This is a poll so if a mod wants to move it, that’s fine by me. It’s pretty mundane and pointless, though, so that’s why I’ve picked MPSIMS.
There are probably at least a couple thousand websites devoted to what women and teenage girls have named/plan to name/might possibly name their kids. But, being the infinitely curious type, I wonder, what do men and teenage boys like in names? I’d be surprised if it was the same selections of names you’d find on the aforementioned couple thousand websites.
Maybe you haven’t given it a lot of thought. I’m sure some of you have names you particularly like, though. My dad picked my younger brother’s name before he met my mother, for example. A classmate of mine in high school said he’d like to talk his hypothetical future wife into naming a little girl Tiza, because he really liked how it sounded despite its meaning. (chalk!)
So if you were to name a baby anything you wanted - meaning the other parent would happily go along with your choice - what names would you pick? Or have you picked, if you’re a dad already?
In boys’ names I like Dylan for two writers of whom I’m quite fond; Michael for my old man; Asa just because; James was my grandfather’s; Morgan and Hill are old family surnames that I think would make interesting first names.
For girls I like Julia; Mae for my mom; Ann or Anna; Ellen or Eleanor; Myra…I guess like 'em old-fashioned.
For a girl, I like Cynthia, which basically nobody else seems to. My best female friends - Roselyne and Emma - would be nice too. My mother’s name, Lynn, would be a good middle name.
For a boy, my favourite name is Kevin, but I would have to give first place to Robert, as it’s a family tradition that got skipped in my generation; James, my best friend. There’s also Rey, my grandmother’s maiden name, which is also my mother’s middle name (Rae) and originally comes from my great grandfather (he was a Korean immigrant whose family name was Li, which he changed to Rey; I’m told the name is actually the same as Syngman Rhee’s.)
I prefer traditional names. I wouldn’t give a modern “contrived” name to a child. They look and sound ridiculous and they doom the child to a lifetime of having his name misspelt.
First off, I have decided that if I ever have twin sons I’ll call them Aleric and Theodoric. My taste in boys’ names is a bit on the ancient Norse/exotic side. Sigurd, Ivar, Hvitserk, Gardar, Ragnar. That sort of thing.
When it comes to girls names I tend to be more… normal. Names like Patricia, Elizabeth, Sarah. I probably wouldn’t be opposed to having a daughter named Freydís or Gytha, but I wouldn’t suggest it myself.
Man, I can hear myself now, at a company picknick, or somesuch… “Hey boss, these are my sons, Aleric, Theodoric, Hvitserk, and Ragnar, and my daughter Jessica.”
I do have a question–so far it seems that most males prefer traditional names. Could you all speak up a lil louder to your spouses? 'Cause there seem to be a lot of really odd, trendy names out there now…
That’s actually my biggest pet peeve. A little girl named Samantha or Maxine and just nicknamed “Sam” or “Max” is all right, but I detest the trend of giving boys names to girls. Dylan, Hunter, Tyler, etc. just look so ugly on a pretty little girl!
It amuses me when someone gets defensive over their child’s godawful name and says, “Everyone we meet tells us how pretty Banana’s name is!” Of course they do, dummy. No one’s going to insult your kid’s hideous name to your face. They’ll just have a two-second horrified pause after you introduce them to your little Quizzlestick or Mawrgwyn or whatever, and then quickly respond with, “Oh. Isn’t that… nice.”
Well, the wife and I don’t plan on having kids, but I’ve always said that if I had daughters, they would be named Kalynda Rhiannon and Judith Krista. If we had boys I would stump for David or Matthew.
I am the father of daughters (one on the way) and I am very picky about names. I have an unusual but great name myself (Maverick) and that has always made it perfectly clear to me what names do to a person.
The criteria I use are:
Not overly common (no Jennifers)
Not overly trendy sounding whether they are or are not (Brianna, Kaylena, Britaneyalenia, Trevor).
Let’s face it. I only choose Waspy names of English, French, or American origin.
My wife is half Italian. I banned Italian names right from the start and her English born mother was happy to help me enforce it against that side of the family.
No Redneck or trailer trash names.
It has to be both something a young and established person can be comfortable with.
The first and middle and (hopefully) last names have to go together in a subtle way like colors on a canvas.
I have gone through many thousands of names with each child and my wife has too independently. Our short lists always have some crossover but I always feel I have to reign her in on style. We were in perfect agreement with the first two just by taste but we had to compromise on the one coming up. I ceded to a second tier choice on my list to form the full name. In reality, any choice I made was Ok.
Some selected names:
Oldest daughter’s first name: Charlotte
New Baby Middle Name: Corrine
I like names that are easy to say but still indicative of the family’s origins. All the while, of course, remembering that a newborn’s name is a label for their entire life. What people think of them at the end of their life will be carried by that label.
But, for the most part, I would be content with letting the mother choose, as long as I could veto anything that I found a problem with.
Forgive me for intruding on your thread boys, but I’m curious…
My husband seems to be unable to form opinions of the way names sound. He seems to choose names that belong to people he likes - ie, Joel after an old friend, Nicole because he says he’s never met a Nicole who wasn’t nice. I screwed my nose up and said I didn’t like the way Joel sounds and he couldn’t seem to understand what I was saying. There have been other names I’ve asked him if he likes and he simply didn’t know because he’s never met anyone with that name.
Would any of you say that you tend to like names have a positive association with someone you’ve met more than just liking the way it sounds?
shudder Would it sound cute on your mother in law? That’s what she’s going to grow into, you know. The cute only lasts a few years but the name lasts a lifetime. Sorry, I just hate boys names for girls.
