Hello! We are very excited about our 2nd child. We are naming the baby Welles regardless if it is a boy or a girl. For a girl we like Welles Katherine or Welles Kate but we are totally stumped for a boy middle name. For our first, we used Pierce Robert. Our last name is Johnston. What do you think? Baby is due in spring!
It looks to me as if you may like classic/traditional middle names: your first son’s middle is Robert, and your middle name choice for a girl this time is Katherine. (I prefer Welles Katherine to Wells Kate, rhythm-wise and also because I get a little bit of Well Skate run-together.) Are Robert and Katherine honor names? If so, that’s where I’d look for a boy’s middle name.
If they’re not honor names, then I’d start by looking for names of a similar style. I was combing through possibilities and none seemed quite right until I came to Welles Henry Johnston. That’s my favorite. More possibilities:
Welles Frederick Johnston
Welles Philip/Phillip Johnston
Welles Thomas Johnston
A middle-name-finding strategy I used for my own kids’ names was to go through the baby name book saying each combination rapidly in my head and seeing if any stood out: Welles Aaron Johnston, Welles Abel Johnston, Welles Abraham Johnston, and so on. Not taking a long time over it or even necessarily trying each possibility carefully/individually, just sort of skimming fast while saying Welles ____ Johnston over and over, and seeing what felt like it clicked into place. I didn’t go through the whole name book, but a few that stood out to me:
Welles Alexander Johnston
Welles David Johnston
Welles Davis Johnston
Welles Douglas Johnston
Welles Gilbert Johnston
Welles Griffith Johnston
Welles Hugo Johnston
Welles Kenneth Johnston
Welles Leonard Johnston
Welles Lucas Johnston
Welles Matthew Johnston
Welles Michael Johnston
Welles Nicholas Johnston
Welles Patrick Johnston
Welles Russell Johnston (a little L/S heavy?)
Welles Theodore Johnston
Welles Timothy Johnston
I absolutely love several of these combinations! Very strong options. Welles Thomas, Welles Patrick, Welles Michael.. but my favorite is Welles Henry!
Loving Welles Patrick… Go for it!
My favorite hands down is Welles Thomas. Good luck!
I like anything with three syllables here, to vary the rhythm.
Welles Oliver
Welles Madison
Welles Anthony
Welles Nicholas
Welles Jeremy
Welles William
Welles Phinnaeus
I love both Pierce and Welles!
I also prefer Welles Katherine. Welles Kate kind of sounds like the name of a roller skating rink to me.
Welles August
Welles Milo
Welles Thomas
Welles Franklin
FWIW I know a W3lls (that spelling) in real life, with a last name similar to yours in syllables and style, and his middle name is Jam3s. Though I prefer middle names with more than one syllable with Welles because it’s only one syllable, I’ve always thought my friend’s first-middle combo is handsome. Additionally, James is similar in sound and length to Kate, so it already fits into what you’ve noted you like, and it’s similar in style to your older son’s middle name.
For a girl, I like Welles Katherine the best, both for flow and because it allows you to use Welles Kate as a nn if you wanted, which is sweet, and lets you have both of your options.
How do you pronounce Welles??
I have a Wells (boy) and his middle name is Robert (family name).
Pronounced Wells :) had only seen it with an extra e but I like Wells too! And I love Tobert but that is our first son’s middle name:)
Sorry meant Robert. Typing from airplane!
I would go with something clearly not a last name, like Richard.
Welles Elijah Johnston
Welles Lewis Johnston
Welles Nicholas Johnston
Welles Owen Johnston
Welles Simon Johnston
Welles Thomas Johnston
I seem to like a 1-2-2 or a 1-3-2 pattern best. And I’m drawn to repeating the s ending of the first name or the n from the end of the last name at the end of the middle name.
2 more:
Welles Nathaniel Johnston
Welles Timothy Johnston
I agree that Welles needs a 2+ syllable middle name. Welles Katherine gets my vote, and for a boy I’m loving Welles Frederick, Welles Matthew, and Welles Theodore. What about Welles Evander?
I love Welles Richard! Welles Evander sounds cool too, as does the similar but more traditional Welles Alexander. I also love Welles Katherine for a girl!
I think Welles Katherine is very sweet, and I think other traditional names would work well as a middle:
Welles Olivia
Welles Elizabeth
Welles Meredith
For a boy, I love the suggestion of Welles Matthew. I also think these combination would be nice:
Welles Philip
Welles Broderick
Welles Everett
Welles Gabriel
Welles Malachi