M. writes:

I came across your blog and I’m hoping that you can help us with our baby boy naming dilema. We are expecting a baby boy this December (the 18th) and for months my husband and I have been going back and forth and cannot agree on anything. Would LOVE some advice and opinions since we have spent months pouring over name books and can’t agree. Our last name is Rose.

Before we knew it was going to be a boy, we had NO problem deciding on girls names- we agreed on everything! We both loved Chloe and Lauren, and we both liked Clara too, so that was no problem! However, once we found out it’s a boy, we are stuck since we’ve never agreed on anything and the closer the due date gets the more stressed I am getting about finding a name! I find boys names really hard to pick- I have always liked the name Reid, but our last name is Rose, so that doesn’t sound right together (plus my husband doesn’t like it anyway). I tend to like preppy-ish names, but my husband vetoes them all saying they don’t sound strong enough. We both liked Jake until a friend of ours had a baby and used that name (close friend, so we can’t use it), and we both liked Gavin, but a family member had a baby and used that name! My husband likes Wyatt, but I can’t get the image of cowboys out of my head, and it just seems too trendy, or trying too hard or something. The hard part is that our last name is feminine, so it really should be a pretty masculine name. We had Jackson on the list originally (but I think it’s WAY too popular) and Deacon on our lists (I like Deacon more than my husband- I don’t think he can get Wyatt out of his head). I also liked Graham, but husband said no. If we can’t agree on anything, I have a feeling my husband is going to get his way and just name him Wyatt Jackson. However, I would love to have a say in at least one of the names, and make that name a little less common or trendy. I would love a name that has a bit of ‘soul’ in it instead of strength, but not have the name be too soft….we are stuck.

Any advice would be appreciated!
Thank you!

This is one of the many brilliances of The Baby Name Wizard: if you know some girl names you like, you can look up “brother names” and see if any of those are also to your tastes.

For Chloe, The Baby Name Wizard suggests Liam, Gavin, Miles, Carter, Caleb.

For Clara: Louis, Julius, Theo, Porter, Charles.

For Lauren: Brandon, Lucas, Nathan, Zachary, Joshua.

And look, there’s Gavin among the choices!

Because Carter’s R-ending runs into the R of Rose, I’d suggest Carson instead if you wanted something of that style. But Carson might be too androgynous with Rose.

Caleb may be more popular than you have in mind (or maybe not: it’s about the same rank as Gavin, according to The Social Security Administration), but what I like about it is it’s very boyish and it has something of the cowboy vibe that might be what draws your husband to the name Wyatt.

Miles definitely has soul, and it’s definitely boyish, but is it strong enough? Perhaps not. Would Milo be an improvement? Milo Rose. Hm, it sounds like “my low rose.”

Davis might have some soul from Miles Davis. Davis Rose.

I know a family with a similarly feminine-sounding surname, and they went with the first name Derek. Their other finalist was Garrett.

Zachary is definitely masculine, and the nickname Zach is similar to Jake from your list.

Gavin makes me think of:

Garrett
Gideon
Grady
Griffin

Grady sounds particularly cowboy to me, but all those names seem strong and masculine.

Emily writes:

Sorry for the somewhat last minute email here, but we are in trouble! My husband and I are having our sixth daughter together next week, she is due November 5th. This is the first time we have found out the gender before birth, and I think it has made naming the poor mite even harder. Our main problem is choosing a first name which goes well with her sisters names.

Ottilie Fflur (aged 7 – sometimes goes by Tilly, her middle name is Welsh)

Adalia Seren (aged 6 – sometimes goes by Addie, her middle name is Welsh)

Cecily Roma ( aged 4 – born when we lived in Italy for a year, hence her middle name!)

Nolia Betsy (aged 21 months – Nole-ee-ah, English middle name)

Violet Lucina (aged 21 months – Vi-oh –LETT, English middle name)

Our names are, Logan James Brown and Emily Quinn Brown.

Some names we like, but are out:-

Aleydis – Not sure if I want to reuse initials though (Adalia)
Helena – (niece’s name)
Eleanor/a
Emmeline
Evangeline (my name is Emily – so I don’t really want to reuse the E)

As each of the girls has an L in the second half of her name I would quite like to do this again, to continue flow. But it is not crucial as long as the name sounds like one of the bunch! But we are quickly running out of names! As we have eliminated – A,B,O,N,C&V names for definite and maybe L and E names too! (B because hubby doesn’t like alliteration – so Beatrice/Beatrix is gone)

Middle names:- ( Need to reflect the country of birth, this baby will be born in USA)

Quinn
Logan
???? Really depends on the first name, preferably unusual

One name we are considering is Romilly Quinn Brown.

Sorry – for the long question, it really has become rather complicated naming her! Maybe we should go with Cecily’s suggestion of Bumblebee! Thanks

I think Romilly Quinn takes care of all your requirements. I hesitate only because it adds another “lee” sound, when already four of the five girls (and you) have that sound. Do you pronounce Ottilie as Ah-TILL-ee-ah or AH-till-lee? If the latter, Romilly seems rhymey; if the former, it’s a worry only if you might call her Milly and would rather not have a Tilly and a Milly.

Other possibilities:

Genevieve
Imogen
Isadora
Juliette (too rhymey with Violet?)
Penelope
Philippa
Philomena
Willemina

If E isn’t out after all, I suggest Elodie. If L isn’t out after all, I suggest Lorelei.

Erica writes:

We just found out that we are expecting our 5th, yes FIFTH B.O.Y…wowzers! I LOVE playing the name game and thoroughly enjoyed picking out GIRLS names for the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy…but alas, we need another boy name! I am now 33 weeks along and we still have no name! This is especially hard because we usually are great name pickers! We actually picked our #5 child’s name the day our #4 child was born, so with it being this late in the pregnancy is really hard for me. I feel like having a name helps me bond with the baby during pregnancy and without it I’m struggling.

My husband and I are Eric and Erica Johnson and we are a blended family with “our” 3rd on the way. The older 3 children are from my previous marriage, but they all live with us. The children’s names are

Perry Thomas B. (13)

Parker Logan B. (12)

Libby McClairen B. (9½)

Corban Joseph J. (2½)

Clayt Daniel J. (18m)

Baby boy J. due 12/15/10

All but one child (Parker Logan) has a family name, or a family inspired name (meaning we have a really long story how I got from my dad’s name Clayton to McClairen for my daughter’s middle name….but to me it is the inspiration more than the exact name that matters)

It is important to me that the meaning of the names have no negative meanings and its important to me that we find the closest meaning based on etymology rather than “baby-naming” websites that like to flower up some of the less desirable meanings. We are word of faith Christians, and its really important to me that we are speaking nothing negative about our child every time we call his name! I would really like this baby’s name to reflect that he is appointed, a gift, a reward or something with that kind of meaning. I’ve been dealing with a bit of disappointment (as much as I don’t want to be but I was so hopeful for a girl this time around)

Our 2 youngest children’s middle names are family names but we are pretty much out of male names…we are a family surrounded with females! Hubby’s father is Joseph Daniel (hubby is Eric Joseph) It really bugs me to not have a family name, but to “force” the issue seems to be no good either.

Possible Middle names:

Eric- haven’t run it by hubby but with the right first name he might go for it

Ray- I don’t like it much for the sound of the name, but it is a family name (my dad’s middle name, and my DH great grandpa’s first name) Coming from the name Raymond, it means Advice protector…Downside….my sister used the name for her daughter (who is 2 years old) and we are close…So maybe another name with the name “ray” with in it….though Raymond doesn’t really ring my bell either! UGH…

Since we are running low on family names, a known biblical name might be an easier route (I’ve looked through nearly all of them by meaning and picked out a nice long list of instant vetos…

I like Eli or Elijah for a middle name, because I felt God used a baby named Eli to help prepare my heart for this son. DH hasn’t vetoed or approved the name

The few first names that we have on the still considering list…but none really feel like they fit….

Names I’ve suggested (all have meanings that “pass”)

Ramsey – my favorite but DH doesn’t like names that end with and “ey” sound.
Gentry Foster
Foster Eli

Names DH has suggested

Roman
Titus
Lock(e)
Given
Wyatt – DH current like, but “meh”…if you ask me and I don’t like the meaning.

Thanks for your help!

Faith writes:

I have enjoyed reading your posts over the past few months! I have been looking for a sign – anything – to tell me that “this is the name” of our second son. So far, nothing.

I will have a scheduled c-section on December 8th.

His brother is 3 1/2 year Noah Wilfred (Noah b/c we loved it and thought it was so original at the time + Wilfred my father’s name)

Our last name is Schaff (short A sound SHAFF)

Dad is Russell Eugene Schaff III

We have both agreed that baby #2 should have Russell as his middle name (each boy will have a grandfather’s name for the middle)

We don’t have other male family names to draw from. :(

My husband has had one name offering from the very beginning. Only one. Miles. (He’s a big fan of Miles Davis)

I’m not sure how I feel about Miles Russell Schaff. Too many sss sounds. And Schaff sounds so close to “shaft” which tends to pull in the possibility of names that sound like porn stars. (Harry Schaff…..

We aren’t tied down to biblical names, but they do sound right with Noah. I’d like a name that doesn’t skyrocket to the top 10 like Noah did. A classic, traditional name.

Some on my list have been

Eli Russell/Noah and Eli

Caleb Russell/Caleb and Eli

Jeremiah Russell (husband says there are too many syllables in Jeremiah)/

Wilson Russell Schaff (I love the name Will/Wil but William is so popular./Noah and WIl

Quinn (was on my list and now off b/c it looks like there are so many girl Quinns out there)

I love the name Silas (but Silas Schaff is too many ss sounds)

Thank you for your help!

The first thing I notice is that you guys broke a three-generation naming tradition. I’ll bet I’m not the only one hungry for details. My mother-in-law and father-in-law broke a many-generations naming tradition when they named my husband Paul, and it caused…issues. (And I’m so grateful to them for weathering those issues so I wouldn’t have to do it a generation later.)

Anyway! On with business! Since you like Silas but it’s too much S, I wonder if Simon would work better. Simon Schaff, Simon Russell Schaff, Noah and Simon. I like it.

It’s too bad Miles Davis’s surname also ends in S, or that would be a good option. But maybe it’s a good option anyway? Davis Schaff, Davis Russell Schaff, Noah and Davis.

(I was going to suggest Milo, but then thought of your porn caution and “Mile O’Schaff” and changed my mind. Ahem.)

I think I might avoid M-names anyway, because of the MRS initials. And I-names, because of IRS.

I like the sound of Benjamin Schaff. Benjamin Russell Schaff, Noah and Ben.

Melissa writes:

I’m having a bit of a name dilemma & am wondering if you and/or your readers might be able to help. I found a name that I really like, but I’m wondering if giving a baby a rare name is almost worse than a popular name in a way? I like the name Junuh really well for a boy (pronounced exactly like Judah, but with an “n”), but the only place I’ve ever heard the name was in a movie that I saw again recently. It is actually the character’s last name, but that’s what he goes by in the movie & the more everyone says it throughout the movie the more I like the name. Fortunately (for me), the movie wasn’t all that popular (or that good for that matter), so I don’t think people would automatically make the leap. I know we’re all in the search of the happy balance between ‘uncommon’ but still ‘familiar’. Is this name too far out of bounds? I feel like it sounds a bit familiar, because it is close to both Jonah & Judah, but I like it better than both of those. These are my biggest concerns:

1. Does it sound like something I just made up? (for the record my husband hates what he calls ‘makey-up’ names & for the most part I actually agree with him)

2. Does it sound like a girls name? because I really don’t like boy names that could possibly be mistaken for girls, which is really difficult since all boy names seem to go to the dark side these days, leaving us with VERY few original options. (since people aren’t familiar with it, will he go through his whole life with people thinking he’s a girl on paper?)

3. Will he always get, “you mean Jonah?” … “No, Junuh”. …. “Oh, like the month, but with an ‘a’ on the end?”

Anyways, sorry for the saga, but I would appreciate it you have a chance to give me some feedback. I love your website & am absolutely addicted to finding the perfect baby name, & find it a huge relief that I’m not the only one. For the record, my husband & I are starting to try for babies, so if you have more pressing naming issues, I completely understand! Thanks Swistle!

To me, it sounds like a girl name and/or a made-up name. Not only is the “-a” ending typically feminine, but June is an established girl name and Juno is a major goddess. The movie Juno only reinforced the feminine connection. Another problem is that Junuh looks like it could be pronounced Junnuh.

The only boyish connection I can think of is to “Junior.” I think I would either use Judah or think of another name.