Hi Swistle!
You helped us name our son and daughter, Miles Joseph and Claire Marie, and now I would love your advice one more time! We are expecting our third (and last) baby, a boy, this February. I like to talk about names all of the time, but my husband prefers that we have more “productive” conversations about them (meaning, he would rather we look at our list and actually narrow them down vs. talk about new ones “just for fun”). So, we have a list of names, and are pretty certain about a middle, but are struggling with the “being productive” part (don’t worry, I have friends who will talk names with me, and your blog fills this need too).
I had two favorite girl names that I was really excited about: Rose and Lucy. I was also excited to use my grandmother’s middle name, Maxine, as a middle name. Rose Maxine or Lucy Maxine (perfect!). But, now that I need to let those girl names go, I am focusing on the joy I will feel by honoring my dad (who died when I was a teenager) and somehow using his name for this boy.
His name was Eric, and we considered using it as a middle with our first son, Miles. However, we ended up following a long tradition of using my husband’s middle name, instead. Although I like the idea of honoring my dad by using Eric as a first name, I think I would rather keep it in the middle name spot. I also don’t love it as a first name with Miles and Claire.
Here is our list of names:
Benjamin
Thomas
Felix
Max
Eli
James
AugustI like Benjamin, and would want to use a nickname like Benny or Benji. Sometimes I wonder if those are too “cutesy” but I like them. Benjamin Eric Trude11e flows well I think. Benjamin does seem much more common than Miles and Claire, though.
I like Thomas and the nickname Tom, but don’t prefer Tommy (which is funny because I just said I like Benny). Thomas Trude11e has alliteration, which I can’t decide on either.
We both like Felix (it was one of our favorites with Miles) but our families have made it clear that they hate it. We could probably push through that though.
I like Max (similar to Maxine!), but wonder if we would want a longer name like Maxwell. I think that gets tricky visually when looking at the full name with our last name: Maxwell Trude11e. Just Max, with Eric as a middle, seems a bit choppy to me. I also can’t decide if I like Miles and Max for brother names, or if they are too close.
Eli, James and August aren’t top contenders for me (though my husband really likes Eli) but they are still on our list.
Do any of these stand out for you? Are there any names that I’m missing that work well with the middle and last name? (I know we’re trying to narrow down, but…) Or sound especially good with Miles and Claire? I would love your advice! Thank you!!
None of the names on the list stand out to me particularly. I first thought James and August did, and they still do somewhat—but James seems a little too common with Miles and Claire, and I feel reluctant to push August when it’s not a top contender. My own favorite is Felix, but I feel reluctant to push a name your family doesn’t like.
With middle initial E and surname initial T, many first name initials will end up spelling a word: BET, GET, HET, JET, LET, MET, NET, PET, SET, VET, WET, YET. Of those, the only one that makes me uncertain is the W. I do prefer for initials not to spell things, but words like GET and SET are pretty innocuous.
I like Simon. Simon Trude11e (SET); Miles, Claire, and Simon.
Or Elliot. Elliot Trude11e (EET); Miles, Claire, and Elliot.
Or Everett. Everett Trude11e (EET); Miles, Claire, and Everett.
Or Emmett. Emmett Trude11e (EET); Miles, Claire, and Emmett.
Or Oliver. Oliver Trude11e (OET); Miles, Claire, and Oliver.
Or Louis. Louis Trude11e (LET); Miles, Claire, and Louis.
Or Edmund. Edmund Trude11e (EET); Miles, Claire, and Edmund.
Or Ian. Ian Trude11e (IET); Miles, Claire, and Ian.
Or Malcolm. Malcolm Trude11e (MET); Miles, Claire, and Malcolm.
Or Wesley. Wesley Trude11e (WET); Miles, Claire, and Wesley.
Or Reid. Reid Trude11e (RET); Miles, Claire, and Reid.
Or Nolan. Nolan Trude11e (NET); Miles, Claire, and Nolan.
And actually I am still very inclined toward James. It IS more common, but I still like it, and I like the overall look and feel of the sibling group. James Trude11e (JET); Miles, Claire, and James.
Name update:
Hi Swistle,
Thank you so much for responding to my questions about naming baby #3. Your response (and your readers) were so helpful. In fact, a few comments included another possible name, Graham. I had loved the name for its single syllable and style, but didn’t think my husband would agree. It turns out he liked it too, and agreed that it made a good sibset: Miles, Claire and Graham. We decided against using my dad’s first name (it would make Graham E., which reminded me too much of Grammy), and went with his middle name, Stewart (which was also my beloved grandfather’s middle name). Graham Stewart was born on February 15th. Here he is in his Easter bunny hat! Thank you again!
Rachel
What abou Bennett? Cute Benny and Ben nicknames, more uncommon than Benjamin. Miles, Claire and Bennett.
I also love James. Would it help if you called him Jamie? I know two adults named Jamie (not to mention Highlander) and it works for all ages. Just a little more unique than James but he can still be James (or Jim!) when he gets older if he wants.
Lastly I wish Maxwell flowed a little better. Maximus? Maxim? Maxim Eric Trude11e Milo, Claire, Max
I think Bennet or James nn Jamie are the best
I really like James with Miles and Claire. Yes, it is a more common name but, being a classic, I don’t think that really matters. James Eric is such a strong, manly name too and the nickname Jay would be great.
Felix is an awesome name! It sounds like it’s a firm favorite, and you should both go for it if that’s the case. Your family will come around in the end, especially when the name belongs to a beautiful little boy they all love.
Swistle’s suggestion of Reid is a good one, I’ve always really liked it, and it has the same feel as Miles to me; a single syllable, strong and not too common.
Hugh, Levi and Grant are other suggestions I’d like to make too.
All the best!
If you named him James, you could call him Jet as a nickname. Plus James and Miles both end in S.
I love the PP suggestion of Bennett. James is great, too, and you could even use Jet as a pet name from his initials. I would love decorating and giving presents with an airplane/jet theme. So cute!
What about William with the nickname Will? William Eric.
William Trude11e is a very distinguished name!
Miles, Claire and William
😀
Whoops! Just noticed the WET initials so maybe not! 🙁
Max or Maxwell seem like obvious choices because you could still honor your grandmother. I think they would also make nice middle name options to honor her, there is no rule that says namesakes must be same gender.
Otherwise, my favorites with Miles & Claire are Felix and August. I agree with Swistle about James seeming just a wee bit plain next to Miles. I think it’s a slightly better fit with Claire, so would rank it third from your list.
I’ll suggest Henry, Graham, Owen & Jude. Miles & Claire are both short & sweet, so I find myself leaning towards other names on the short/sweet side. Assuming you don’t plan to keep them in reserve for a possible future baby, I wonder if you could find inspiration from Rose & Lucy? Instead of Rose perhaps something like Ross, Rory, Roman, or Ronan. From Lucy, I’d look at names like Luke, Lucian, or Luca.
I like Graham.
I’m also into the idea of using something similar to Rose or Lucy. Rory is a great option.
Lucas could be a good Lucy-inspired name too. It also coordinates with Miles with the S ending.
With Henry, I’d be wary of using an H name because of the initials HET (i.e. heterosexual).
I like Benjamin and James best from your list. Max and Eli seem a bit abrupt with the middle name and while Maxwell is nice with the sibling names, I can’t decide if I like it with the surname or not. Elijah or Elliott could work.
From Swistle’s list I like Emmett, Louis, Oliver and Ian best. And Ian puts me in mind of Evan, which would also work well.
I meant to type Ethan there, not Evan, though Evan’s nice, too.
James was my thought, even before seeing your list, as such a perfect fit with Miles and Claire. I like Max too.
We have VERY similar naming styles. I have a son, Miles, and my daughter, Anne, was almost named Claire.
From your list, Benjamin and James are my favorite. There’s a little boy at our preschool who goes by Benji and it is just the cutest thing!!!
James is classic and doesn’t feel “boring” to me. And I absolutely adore the suggestion to use his initials to get the nickname Jet Jet is my longtime favorite, but is too edgy for us to use as a given name.
Other names still on the table for our eventual-baby-#3 include:
Graham
Wesley
Russell(Russ)
Ian
Emmett
My son is Miles and Rose was the runner-up name for our daughter, so here’s the list of boys names we had for our daughter before we found out she was a girl:
Calvin
Roman
Nolan
Benjamin looks like your favorite. It’s a handsome, classy name so I don’t think you can go wrong with it! Miles and Claire are less common, but it’s not a weird sounding sibset. I wouldn’t let that stop you from using your favorite!
Oh, I really like Calvin with this set.
Basil (nn Baz) Eric Trude11
Greyson Eric Trude11
Franklin Eric Trude11
Dane Eric Trude11
Trenton Eric Trude11
Scott Eric Trude11
Trevor Eric Trude11
Best wishes!
I really like Eli with Miles and Claire. Eli Eric provides the cool EE initials.
My second choice is Max. Just Max since your other kids have single syllable first names. Miles, Claire, and Max.
I have a nephew named Miles. His brother is Anders. I really like that with your group because it is an old name (like Claire and Miles) but sounds fresh.
I’m jumping on the James bandwagon. It is a classic name but I have only met one little guy named James in the last 20 years and he is a Jr. I think it is perfect with Miles and Claire. Miles Joseph, Clarie Marie and James Eric all seem like strong classic names. And if you think James is too much you could easily use Jimmy, Jim, Jamie, or Jet from the initials. Jack is also a classic nickname for James.
I really like Felix, Max, or James for you. My personal favorites would be Max or James (both currently on our list as well), but I think you should use Felix if you love it. Your families will come around. If you do Max, I would just use Max with your surname. I think Reid and Graham (both already suggested!) would also be a great fit. Personally, I would avoid using August. I love the name as well, but I don’t think it’s as classic as your other choices. I also think it’s too soon in it’s upward trajectory to tell if it’s a lasting name or a trend. Just my two cents!
I love James and Felix for you guys!
James is so classic and flows well with Eric, and it fits the one-syllable first name thing you have going thus far. The initials JET are so fun as well!
Felix is adorable and sounds great with Miles and Claire. I wouldn’t put weight on your family’s opinion of the name, mainly because 1) it doesn’t matter what they think and 2) once the name is actually attached to the baby, they’ll get over it (and if they don’t, then they’re just rude).
Good luck!
Graham! Graham, Miles and Claire. So cute! Plus both boy names are units of measurement (Gram). Everett is a good suggestion. Felix feels a bit trendy for me, whereas Miles and Claire don’t. I do think Thomas Trudell sounds great and I know a little 6 yr old Thomas is only ever Thomas. I really think full names are the default nowadays.
I am commenting to suggest Jack.
Miles, Claire, and Jack sound great to me.
Jack Eric Trude11e. And I find JET to be very “cool” initials and a possible nickname (this part would also work if you went with James :)
Love the suggestions of Elliot or Everett! They both sound great with the last name.
I also want to put in a plug for Eli.
Other ideas:
Ellis
Liam
Noah
Jacob
Jack
Gavin
Paul (since you had considered it before, what about Paul Eric? Although then you get PET.)
I think James Eric is amazing but if you aren’t sold on James what about Jameson..still gets you all the normal nn plus the possible JET nn (which I really like).
From your list I also love Max,I think it works with Eric and your surname and has the added bonus of honouring your grandmother.
But I think my actual favourite first name would be Eric. To me it has the same slightly unusual feel as Miles, is sufficiently well known.so as not to be problematic for pronunciation or spelling and also takes the E away from the middle spot, thus lessening the chance of having a word formed by initials which is something I’m not a fan of. (Even though I like JET)
My in-laws would approve of James Eric; they named their other boy Eric James
I love August with your sibset, but I think any of your other ideas work great as well, particularly Thomas. I really don’t think anyone would call him Tommy unless you introduced him that way. I also love Swistle’s suggestion of Nolan. Other names that feel like they would fit well with Miles and Claire are Otto, Charles, Julian, Edgar.
I have a James and just wanted to add my 2 cents about it being a classic that feels very common (because of course it is) but in day to day life your son may not meet many. My son’s school has multiple Aidans and Tristans and Cadens and Lawsons and Noahs and Lukes but I don’t know of any other James.
Also, I second the idea of considering Jameson if you want more options and a less choppy flow with Eric.
However, my favourites with the siblings’ names are Felix and Simon.
A note about Elliot….someone named Elliot Trudelle will likely make Canadians think of Pierre Elliot Trudeau – one of our prime ministers (late father of our current prime minister..he went by both his given names). Probably inconsequential to you but I thought I’d mention it because the sounds in the name will be very familiar to any adult Canadian.
Good luck! Please update us on what you decide!
Colin Eric T… – Miles, Claire and Colin
Oliver Eric T… – Miles, Claire and Oliver
But my favorite is Max, for grandma Maxime:
Maxen Eric Trude11e (Maxen is a Welsh surname)
Other ways of getting the nickname Max: Magnus and Maddox.
What about Theo?
Theo Eric Trudelle
What about Gavin, Peter, Elias, Blaise, Jude, Lance, or Asher?