Hi Swistle !
I’ve been a devout reader of your naming blog since we were pregnant with our first, who’s 3 now, and would love your advice ! We have two boys, Harrison John (3), who sometimes goes by Harry, and Emmett Matthew (1). We are due with our third, and probably last, in April. Our last name sounds like Walker. We decided not to find out the sex this time, but if it’s a girl she will likely be Hazel Lucille or Hazel Marguerite.
The problem is, we’re having trouble coming up with a third boy’s name we love just as much as Harrison and Emmett. The boy’s middle names are family names, so we will likely go with Paul (after my grandfather) for the middle name this time. The short list of names that both of us like includes, Augustus, Leonard nn Leo (family name), Ezra, and Maxwell nn Max. I find myself obsessing over which name sounds best with Harrison and Emmett, and worrying that none of them “feel right”. Augustus is good, but it just doesn’t feel like THE name. Leonard I like, but I worry it’s too out there and doesn’t fit a squishy little baby. Ezra I like a lot, but it doesn’t seem to flow with our naming style. Maxwell, I like, but worry it’s too popular compared to our other boy’s names. In general I tend to go for more “old fashioned” names.
Maybe you have a suggestion we haven’t thought of ? Some other names I love but we can’t use for various reasons include, Oliver, Thaddeus, Theodore, Bennett, Everett, and Henry. Please help ! Am I over-analyzing simply because naming three boys is hard ? Maybe no name will feel like “the name” as much as I think it will, but April is quickly approaching and there’s no name in sight !
We’re in desperate need of your wisdom :)
This may or may not apply to you, but if it DOES apply, it can be a comfort: When you were searching for your second child’s name, was it hard to find anything you liked as much as your first child’s name? And has that issue now been resolved, and you love both names? I think it is nearly impossible to find a name that measures up to the names of already-born-and-beloved children. The names Harrison and Emmett are no longer NAMES to you: they’re CHILDREN. No name can measure up to that, until it too is a child rather than a name. Instead of looking for a name you like as much as the first two, I suggest making this subtle shift: look for the name you like best of all the available options.
I would be interested in knowing which name is the frontrunner at this point. If I were trying to rank “good,” “like,” “like a lot,” and “like,” my guess would be that Ezra (“like a lot”) is currently your first choice. If I met a sibling group containing Harrison, Emmett, and Ezra, I wouldn’t find the style shift startling: it IS hard to name three boys, and the styles are compatible. I am slightly bothered by the repeated short-E-and-two-syllables of Emmett and Ezra, but not enough to cross Ezra off the list: the other sounds in the names are so different.
Leonard seems like the current second choice. If Leonard seems a little too grown-up for a squeezy little bundle, I’d suggest calling him Leo (as planned) or Lenny until he’s a bit older. Or perhaps another baby nickname will occur naturally. “Cub,” maybe, from leo = lion.
The style gap seems larger to me with Leonard than with Ezra. Ezra, like Harrison and Emmett, is a name currently in style (not high on the charts, but in favor sound- and style-wise), and so all three names feel current. They were also of very similar popularity in 2013: Harrison at #161, Emmett at #173, and Ezra at #143. Leonard is not quite back yet; at #687 and falling, it feels out of step with the others. The nickname Leo brings it back into step, however. Harry, Emmett, and Leo.
“Doesn’t feel like the name” seems to me to take Augustus out of the running. You have probably already considered August, but I’d want to mention it again: it feels more compatible to me than Augustus with the other children’s names. Harrison, Emmett, and August. Nickname Gus if you want it.
I agree that Maxwell feels more popular than Harrison and Emmett, and it IS more popular: Maxwell was at #108 in 2013 and Max was at #111. But they’re not as high as I’d thought.
I wonder if you might like Nathaniel. Perhaps it will be more common than you’d prefer, but I like it with Harrison and Emmett. Nathaniel Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Nathaniel; Harry, Emmett, and Nate.
Or Sebastian. Sebastian Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Sebastian.
This may be a bit further out than you’d like to go, but I thought of Shepard if your surname is not a word. Harrison, Emmett, and Shepard; Harry, Emmett, and Shep.
Or Gabriel, if that’s not too much L with the surname. Harrison, Emmett, and Gabriel.
We were talking on Twitter the other day about the name Russell: a few of us had been pleasantly surprised to encounter it on children. It hits that “familiar yet uncommon” mark nicely, and then all three boys have double letters in their names. But maybe too much L with the surname. Russell Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Russell.
Or Clark, which may or may not be good with the surname. I like the descending syllables of Harrison, Emmett, and Clark.
Or Grant. Harrison, Emmett, and Grant.
Or Gage. Harrison, Emmett, and Gage.
Or Reid. Harrison, Emmett, and Reid.
Or Lincoln. Harrison, Emmett, and Lincoln.
Or Nolan. Harrison, Emmett, and Nolan.
Oliver, Everett, and Henry all tap right into my own name list. I wanted to suggest George (also on that list), but George Harrison may rule that out; I wanted to suggest Elliot, but that seems much too close to Emmett. I wanted to suggest Wesley, but it seems too alliterative with the surname.
Do you like Simon? Simon Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Simon.
Or Louis? I like the pronunciation that sounds like Lewis, and it’s on my Sad I Can’t Use It list. Louis Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Louis. Or maybe that merges too much with the surname.
We liked both Miles and Milo. Miles Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Miles. Milo Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Milo. Again, maybe too much L with the surname, depending on what it is.
Or Calvin? This was a favorite we had to rule out for other reasons. Calvin Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Calvin; Harry, Emmett, and Cal.
Or Malcolm. Malcolm Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Malcolm.
Or Gideon. Gideon Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Gideon.
Or Franklin. Franklin Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Franklin.
Or Frederick. Frederick Walker; Harrison, Emmett, and Frederick.
Name update:
Swistle ! For almost three years, your readers lives have indeed been an exercise in sad unsatisfied futility, in regards to Baby “Walker”. I JUST stumbled upon my own writing this morning when a friend, who is also looking for a suitable sibling name for Emmett, put two and two together and asked if I ever sent a question to Swistle… I couldn’t believe it ! You ended up posting my questions about naming our team green baby, the day before they were born… I was in the hospital for about a week and a half (stalking Swistle because we still hadn’t decided on a boy name) and our little one made their entrance 10 weeks early, the day after you posted our naming conundrum. Our third boy, Brooks Paul, was born 2/17/15, weighing 3 lbs 6 oz. In the end we decided we really wanted to find a name with double letters like Harrison and Emmett (you and a couple commenters both suggested the idea). We found the name while I was in the hospital, and instantly knew it was “the” name. He is a happy and healthy almost-3 year old now, running around like a mad man with his brothers Harrison John and Emmett Matthew. I attached my favorite picture from him in the NICU, about 5 weeks into his stay. Thank you, as always, for your wonderful advice
-Kelcy
I can’t top Swistle’s advice, but I’ll add a reminder on perspective. For most of your kids’ lives, they will not be a set. After they grow up and leave home, few people will even know their other siblings’ names, and they will not think of them as “Harrison, Emmett, and Ezra” or “Harrison, Emmett, and Leo”. What I’m trying to say is– think of your son as the individual he will be, and pick the name you love. I’d add that picking a name that sounds good with your surname really matters more for him in the long run than picking something that sounds good with his siblings’ names. That said, Walker is a very easy surname to work with and all of your choices flow with it! I guess out of the bunch, if I were eliminating any of the boy names based on the flow with Walker, it would be Maxwell. I think Max Walker is great, but Maxwell Walker is a little harder to say. (Or is it?? I can’t make up my mind! Maybe it’s great).
Maxwell Walker doesn’t flow well for me. I like Ezra, Calvin, and Gabriel better.
From your list, my favorite with Emmett & Harrison is Augustus, and I like August even better. There is also Augustine.
Ezra reminds me of other Z names, so perhaps you’d like Zachary or Zachariah or Alezander/Zander? Sebastian with the nickname Baz could also work.
Your list of “like but can’t use” names makes me think of Benedict, Edmund, Samuel, Graham, Rhys & Forrest. I also really like Willam for you, though I suspect it is more popular than you’d prefer. I will also 2nd Swistle’s suggestions of Nathaniel & Sebastian.
Ooh second the Benedict suggestion.
I’m surprised Swistlw didn’t point it out, as she usually notices patterns – but I’m so tempted to continue your names-with-double-letters trend! Harrison, Emmett, and so many of your favorites -Lucille, Everett, Bennett, Thaddeus… For this reason, I’d be pushing Maxwell or Swistle’s Russell or Elliott suggestions… Matthew and William aren’t quite the same style as the siblings, but could work…I’m sure there are plenty others with a double letter, but I’m having trouble thinking of them right now!
Haha Swistle DID point it out! :) Whoops, I missed that on the first read-thru!
My vote would be for Leonard. Leo is perfect for a squishy little baby and is not out there at all, and I’m guessing since it’s a family name for you, part of your hangup is that you currently associate it with somebody else….which seems like it would get less weird with time.
I like Ezra too.
I love Leonard too. I think it could be surprisingly handsome on a little boy. I’m probably the only person who prefers Lenny to Leo, but a baby Lenny sounds pretty adorable. There’s also Leon (lee-awn)
Weston Paul Walker
from your names I like maxwell best
From swistle I like Lincoln
I really like when sibling names are in the same name category.
I don’t think any of the names on your list are style mismatches. I like them in this order: Maxwell, Leonard, Ezra (would be higher if not for the repeated initial), Augustus.
From Swistle’s suggestions, in no particular order I liked Nathaniel, Sebastian, Simon, Grant, Gabriel, & Louis. Also Reed, with that spelling.
How about Basil or Timothy?
Nathaniel Paul Walker! I like the way it sounds and I love the way it looks. It’s a great name.
I have a little Maxwell, and we were also worried about popularity, but we only personally know one other little Maxwell. In contrast, we know four little Gabriels and two Sebastians and three kids named Miles, just drawing names from Swistle’s list. I guess my point is that the popularity wasn’t as big of a deal as we expected, so if you like it go for it.
I also really like Augustus for you.
What about Lucas, James, Micah, Quentin, or Archer? I think my favorite is Lucas — or Luke for short! It sounds very handsome with your other boys’ names.
You can’t name him Luke Walker! Everyone would wonder if his middle name was Sky.
I agree whole-heartedly with Swistle’s suggestions of Lewis and Franklin. Both sound great with Paul and Walker. Your style strikes me as ‘surname-gone-first-name’ without extreme popularity or obscurity. All of the ideas below have two syllables, don’t repeat the other boys’ initials, and don’t share the same ending sounds as your other sons.
Harrison, Emmett, and Irving.
Harrison, Emmett, and Griffin.
Harrison, Emmett, and Duncan.
Harrison, Emmett, and Dixon.
Harrison, Emmett, and Davis.
Harrison, Emmett, and Bradford.
Harrison, Emmett, and Malcolm.
Harrison, Emmett, and Radcliff.
Harrison, Emmett, and Reynold.
Harrison, Emmett, and Roland.
Harrison, Emmett, and Lowell.
Harrison, Emmett, and Sherman.
Harrison, Emmett, and Sterling.
Harrison, Emmett, and Tarquin.
Harrison, Emmett, and Truman.
Harrison, Emmett, and Winston… this might be great with Walker!
Davis and Bradford are perhaps my two favorites with Paul ‘Walker’.
Best wishes as you expect the arrival of your third child! Please let us know what you and your husband pick!
This is an inspired addition to Swistle’s list. I slept on the query, and was going to add Lowell and Winston, too. I hesitated a bit with Lowell because of your two comments, Swistle, about there being “too much L with the surname “. Isn’t the L in “Walker” silent? (It’s possible you have more info than we do…..)
I love the suggestion of Russell–this may be my new favorite boy name.
I’d also add:
Harrison, Emmett and Anton.
Harrison, Emmett and Dominic.
Harrison, Emmett and Pascal.
Harrison, Emmett and Tillman.
Yes: I can see the surname in the email address.
A few other options: I was thinking Lennon or Lennox instead of Leonard. (I think of the Big Bang Theory with that name.) And I was thinking Monroe instead of Maxwell. Good luck!
My personal favorite from your list would be Leonard, nn Len or Lenny. Not sure if you would consider it, but in Europe, the alternate spelling of Lennart is quite popular, I know several Lennarts. This spelling might go well with Emmett and Harrison, and it feels a bit more modern to me.
What about Magnus?!
Dashiell would be my top choice with Harrison and Emmett.
Others:
Declan
Owen
Julian nn Jude
Asher
Silas
Alaric
Flynn
Beckett
Evander nn Van
Callum
Elias nn Eli
Ooh, how about Leon? One of my friends named her son Leon, and he’s really grown into the name. I love how he’s the only Leon we know, but it’s still a recognizable and classic name.
What about Mitchell? Has a similar feel as Maxwell, but is nowhere near as popular right now, and has the great nickname Mitch.
Mitchell Paul Walker
Harrison, Emmett and Mitchell sound soooo great together!
All the best!