Hello Swistle!

We have been going through the baby name wizard you gifted us during your fundraiser years ago but we have not been able to come up with a first name for a boy. Baby is due in December.

We have one child, Ewan R@y. My spouse changed his name when we married so our family name sounds like “Cornmeal” without the “m”. Baby is due in December.

Spouse picked out Ewan’s first name when he was a teenager and I really liked it when he brought up the name so that worked out really nicely. He shares a middle name with my grandfather and a cousin.

If the baby is a girl, the name will be Lyra D@nielle. Lyra is from a book series spouse really likes and D@nielle is my sister’s middle name. We are both really excited about this name!

If baby is a boy, we would like to use Ryan (spouse’s brother’s first name) as a middle name.

We don’t want repeating initials so an “E” name is off the table if we use Ryan as a middle name. The other boy middle name we have discussed is William (in the context of a third boy) which is my spouse’s middle name and his grandfather’s middle name. We have talked about it and William or Ryan would be fine as middle names.

Names I like:

Shea
Eamon
Caspar
Konrad
Eligh
Emerson
Rowan
Emery
Everett
Edmund
Ezra

Names spouse likes/are just ok:

Ezra
Galen
Rowan
Ronan
Edmund
“I don’t know, that’s the problem!”
Everett
Eamon (this name is sometimes off the list)
Emery

Please help! We really have no idea.

 

I had written two full paragraphs encouraging you to go ahead and repeat an initial, since MORE THAN HALF of the names on BOTH lists start with E—and then I realized my reading comprehension was poor and that what you said is that you don’t want to repeat ALL the initials: that is, you are fine with another E name, but you don’t want another ERC name. I am saying this in case any commenters were about to have to surreptitiously delete two paragraphs, too.

My own preference would be to remove Eamon from the list: to me, it feels too similar to Ewan. And I realize this is completely subjective, but something about the Ewan/Eamon combination is particularly tangling to my particular brain: I say YOU-wen and AY-mon and there’s a short-circuiting sensation.

I would also remove Eligh. If that’s Eli with a -gh, I would keep it on the list but spell it Eli, unless there is a truly overpowering reason to spell it Eligh. And if there IS an overpowering reason to use that spelling, I would suggest using it as a middle name. Or possibly this is an auto-correct situation, and I will feel silly for pointing it out.

And I would remove Konrad: the K- and -nr- of Konrad with the C- and -rn- of the surname gives me that short-circuiting feeling again.

Shea turns into “shake or kneel” with the surname.

It feels unfair to remove so many of yours without removing any of your husband’s, so I’ll also take off Galen. I feel like that’s a tough name to carry.

And Rowan repeats the -wan of Ewan; I don’t know if that would bother you. It bothers me a little, but not enough to take it off the list; that is, I would take it off my list, but I’m not motivated to boss you to take it off of yours. Although, the more I think about it, the more it’s bothering me, so I may change my mind later. No, in fact, I’ve changed my mind already: it’s that the -wan is 3/4ths of the name Ewan, and that feels like too much to duplicate.

I’ll note that Ezra and Lyra both end in -ra, just in case that’s something you want to consider ahead of time.

Let’s see, where does that leave us. Emery, Everett, Edmund, Ezra (unless Ezra that would rule out a future daughter named Lyra); middle name William. I think you could name the baby any of those names and then pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. And it’s not uncommon in my own experience to have a girl name you’re really happy and excited about, and a boy name you agree on and think would be a solid choice but are not particularly excited about, or vice versa. Sometimes it just works out that way. So that is a very good start, and now let’s just see if we can find any boy names you WOULD feel excited about, because that can be fun too. Plus, since Ryan is your first choice for a middle name, it would be nice to find some non-E first-name options (…that Swistle doesn’t scribble out for you). Let’s all open our Baby Name Wizards.

Caleb. I notice you like alliteration. Caleb Cornmeal; Ewan and Caleb.

Cyrus. Found it while looking for alliteration; it’s not alliterative, but still jumped out at me as a brother name for a Ewan. Cyrus Cornmeal; Ewan and Cyrus. But I’d caution that it is a little similar to Lyra.

Gideon. Some of the sounds of Konrad/Edmund, some of the sounds of Galen. Gideon Cornmeal; Ewan and Gideon.

Silas. I was in the biblical section and it caught my eye. Silas Cornmeal; Ewan and Silas. Similar to Cyrus, but no issue with a future Lyra.

Angus. I have moved now to the Celtic section. Angus Cornmeal. Ewan and Angus. Despite knocking Rowan off your list for a related offense, the -an/An- thing appeals to me a little. Also, I seem to be in Overthinking It Mode now, because do names that end in -s form the words “score” or “scorn” with your surname? I’m saying Angus Cornmeal and sometimes hearing “score” (which would be fine) but not “scorn” (which might also be fine, but is a negative word), and sometimes hearing nothing, because “Scornmeal” does not seem like a likely surname, and because Angus is a familiar enough first name that it doesn’t lose the -s to the blend.

Callum. Alliteration again, Celtic-style this time. Callum Cornmeal (I would find it Too Much if the surname actually had an M in it); Ewan and Callum.

Declan. This feels nicely snappy to me with Ewan. It makes me feel like saying the names together a bunch of times to enjoy them. Declan Cornmeal; Ewan and Declan.

Griffin. I enjoy this combination, too. Griffin Cornmeal; Ewan and Griffin.

Quinn. Interesting repeating sounds with the surname, and with the sibling name. I almost took it off the list, then found I didn’t want to, so I left it on: with the surname, the repeating sounds make me want to keep saying it; with the sibling name, it intrigues me how many sounds the names share while staying so different. Quinn Cornmeal; Ewan and Quinn.

Rhys. It’s simultaneously pleasing and also a little alarming (because of the potential pressure, if you then added a fourth child) to imagine later adding a Lyra, so that all three kids would have four-letter names. Rhys Cornmeal; Ewan and Rhys (and maybe Lyra).

Jasper. Jasper Cornmeal. Ewan and Jasper.

Alfred. I started with Alfie, but hesitated: is that enough name? And I do so love the name Alfred. Alfred Cornmeal, perhaps called Alfie; Ewan and Alfred, Ewan and Alfie.

Otto. Otto Cornmeal; Ewan and Otto.

Leo. I can’t tell if I like it with the surname. Leo Cornmeal; Ewan and Leo.

Gage. Similar to Galen. Gage Cornmeal; Ewan and Gage.

Wesley. Wesley Cornmeal; Ewan and Wesley.

Abel. Abel Cornmeal; Ewan and Abel.

Carey Cornmeal; Ewan and Carey.

Fletcher Cornmeal; Ewan and Fletcher.

Hayes Cornmeal; Ewan and Hayes.

Lane Cornmeal, and I like it significantly better knowing there’s no -m-; Ewan and Lane.

Murphy Cornmeal; Ewan and Murphy.

Nolan Cornmeal; Ewan and Nolan.

Wells Cornmeal; Ewan and Wells.

Davis Cornmeal; Ewan and Davis.

Malcolm Cornmeal; Ewan and Malcolm.

Miles Cornmeal; Ewan and Miles

 

 

 

Name update:

Dear Swistle!

Ezra William arrived in time for Christmas. Thank you and the readers for the name input!