These are the names I’m currently leaning towards, with some potential nicknames.
Girls:
Cathryn (Katie, Cate, Cathy, etc)
Gemma Rose (Rose was my grandmother)
Lauren or Laurel (Laurie)
Isabelle (Bella)
Jacy
Eleanor (Ellie, Nora, etc)
Boys:
James (Jem, courtesy of Anne of Green Gables)
Haydn (numerous spellings, take your pick)
Thomas (doesn’t work with our surname, so that’s out for us)
Glenn
Anthony
Two recent additions to our extended family were Grady and Maximillian, if you’re after some off-beat names for boys. Max’s mother is named Koa, which is itself unusual, but pronounced as it is spelt (Ko-A).
I dislike girls names ending in the -een sound - Marlene, Laureen, Maureen, etc. No offence intended, these just aren’t names I’d choose myself. I also dislike Michael and John because I’ve known too many people with those names. Ditto Michelle.
FYI: The class list from my son Quinn’s “upscale” Brooklyn Heights private school (names that were chosen about 5 years back):
GIRLS
Anna Serena
Kimberly
Natalie
Tilly
Morgan
Sophia
Hela
BOYS
Spencer
Sam
Thomas
Benjamin
Connor
Obediah
Jarrett
Maceo
My daughter is named Rose, and I was interested to see that it was the third most popular name given to girls in 1898 New York City (after Mary and Elizabeth).
Now, of course, it doesn’t come near being popular, except as a middle name. I wonder why so many people now choose it as a middle name but not as a first…?
must yell well, including the full first-middle-last (‘I’m really, really pissed’) version. As I’ve mentioned before, my great-grandmother named her first son Adelbert or Ogelbert… can’t remember, everyone called him BERT. She told my mom to name her kids things that yell well, based on that experience.
Not prime tease material. Not sure? Ask a grade-school teacher. We actually ran our list for Gabriel past a gradeschool teacher. Some I had thought were ‘clear’ she came up with some really nasty teases for, from experience.
Not too common (but traditional is okay, and not too unusual - the lower half of the top 100 lists usually is pretty reasonable choice material. Think about it - the top ones will be the most common, but after you get down past 25 or so, you won’t be running into that name everywhere, BUT it will also not be really weirdly unusual.
I prefer (but don’t require) some significance to the meaning of at least one of the names. Or a family name. Or something other than ‘I thought it was cute’… I like a reason for the name to exist, it is just nice to know that your name was selected for a deeper reason. Gabriel means ‘strength of God’ and he certainly showed that throughout labor (did exceptionally well through a very very long labor). We also didn’t pick just one name before he was born - wanted to meet him before picking a name for him, so we went down to a short list, and picked based on who he seemed to be (it fits exceptionally well - the second choice would not have).
Something that can nickname (in case the kid hates it), or at the least, a middle name that can easily swap in. Certainly if you give a kid one odd name, make sure the other one is common, so they can use it instead.
Place names are okay with me, but try to pick it for a reason. Otherwise, the kid is stuck being named for a random location. How meaningful! Named for a place you thought was stunning or powerful, or for how you felt or who you were when you were there, that’s cool.
For child 2 (on the way), our first choice for a boy name actually was given to me in a dream - I dreamed a young man walked up and introduced himself as Colin. I knew in the dream he was my second son. We’d never considered Colin, but it works with our last name, so it is on the list.
I like ethnic names, even Celtic ones (hey, I’m of Scottish heritage), and my siblings were named celtic names long before that was common. I don’t even mind mixing the first and last ethnicities, as long as the names still flow together without sounding awkward.
Some of my favorites (including ones we’d never use ourselves):
Brendan
Nathaniel (Nathan)
Nicholas
Adrien
Geoffrey
Thomas
Cameron
Fiona
Christina
Joanna
Maura (Moira is always pronounced wrong)
Gillian
Hope
Ruth (the opposite of ruthless, ya know?)
Names used by recent generations of the Blue family include Alexis (f),
Evelyn (f),
Cooper (m),
Asher (m),
Rosemary (f),
Eliza (f),
Ethan (m),
Grace (f),
Chisolm (m) my cousin’s child, poor kid.
The rest I find to be names in a very acceptable range. Many traditionals, nothing too trendy, and almost all are followed by a decent middle name usually of family tradition.
I disagree on the rule for not picking on that seems like good tease material. Why do I say that? Because I think nearly ANY name becomes good tease material. I think it’s a futile effort. Obvious it makes sense to avoid ones that are so obviously laughable your kid is sure to suffer, but otherwise? I don’t think you should fret overmuch.
For girls, I like Caroline, Charlotte… we never gave it much thought, actually, because we knew early on Cranky Jr was a boy.
Our boys list included:
Cole
Bram
Derek
Garret
Drew
And we decided on… Kirk. Sure, Kirk the Jerk. Captain Kirk. plenty of teasing there. But we liked the name.
You could go to the Social Security site for names and move down to about the 200th-most-popular range. See what grabs ya. Kirk, as it happens, was 723rd.
I was talking with an expecting friend the other day. (I know by now she’s had the baby, but I haven’t heard from her since we last spoke a week prior to her going into labor.) At one point I asked her what names she was considering - which was also a good way to find out if she knew if it was going to be a boy or girl without asking. She said she was thinking about Sarah for a girl or Michael for a boy. “I’ve even been trying them out. ‘Saraaaaah!’ ‘Michaellll!’” I guess you really have to know if the name shouts well.
As for myself, the need for baby names is a way off so I haven’t given it much thought. The only thought I have had on the matter is that I’d like to name my first son in the same manner in which I (my parents’ first born) was named. My first name is my father’s first name, and my middle name is my mother’s father’s first name. So, I’d like my first son to be named “Torberg <my future father-in-law’s name>.”
Still…plenty of time before this becomes an issue.
Tor
DISCLAIMER: I do not have kids. I am not thinking of having kids in the near future. I do not know if I will ever have kids. Having said that…
I guess I’ll buck the trend a little, myself. I really like guy names for girls. I also like some last names as first names, especially when they’re middle names. One of my good friends is named Jennifer Bevin Vincent, and I thought that name kicked butt. Anyway, if the gods saw fit to bless me with a christ child tomorrow, I decided I would name her Sydney Elizabeth Quinn. Sydney was my first major acting role, and I’ve always felt an affinity for it. Also, as stated, I like a guy name on girls. Gives an aura of strength. Elizabeth for something traditional. Quinn just because I really like that name. I also like Zoë for girls. Camyryn (and other bastardised versions thereof) is growing on me. For guys I lean more traditionally, I think. I’ve thought about Colin Jacob and Zachary Caleb, but I’m not totally sold on either of those.
Seems like it depends on the last name, too. Thinking of random names of people I know <cough, cough>:
Sydney Meli? No. No way. Wouldn’t work at all. Would have to rethink.
Sydney Schneider? Mmmmmm…iffy. Too JUPpie.
Sydney Lund? Nope, again. Doesn’t fly.
Sydney Bardusis? <snort>
Sydney Sherratt? Oooohhh…I kinda like that one.
Of course, if it WAS the christ child, it would be Sydney Moore, and I’m okay with that. Not too shabby at all.
Boys names[list]
[li]Colin[/li][li]James, for my grandfather[/li][li]Daniel[/li][li]Pascal*[/li][li]Sorrow*[/li] Girls names
[li]Lindsey[/li][li]Monique*[/li][li]Rachael[/li]
*French names
About the name Colin, how would you pronounce it? Like Colon or like Collin? I ask because this is a bit of a family, um, discussion with us. My brother’s named Colin and he’s switched pronounciations on me, it’s hard to get used to.
Collin, definitely. Colon has unpleasant lower-intestine implications. And it reminds me of punctuation. Who wants to be named for either an internal organ (related to excretion, noless) or a punctuation mark? Which way did your brother go?
[hijack of a hijack]
The other Lexingtonian was on the SDMB during the UK game too? :eek: You mean there’s life here other than college basketball?
[/hijack of a hijack]
When my daughter was born, we told my mother that her name was Winifred Warrensville - Winifred after my grandmother and Warrensville after a street in Cleveland and my childhood dachshund (long story). Once she knew we were kidding, we told her it was Tasman Elizabeth and she thought we were kidding again. We weren’t. I’m big into genealogy, though, and would certainly lean toward names with historical/ancestral significance. You don’t get enough time to honor your ancestors as it is.
I just HATE, HATE, HATE when parents name their kids after themselves. My dad, who was named after his dad, was going to name me James, but my mom overrode him and I became a III. Yuck. I have no plans on bringing a IV into the world. I’m going to pick something different.
Well, seeing as how I already said I’m named for my father and would like to name my first son the same, I’ll chime in.
One thing on which my family is set is that I am not a “Junior” or “II.” Mainly this is due to my father abd I having different middle names. Even if I do someday name a son “Torberg” I wouldn’t consider him a “Jr./II” or “III.”
It’s my father’s name, not very common in the US, and I’m proud of it. I would like to honor my father by bestowing the name on my [perhaps in the] future son.
I know! At the risk of getting myself stoned or something I’ll say it. I don’t care for basketball. There.
My brother chose the Collin route as a adult. As a kid it was the other one. I’ll agree that sounds more dignified but I have a hard time putting him and dignity together.
I’m really new, at this posting thing that is, but I thought i’d chime in a bit.
What do you think about the name Sincere? I like the following names : Sincere, Oceana, Skye, Sydney. I want to name my child something… different, yet something that will be good for her career. My name is JENNIFER how dull. ick. Tooooo many Jennifer’s and Jenny’s around. I can’t take it.
Sincere is my favorite, i think it’s beautiful. Someone told me it’s stupid to name a child an adjective. But I love it. I was also told to name her… Sincere Leigh. funny huh.
Would you consider moving Sincere to the middle name position? I think Oceana Sincere would be … er … the least damaging of the options you’ve presented.
Like Nym, I don’t plan to have children, but in a haze of sentimentality a few weeks ago I made a list of names for a mini saph. Some have a special significance, but most of them just sound good with my last name. Yes, mine. I have to take this whole marriage/family thing by baby steps (so to speak).
boys:
Aidan
Andrew
Avery
Christopher (because it is similar to my name, and means Christ bearer)
Frank (after my maternal grandfather)
Jacob
Jonathan
Mark
Mason
Reed (this is my nephew’s name, only they insisted upon spelling it wrong - Reid)
Zachary (I would nickname him zackers or zacker crackers)
girls:
Ariana (not after that Huffington woman!)
Celia
Caterina
Katharine
Caitlin
Elena
Gwendolyn (I wanted this name so badly as a little girl!
Josephine (after Jo in Little Women)
Kylie
Lucia
Lily (I wish she was not a character on tv)
Madeline
Mia
Meg (I was almost a Meg…she sounds like a cheerleader)
Sadie
Sheila
Thea
