My 7 year old has the doll & watched the show, and I think it’s all girl for kids in her generation.
Wow, thank you everybody for your amazing feedback and comments! You raise some excellent points (both positive and constructive) and it has been very helpful.
I hadn’t really contemplated the idea of using “Gilbert” but hearing your feedback has made me really consider it as an option.
I’d forgotten about a handful of other names I like – I was then reminded of them by a couple of your comments!
– Callum
– Angus
– Albert
It was great to hear them suggested as it gives me confidence to put them back in the “to-consider” list.
I think many of you are right, “Rory” may not flow perfectly with “Jorge.”
To the commenter who mentioned about the Little Women connection with “Laurie” as a nickname for “Laurence” – absolutely! That’s the nickname I’d aim for, as I also adore that movie :)
Swistle, thanks for your response to this email and your advice! Really appreciate it.
As a note, the first-born son’s middle name is likely to be “Reuben” (a family name). I forgot to mention that part.
I will keep you all posted on our decision! Thanks again! :)
New to this site, but had to chime in that we had a baby Arthur this year, and only know one other Arthur (30 yrs his senior). Our son is Arthur Edmund. We also seriously considered:
Arthur Emmett
Arthur Reuben (didn’t like the back-to-back R’s)
Arthur Solomon
Arthur Samuel
Arthur Walden
Wow, I know one of the 47 lady-Blythes born in 1980! I feel so special for some reason.
Based on your spelling of “favourite” are you in the UK? I’m not sure if we can get UK name data (I’m sure we can I just never tried) but that may give you an idea of how some of these names (Blythe in particular) are seen there.