My partner and I can’t agree on any names for our identical twin boys due in early October.
Last name is Boulerice.
We have 1 son who’s named Declan John Robert.
He likes scottish / Norse names – some examples include Ayrton, Barron, Calder & Soren.
I like celtic/ Scottish / Welsh names – some examples include Lowen, Griffin, Malcolm, & Tristan.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I feel optimistic about this: your styles are so adjacent/overlapping, it feels FATED for success. And you need TWO names, so maybe BOTH of you will get your favorite!
But oh, goodness, I remember how difficult it was to name twins! I’d thought it would be DELIGHTFUL, and then it was so DIFFICULT! What I finally had to do was pretend I was naming them one at a time: pretend I was pregnant with one baby, and what would I name this one? and then pretend it is like two or three years later and I am pregnant again with one baby, and what would I name this one?
And yet it’s impossible to ignore the fact that they WILL be born together, and their names WILL be considered together! (And in my experience, people lovvvvvvvvvve to hear twin names.) So I ended up with two “separate” lists (pretending they were born separately) plus a “twin” list (pairing up all the names from the other lists). My dear hope was that I could find SOMETHING twinny about the names: not the Sharon/Karen or Timmy/Tommy thing from generations ago, but maybe just the same number of syllables/letters, or maybe starting with the same letter, or maybe a similar sound. I failed in that goal (I liked my favorites too much to trade them for something twinnier), and it’s absolutely fine but I do still wish I’d succeeded in finding something a LITTLE twinny! (Their middle names do start with the same letter, which scratches the very edge of that itch.)
Commenters brought it to my attention recently that Norse names are currently favored by white supremacists, not just casually/coincidentally but in a This Is Part of Our Mission kind of way, so what I suggest is that we leave those out for the time being until we find out if those names are going to feel regrettable later on. Of course I don’t mean I think parents CAN’T use them, and of course many names belong to multiple cultures, and of course one such name in a sibling group of non-Nordic names will not make it seem as if you are Trying To Promote White Supremacy. But just in situations where there isn’t a strong reason to use one of those names, I’m suggesting maybe we put them aside for now and see how things go. And in this particular case, your overlap is Scottish names, so that seems like the first area to explore anyway.
I need to say at the outset that I am not generally clear on which names are Scottish and which are, say, Irish, or Celtic. I have them all mixed together in my mind, as well as in many of my baby-name reference books. This may lead me to suggest a name that is RIDICULOUS, and please do tell me gently in the comments section so I can remove it and pretend I didn’t suggest it.
I’m going to start with The Oxford Dictionary of First Names, because it has a specific section for Scottish names.
Aidan
Okay, wait, time out: on this list is Ailbeart, which it says is the Gaelic equivalent of Albert. Would Albert then fall into the category of Scottish names, or is it completely unScottishized by the conversion? Because I am very keen on the name Albert, and would like to see it come back into style, but I want to save my pushiness for the posts where I have a chance. All right, let’s start again:
Aidan
Alasdair
Alec
Angus
Archie
Calum
Cameron
Conall
Douglas
Evander
Ewan, or does it have to be Eóghan to be Scottish?
Fergus, or does it have to be Fearghas?
Findlay
Finlay
Fraser
Gregor
Ian
Lachlan (probably not with Declan)
Logan
Lyall/Lyle
Malcolm
Murray
Neil
Niall
Reid
Roderick
Rory
Ross
Shaw
Teague, or does it etc.
And now a list from The Baby Name Wizard‘s Celtic section:
Aidan
Alastair
Alec
Angus
Bowen
Brennan
Broderick
Brodie
Brogan
Callan
Callum
Camden
Casey
Conall
Connor
Cormac
Cullen
Darby
Desmond
Douglas
Ellis
Evander
Ewan
Fergus
Finian
Finlay
Finn
Finnegan
Flynn
Garrett
Graham
Gregor
Griffin
Ian
Keane
Keegan
Kellan
Kian
Kieran
Lachlan (probably not with Declan)
Logan
Lowen
Lyle
Malcolm
Morgan
Murphy
Neil
Niall
Owen
Quinn
Reid
Rhys
Rory
Rowan
Shaw
Sullivan
Teague
Tiernan
Would anyone like to have some fun coming up with pairings? This is your moment!
I wonder if it would help to go through these lists, or the Scottish/Celtic section of a name book or website, and each of you write down all the names you are willing to even consider (like, any name you don’t actively dislike); then put those names on little slips of paper and spread them out all over a table and start pairing them up. Sometimes a name you’re just sort of okay with can change into a name you LOVE as you start experimenting with it. Or it can go the other way: you can have a name you think you want to use, and then when you start actually trying it out, it fails to please.
More things to experiment with: Do you find you like names that have something in common, like a shared first initial or shared number of syllables or shared sound, or do you find you are more inclined to find names that are quite different? (My twins were fraternal girl/boy twins; I might have felt differently about the twinniness of names if I’d had identical twins.) Do you find your lists are ranked oppositely: that is, your favorites are on his list but way down at the bottom, and his favorites are on your list but way down at the bottom? Is there any joint happiness in the middle of the list, or would you perhaps prefer the method of a friend of mine who had an opposite-ranking issue with her husband: they ended up each choosing one name (the name had to be on the other parent’s list, but it could be way down at the bottom), and in time she said they both came to love both names. There is also some work to be done with middle names: perhaps one parent would come closer to the other parent’s favorite if they could choose the middle name.
Do you find as you makes lists and pairings that actually you are not feeling the Scottish names? It might be necessary to go one level back, and start again with the entire pool of names. Maybe it will turn out that you liked Scottish names for your FIRST baby, but now you want something else.
I have also found it useful, when feeling very stuck on a baby’s name, to think to myself that it is not actually important that we both love the name. What’s important is that we give the baby a serviceable name they can use throughout their life, and I always felt confident we could achieve THAT goal—and also that with time, we would come to love their name because it was THEIRS. Talking with relatives from previous generations, I found they seemed a little baffled by how much energy and stress the current parents (me, they meant me) were putting into name-choosing: they’d gone with a route more like “Well, how about Nancy? Oh, your sister is using it for her daughter. Well, then, how about Barbara? Great! Oh, wait, what about the middle name? Ann? Sure! Done!” My mother-in-law, when questioned on my favorite topic, said for each of her pregnancies she was just thinking about the baby’s name and it was just the name that came to her mind, and then she checked with her husband and he was fine with it, so then they were done. This method does not resonate with me, but it soothes me.
My fave pairing is Morgan and Owen. Both are strong, handsome names. (Plus I love Morgan Freeman!) If you don’t want “n” ending names, I also love Malcom and Graham. For one syllable names I love Ross and Quinn.
All the names on Swistle’s lists are fabulous !! Almost any pairing would be wonderful !!
I know a sibling set that has a Declan, a Tristan, and a Jaden (with an Alyssa in there, too). Jaden is the outlier for me, stylistically, but he’s the oldest and I think his parents’ naming style evolved. All of that to say, I think you might be able to get away with Declan, Tristan, and Lachlan (or Finnegan, or Rowan, or Sullivan) as a set with some repeating sounds. I think the names themselves are different enough that it feels thematic rather that cutesy-matchy. Declan, Malcolm, and Griffin gets in range of that idea as well, without being directly all -an endings.
Personally, I would avoid -n endings because of big brother. From Swistle’s list, I love Garrett, Rhys or Reid.
Additionally, I would reconsider Calder. For me, the contemporary art connection (Alexander Calder) is stronger than any Scandinavian one. Nameberry says it’s of English origin.
Declan, Garrett, and Calder
Declan, Garrett, and Reid
Declan, Rhys, and Calder (this is my favorite!)
From your original name lists, I feel that you and your husband are botg drawn to the ending -n sound.
Declan, Soren, Lowen would make a very nice sibling set with Soren and Lowen being the right level of “twinny” but still fitting in well with big brother’s name. The names sound very pleasant said together and separately.
Declan, Calder, and Malcolm is another good sibling set from your list if you didn’t want to repeat the ending sound.
Congratulations and how exciting to be having twins!
I love Gaelic style names! I could sit here all day and come up with tons of combos but here are a few that really stood out to me:
Declan, Malcolm and Cormac; Declan, Oscar and Cormac; Declan, Oscar and Malcolm. All names share a hard C sound. All names end in a different sound. Love the idea of Oscar “Ozzy” and Malcolm or Cormac “Mac”!
Declan, Quinn and Kiernan. Same as above with all names sharing a hard -C/K sound.
Declan, Morgan and Graham or Grant. A nice variety of Irish, Welsh, and Scottish; the twins share the hard G sound. I like that all names end in a different sound
Declan, Morgan and Grady. Twins share the hard G sound, Declan and Morgan share -n ending, Grady and Declan share Irish roots. All names are connected in some way. I like that all 3 names are familiar but not crazy popular.
Declan, Callum, and Cormac or Declan, Calder and Cormac. Twins share an initial but Cal- and Cor- are different enough to not mix them up constantly
Declan, Malcolm and Morgan. Same as above. Another nice variety of Irish, Scottish, and Welsh origins.
Declan, Reid and Grant. Twins both have snappy, polished one syllable names that share Scottish origins.
Declan, Ronan, and Stellan. Or Declan, Kieran and Stellan. Stellan is a Scandi name but I’m throwing it in there as a possible idea for your husband’s tastes. All 3 names end in -n but (I think) the twins names are further down the popularity charts than Declan which I feel also helps tie them together in a way. All 3 names have a kind of cool guy vibe to them too in my opinion; especially Ronan or Kieran and Stellan together. Maybe because you don’t hear them as much?
Best wishes and good luck! Please update us on what you choose!
So glad you mentioned Cormac in so many pairings … I have a funny thing that when I met a Declan I find myself a little disappointed if his brothers name is not Cormac. I’ve met Decla’s and I know of Cormacs and I don’t recall any of them actually being brothers. They just go so well together in my mind.
Oops that was supposed to be Declan, Quinn and Kieran*, not Kiernan
And ignore the part about Declan, Morgan and Graham or Grant all sharing different endings sounds because Morgan and Declan both end in -n 🙃
I have a Callum and a Lachlan and nephews named Declan and Graham. Lachlan’s middle is Griffith too. So i obviously think these all go together well! Morgan would be my favorite if we had another.
Mythology theme: Griffin and Fenris. Declan, Griffin and Fenris.
Animal theme: Callum and Ronan. Declan, Callum and Ronan.
Hard C theme: Cormac and Cillian/Killian. Declan, Cormac and Cillian.
Might be too popular?: Dylan and Logan. Declan, Dylan and Logan. Also, repeats an initial, which seems lopsided.
Vowels! Ian and Owen. Declan, Ian and Owen.
More Norse-y: Torsten and Stellan. Declan, Torsten and Stellan.
Alphabet: Evan and Finn. Declan, Evan and Finn.
Surname + more syllables: Sullivan and Finnegan. Declan, Sullivan and Finnegan.
I just realized Griffin and Fenris would give you the nicknames Fin and Fen. That might be too Tommy/Timmy but they are like super secret twinny nicknames hidden in the actual names. Declan, Griffin and Fenris. Dec(lan), Fin and Fen. <3
Maybe Fin and Ris/Rhys?
I’ll do some pairings:
A few that start with the same letter:
Aidan & Angus
Garrett & Graham
Malcolm & Morgan
Reid & Rhys
Start and end with the same syllable:
Finnian & Griffin
End with the same letter (big brother included):
Declan, Aidan & Griffin
Declan, Ian & Quinn
Declan, Ian & Logan
Declan, Morgan & Owen
Declan, Morgan & Soren
End with same letter (twins only):
Graham & Malcolm
Creates a pattern of hard Cs that run through various parts of all 3 names:
Declan, Cormac, & Malcolm
Cormac and Rhys
Or
Malcolm and Calder
Commenter mentioned Declan, Cormac, and Malcolm above. I love the hard C as a tie between all three because it avoids being too matchy-matchy, while making them sound quite harmonious together.
A friend just had her third daughter. Older two are Grace and Lucy, and I was trying to talk her into Alice, for the similar nice tie of the soft C through all three, and all classic American names. She ended up going a different direction (Amelia) but I got close!
There are so many great suggestions and possible pairings! I’ve decided to make my recommendation short and sweet and choose a name from your and your husband’s possibilities.
Barron and Griffin
Declan, Barron, and Griffin
Each name ends with the n sound (but with different spellings) and begins with a hard consonant. I feel like the names are similar, but not match-y or rhyme-y.
If you use nicknames, Barron could be Barry or Bear and Griffin could be Finn or Griff.
Best wishes to you!
I like Aidan and Finn for you.
Declan, Aidan, and Finn.
This is like a field day for me, because I’m Irish and come from a sibset of Irish names, my cousins are the same, and I almost named my children Bridget, Malachy, and Callum. So I thank Swistle for laying out all those names to choose from! How about:
Ronan and Quinn
Eamon and Malachy
Sullivan and Shaw
Logan and Fraser
Rory and Findlay
Finn and Teague
Alec and Cormac
Ewan and Callum
Desmond and Angus
Flynn and Camden
Griffin and Tiernan
Phew!! That was fun. Good luck with the babies!!
I feel like if I was only planning three children I wouldn’t make the twins too twinny so as not to leave the other child out.
My favourite Scottish names are Lewis and Alec. Not sure if Alec is too close to Declan or just right. The three names share a lot of sounds.
Declan, Reeve (is that Scots?) and Lewis.
Calder & Malcolm? Declan, Calder, & Malcolm? With 2 very Celtic names, the old Norse god name is alright. (which came to mind before I saw the other comments, lol)
Lewis & Graham? Declan, Lewis, & Graham
Keiran & Quinn? Declan, Keiran, & Quinn
Rory & Neil? Declan, Rory, & Neil
Cormac & Malcolm? Declan, Cormac, & Malcolm. Similar, but not too matchey
Keiran & Malcolm? Declan, Keiran, & Malcolm
Malcolm & Graham? Declan, Malcolm, & Graham
Calder & Alasdair? Declan, Calder, and Alasdair. C & A both end in r, all 3 have Ds.
Evandar & Alasdair? Declan, Evandar, & Alasdair. E & A have the same syllables & very similar endings, all 3 have As and Ds.
*same number of syllables
Angus and Griffin. Gus and Finn.
Axel and Callum. Ace and Cal.
Malcom and Roderick. Mac and Rory.
Halò! Tha Gàidhlig agam agus tha mi ag iarraidh a’ cuidich.
Hello! I speak Scottish Gaelic and I’d like to help.
Ailbeart would be pronounced like al-bersht, rather than exactly like Albert. I wouldn’t let that put you off considering it, though. Eòghann would be the Scottish form of Ewan, but I think most contemporary Scots would consider it still a Scottish/Irish name with the spelling Ewan. Similarly with Fergus, it would be spelled Fearghas (and in the vocative case be pronounced Yer-gus) in Gàidhlig but Scots would still see Fergus as a Scottish name.
I suspect that Donald is off the table for a lot of Americans right now but the Scottish variant Domhnall might appeal?
The Scottish form of Colin is Cailean, and the spelling could be simplified to Callan if that would appeal?
If you like Finlay, the Gàidhlig spelling is Fionnlagh.