Dear Swistle,
I’ve enjoyed your blogs for years, though I’d never pictured myself needing to write to you for baby-naming help until my husband and I started talking more seriously about names when we found out we were pregnant with our first (and probably only) this fall. He had plenty of girl names that he loved, but exactly ZERO boy names that he even liked (he briefly considered the name Vaughn when he saw it somewhere, but that passed, and I wasn’t a fan), and none of the many boy names that I suggested sounded any good to him either. So when we had the option of finding out our baby’s sex when we did one of the non-invasive cell-free fetal DNA blood tests at 10 weeks we agreed we wanted to know so that we could either give up on looking at boy’s names or buckle down and find some. And we learned that we’re expecting a boy!
After a couple months of looking for new names and lobbying for ones that my husband initially shot down that I still like and think work well with our last name (Henry, Calvin, Paul, Peter, Ian, Lloyd, Grant), asking friends and family for fresh ideas, etc, I’ve found ONE new name that has caught our eyes: Asher. When I first found it on a list of names from the Bible (we’re not religious, but I know there are lots of names in there) I had no idea it had made lists of “top” or “most-searched” baby names recently (yours is the only baby-naming blog I follow, and I was never looking for a most-popular-type name so those were not the sort of lists I’d been searching for). When we realized we should pay more attention to the SSA’s list, we were both shocked to find out some of the names that we thought of as uncommon that are actually top-10 names right now, like Liam. We have a few friends with kids but most are child-free, so we don’t know a ton of babies right now, and we’re reluctant to ask our friends about how much they’re seeing the name Asher around here (Chicago area), as we’d like to keep the baby’s name under wraps until he’s born. We don’t want to pick a name that will be very popular very briefly and then sound very dated, so we wouldn’t want to use Asher if we find out in May that it skyrocketed to the Top 10 last year, but our son is due in June and I don’t want to be falling in love with this name for him for the next few months and then have to switch gears and scramble for another option a few weeks before he’s born, so I’d really like to have at least one more name on our list soon. I know you are not interested in trying to predict the future popularity of a name, but you’re so aware of trends and have seen how names on these most-searched lists have gone before, so I hope you could consider this opportunity to 1. address the trendiness of the name Asher and 2. help us find at least one more name that we somehow haven’t found yet.
My husband is David/Dave, I’m R3n3 (yes, with only one e after the n, my parents had no idea they were giving me a masculine name, it was the early 70’s and they thought they were being creative by putting one e at the end instead of two; they actually also put an apostrophe after the e on my birth certificate/Social Security card and my family continues to use the apostrophe to this day, though I dropped it in my 20’s). Because he has a common name, he’s turned off by names like Henry/Peter/Paul because he thinks of them as too common (I’ve pointed out that a kid named Paul today would never encounter as many Pauls as Dave (born in the early 70’s) encounters Daves; he also has another reason to not want Paul so it’s definitely out, but he still uses the too-common reason against Henry). Because I’ve had to deal with an uncommon, wrong-gender name, with an apostrophe at the end of it (and I won’t even get into the pairing of that with my very unusual and difficult to spell/pronounce Polish maiden name), I’m drawn to names that are easily recognizable as (in this case boy) names and have only one expected spelling. Asher is actually an outlier for me, but there is something about it that I am really liking, and it is the only name my husband likes (though he is also now on the fence about Calvin).
Our only other rules are that names that end in an s sound unfortunately don’t work with $utherl@and (ie Curtis, Felix), and all B names are out because of the initials BS. Ideally we wouldn’t use a name that starts with D or R, since we do like to use our initials, but as hard as it is to find a name at this point, that would not be a deal-breaker. Something about Calvin doesn’t sound perfect with the last name (maybe the EN/IN sound at the end with the AN sound in the last name?), the names that sound best to me have one or two syllables and totally different sounds from what’s in our last name, but at this point I’m trying to make as few rules as possible. We have no family names we want to use. I like John but we have too many adults in our life with that name, friends have used Jude and Oscar so those are out, other friends have chosen such unusual names that I’m not even worried you’ll suggest them. We’ll choose a middle name after we have a first name, might go with Michael (for a dear friend of mine who passed), but finding our kid a first name is our primary concern.
Thanks for reading, we’d really appreciate your and your readers’ help, and we promise to send an update with a photo as soon as the baby is born!
R.
Oh shoot, I just remembered one more rule is that the first name has to work with the last initial S. We ran into this with the name Levi, where the S forces you to think of the jeans– Levi S.
If I think to myself, “What are my impressions of the name Asher?,” here’s what I’ve got, in the order they come to mind:
1. A revived biblical name, along the lines of Ezra and Elias and Noah. Added benefit of not sounding particularly biblical, for those who would prefer to avoid that.
2. A “stealth popular” name: feels very unusual but there are a surprising number of them.
2b. But is #2 true, or is that something I read as a prediction? Because I don’t know any Ashers at all still. I asked the kids, and they don’t know any Ashers either. Maybe this was one of those names that created a lot of buzz but that’s all.
3. A next-generation name, as when we still like the sound of a name but it also feels dated or overused, so we try to find something that is similar yet different. Madison and Madelyn lead to Addison and Adalyn, for example; or, when Emma and Ella feel too popular, people look for other names starting with Em- and El-. I wonder if Asher came into fashion because we were not quite done with the name Ashley, combined with the celebrity of Ashton Kutcher, combined with the search for biblical revival names. It feels both fresh and familiar, a lovely combination; plus it has those long roots, so it isn’t an invented or overly modern name.
4. The -er ending makes it fit well with the surname style and the occupational-name style, both of which are in fashion now.
With a list like this, where I’d start is with 2b: IS Asher very popular? I feel like those “hottest search” lists can save parents from the mistaken impression that they are the only ones to think of the name, but they can also panic parents unnecessarily: the names people are interested in or want to talk about are not necessarily the names they use for their children. “Hotness” is difficult to translate into usage numbers. So, let’s look at the actual data for the name Asher:
(screen shot from SSA.gov)
The name was in very light, barely-Top-1000 use back in the 1880s and for one year in the 1890s (I haven’t included that part in the screen shot because that makes a lonnnng chart). The name then dropped out of the Top 1000 until it popped up again in 1983 and 1985; it came back and stayed back starting in 1992. Since then, you can see it has made significant progress up the chart—but not at a speed I’d describe as breakneck: it took more than two decades to go from virtually-unused to nicely-familiar.
I am always interested to see where a name STOPS. Many, many names come roaring into fashion, and that doesn’t scare me a bit: that’s how names WORK. We use one batch for awhile, and then a new batch becomes more appealing and we switch to those: I don’t even WANT to use a name that doesn’t sound nice to the current ear. But where the name STOPS is a very interesting and potentially important detail. A name might come into fashion and keep going until it gets to #1, as names such as Emma, Sophia, Isabella, Noah, and Jacob did, each at their own pace. Or a name might come into fashion and then hang around in the 100s or 200s ranks, where it is familiar but still unusual.
The name Asher has spent the last few years just sort of hovering: #113 in 2011, then #108 in 2012, then #104 in 2013. When the 2014 data comes out in May, I’ll be interested to see if it’s at, say, #106, or if it’s made the jump into the Top 100, or if it even ends up at, say, #128. I wouldn’t expect it to be in the Top 10.
One appealing feature of very old names is that it’s hard to apply the word “trendy” to them even if they become very popular, or even if they can be said to be part of a trend (such as the “hip biblical” trend). It’s similar to clothing fashions: even if navy blue blazers are considered particularly fresh and stylish one spring, and even if “nautical prep” is listed as a trend, it doesn’t feel quite right to use the word “trendy” for the blazer. For something to be trendy, there needs to be a flash-in-the-pan element, and that’s difficult to use when something has been in and out of the pan for thousands of years.
When parents have a too-long list and want to find ways to pare it down, I start looking harder at surname compatibility and the flow of the name. But when parents have a too-short list, I shift priorities. Calvin $utherl@nd sounds fine to me: I see what you mean about its possible imperfections, but I see the imperfections here as non-deal-breaking, and the name has so many things going for it that I’d keep it on the list.
Same with Felix and Curtis. I like names not to run together too much, but those don’t cross my “too much” line with $utherl@nd. One thing I look for is whether the run-together/blend matters at all. That is, are we talking the classic example of Ben Dover, where we really don’t want our child called Bend Over? Or is it more a case where two letters create a slight issue in the mouth when we transition from the one to the other, and it’s nothing embarrassing or upsetting? For me, Calvin, Felix, and Curtis all fall well within the second category with $utherl@nd: I’d be well willing to accept the minor imperfections (if they even ARE imperfections).
Here is an exercise I found exceedingly helpful. Do you have any yearbooks lying around? (I choose yearbooks rather than, say, the credits at the end of a movie, because I find the photos make things even clearer for me; but if you don’t have a yearbook, film credits or phone books or employee directories work well too.) If you do have a yearbook, page through one and look at the names. Notice how many of them are not perfect—and how little it matters in most cases. Once the name is attached to a person, most of them just seem like regular names, even if you can find things less than ideal about them. Jacob Butterfield kind of buh-buhs, I guess, but it just seems like a name. Evan Dylan is definitely one I could have advised against, and yet when it’s on a ninth grader it just doesn’t seem to matter very much. Calvin $utherl@nd and Felix $utherl@nd might not have even caught my eye with this exercise, let alone alarmed me or made me wonder what the parents were thinking.
I was already wondering if I should encourage your husband to reconsider Ian, and then I used the example of Evan Dylan in the previous paragraph; those two things together made me wonder if Evan might be a nice one to add to the list: it’s a little like Ian from your list, and a little like your husband’s former name-crush Vaughn, and a little like Calvin. Evan $utherl@nd.
Or Gavin. Gavin $utherl@nd.
I don’t suppose I could talk you into Harvey? I’ve loved it since Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Similar to Henry, but much less common. Harvey $utherl@nd.
I also suggest Karl. It’s a name I haven’t had much luck promoting, but I still think it’s worth a try. Karl $utherl@nd.
Name update!
Dear Swistle,
Thank you again for your and your readers’ help back in February when my husband and I were considering Asher for our son’s name. After several weeks of feeling like his name was going to either be Asher or Calvin, we both lost interest in both of those names, neither seemed right. So I started reintroducing names that I had liked but had been shot down early on, and this time the name Ev@n suddenly struck us both as just right. When looking for a middle name, it occurred to my husband that Ev@n had two letters from each of our names, so he used an anagram generator to see if there might be a middle name that used the rest too, and it turned out that we loved the middle name that we found for him that way. I’m pleased to report that two weeks ago we welcomed our dear Ev@n ®eed into the world!
I agree with Swistle’s analysis of Asher. I think that it may be talked about quite a bit, but it’s not used too often. I have 2 young sons, and I don’t know a single Asher. I think it’s a great name.
I also agree with her comments about Felix et al (I like Felix best out of the names listed). It’s so minor that I wouldn’t really consider it problematic enough to cross a name off your list that you really like. I’d even say the say for Levi, although that may be a matter of opinion.
The only other name I’d mention is Arlo. For some reason, both Asher and Levi remind me of Arlo, so maybe you’d like that.
Good luck!
Just a data point: I knew an Asher in school (born ~1980) and don’t know any kids named Asher now, so it doesn’t seem too trendy or popular to me at all. I really like it and think it sounds like just the right combination of recognizable and traditional for you. (My son is two and has one of the names from your list that your husband shot down towards the beginning of your letter.)
I do know a young Asher, but he lives in the UK! I can say, however, that the name is beyond adorable on him! It was as a baby and it is now as he’s starting Pre-K.
You didn’t discuss the meaning of Asher so I don’t know if that is a concern, but it means happy which I think is lovely! My husband and I are expecting and we both love Asher but not with our surname. With a little investigation we discovered that Felix also means happy so that name got added to our list. With two names on your list with a similar meaning that may influence you some as well. Good luck naming and please keep us posted!
I know one Asher, and he is 9 months old. It’s a very cute name.
My kids are 3, 7 and 9 and I haven’t met any kids named Asher. A friend did mention it as being under consideration as a middle name.
I’d call the name “on trend” rather than “trendy”, for reasons Swistle mentioned. (Long history of use and fits in with current popular names.)
I was surprised to see that it is at #104, since I’ve not met any personally. I think it will enter the top 100 soon. Sounds like it’s at the top of your list though and so I’d say “Go for it!” Or at least keep it in mind and decide when your son is born. Our 7 year old son’s name was in the top 100 when he was born. Maybe in the 70s, I don’t really remember. It’s actually gone top 10 in our state now, but I’m even ok with that, as we ‘got in’ before it was top 10 and I really love his name. Do check your state data though, to see if the name is popular than you think. Sometimes you can find local hospital announcements online or even look at local photography blogs or Facebook pages – they sometimes post the names of babies that they photograph. Which can be a sneaky way of seeing what is popular in your town.
I always think its helpful to try to find an analogous name from your generation (although maybe less helpful if you have knee jerk reaction against things that are currently out of style). For Asher, I would pick Darren. Assuming you were born around 1972, Darren had been in the top 1000 names for about 20 years when you were born, and had been steadily rising to the point where, like Asher now, it was given to about 0.18% of baby boys in 1972. (And then it got gradually less popular, although its still in steady use…which Asher may or may not do). When you meet someone named Darren, do you think “Poor sap, I bet he hates his trendy name”? Do you think “Perfectly acceptable name, but something less predictable for his generation, like Howard, would really make him seem cool to me.”? Do you think the Darrens of the world are ultimately worse off than the Davids and Thomases, even though they probably had to share their names less often as little kids? Or does Darren feel like an all around good name for someone your age?
I agree with your idea, but not the example chosen… Darren doesn’t really correlate to Asher, because its use as a first name is new to the 20th century. Darren somewhere between a surname-name, like say Maddox today, and an invented name, like Kayden. It’s hard to find a good correlate to Asher that’s from the 1970s because revival/vintage names were not in vogue then (except for much more mainstream ones like Benjamin, Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, that all became more popular in that period but were never as previously obscure as Asher).
I have an association with Asher, which is the book My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. It’s a powerful book about an artist who deals with his ambivalence toward religion.
Have not yet many Ashers in real life!
I’ve only known 2 Ashers in my life. One is around my age (29) and the other is my friend’s son who’s about a year old now. I don’t feel like this it’s ever going to be a “date stamped” name and it works on a variety of people and ages.
I know one Asher who is probably about three and lives in CA. When I heard my friend’s choice I did think, “Oh, popular biblical revival name” and also, she’s on trend with that one. I’m not totally sure about the SHER sound with the SUH at the beginning of your LN. Like Swis said, if I saw it in a yearbook I wouldn’t think twice about it, but if I was choosing I would say it a few times before I decided.
I know one Asher who is about five. You could also check out the popularity by state data on name voyager.
Related to your name – I’m confused about the apostrophe in your name. Do you mean there’s a French accent over the e to indicate it’s pronounced as an “ay” sound? Or did your parents intend for that and write an apostrophe instead?
Thanks, I’ve looked and Asher was not in the top 100 in Illinois as of 2013.
My mom referred to it as an “accent mark” but has always written it like an apostrophe. I remember a great-uncle explaining to her when I was a kid that she’d given me a boy’s name and that the accent was supposed to be above the e, not written like an apostrophe after the e, but it didn’t phase her and she’s always thought she was being creative when she did it and she couldn’t understand why I dropped the apostrophe as an adult (and she still uses it).
I do feel like I’ve run into a handful of little Asher’s in the past few years (my son is three and we live in TX fwiw). It’s a handsome name! I definitely see the appeal. I wouldn’t let concerns about it being trendy hold you back – I think swistle’s comment that it’s “on trend” is a much better description of the name’s popularity. And, speaking from experience – when it’s sooo hard to come to an agreement with your spouse, there’s a LOT to be said for a name you both love.
I actually think $utherl@nd is a pretty easy name to work with. Avoid Donald & Kiefer, but otherwise I don’t see an issue with any of the names you’ve ruled out.
Levi S. makes me think of Levi Strauss-but not really multiple pairs of Levis. Since you have both Levi & Liam on your list, I wonder if you’d also like other “lee” names. Leo, Leander, Leon. Are perhaps names with the “lee” at the end? Arley, Wesley, Westley, Bradley, Finlay.
Asher & Arley made me think of Arlo & Archer.
Calvin & Vaughan makes me wonder about other names with a V-N sound. Donovan, Gavin, Vincent, Devin, Kevin, Ivan, Evan.
Curtis & Calvin remind me of Callum, Caleb, Clayton, Clinton, Kyle, Kirk, Kent.
Instead of Felix maybe Franklin, Frederick, Philip, Xavier. For the style without the same sounds, Hugo, Hugh, Milo, Dexter, Jasper, Sebastian
Thanks, I did have Leo and Evan and Xavier on my original list, all got shot down cold. But we’ve never considered Jasper until just now, suddenly it’s striking me as a good name for us and it just got a smile out of my husband (my way of testing the name is asking him to try saying something like “this is my son, x” and “x, it’s time for bed” etc) and he didn’t have a reason to not consider it so it’s now on the list for us to keep trying out!
I know one kid named Asher. I know a lot of parents who have considered the name/like the name, but that may be the ‘most searched’ aspect.
In practice I only know the one.
I don’t know any Ashers but my youngest is almost 9 so I might be losing touch with baby names. Still, from the chart it seems to have plateaued. If it’s your favorite I would use it. And I agree Calvin & Felix are fine with the surname. Along the lines of names similar to Ian– how about Owen? Or would you like Ezra? Seems to fit your style.
Thought of a new one for you. Ethan.
My youngest is 8.5, so I may be out of touch a bit with current baby names but I know zero Ashers. I asked both of my kids and they do not know any boys named Asher. We live in the NW Chicago suburbs.
As a side note, my son is Griffin, which was 256 on the SS list the year he was born. This year he has another Griffin in his 3rd grade class. They are the only two Griffins in the whole school and out of 13-3rd grades they were put in the same class. Never in a million years did I think that he would have to go by Griffin P., EVER! You just never know.
This is a great point, and something I do remind myself, that no matter what name we pick somebody two blocks away could choose the same name this fall, you never know.
I don’t know any Ashers myself, but I feel like I may have heard it on fictional characters that are supposed to be a bit… country club-ish. But I still like it! It may have a little of the popular feel from Archer, as well, which has gone up a lot recently. I agree with Swis and others that Calvin or Felix could definitely work with your surname. I actually LOVE Felix. It reminds me a bit of the Felix Felicis luck potion in Harry Potter, which is a fun and sweet connection to me, not sure if it would have any significance to you!
I know 1 Asher, 17months, 1 boy same age with an unusual name who goes by Ash, and 1 twenty something UK Ashley (male) who goes by Ash as well.
I know of 2 Ashers, both through synagogue. I wonder if it is more popular in the Jewish community than in the population at large.
I have 2 young kids and therefore run in circles of babies – I know 2 Ashers and actually considered the name myself!
It’s adorable. I wonder if perhaps “Thatcher” (my son’s name) wouldn’t be pleasing to you. Sounds very similar but lacks the popularity issues. (Which I understand might just be a perceived issue and not a REAL issue – though for the record I wondered too)
Either way, you have a GREAT last name so consider yourself lucky!
I was going to suggest Thatcher, too! It sounds excellent with $ulliv@n! The middle name of Michael is spot on as well.
I do like the sound of Thatcher, though I’ve got a work-related reason to not consider it. It’s a great name, though!
I too was surprised to see that Asher was #104. I haven’t met any Asher’s (although I live in Canada, our naming trends follow the USA very closely) and have only come across the name a few times on different naming sites/blogs. I know a handful of Ashton’s though. I like Asher. As Swistle said, there are a lot of parts to it that make it feel fresh and trendy, but because of its background it is a classic name that stands on its own.
I see what you mean about Calvin $uther1@nd sounding a bit off and at first I also thought it must be the -in/an between the two names but then when someone suggested Gavin… Gavin $uther1@nd sound perfectly fine. In fact, I actually really like Gavin. I only know a couple, one is our age (30’s) and one is a 4 year old and the name holds up just fine through the various stages (kid to adult).
Calvin made me think of Malcolm. Malcolm $uther1@nd. I also really like that as well. Malcolm reminds me of Maguire with a nn of Mac.
My next favourite for you would be Hugh or Hugo. Hugh $uther1@nd – what a fabulous sounding name. I would personally use Hugh and use Hugo as a shortened name (just my preference, Hugh sounds more formal for an adult when thinking of job applications, etc).
I know you are wanting to avoid names ending in -s as they tend to run into your last name, but what about Charles nn Charlie? When I say Charles $uther1@nd, it somewhat runs together but not like a lot of the other names do.
What about Theodore nn Theo? Theo $uther1@nd
Other names:
Louis (lou-ie)
Luc or Luke or Lucas
Elliot nn Eli
Good luck and keep us posted!
Oooh, yes, Malcom was on my original list, and I did just re-try it and husband is still against it. I like the sound of Elliot(t) but the multiple spellings is a turnoff for me. Thanks for the suggestions!
We’ve run into one Asher who would be about 9 now. I think the combo of the -er ending and its Old Testament pedigree does make it feel a bit trendy.
I know 1 Asher, non Jewish family, 10monthd old.
Where I live (major city, West Coast), it’s generally the case that Asher and Levi are going to be kids in observant Jewish families . They both read to me as very trend-oriented when used in Gentile families (yes, they are Biblical names, but they’re the coolest Biblical names – nobody is really rebooting Boaz.) So those are my associations fwiw.
I think that “Asher”, even if it is technically not hyper-popular in the population at large, is exactly the type of name (cool, related to sounds we’re now over, has traditional roots to point to) to be surprisingly popular in smaller sub-communities – I just checked the graph and map on BNW, and it’s exactly that: very popular, very suddenly in middle-of-the-country states, seemingly common in sib-sets with Aidan.
With your great last name, I’d be sure to repeat things out loud to check for law-firm/conglomerate name patterns. “Asher $utherland” has a little bit of an “Archers Daniel Midland” quality to it, whereas the more open sound of something like “Arlo $utherland” sounds more clearly like a little person, you know?
How fascinating that you mentioned Boaz! My brother actually has a student named Boaz – not from a Jewish family, that I am aware of – and when he told me (knowing how much I enjoy names), I was thrilled! I really like it and would consider it. Bo would be a cute nickname too :)
I know three Ashers– they are five, three, and two– and one baby-on-the-way who will be named Asher. They all live in different parts of the United States and each has a different religious affiliation. Because I know so many young Ashers, it seems trendy to me. But if most commenters know none or only one Asher, I would consider it more on-trend than trendy.
Regardless of popularity, I think Asher Sutherland sounds great. It has a really nice rhythm. I second the suggestions of Arlo and Ezra, too.
I’ve never met an Asher of any age, but I know they’re out there. That said, I think you should use it and not worry too much. I’d say Felix is maybe more popular where I live (I’ve met 3 under age 10). But that’s anecdotal.
Regardless, I really doubt Asher will be the next Jason/Liam/Mason.
In the 90s, when I was in elementary school, I and every other DC-area kid I knew had to read Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver, which was adapted last year into a young-adult action movie. Asher was a prominent character in the book (and even more so in the movie adaptation), and the name’s meaning is discussed very significantly in the book.
I believe the book was published in 1993, which means the people who read it as kids are now having kids of their own. I’m guessing any popularity climb that isn’t just because of current naming trends may have something to do with that! I love the name, both for the associations and for the sound (which, as Swistle eloquently pointed out, reads as the classy evolution of yesterday’s Ashley).
Congratulations!
Thanks! I’ve noticed people elsewhere mentioning Ash from Pokemon and a couple of other Ashers that younger people would be familiar with, so it would make sense that those pop-culture Ashers would influence parents who are younger than me.
I don’t have much to add but wanted to mention Callum – similar to Calvin but doesn’t have the “in” sound that turns you off. I’ve met one Callum who pronounced the “Cal” like Calvin or calorie or rhyming with “pal”, and one who pronounces it like the word “call”, so I think you could use either. Also, Callum is a Gaelic (I think) variation/translation of Malcolm, which also works with $utherl@nd if you like it.
I love Asher! Since it is a biblical classic, I doubt it will sound time-stamped.
If you like Asher and want to honor a Michael, I wonder if you would like Micah.
Swistle, I know a baby Karl!
Thanks for the feedback! And regarding Karl, my husband has a colleague with that name and I do like it, but it’s not for us.
I know a 2 year old Asher. Have you considered Archer? Its the same idea but not so biblical/on trend. And comes with a cute nickname (Archie) which Asher does not (Ashy? Nope!) Also Asher rhymes with many more things which increases the teasing potential, if you’re worried about that stuff (Flasher, Smasher, Party Crasher etc). My favorite from your list is Felix.
The ONLY draw that my husband has to the name Asher is the nickname that he wants to use– Ash! I agree on the rhyming options with Asher vs. some of the other names I like, though I’m not too worried about that.
If Asher is a name you love then I wouldn’t worry about what ifs of name popularity. If you love it and it fits I would use it. Even when you try to have a non popular name sometimes you can run into meeting lots of kids with that name.
Another name that might work is Warren.
I think it’s worth mentioning the diversity of names again. My youngest is finishing preschool this year, my oldest is 8. I do know an Asher, a Cash, and an Ash-short-for-Ashim. But they’re all from different circles. I also know only one each of Aiden, Caden, and Jayden, which are the quintessential trendy names. And that’s between both kids. My oldest doesnt have a Jacob, Ava, or Sophia in her 2nd grade class, although there are Makhi, Maui, Demetrius, Ford, and Arwen. There are two Zoes in her Brownie troop, and a Lia/Leah, and that’s it for repeating names. It just isn’t that big a deal any more. If you love Asher, use it.
Oh, and in my part of California, I would never assume I knew the religion of an Asher or Levi. Just not a factor.
I like Asher and don’t know any little ones with that name. I do prefer both Archer and Arlo though.
I agree with others that I think your last name is pretty easy to work with. Since you mentioned liking one syllable names, here are some suggestions.
Grant
Drew
Joel
Mark
I also think some of the o ending names would work well. Leo and Milo sound great with your last name.
I love Asher, but if you want something with less popularity maybe consider Nash? It has the same beginning sound of Asher but is only in the 400’s.
Swistle I’m thrilled that you posted an answer to my letter and really appreciate the thorough examination of the name Asher and your other suggestions, especially the yearbook exercise, which I’m taking to heart. As picky as my husband is with boy names, it’ll be helpful if I consider more options (and maybe another one will hit him right). I’ve recently found out more about what makes him like or dislike names, and it’s really surprising. He likes Asher because as a kid he liked the character Ash from Evil Dead (?!) and the reason he can’t consider Felix is because he didn’t like Felix the Cat. I suggested that if he had a kid named Felix the kid would become the person he associated with the name, not the cartoon, and I asked him if our friend’s kid named Oscar is who he thinks of when he hears the name and he said no, he still thinks of the Sesame Street character and always will. So his first exposure to a name is pretty much set in stone. When I just tried Jasper on him, he couldn’t think of any reason to like or dislike Jasper so he considered the actual name and it did get added to our list! So thank you to you and your readers for the tons of feedback on Asher and suggestions that have been pouring in, it’s so helpful!
I like Asher but I see it as trendy unless you are Jewish, don’t know if that matters though -my name dates me and it isn’t an issue, there are many more clues to my age than my name!
I know a little Ashford (Ash) which is really nice.
Lachlan?
Malcolm?
Cameron?
Lewis?
wesley?
I know a wonderful man named Trevor $utherland (last name spelled differently, though), and I think his name is as great as he is!
I think Asher will work beautifully. The only Ashers I’ve come in contact with have been in books (My Name is Asher Lev; and some vampire books).
What about Dashiell nn Dash?
I like Asher but I like Escher even better. I also like Victor, Hugh, and Fletcher.
I don’t have a well thought-out reason to support Asher for you, but I think it’s a fabulous name. If that’s what your gut/heart/mind/etc. has you leaning towards, use it! When I was pregnant with my first son, I found myself over analyzing our name choice for a variety of reasons (mostly theoretical). In retrospect, I think it was my way of trying to mother him before I could actually do tangible things for him. We went with our initial choice for his name (Levi, by the way…and if that is actually another contender for you I encourage you to let go of your concerns about the last name initial being an issue; we had similar concerns regarding the brand/jeans connotation in combo with his middle/last name before our Levi was born and it has never even come up in the slightest, teensy tiny bit since he was born. I’m really only reminded of it when I read posts like yours on this site :) So, go with whatever speaks to and resonates with you!
I think if you love Asher, definitely use it. I think it is trendy at the moment, but it also has a timeless feel because of its Biblical roots.
For the record, I have a 3 year-old and a 3 month-old and between their playgroups, preschool, and our Mom and baby exercise group I know 3 Ashers. Most other names in our social circles don’t repeat (off the top of my head, Jack, Cayden, Noah, and Alexander are the only other boys names with multiple uses in our friend group…although I am sure there are a few others). So it does show up a lot in my area these days, but there are regional differences to names and it may not be nearly as saturated where you are. And I still wouldn’t say it is overly popular here.
Oh, and I think there is something to be said for the previous comment that the name must be more popular in Jewish communities than in the country at large. Two of the three Ashers I know are Jewish, and when I hear the name I do assume the family is probably Jewish. But, again, that may just be a result of where I live (DC suburbs).
I also wanted to chime in that I feel like Asher is more popular with Jewish families, but only because of personal experience and I have no real basis for that except because of the Ashers I know! We are Jewish and I know three young Ashers from synagogue. I also know two Ashers in my daughter’s gymboree class (2 year olds). I do not know if they are Jewish, though. It seems like a popular name to me but it is very probably like any other name, it tends to be popular in certain areas. We live in NYC.
Oh my gosh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that hidden anagram! So clever!
That’s a stellar name by itself too! Great choice all around!
Yes! How frickin’ cool is the anagram thing?! LOVE.
That is so, so cool! A great-sounding name with a clever little secret. And such a gorgeous babe. Congratulations!
Coolest baby name update ever – a name Swistle suggested out of the blue, and a perfect anagram of the parent’s first names. Amazing!
This is SO brilliant.
Love the name and LOVE the anagram – especially as this baby will be an only child. Too perfect!
Also, I hope this makes the mama feel better about the odd spelling of her name. it meant it was perfect for her baby boy and that’s the sweetest.