# Help Me Name My Kid... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177 "2008-11-17T21:15:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/1 "2008-11-17T21:15:39Z")
Our first child is due in four weeks. Which means it could turn up any time from nowish. We don’t know the gender, so half of our agonising over names will be for nothing. Having said that, appropriate girl’s names seem to come to us freely and easily. Boy’s names, on the other hand, have proved to be a trial. In the event that the baby is a boy, my plea to you is simple - what do we call it? Selection criteria include: Should not be a mis-spelling of another name Should not be unconventional like “Tree” or “Ocean” Should rock with a single syllable surname which rhymes with “Oh” Should not be something the kid will spend his life spelling out for people Got a favourite? Please share! M ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/2 "2008-11-17T21:18:44Z")
John. It’s classic and timeless. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/3 "2008-11-17T21:19:46Z")
Andrew. It’s what we named our child, and it’s a good, solid name. ---
**Author:** ![Wash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Wash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wash)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/4 "2008-11-17T21:28:10Z")
> [@BACI](#): > > Should not be a mis-spelling of another name > Should not be unconventional like “Tree” or “Ocean” > Should rock with a single syllable surname which rhymes with “Oh” > Should not be something the kid will spend his life spelling out for people Working in a Middle School as I do, I often find myself wishing there were more parents with naming criteria like yours. There are far too many Treasures, Exquisites, Mykeylas (Michylas, Mekkayllas, yes someone really did spell their kid’s name like that), Ja’Mals and other rogue apostrophes in this school alone. Whatever happened to all the Steves, Bens, Sarahs and Catherines? I’ve always liked Owen, but I’m not sure starting and ending on the same sound is such a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/5 "2008-11-17T21:28:56Z")
Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/6 "2008-11-17T21:30:13Z")
I’m very partial to the name Jack. Or Buffwhizzle. Probably just stick with Jack. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/7 "2008-11-17T21:33:45Z")
Choosing girls’ names was a lot easier for us than boys’ names for some reason. In the end, we named our son after a friend of my husband’s family. My husband always felt closer to him than to his own father, so he wanted to name a son after him. I had no problems with that. Anyway, for a girl… Evelyn (my first choice) Rosalind (my husband’s) Annabel (not preferred b/c of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, but not bad) Eleanor Avani Mala As for boys’ names… Amit (our second choice; since we had a son, we obviously went with our first) Connor Aidan I see on re-reading the OP that my names don’t really meet the criteria. Oh, well… Sorry - these are the ones we liked, though. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/8 "2008-11-17T22:02:48Z")
Barack-Obama (yourlastname)! And don’t wait for your wife to give you approval. Just wait until she’s knocked unconscious from the strain of giving birth, and file a birth certificate without her consent. Hey, at least you won’t be saddling your kid with a big loser name like Sarah-Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/9 "2008-11-17T22:06:56Z")
You can borrow the one I’m planning on using should the need arrive: Abraham. Pronounceable. Nicknameable. Spellable. In honor of Mr. Lincoln. And I think it goes well with a one syllable last name. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/10 "2008-11-17T22:16:46Z")
I always liked Elizabeth - even shortened to Beth. Used up all the boys names that I liked. We have a lot of Bills in the family, but I never had the urge to use it. You can feel free to take my turn at it, if any form of William tickles your fancy. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/11 "2008-11-17T22:43:33Z")
I’m a William fan, personally. > [@burundi](#): > > John. It’s classic and timeless. It’s timeless, but you might be naming the boy “John Doe” or something that sounds like it. 😉 Jack’s a solid nickname, though, but I think it’s being overused. > [@overlyverbose](#): > > Choosing girls’ names was a lot easier for us than boys’ names for some reason. There’s a lot more variety in girls’ names and there seems to be more aspirational naming and less social pressure to avoid certain kind of names. That’s probably why you see more or less the same top names for guys every year for guys - John, Matt, Mark, etc. - and more variety for girls (although Emily and Caitlyn have been around the top of the charts for a long time now). ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/12 "2008-11-17T22:49:01Z")
I LOVE our sons name, but it probably doesn’ t fit your criteria. It is Orion. So I will go with choice number 2, and 3 that we had. Owen Quinn Best wishes for the last 4 weeks…I hope they aren’t anything like mine, spent on total bedrest. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/13 "2008-11-17T22:51:44Z")
> [@CAT\_1](#): > > I LOVE our sons name, but it probably doesn’ t fit your criteria. It is Orion. I love Irish names. ---
**Author:** ![Jelly\_Roll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Jelly\_Roll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelly_Roll)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/14 "2008-11-17T22:53:55Z")
Simon. Simon is a smart and dependable boy who loves his mother and looks up to his father. Everybody likes Simon. The other name I like is Beau (but not so much with your last name :)). Beau is a guy’s guy who loves God, Texas and football but always remembers his sister’s birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/15 "2008-11-17T22:56:37Z")
Jack or Jaqueline, so he or she can be Jackie (rhymes with) O. But seriously, and since you gave us so few criteria, here are some of my favorite names that I’ve saved up over the years and now I’m not going to have kids so here you go: Walter - I love this one. Simon Felix Elliott Lionel Linus Madeline Jane - This one could be fun with a last name that rhymes with O. Natalie Claire ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/16 "2008-11-17T23:01:46Z")
Kevin is awesome. Never met a Kevin I didn’t like. Regards, Kevin ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/17 "2008-11-17T23:06:03Z")
Well, I posted in a thread a while back about baby names and refused to share my favorite girl name for fear it would catch on before I got the chance to use it. But my husband flat out hates the name, so here it is: Raimey I think it’s beautiful. And I have been told it is a common male name in various other cultures. (Spelled differently.) If that’s too off-beat for you my favorite boy names are rather dry: Bryce Andrew Joshua Jeremiah Christian Clark Daniel Eric ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/18 "2008-11-17T23:07:23Z")
If we’d had a third child, the names we picked out were Jared Paul and Cassandra Hope (Kiss for short) ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/19 "2008-11-17T23:12:13Z")
Boys: Alistair Robert Hugh Henry (though I think everyone is naming their kid this these days) Marcel Jonah Jack William Frederick Neil Tristan Dorian Girls: Lillian Eva Nina Zoe Josephine Leena Priya Veronica Hannah Natasha Imogen Freya ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/20 "2008-11-17T23:18:14Z")
> [@BACI](#): > > Having said that, appropriate girl’s names seem to come to us freely and easily. Boy’s names, on the other hand, have proved to be a trial. What’s your taste in girls’ names? You should probably have some boys’ names ready that “match” nicely, and we can probably throw out better suggestions if we have some indication of your preferences. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177.md?page=2)