My first (and last?) baby name thread

[kokotg]

I held out for a long time, but I'm jumping in now! 28 weeks pregnant with boy #4. Naming boys is hard! I am running out of tricks.

 

First three boys are Ari, Milo, and August/Gus.

 

So we tend toward uncommon but not unheard of names....they were all ranked in the 700's when we used them, I believe, and have since all moved up, but not dramatically so.

 

We have ideas, but I thought we'd be more settled on something by now, and....we're not.

 

Part of me wants to just name him William and call him Will. I LOVE Will. And I love the name's literary legacy, with Shakespeare and Yeats and Faulkner and all that. But I don't think I can do it. It's a steady resident of the top 10, and it was THE most popular boys' name in Georgia last year. I just can't do it. I am not used to running into other kids with my kids' names. I'm afraid I would be completely obnoxious about it, at least in my head. Like there'd be another little Will on the playground, and I'd be all, "oh, yes, he's Will, too. But not like yours. I actually THOUGHT about it." See? Naming a baby Will might turn me into a terrible person.

 

Here is what else I have:

 

Ronan:

pros: means "little seal." Squee! so cute. I love seals. Irish. I am fixated on Irish names this time around, and briefly contemplated Malachy (with a "kee" not a "kai" at the end).

cons: everyone will mishear it as Roman or Rowan. Taylor Swift has a new song out about a kid named Ronan who died of cancer. inauspicious.

 

Finn:

pros: LOVE it. lots of cool stories go with it. Irish again.

cons: trendy. like, super trendy. like, I worry it's the next Aidan. Glee. Tori Spelling's new baby. I know two real life little Finns (though we don't see either very often).

 

Abraham/Abe:

pros: Abe Lincoln! the thought of a toddler named Abe is unbearably adorable to me. And also, I think he could be in a band when he's in college.

con?: paired with DH's last name (baby will have both our last names, but for everyday use, DH's mostly gets used) he will sound like a 90 year old Jewish man. But there are worse things.

cons: we will have all A names except one. Although they all have different sounds, and August mostly goes by Gus. Abraham is kind of unwieldy (though Abe is not).

 

Okay, so...thoughts?

 

I am also open to other suggestions, with the disclaimer that I really can't imagine that there's any boy name out there I haven't already considered. FOUR boys!

 

I should probably confess that I have a hard time not thinking of him as Ronan. But I don't know if that's just because for awhile we were thinking that was probably going to be it, and we got used to it or because.....it's meant to be or something. It is not, objectively, my favorite of the names, I'm pretty sure.

 

I can talk about names for a long time. I am not, sadly, one of those people who can just slap a poll up there and call it good.

[Jpoy85]

If your heart is with Ronan, then do it!

[MotherMayI]

Finn! Love the name and how it sounds with your others. I love Quinn too...

[k2bdeutmeyer]

We've just started the name discussion (hoping it will help me realize that there really is a baby at the end of all this mess) and oy! We are similar in that we like unique, but not unheard of names (Shaylyn, Malea, and Easton). I, too, feel like I've exhausted all the names we like....or at least the ones I can get DH to agree to.

 

So, FWIW, here's my thoughts:

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Finn. I tried to get DH to agree to it, but no luck. Abraham doesn't do much for me, and Ronan I like - I wouldn't worry about how people will mishear it.....people hear Shaylyn as "Shannon" a lot, and Malea as "Maria". We just deal.

 

Just for fun, some names we thought about:

 

Broderick/Brody

Porter

Isaac (still worried this isn't unique enough)

Cohen (too bad SIL named her son that - we actually agreed on that one)

[tabrizia]

I won't go with Abraham, because then Milo looks really out of place with the only non-A name.

 

I love Ronan, it was one of my top 5 names for our youngest. I really don't think it will be any worse then any other name for being misheard. I mean I'm Sarah and people still call me the wrong name on occasion, it just happens you shrug and move on.

 

If he feels like a Ronan to you go for it, the only negative you have is the misheard name bit and really who care if it is a stranger and if it is a friend they'll get the right name quickly enough.

[Unicorn.]

I like Malachai, but not w/ the kee ending.. people might call him malarchy. I like Ronan, but the Taylor Swift song creeps me out a bit. Love Finn, because I am a huge fan of Huckelberry Finn (I have a cat named Finn). Obviously, I'm no help.

[Tutor]

You could just go ahead and name him Rowan. Keeps the Faulkner link to the name.

[bolt.]

What about William -> "Bill"? I don't think that's very common.

 

Have you thought of "Liam"? I think it suits your favorite phonemes, and your 'uncommon but not unheard of' target.

 

I like "Ro-" as a beginning, but I'm not a personal fan of Ronan... it doesn't seem to reflect what you are doing phonetically with your other names. Ronan is solid, anchored by the two 'n's, but your other names are all lighter in feel, possibly because they are vowel-centric?

[amy g.]

Finn

[Starr]

Ds says to go with Ronan. Stargate Atlantis anyone? :D

[Keniki]

Ari, Milo, Gus,.... Finn definitely.

[happypamama]

I like Ronan, and Rowan too (but if you care about sounding male or female, Rowan is more ambiguous to me). I think after a few times, people will understand Ronan and remember it; I don't think it's *that* unusual.

 

I like William a lot too, but I think it doesn't fit as well with your other boys' names. (It would fit with my kids' names, but I think it's a lot more traditional than your other boys' names.) However, I think Billy is adorable as a nickname.

[vonfirmath]

I like Ronan or Abraham. I would NOT use another A name, though. Which leaves Ronan. (or why not use Roman and avoid that difficulty?)

[sparrow]

I like Ronan.

 

My immediate thought for Finn was Adventure Time, because, well, we have a cat named after the Finn in AT.

 

 

My son asked why I was looking up pictures of Finn. When I told him, he said a Finn would "never have a girlfriend or go to college" :001_huh:. I have no idea where that came from!

[~*Beatrix*~]

I don't like Ronan with your other boys' names as much as some, but if you love it, use it.

 

A variant of Abraham is Abram or Avram.

 

Also:

Silas

Atticus

Keane

Jude

Eagan

Hugh

Ivor

Asher

Felix

Levi

Tobin/Toby

Magnus

[Guest]

I love the name Ronan and I love Rowan, too. Those have both been in my head for a while. They have potential of becoming popular, though. Two-syllable boy names that end in "-an" sounds are so catchy. My youngest is Mason; a name that was somewhat rare when I first picked it out, but to my shock is now 2nd on the list!

 

"Abe" is kinda cool. I like avoiding the same-initial thing, though.

 

How 'bout Silas?

[~*Beatrix*~]

I don't like Ronan with your other boys' names as much as some, but if you love it, use it.

 

A variant of Abraham is Abram or Avram.

 

Also:

Silas

Atticus

Keane

Jude

Eagan

Hugh

Ivor

Asher

Felix

Levi

Tobin/Toby

Magnus

[Carrie75]

I love Ronan. I am a fan of Irish last names as first names.

 

Rowan is a girl's name as well as a boy's name.

[Parrothead]

Ds says to go with Ronan. Stargate Atlantis anyone? :D

That was my first thought.;)

 

I don't like Ronan with your other boys' names as much as some, but if you love it, use it.

 

A variant of Abraham is Abram or Avram.

 

Also:

Silas

Atticus

Keane

Jude

Eagan

Hugh

Ivor

Asher

Felix

Levi

Tobin/Toby

Magnus

I love Magnus. And it goes with your A, M, A....

[Scarlett]

I love the name August. Love it. But hey, you've already used that one. ;)

 

I love the name Jude and I think it goes well with your other names.

 

I don't hate Ronan. And if that is what is 'in your head' go for it!

[elegantlion]

I like Ronan or Finn.

 

William is too common, imo. In high school most of my friends had either a father named William/Bill or an Uncle Bill.

 

Here's a link to some Irish names, which are near and dear to my heart. http://www.babynamesofireland.com/irish-boy-names

 

Have you seen the movie Ondine? Colin Farrell's character was Syracuse, which sounds very nice said in an Irish accent.

 

Other suggestions:

 

Flynn

Seamus

Maximus

Julius

Julian

Pierce

Niall/Niles

Roth

Desmond

Davin

Cillian

[Tammyla]

I'm with you! My first choice...William, but I'd call him Liam;).

 

Second choice...Finn:D.

[juelle]

Miles

Liam

Lachlan (shortens to Lachs)

Declan (I guess that shortens to Dex -think Philadelphia Story!)

Crispin

Caleb (very popular now :-( )

Athos

Carson/Carston

 

I'm watching for ideas for myself. You're getting good ones:001_smile:

[Soror]

I like Ronan and Liam seems it would go well to me.

 

I know one Finn who was a total jerk so I just don't have a good association for that name.

[RocCityMom]

As the mom of a Malachy (kee not kai ending) and a Declan, I am a big fan of Irish names. I think you should go with Ronan if it's what your heart is saying, but I agree with PPs that it doesn't match your other boys's names as well. We considered Finn for our boys as well, but decided it was becoming far too trendy and I would nix it from the list for that reason. Other Celtic/Celtic-inspired names that we considered were Beckett, Graeme, Eamon, and Seamus.

 

Oh, and fwiw, people do often think Malachy's name is pronounced Mala-kai, but it's not a big deal to correct and we call him Mac as a nickname most of the time anyway. And so far, no one has ever called him "Malarkey". But he's only six, so we'll see . . . I hadn't even thought of that one!

Edited October 25, 2012 by RocCityMom

[Lab1]

I don't know for your area, but all your names are kids that live within 5 houses of me! Other kids around me are:

 

Gage

Bowen

Cruz

Kieson

Coleman

Tandon

Tasman

 

Even if you go with something you have never heard before, it can become popular. I named my son Everett having never met one. It's an old family name. We've run into several his age or younger around town. So we went even more obscure with our second son by naming him Alister! It was my first choice for my first son, but felt wrong when I was pg with him. They fit their names perfectly!

[Caitilin]

My three boys are Finn, Ian, and Gideon. Finn was unheard of in the US when I named him--he's named after Fin MacCool--and around here it's still pretty rare. I tried to get dh on board with either Ronan or Eamon when we named Gideon. I still love Eamon. :D

[nukeswife]

I think Ronan is ok, but doesn't fit as well with your other 3 guys.

 

I'm not a fan of Liam as it's too popular for me. I have a nephew named Will, not William, his legal name is just Will.

 

Finn doesn't do much for me.

 

I like Abe, but I also have an adorable little nephew we call Abe, his full name is Abram though which I also love.

[TammyS]

I'm a dork, so when I saw Ronon, this was the first thing I thought about:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronon_Dex

 

We are Catholic, so that means saint names, which put some limits on it. Limits are helpful. When I was pregnant with my two year old, we thought we were having a girl, so we came up with what I still believe to be the best girl name ever: Anastasia Faina (pronounced fii ee na, my dh's grandmother). Then the girl turned out to be a boy, and we named him Ronald Stephen. Oh well. At least he's doubly sainted.

 

The men in dh's family, for reasons I cannot fathom, have to have RS initials: so we have Robert Stanley, Ronald Stephen, Richard Scott...I'm thinking of using a Simon next time.

 

Naming is tough. Good luck!

[TammyS]

What about William -> "Bill"? I don't think that's very common.

 

Have you thought of "Liam"? I think it suits your favorite phonemes, and your 'uncommon but not unheard of' target.

 

I like "Ro-" as a beginning, but I'm not a personal fan of Ronan... it doesn't seem to reflect what you are doing phonetically with your other names. Ronan is solid, anchored by the two 'n's, but your other names are all lighter in feel, possibly because they are vowel-centric?

 

I know someone naming all of their boys the various version of "William". Oy.

[Annie]

Abraham x 100! I love it.

 

I would ask Milo if he minds if his name is the only one that doesn't start with an A. If he didn't care, I don't think I'd stress about it.

 

My second favorite is Ronan.

[chickenpatty]

I like Ronan. It goes well with your other boys' names. We're expecting twin boys, so we've gotta come up with TWO names this time. (And dh is never serious when we [well, *I*] start discussing baby names! :D )

[Danestress]

I feel like every circle of kids we know has a couple of Liams in it. Of course, I have a William/Will, so being well-used is not a problem for me. But if it's a factor for the OP, I wouldn't use Liam.

 

I don't care for Ronan, but I think it's because I was a Japanese Studies major, and when I hear Ronan I think "Ronin" and that seems like a bad luck name to me. But of course, if you don't run across a lot of Japanese Studies majors, you probably will be okay:)

 

I like Finn. If it seems too trendy, perhaps "Flynn" would work. Flynn is sort of a nice name.

 

I always thought that if I had a fourth son, I might name him Theodore and call him Theo, which is actually a little trendy, or Ted. I always thought Ted was a particularly adorable boy name. And then it's a good Man name too, which I think is important. My boys have very classic boy names, but I love Ari, Milo and Gus.

 

How about Soren? That's another one that isn't really a common classic name, but has established intellectual clout and is just a nice name.

 

My friend has a son named Anders. If you want to go with the A names, I have always liked that one. Maybe Milo likes being unique.

[kokotg]

What about William -> "Bill"? I don't think that's very common.

 

 

I like Billy, but not Bill. But, really, Will is my favorite by far. If I used any other nickname, the ONLY reason I'd be using it is because it's less common.

 

Ds says to go with Ronan. Stargate Atlantis anyone? :D

 

Ha! I didn't know about that, but I think it's probably not a point in favor of it for me ;)

[kokotg]

I like Ronan.

 

My immediate thought for Finn was Adventure Time, because, well, we have a cat named after the Finn in AT.

 

 

My son asked why I was looking up pictures of Finn. When I told him, he said a Finn would "never have a girlfriend or go to college" :001_huh:. I have no idea where that came from!

 

Adventure Time is why my 11 year old ranks Finn as his #1 by far ;). I forgot to list that as one of the cons--I'm not so keen on naming my son after a cartoon character!

 

I don't like Ronan with your other boys' names as much as some, but if you love it, use it.

 

A variant of Abraham is Abram or Avram.

 

Also:

Silas

Atticus

Keane

Jude

Eagan

Hugh

Ivor

Asher

Felix

Levi

Tobin/Toby

Magnus

 

A lot of those have made my short-ish list at one point or another. DH vetoes Levi whenever I bring it up (and I think I'd feel terribly conflicted about using an American rather than a Hebrew pronunciation, but too self-conscious to use the Hebrew one). And I love Hugh, and for awhile was crushing super hard on Hugo. But....it just went away somehow--I'm not into it anymore.

[Caitilin]

Oh, don't think of the cartoon--think of the brave giant and name him Finn! :D

[elegantlion]

More ideas:

 

Tiber

Breck

Culley

Donnelly

Finnegan

meallan

Roarke

[kokotg]

 

Flynn

Seamus

Maximus

Julius

Julian

Pierce

Niall/Niles

Roth

Desmond

Davin

Cillian

 

I love Desmond, but DH's cousin's kid is named that, which I think eliminates it for us. I also like Duncan and Declan. DH nixed Declan, but I think I could get Duncan if I wanted. But it's probably my least favorite of the 3.

 

As the mom of a Malachy (kee not kai ending) and a Declan, I am a big fan of Irish names. I think you should go with Ronan if it's what your heart is saying, but I agree with PPs that it doesn't match your other boys's names as well. We considered Finn for our boys as well, but decided it was becoming far too trendy and I would nix it from the list for that reason. Other Celtic/Celtic-inspired names that we considered were Beckett, Graeme, Eamon, and Seamus.

 

Oh, and fwiw, people do often think Malachy's name is pronounced Mala-kai, but it's not a big deal to correct and we call him Mac as a nickname most of the time anyway. And so far, no one has ever called him "Malarkey". But he's only six, so we'll see . . . I hadn't even thought of that one!

 

A real life mother of a Malachy! I think the thing that eliminated it for me was that DH could never remember which pronunciation I was in favor of. That seemed like a bad sign. You don't want your own father to constantly mispronounce your name! Several people have pointed out the malarky thing to me, but I don't really see it, either....unless he spends a lot of time hanging out with a bunch of bad natured senior citizens--I just can't see that being a go to insult for 8 year olds.

 

My three boys are Finn, Ian, and Gideon. Finn was unheard of in the US when I named him--he's named after Fin MacCool--and around here it's still pretty rare. I tried to get dh on board with either Ronan or Eamon when we named Gideon. I still love Eamon. :D

 

Yeah--with Finn, I couldn't even claim to have been ahead of the curve like you can!

[I.Dup.]

I really like your boys names! I like Finn best with your boy names, Flynn could be another option.

[kokotg]

Abraham x 100! I love it.

 

I would ask Milo if he minds if his name is the only one that doesn't start with an A. If he didn't care, I don't think I'd stress about it.

 

My second favorite is Ronan.

 

Finally! A strong vote for Abe!

 

I have asked Milo, and he says he doesn't care. He's an easygoing kid, generally speaking.

 

 

 

 

I always thought that if I had a fourth son, I might name him Theodore and call him Theo, which is actually a little trendy, or Ted. I always thought Ted was a particularly adorable boy name. And then it's a good Man name too, which I think is important. My boys have very classic boy names, but I love Ari, Milo and Gus.

 

 

I think Theo is super cute, and people have suggested it to me a lot (and then Milo would have another O ending name to offset his A beginning brothers ;)).....but I don't think I can get past how I'd be essentially calling my kid "god." Is that weird of me? Seems like a lot to live up to....

[bolt.]

I have a friend who used Theophilus for Theo.

[Annie]

Finally! A strong vote for Abe!

 

I have asked Milo, and he says he doesn't care. He's an easygoing kid, generally speaking.

 

I really think it's a great and underused name! I also love the name Saul, but it sounds funny with my very much not Jewish last name. I bet it would go great with yours. :D

 

What about Walter? I really want a baby Walt someday.

[justamouse]

Man, I love all of your choices! (Except Will, because I have too many in my family)

 

I will toss an Owen at you for consideration.

[Aoife]

being that my second son's name is Ronan I am kind of partial to it :lol: my other 3 boys are :

 

Tristan

Liam

Desmond

 

we go with unusual but not unheard of names here too :D

 

Our Ronan's middle name is Kian which is also Irish and an awesome name :tongue_smilie:

 

other names I love are:

Dorian

Duncan

[Loudwater School]

I vote for Abraham. It's an awesome name. Everyone knows how to spell and pronounce it but you never hear it anymore. It makes me think of some kindly old man. In both those ways it matches Milo, Ari & Gus, too.

 

If you go with William, consider the nickname Liam. Maybe someone else has said that. I can't stomach five pages of baby name talk.

 

I named my sons the names that I had gotten used to calling them during pregnancy rather than the best names I thought of, and I deeply regret doing so. So I will put my two cents in against Ronan. Also it doesn't really go with Milo, Ari & Gus. It is trendy and sounds new (even though I know it isn't). Also, Milo, Ari & Gus immediately bring to mind sweater vests whereas Ronan makes me think of T-shirts.

[kokotg]

I really think it's a great and underused name! I also love the name Saul, but it sounds funny with my very much not Jewish last name. I bet it would go great with yours. :D

 

What about Walter? I really want a baby Walt someday.

 

I love Walt. I can't remember why it never makes the short list. It may be a DH veto. Or it may be that, with my Disney World obsession, everyone would assume I was naming him after Walt Disney....and I don't have THAT much of a Disney obsession!

 

Man, I love all of your choices! (Except Will, because I have too many in my family)

 

I will toss an Owen at you for consideration.

 

I love Owen, too! I'm partial to long Os, it seems. I've mostly held back from wholly embracing it because I worry it's too popular. Although it's certainly no Will.

 

being that my second son's name is Ronan I am kind of partial to it :lol: my other 3 boys are :

 

Tristan

Liam

Desmond

 

we go with unusual but not unheard of names here too :D

 

Our Ronan's middle name is Kian which is also Irish and an awesome name :tongue_smilie:

 

other names I love are:

Dorian

Duncan

 

So DOES it get misheard as Rowan all the time? If so, does it drive you crazy?

 

I vote for Abraham. It's an awesome name. Everyone knows how to spell and pronounce it but you never hear it anymore. It makes me think of some kindly old man. In both those ways it matches Milo, Ari & Gus, too.

 

 

you know, it's funny...I never DO hear Abraham, but it's actually ranked 192...which puts it over 100 spaces ahead of Finn. Where ARE all the Abes? It must be some subculture using it disproportionately that's pulling it up, but I can't figure out what it is. Southern evangelicals would be my best guess, but if that were the case, you'd think I'd be running into them.

[LibraryLover]

I Seamus with the other names in your family, and I would call him Sea (Shay).

[didadeewiththree]

I'm not how this name might sound, or how this fits into this thread, but I came across the biblical name Ammon in my daughter's reading books today and thought, "Wow, what a cool name! Then I looked in the glossary in the back and learned that it means "heathen country!" Well, I dont know if that would be an ok name still or not, but I thought Id mention it since it is an "A" name

By the way, I like Abraham, and would just call him Abe for short.

[daffodil]

My vote is for Finn, but it does seem kind of trendy next to your boys' names (which I LOVE, by the way). Ari, Milo, Gus, and Abe sound good together too, and if you tend to call August "Gus" then the A name thing doesn't stand out as much. I also really like the suggestion of Theo.

[OrganicAnn]

I like Irish names but some get trendy (Liam). For some reason I don't like Ronan. I never met anyone in Ireland named Ronan and I've never heard of there being many seals around Ireland although there probably were around the south west coast, so it always seemed like a fake Irish name to me (no offensive to anyone who has a Ronan).

 

Of course, the Irish name I picked (if DD wasn't a girl) was Cormac so who am I to say anything against Ronan. I also like Ian which I think is more Scottish.

 

I also like Malachy (long I sound at the end). Kevin is a good Irish name.