Hello,
I found your website on a mom group and I am just in love. I feel like you think and examine names very much the same way I do. The name game has been my favorite thing to do since I was in high school. Little did I know how difficult it is when the stakes are for real. Hahaha.
So here it is: I’m expecting #2 a baby boy in 7 weeks and I am finding boy names to be so much less inspired than girl names. My daughter is Georgia and while we hadn’t chosen it for sure when we went into the hospital it’s the name I always wanted and after my traumatic birth my husband finally agreed to that name! Yesss! It’s such a strong girl name that I’m having trouble with a boy equivalent.
Our last name is Rivas and as a biracial family I want American-ish sounding first names signifying their duality. It’s unfortunate since i love so many Hispanic boy names (Gabriel, Miguel, Javier, Angel) The next issue is that since my daughter and husband both have J sounding names I don’t want baby boy to have one and then they all match and I don’t. This is also unfortunate because I love most J names. I like names that are actual names and not made up or hipster.
Oliver, Benjamin, Liam were all my faves when I was preg with my daughter. I like old fashioned names. Now that I’m actually having a boy those names are ranking too high in popularity for me to feel good about choosing. Shawn Hunter is a name I loved from the beginning but someone pointed out and now i can’t get it out of my head that Shawn is a much weaker name than Georgia. Shane is an alternative and stronger but too similar to my name and would make our family look sort of egotistical. Hunter James is another one I’m liking as well but not quite sold. I always try to picture names on resumes or as CEO’s. Most of this pregnancy I have felt that he is Hunter in some capacity though.
I also love Connor but my husband feels that with our last name it sounds like an STD esp if you imagine over a microphone at graduation. Connor Rivas. Also names that I love but have been kicked out are William and Wyatt cuz then people will end up saying William Wivas and Wyatt wivas. Too hard to say properly.
Also liking Owen Maverick but my sister wanted to name the son she never had (2 girls) and has made it clear she doesn’t want me to use it.
We recently came across the name Phoenix and both love it. I love the E and O in the name which was also why I loved my daughters name as well. And also maybe why I like Owen. However Phoenix might just be too far away from “normal” for me to feel great about. And I can’t see it being good on a resume.
Husband loves Morgan and wanted it for our daughter as well. I’m not a fan but he thinks Morgan Phoenix is great. He also loves Ryder (he rides motorcycles)
Please help! I’m so afraid this baby will get a random name just to have a name and not anything loved or planned. I’m no closer to naming him than I was 6months ago!
Thanks for your time!
Rivas Family!
Is this the kind of morning when we want to discuss what it means in our society that gentler names are considered good for girls but “weak” for boys, or should we skip that conversation and instead just kick the idea directly to the curb? The name Shawn/Sean is a gentler-sounding name to me than Shane, but I personally don’t see any pressing need in our society to REDUCE gentleness in boys/men, nor have I seen good results from centuries of beefing up the idea that men need to display superficial strength-markers such as looking tough and sounding tough and even heaven help us having tough names.
Georgia and Shawn is a perfectly nice sibling set, and the person who “pointed out” to you that Shawn is a “much weaker” name is probably someone I would avoid discussing baby names with in the future. Or perhaps I would ask earnestly what they meant by “much weaker,” exactly.
Let’s also skip discussing at length whether it would make your whole family look egotistical if your son’s name was somewhat similar to yours. Men name sons directly after themselves, exactly duplicating all three names, ALL THE DANG TIME, and does society react by saying, “My goodness, what an egotistical family!” No, they do not. Shane is not too similar to your name if you love the name, but I don’t think you should use it just to avoid a gentler name.
If you are looking for an alternative to Shawn, I wouldn’t go to Shane anyway, I’d go to John. It has a similar sound to Shawn (and also to Connor), but in a form I don’t think anyone would think of as weak. Not that we want to cater to such attitudes. But it’s a good name anyway. Georgia and John. (This breaks your preference for avoiding J names, but hang on because pretty soon I’m going to try to talk you out of that.)
Or Saul? Georgia and Saul.
Or Simon. Georgia and Simon.
I am unsuccessfully biting my tongue about your sister claiming permanent dibs on a name she couldn’t use. I would like to think that in the same situation I would be SO HAPPY to have a nephew named my favorite boy name, instead of wanting the name enshrined and wasted on my Sad I Can’t Use It list. If your sister might have more children some day, I’m still not keen on anyone calling dibs on a name, but I will retract some of my critical feelings; if she is definitely, definitely done having kids, then I wonder if it’s worth re-approaching the topic with her. Was it just Owen she was planning to use, or Owen Maverick? If the latter, I wonder if it would help to change the middle name? Or what if you went with something like Rowen or Bowen or Nolan? I particularly like Nolan for you. Georgia and Nolan.
Or would you like Odin? I found it while considering the name Hunter and wondering if there was a god of hunting as well as a goddess.
Do you think there’s a chance you could come around on the G/J-sound-avoiding preference, perhaps if I wheedled a little? If your husband and daughter and son all had names starting with the same letter, I too would feel it was a little sad for you to be left out, and in your place I wouldn’t want that either. But if the initials don’t all match, that seems different to me, and I would mind it much, much less. It’s not as noticeable to others, for one thing: if I knew a family of Jason and Sarah and their kids Genevieve and Jared, I don’t know how long it would take me to notice that Sarah had a different starting sound to her name. Plus, in a situation where you’re really struggling to find a name you love, it seems like a poor idea to rule out a bunch of names you love. I suggest bringing the J names back into discussion and see what happens; if you continue to feel sad or left out, boot the J names back out.
I’d like to collect some feedback in the comments section on whether other people have trouble saying William Rivas or Wyatt Rivas. I tested both and didn’t stumble at all: my mouth wasn’t even tempted to say William Wivas or Wyatt Wivas. I just looked at the names and said them, same as if it were William Richards (no issue saying William Wichards) or Wyatt Rodriguez (no issue saying Wyatt Wodriguez).
I think Phoenix would be an excellent/fun middle name but a challenging first name, and River Phoenix would absolutely rule out Phoenix Rivas for me. I also think Georgia and Phoenix make a startling pairing. Many families have different styles in boy names than in girl names, but that is a huge style gap. I wonder if you would like the name Felix? Very similar in sound to Phoenix, but less challenging to use. Georgia and Felix.
Just for fun I made a list of some eo/oe names:
Gideon
Joel
Leo
Leon
Mateo
Theodore
That search wouldn’t give results such as Owen where the O and E are separated, but there are tons of names like that, and they were pretty easy to find just by skimming my eyes down the Top 1000 list at the Social Security Administration site:
Oliver
Joseph
Christopher
Cameron
Robert
Easton
Greyson
And so on.
The name Morgan is a unisex name currently used more often for girls than boys in the United States: in 2017, the name was given to 1,911 new baby girls and 362 new baby boys. I find I dislike the repeating -or- sound of Georgia and Morgan, but that’s a highly subjective thing and others may love the way it ties the two names together. I wonder if you’d like the name Rogan. Georgia and Rogan. Or Corbin? Georgia and Corbin.
Ryder is an interesting one to consider. On one hand, there’s a style gap with Georgia—but Georgia and Ryder is easier to take on board than Georgia and Phoenix: it’s a jump but not a flying leap. Ryder Rivas is alliterative, which could be a plus or a minus; visually, I also notice the five letters of each name and the way the Y and the V look similar. I wonder if you’d like the name Ranger. Georgia and Ranger.
It is certain that there are brands and loyalties I am utterly ignorant of, so it is possible this suggestion is a giant misstep for a motorcycle fan, but Harley and Davidson spring to mind as possible names. Georgia and Harley has a strong Southern sound to me. Georgia and Davidson seems like a very nice pairing, and the motorcycle reference is far more subtle.
Name update:
Hi,
I wanted to send in an update!
I named my son 10minutes before being discharged in the hospital! Oooof! One of the hardest decisions of my life! I cried afterwards. And truly as I had been afraid of his name kind of just got thrown at him. Shawn Jameson. It was almost Shawn Hunter and just as i was signing the name papers i asked my husband are you sure? And he sighed and gave up. Shawn Jameson is a combo of two names we both liked at some point and so that’s what it became. My little SJ is 7mos old and i still don’t love it and consider just going by his middle name but we’ll see.
Thanks for your help and ideas! I love having this post of yours to go back to and remember! Especially as I’m bugging my husband to add a third!
I have a strong association to the show Boy Meets World when I hear Shawn Hunter. If that doesn’t bother you, I think it’s perfectly fine with your daughter’s name.
That’s all I can think of too!!
That was my first thought too! And Shawn Hunter was played by Rider Strong so I’m wondering if hubby is a fan . . .
Thought the same thing
me too!
Yes! That was the first thing I thought of, and then that Ryder Strong plays Shawn. I could not get over the Boy Meets World connotation
This is exactly what I thought of too!
I love Swistle’s suggestions of Gideon, Mateo, and Theodore, as well as Nolan, a favorite name of mine. I would like to suggest Malcolm, Griffin, and Levi, all names from my list of favorites that I think would work so well with Georgia. My favorite combination is Georgia and Malcolm—I’m not sure why but I think they work very well together and complement each other while having entirely different sounds.
I know a couple of Georgias— one has a brother named Hunter, actually, and I always thought that the combination did seem very southern. Another has brothers named James and Ryan. Another has a sister named Caroline.
Best of luck with your new little one!
Ryan… Orion is a hunter, giving you the option of Hunter as a nickname. It would give you O with I rather than O with E and repeat the -OR- in Georgia but the O and R are part of two different syllables, so I think I like it. And it sounds a bit like Owen, too.
I think what names appear “strong” or “weak”/”gentle” is pretty subjective. Sometimes I get why people have those associations but sometimes I’m just puzzled. Sean/Shawn’s an example of that. I like it, but I also like Shane and none of them seem any stronger to weaker to me that any of the others. Is it the association with a Western film that bumps Shane up over the others?
I agree with Swistle that Phoenix is better in the middle slot. I’m also quite taken by the pairing of Georgia and Theodore, so much so that I don’t even want to make any of my own suggestions.
I suggest Cameron nn Cam. Your husband might like the reference to cam shaft with his motorcycle hobby. He can forever make the joke that if he had twins he could name them Cam and Cam (twin cam/double cam). Oh hi yes my husband also rides.
But really Georgia and Cameron sound lovely together and Cameron Rivas very dual heritage.
I love this suggestion. Georgia and Cameron sound fantastic together. I also know a Georgia with a brother named Max. They sound like a perfectly matched pair to me.
John!!!!! It’s a huge name in my dad’s family. If I had ever had a son I would have named him John. To me it is a strong classical name that you don’t see on little boys much anymore. Shares the sound and root with Shawn (Shawn (Sean) is the Irish form of John) and pairs great with Georgia. Georgia and John
Like others have said, I think that “weak” thing is totally subjective–I have literally no idea how the name Shawn seems weak to your friend while Shane doesn’t. For the record, I think they are both perfectly masculine and beautiful names (very similar to my name, too!), and if anything I think Shane has a more genteel feel (which might carry a sense of weakness to some). I do NOT think that friend’s feedback is reason enough to rule out Shawn, or swap it for Shane if you like Shawn better.
Add me to the list–Shawn Hunter = Boy Meets World for me. (And it’s recently been rebooted.)
I find William Rivas and Wyatt Rivas easy enough to say, and I especially love Wyatt with Georgia!
On the pronunciation note, though, I find both Ryder and Phoenix unpleasant to say with Rivas, and I too instantly get River Phoenix from Phoenix Rivas.
Sorry–after rereading, I have a better handle on what your friend actually said, but my original reaction remains the same! I have no idea how Shawn seems weaker than Georgia or who would even be comparing the two–siblings certainly do fight, but not like that!
Shawn doesn’t feel like a weak name at all to me, but I have to admit I strongly prefer the original spelling, Sean – does that take away any of the perceived weakness for you?
From all your choices, Sean Hunter is probably the one that clicks best to me and I feel from your post as though you really want Hunter in there somewhere. Hunter and Georgia are a really nice pairing!
Nolan seems just about perfect to me. If repeating the G initial doesn’t bother you, I think Grant or Graham or even Gready or Griffin would be handsome. Also Tyler or Spencer or Max. The suggestion of Felix is another good one.
Oops, make that Grady!
What about Cole. Georgia and Colby sounds like a great pairing.
Ditto everything assisted said about the idea of there being “strong” or “weak” names, especially for boys. I’m fighting the urge to simply declare the person who said Shawn was “weaker” than Georgia an idiot. Shawn is lovely and a nice fit with Georgia.
From you list of “not American” names, Gabriel jumped out at me. I’ve known plenty of White American kids named Gabriel/Gabe. So Gabriel Rivas does not strike me as particularly Hispanic. I also like that Georgia and Gabriel share the G initial without duplicating the sound. I’d urge you to reconsider Gabriel.
I also agree your sister does not get to claim Owen as off limits, especially if she does not expect to have more kids. That said, I understand the desire to avoid family culture conflict. I love the suggestion of Rowan for you. Or perhaps Ian or Ethan?
Unless someone has a speech impediment, I think adults will be fine saying William or Wyatt Rivas. Maybe your son will struggle a bit when he first starts talking, but that’s really not an issue, lots of little kids have problems with certain sounds-but they catch on eventually.
I knew a Georgia with a brother called Edward, nicknamed Eddie.
Edmund goes classicly well with Georgia.
Edgar also pairs successfully. The great thing about Edgar is that he’s very multi-cultural.
Nolan is a wonderful suggestion by Swistle!
How do you feel about Hiram?
Georgia and Hiram.
Hiram Phoenix has the cool factor cranked to an 11!
I struggle with the ‘William Wivas’ problem (and in no way suffer from a speech impediment normally).
I understand what you mean by one name not being as strong as another… it’s a struggle with my kids, too. Would Ajax, Ryker, and Lane feel balanced? Or Margaret, Barbra, and Lissy? If two names are stronger, does the third heft the same weight? Similarly, if two names are lighter/more free, does the third feel clunky in comparison? (Example: Estelle, Natalie, and Bertha)
Best wishes as you find your son’s name! And congrats!
All of your examples are the same gender siblings, so not quite the same thing Swistle commented on. Many people like different style names for different genders. Wanting to have sibling names with the same style (popular at the turn of the century, Gaelic influenced, nature themed etc) is perfectly fine.
Where I am having trouble is when value judgements are used to describe names. Calling a name weak is not the same as asking if name x and y sound harmonous. more troubling is when we weight value judgements about names across genders because the value judgements are then being applied to boys ( or girls), not just a name. Naming is about personal preference not value judgements. Saying Shawn is weaker then Shane is judging names as good/bad, saying Shawn is weaker than Georgia is judging people as good/bad (weak boys are bad).
Very different than saying “Shane sounds more cowboy to me “ or “I like Shawn better with Georgia” both personal preferences, not value judgements.
Sorry for the diatribe, but word choices matter!
Edwin would be a good choice as well. It’s not a Spanish name, but there are a lot of Latino Edwins.
Since your husband and daughter have names that start with a “J” sound, I particularly like that Shane/Shawn/Sean are close to your name (which I’m guessing starts with a “sh” sound). What about:
Seamus
Sheppard (or whatever spelling you prefer)
Shaffer
Shae
or maybe a “ch” name to echo your name, but not repeat an initial – kind of like your husband and daughter
Chesney
Chase
Chad
Charles (Charles and Georgia! Charles Hunter) although maybe not if you call Georgia, Georgie and might call a Charles, Charlie.
I also think that Shawn and Georgia are perfectly lovely together. And while I like that both have soft consonant sounds. But hey, I named my kid Julian and have no “f”s to give about whether someone thinks it’s a girl’s name or if someone thinks he’s a girl before meeting him.
Ian Hunter Rivas.
Ian is a different form of John and Sean.
And, it shares a letter pattern with your daughters name ( georgIA and IAn) without having matcha sounds.
💛💛
I was just coming to suggest Ian, so consider it seconded! I love how it sounds with your last name and with Hunter.
Yes! This is what I was going to say! Exact same words!
Just chiming in that I also know so many Gabriels, all of whom are white. Off the top of my head, I can think of six. It sounds very middle-America to me, similar to Samuel or Nicholas. And I think Gabriel and Georgia are nice together.
I also like the suggestion of Ian. And I think Wyatt and William would work well.
I’m guessing she’s referring to the Spanish pronunciation of Gabriel, which is very different from the English one. They are different enough that I can definitely see liking one but not the other (and being frustrated when he is inevitably called the wrong one every day).
Also chiming in to say that I don’t think of Gabriel as a Hispanic name at all. And I love the idea that if you have Georgia and Gabriel, then the commonality will be in the kids having G names, as opposed to your husband matching your daughter. (Although if you are going to have a third it is worth considering if you would feel locked into G names.)
I don’t think Wyatt and WIlliam will make RIvas into Wivas, I think if Rs become Ws it will happen regardless of the first name.
Have you thought about Evan?
I would gently say that it seems like you have a lot of minor rules that are restricting your choices. “Weak” sounding, Ws, J sound, STD sounding, your sister’s preference, egotistical to sound like yours, etc. Could you possibly set all of those restrictions and negatives completely aside and read your lists of names without thinking of the reasons not to use them, and see if any of the names just makes your heart leap? None of your negatives would (in my personal opinion) override a name if you loved it. So what if you started from that point: which name(s) do you LOVE, and then can you work around the issues. (ALL names will have issues, even ones you can’t foresee.)
I like Hunter best and the fact that you feel like that’s his name is a good sign. Hunter Rivas sounds awesome! Hunter Morgan or Hunter Shawn or Hunter Liam.
Jonathan! I love Georgia and Jonathan. I love Jonathan Rivas. It has some of the sounds of many of the names you like.
That’s a great name!
I’m a little uncomfortable with a distinction between “American” names and “Hispanic” names, esp in the current political climate. There are literally millions and millions and millions of Hispanic American citizens. Latinos settles the southwest decades (in some cases hundreds of years) ahead of European Americans. There is nothing more American about the name John Smith than Gabriel Rivas.
Yes also to this.
I also just wanted to comment briefly on the strong/weak name. I think…hopefully…that what is meant from your friend is that the sounds are either a little softer or a little harsher. I think Laura over at Baby Name Wizard has a piece on the popularity of “water” sound names. Lots of vowels and smooth sounds (Amelia, Sophie, Noah, Liam). Names that slip out without barely having to move your mouth. Georgia (a name that I love!) is a name that requires a bit more work from your mouth than Sean (my preferred spelling), which less popular now than it was 30 years ago, but still flows in the water-like sense. Shane, not softened by the “w” of Sean, does not so much, and is a harder sound as a result.
I also want to concur that if you love Miguel/Javier/etc—it is an American name it an American has it. And if you love it AND he has the cultural background of that name—then isn’t that just perfect?!
But I’m still voting for Jonathan! :)
If you like Shawn, maybe you would like Samson?
If you like Gabriel (which I would agree is no less American for being also used in the Spanish speaking world), how would you think about Abraham?
If you like John, might you be interested in Evan?
I have to agree that for people my age, River Phoenix makes Phoenix Rivas a dicey proposition, and I did have a bit of slurring around William Rivas, although not around Wyatt. How would you feel about Liam if you really wanted William.
Good luck
I don’t think Shawn/Sean is a “weak” name, and I have no problem saying William Rivas or Wyatt Rivas.
I would just like to chime in that some names do seem gentler than others–and in our current society that is trying to force androgyny on everyone, it is something people think about when naming. If you want your child’s gender to be immediately identifiable by his name, you don’t have many safe boy options left. I don’t really get that sense from the writer of the letter though, as she and her husband both like Morgan, which has been unisex for quite awhile now. Also, there is a big difference between the connotations of the words “weak” and “gentle.” River feels like a gentle name, but that doesn’t equate to weak. Hunter is definitely more aggressive sounding, but that doesn’t necessary equate to strong. The nuances of the words are understood differently by every person so discussion is almost useless on the topic. Shawn doesn’t seem like a particularly gentle or weak name to me, and it is still traditionally masculine, so the comment seems off-base on every level. And weird. A weird, off-base comment.
On to other things. I love Phoenix with Georgia and think that it is a fantastic pairing as both have just boatloads of spunk and personality. I would go with that from the original list. I don’t have any problem saying Wyatt Rivas, but I’m probably mispronouncing the last name, so take that with a grain of salt. I love the name Wyatt. It has so much cowboy swagger. Love.
On another note–I don’t ever hear Hispanic names and think un-American. I live in the west and there are so many Hispanic/white marriages that nobody even blinks. My very white Canadian sister is married to a Colombian, so I’ve listened to her talk about trying to find names that fit into both cultures. I understand where you are coming from, but it also makes me sad that a fantastic name like Miguel would go unused if you really love it. If I didn’t want you to use Phoenix (and really, what will it matter what is on the resume twenty years from now when the types of names being used currently are all over the place? Phoenix will fit right in with Bear and Fox and Javier and Jimmer and Henry and Maverick and Kaiser), I would recommend Leandro (or Leander). Love.
I definitely don’t think that Sean (I prefer this spelling) is too weak. I like the name Sean. I also think that Gabriel is a good choice and is definitely “American” enough if that is what you are looking for. I have a really hard time saying Phoenix Rivas. I think it is the two long E sounds in the middle of those names.
All in all, I think that I like Gabriel the best here, but a lot of other good suggestions are above.
Here are a few that I think feel like good fits with Georgia and your last name.
Henry
Andrew
Michael
Tucker
Maverick ( as a first name )
Davis
Landon
Nolan ( I like this suggestion )
Wesley
Alexander
I totally second the suggestions of using Gabriel! It’s a great classic name, works just perfectly with Georgia, and I personally don’t label it as a Hispanic name at all. It’s a quite common name in Poland (with Gabriela being a female version) and many other countries (like Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Sweden, to name just a few), so It’s a very “international” name. I would wholeheartedly encourage you to name Georgia’s little brother Gabriel:)
I don’t think Shawn is “weaker” than Georgia. Georgia and Shawn make fine sibling names.
Gabriel also doesn’t necessarily signify Hispanic to me; I know Hispanic as well as white Gabriels and I think it works well in both Spanish and English.
Morgan sounds too close to Georgia, imo.
William Rivas is a little bit of a tongue-twister to me but Wyatt Rivas is easier to say.
I like the suggestions of Felix, Theodore, Leo, Orion, Cole.
Instead of Connor, what about another -r name?
Parker
Asher
Dexter
Cooper
Skylar
Archer
Evander
Leander
Or maybe Cody?
What about Hugo? Georgia and Hugo sound great together!
Blake, Adam, Aaron, Nathan/Nathaniel or Isaac?
I like Georgia and Adam together.
Good luck!
Sterling? Like the sound of Sterling Rivas.
Beckett or Dane?
Dane Rivas! Nice!
I love Georgia and Gabriel.
Speaking of judges/justices, William Rehnquist seems to be easily pronounceable on the news. I think W names could be considered since you’re feeling stuck.
Oops, you said resumes/CEO. Same as the pilot/judge/person in authority test.
I was thinking about weak/strong. I think Shawn is more sibilant than Georgia. Hoping for a world where we don’t have to assign sibilance and hard G’s by gender anymore! Shawn Bean seems to handle the sh- sound just fine ;)
I know I’m quite a bit late, but I do have trouble with William and Wyatt with the last name. Not all the time, but it has happened a few times I’ve been saying them. It seems to be the “I” sound. But I’m only having trouble when I pronounce the I the same way I pronounce it in the first name.
Wyatt R”y”vas, trouble. Wyatt R”ih”vas, no trouble.
Just in case this helps someone else! :)
Thanks for the update! I just wanted to say that I love “gentler” names on boys (I have a Jesse and we call him Jess), AND (for me) that name Shawn/Sean comes with only good associations. :) I hope both you and your sweet Shawn grow into the name. :)