# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/61 "2008-11-18T16:57:29Z")
For a boy: Nicolas Matthew Michael Zachary Don’t forget to give the baby a second name. When he’s a teen, he needs a chance to rebel by having people call him by that name. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/62 "2008-11-18T17:23:18Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Are you forgetting John SIDNEY McCain? (I just got a laugh out of this, coming from you! 😛 ) LOL! > [@Zsofia](#): > > Seriously, please do not give your child a name that could ever be confused as to gender. I think that should be one of the Three Laws of Child-Naming. Sorry to disagree, but I don’t think of Sidney, especially spelled with an ‘i’, as a girl’s name. I think, if anything, it’s gender neutral, like Chris or Pat, except that the spelling is a dead giveaway, ameliorating confusion. Sidney = boy Sydney = girl ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/63 "2008-11-18T17:24:50Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Seriously, please do not give your child a name that could ever be confused as to gender. I think that should be one of the Three Laws of Child-Naming. Worked out pretty well for me. ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/64 "2008-11-18T17:30:14Z")
Nikita would be a top choice of mine, though it reminds me of Khrushchev. But I’m sure there were/are a bunch of other Nikitas that are worth being named after. Demetri is also an excellent name. I’m thinking about the guy that does the “trends” skit on The Daily Show. Or Niels after [Neils Bohr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr), the great Danish physicist. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/65 "2008-11-18T17:37:31Z")
If I ever have a boy, I hope to name him Graydon, after my grandfather. Its always struck me as a cool name. Don’t be scared of an unconventional or foreign spelling. I wouldn’t give up Niklas in order to be Nicholas, even though I have to tell people how to spell it all the time. Its unusual, yet not absurdly so, and it helps differentiate you from the crowd. Plus its a nice bit of casual chitchat. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/66 "2008-11-18T17:47:57Z")
Here’s one I would use, but don’t plan to have kids. I was amused by the fairly recent trend of naming kids “Brooklyn”. So i thought about other New York City-centric names that might actually be good (not Bronx!) and came up with: Richmond. As a former New Yorker, I have learned that non-NYers don’t even know what Staten Island is, let alone that it’s Richmond County. So you won’t have to explain it to everyone. Plus it can be shortened to Rich. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/67 "2008-11-18T19:59:20Z")
I’m having a girl, but if he were a boy he’d have been Duncan. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/68 "2008-11-18T20:16:09Z")
Matthew, Timothy, David or Christopher. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/69 "2008-11-18T21:10:56Z")
Boys Avery Andrew Garnet Matthew Girls Nina Maya Charlotte Elizabeth I love my name, Gwendolen, but I don’t want it to get overused! OK, there’s probably not much chance of that, so go for it! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/70 "2008-11-18T21:23:36Z")
If you call your boy **Sue** , [he’s already got his own song!](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9RQoOJ7ia0k) I think it’s a shame that **Algernon** has gone out of fashion too. :o ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/71 "2008-11-21T16:23:00Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Here’s one I would use, but don’t plan to have kids. I was amused by the fairly recent trend of naming kids “Brooklyn”. So i thought about other New York City-centric names that might actually be good **(not Bronx!)** I said this before THIS happened! [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap\_en\_ce/people\_simpson\_wentz\_2](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_en_ce/people_simpson_wentz_2) ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/72 "2008-11-21T16:28:41Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I said this before THIS happened! > [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap\_en\_ce/people\_simpson\_wentz\_2](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_en_ce/people_simpson_wentz_2) Seriously…Bronx Mowgli? That poor kid is going to have a hard time not beating the crap out of _himself_ for his horrid name, let alone being worried that _other_ people are going to tease him for it. ---
**Author:** ![sideshowkar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5e9695/32.png) [@sideshowkar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sideshowkar)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/73 "2008-11-21T18:30:20Z")
Sebastian (Sebastian Atticus is my all time favorite first/middle combo) Tad (I prefer Taddeo, but you’d have a rhyming first and last name) Toby / Tobias / Tobin Jasper Kirby Barnaby Names that the kid would spend their life spelling for people: Dashiell Blaise (pronounced Blaze) St. John (Sinjin) Torsten Rui (the Spanish pronunciation = Roo-ee) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/74 "2008-11-21T20:50:06Z")
Elizabeth for a girl. Charles for a boy. ---
**Author:** ![Natty\_Bumppo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e480ec/32.png) [@Natty\_Bumppo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Natty_Bumppo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/75 "2008-11-21T21:04:11Z")
A boy in my son’s first grade class is named Hugo. The first time I heard the name it really threw me. I mean, who names their kid Hugo? Funny thing is, the more I hear it, the more it grows on me. I’m to the point now where I love the name. Not sure how well it will go with your last name, but it is unusual without being contrived. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177/76 "2008-11-21T21:58:35Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I said this before THIS happened! > [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap\_en\_ce/people\_simpson\_wentz\_2](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_en_ce/people_simpson_wentz_2) Dear god that’s actually worse than mommies in the midwest who call their poor kids Brooklynn, Camden and Trenton. His first name really should be The rather than Bronx because it is _the_ Bronx afterall. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-kid/473177.md?page=3)