Jasper is a great name. I know a kid named Jasper who is adorable and wears it well.
Malachi is also a great name and doesn’t shorten to anything weird. If you can deal with Mal as a nickname, this one is unique and cool.
Duncan is fabulous but he WILL get the Donuts comment a lot and may wind up hating his name for that reason. Something to think about.
Simon makes me think of the Chipmunks, but that’s a dated reference.
IMO, Max(well or millian, he’ll be Max either way) sounds like a dog’s name. I think it was the Bionic Dog’s name, in fact. A definite no for me.
Lucien was Dream’s librarian in the Sandman comic book series, so it’s a positive reference for me. However, I’ve played in innumerable role playing games with characters named Lucien. He may also get called Lucy, which will annoy him. Maybe if you pronounced it “LOO-shen” and not “LOO-see-en” that wouldn’t happen?
Please don’t go with Xaden. Too weird and won’t age well.
From your list I like Quinn, Xaden, and Malachi and I think
Malachi James Peterson hollered out the door sounds great.
Be sure when you narrow things down to use the front porch test and see if it rolls off well when calling him inside from playing in the cul de sac.
I do not really know if the last name is Peterson it was the only three syllable P I could think of.
I like nearly all of them except Quinn ( too trendy) Baxter (it is a park near us) and Malachi (I want to always pronounce it Mal-a-chee.) To quote Tommy Boy, “I’m retarded”
Well, I’ve definitely eliminated Xaden and probably Wolfgang. Too many negative reactions. And the comments about the trendiness of Quinn and Maxwell made me nervous so I went and looked them up on the social security webpage and both have been steadily making their way up the charts for the last decade. Maxwell especially is way more popular than I thought, so those are both getting bumped to the bottom of the list.
All the positive feedback on Duncan has improved it’s chances, that was one I liked but was unsure of and now I’m really digging it. And curse you, hedra! Konrad is a fabulous name so it’s getting added to the possibilites.
Thanks to everyone for the help and the well wishes. I’m getting so excited, I don’t know how I’m going to hold out these last few weeks!
I do like Duncan, but the doughnut thing worries me, especially if the kid ever has a few spare pounds. On the other hand, he can carry a sword and cut their heads off, then shout “There can be only one!”
Jasper - Mediocre.
Quinn - No. “Quinn” is a last name.
Simon - Good.
Zane - No.
Sebastian - OK.
Augustus (Gus) - No.
Oscar - Definitely not.
Baxter - Ridiculous.
Gideon - No.
Atticus - No.
Duncan - No. Scottish names are very trendy. You would be Parent #1,000,000 since “Braveheart” to pick a Scottish name.
Wolfgang - Of course not.
Xaden - Ridiculous.
Otto - No. “Drive the school bus, dude!”
Malachi - No.
Maxwell - OK.
Hate most of them. They all look like you picked them just to be weird, like they were all chosen from the members of obscure 80’s hair metal bands. “Simon” is very good. “Sebastian” isn’t bad, though it can’t be shortened. “Maxwell” is good if you don’t mind Max, which he will always be known as, never Maxwell.
Better choices include:
Owen
Richard
Marcus
Martin
Alex
Lawrence
All good, masculine, easy to spell, and none of them are even close to being in the Top 50. No trendy names.
May I suggest that you consider choosing a name based on the vowel sound of the first syllable of the last name. For example, if your last name is Pennington, go for the short e sound in “Pen.”
Spencer Pennington Spencer James Pennington
That also gave me a chance to sneak in the first name that I think sounds masculine and strong. “Spence” is not a bad nickname either.
I like Lucien a lot but like Lucius even better. It’s the first name of Sulla, the Dictator of Rome, donchaknow. With that in mind, and remembering you liked Virgil and Augustus, may I humbly submit a few more Roman-inspired names for your consideration?
Julius (or Julian) Aurelian (okay, okay, no one would actually name their kid this, but it’s just so cool…) Drusus (might get teased for being called “Dru”) Justinian (saves him from being the 15th Justin in his class) Seneca (met a guy with this name once and thought it was very cool)
Besides that, my general policy with names is never to give your kid something he couldn’t be President with. So Wolfgang, Baxter and Xaden are out. Otto belongs on some old German dude, not your darling little boy. Sebastian is rather wimpy and makes me think of Valmont from Les Liaisons Dangereuses but hey, that may be what you’re going for. Zane seems like it belongs on a male stripper.
Gideon, Malachi, Quinn and Jasper are all workable. I personally think Gideon James has a certain ring to it but that’s just me.
Given the last name, I’d nix Duncan. Too NN-NN NNN-NNN-NNN when you say it together. JMHO.
Sorry.
Caleb?
You could also see what he looks like when he’s born. We had two names possible for Gabe before he was born. My favorite was Nicholas (who doesn’t like Nick?), but BOY was he not a Nicholas when he was born! Not hardly. Gabriel, however, was perfect. Same deal with Brendan. Not my first choice of the names we had (four, with one of them split to two different middle names)… I liked Colin a lot better. But he wasn’t a Colin, either. He was most certainly a Brendan. Nothing wrong with going in with a list, and meeting him before naming him - heck, most people won’t name their dog until they live with it for a day or more, why do we pick names without meeting the child first? Just seems odd to me. In most states, you have at least until you leave the hospital to choose the name, and probably longer. (depending on when they have to file the birth certificate - in my state you’ve got 10 days, and some places will hold it that long… though having your list down to about 5 is better than 200. My midwives tell a funny story about a couple who called in on day 10 to ask when they had to have the name by, hour-wise, as they had finally narrowed the list to 40 choices… :eek: )
Anyway, my point is that you don’t technically have to narrow the list to one before he arrives. If you’re really stuck between just a few you really like, meeting him should make it easier to pick amongst them.
Gosh, most of the names on the list sound trendy to me! Sorry, bella.
Jasper–This I like, but it is a 2 syllable last-nameish name ending in an -er. One thing to consider–Jasper James evokes Jasper Johns, which is not a bad thing, but that is instantly what I thought of.
Quinn–I kinda like this too, but it fits with the Irish/Scottish last name trend. Reminds me of Quinn Mallory from Sliders.
Simon–Eww. I have a strong negative reaction to this name, maybe because every Simon I ever met was a prick. It also makes me think of wussy British guys.
Zane–Gee, maybe he’ll be in playgroup with Montana, Sierra, and Sage.
Sebastian–I know a couple of Sebastians. It’s okay, but it seems a little trendy and soft. I think Sebastian will be this decade’s Zachary.
Augustus (Gus)–Reminds me of Augustus Gloop, but I like it because it is a strong classic. The nickname Gus makes me think of a fat friendly butcher in a bloodstained apron.
Oscar–I’ve met 2 baby Oscars recently. It also seems to me to be a Latino name, but I’m not sure why I think that. It’s not bad.
Baxter–Awful, super-trendy 2 syllable last name as first name ending in -er. Makes me think of state parks and my friend’s cat. Cute cat, though.
Gideon–One of the coolest people I ever met was named Gideon. (Gideon Brower–if you’re out there, drop me an email). But please don’t name your kid this.
Atticus–The TKAM reference is way to obvious, and it will seem as if you’re trying to be “literary.”
Duncan–This is an okay name. Very trendily Scottish. My folks have a friend named Duncan whom I insist on calling Duncan Donuts, and I’m well past the schoolyard years.
Wolfgang–Only if you’re actually German living in Germany. Or Eddie Van Halen.
Xaden–Makes me think of a cross between the dreadful Jaden and the equally dreadful Xander. It’s dreadful squared!
Otto–Makes me think of Kevin Kline’s character in A Fish Called Wanda. It’s just bad.
Malachi–Trendily Irish. Difficult to know how to pronounce.
Maxwell–Too many Maxwell connotations–Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine? Maxwell Sheffield? Maxwell Smart?
Konrad–Any name that Americans usually spell with a C that is spelled with a K immediately makes me think “Nazi.” And we called my uncle Conrad “Uncle Conehead.”
Out of this list, I’d pick Quinn, Duncan, or Jasper. Actually, if it were me, I’d use James for the first name. (James was our second choice for the Beansprout’s name.)
Oh, wait, now that we know your last name:
Quinn Pennington: Okay.
Duncan Pennington: They end with the same sound. Not terrible, but not great.
Jasper Pennington: A bit much. But J.J. Pennington sounds very cool. Why not continue the tradition of initials. I like it.
James Pennington: I like it.
On hedra’s post: I agree that you don’t have to pick just one before the birth. It’s a good idea to have a few that you know will work with your last name, etc. We couldn’t decide between Arthur and James, so we decided to wait until the birth. He was totally an Arthur. It’s entirely possible that we were subconsciously favoring Arthur all along, and needed an excuse to overcome our nervousness at using such a clunky and old-fashioned name, and then when he arrived, thought that “he looked like an Arthur” because we wanted him to. But we’re very happy with our choice and never regretted it for a second, and I’m glad we went in not locked into a name.
)