Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I'll Tell You What's In A Name

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

See, now I call poo poo on Shakespeare with this one. Because if someone came up to me with a rose and said hey, check out this new rose variety called Diarrhea Coffee-Breath Fart Locker Delight—take a sniff! I probably wouldn’t register the same sweet smell as I would had it been called Lady Delight Pink Vintage Tea Rose. Am I right?

So you can imagine my dismay over the fact that Bryan and I cannot seem to agree on a name for the little lemon-sized baby in mah belly. (Somehow I don’t think I can call it Mister Man forever.) And if you don’t help me with this and suggest some rockstar names STAT, Bryan is going to keep pushing Conrad and Allistair. Or Texas. TEXAS. We have never been to Texas, have no affiliation with Texas, don’t even particularly like Tex-Mex, so I don’t know where this name is coming from. Next thing you know the name Randy will be in the running and I absolutely refuse to yell Conrad Allistair Texas Randy across a playground.

So here are the rules: there aren’t any, really. I like unconventional names, but classic is good, too. You might already know the worst-kept secret in the blogisphere, aka what our last name is, but if not it starts with an M and is two syllables. Stay away from names like Ethan because Ethan has whispy pube facial hair and everyone knows Laird takes photos of his bowel movements and emails them to his friends. Help me name this baby. Go!

105 comments:

Unknown said...

Declan
Tristan

I have friends who have unusual names for all their (4) kids and these are the two boys.

Lacey said...

I like unconventional names too-boys are tough! I like family names-and women's maiden names often make cool guy names

Fox
Lawton (my middle name!)
Lawson
Brick (from cat on a hot tin roof!)
Bain
Granger
Jeremiah
Milo
Oscar
Miller

Weitzell4 said...

Boy names are oh so difficult. So many have bad associations and girls have taken over many of them, and the one's I liked were too popular. I did not want my kid to be one of 3 Jakes in his class. To me meaning is important too. Our daughter is Morgan, and our kids names have similar meanings. For our son we ended up with a Dylan Everett.

I don't have any good suggestions. Good luck!

erin said...

Jasper

Zakary said...

Dexter.

You're welcome. :)

Renee said...

A few celebrities seem to have used this lately, but my husband's name is Kai, and I adore it! Congratulations on your baby boy!!

jennifer said...

we had girls (gave them amazing names!)
but here are some we considered at the time (which is not terribly recent, mind you)

Lark
Wyatt
Beckett
Otis

sorry, this is probably futile, eh?

Cindy said...

Spontaneous brain dump... aaaaand GO:

Hayden
Owen
Evan
Tate
Gavin
Lawson (agree w/Lacey - my friend's son is named Lawson)
Eli
Ralph (HAHAHAHA)

xo

Anonymous said...

Madding
Hollis
Rainer

Kiri said...

I think Wyatt is a great name as is Henry my sons name is North and my brother just named his son Anderson.

sometime you just have to wait and meet the babe.

Leslie J said...

I'm having the same trouble, too. My husband wants to name ours Boris. BORIS! No.

Up Mama's Wall said...

Just none of that Hayden, Caden, Jaden crap.

Cooper

Colson

Axel

Ben

And if by accident he is really a she can you please, please, please name her Lola?

Cheryl said...

Ronan

Anonymous said...

Charley

Sara said...

Weston
Walker (Texas Ranger! A compromise)
Holden
Lennon

Appletree said...

Mack.

Erin said...

Ok! Foster. Sam. Raylan. Paul. David. I love Appletree's suggestion of Mack. I would love Debra's suggestion of Declan, except I can just imagine those little shits on the playground calling him Dickhead.

Anonymous said...

Kai

Petunia Face said...

Hm. Two votes for Kai so far... that's a name on MY list :)

Anonymous said...

I'm on a 'Silas' kick. I think it sounds badass-yet-sensitive-and-artsy with your last name, too.

Erin said...

S, I have a Holden in my class this year, and the name is quickly becoming one of my current favorites. For me, it has a good association, because the kid is kind of what any parent wants -- attentive and academic enough for the teachers to like, goofy and "boyish" enough for the boys to like, and handsome and nice enough for the girls to like. For you, I also like it for the literary connection (though, event though we've been friends for 20 years I can't seem to remember if you are or are not a fan of Catcher in the Rye, so the literary connection could be good or bad).

I always loved one-syllable boy names, but couldn't use those with our last name. But some that come to mind are:

Sam
Ty
Tate
Cole
Cade

I'm sure this discussion will be ongoing over the next few months, but those are some off the top of my head.

What happened to YOUR name? The one you and Bryan have loved for years??

Kimberly said...

My friend just named her little boy Brecken. Thought it was darling.
Here are a few that I love:
Davis
Rylan
Gabe
Noah
Miles
Owen
And I LOVE the name Dylan (thank you for reminding me Weitzell4)

Good luck!
And congratulations :)

Tracey said...

We just named our son Beau. (started following from April 2006 Babycenter)

I also like Xavier. Please no Jacob! I've know 3 born this year.

Anonymous said...

My sister is as plain jane as they come, and her and her husband would not discuss names with ANYONE prior giving birth to her first son, so as not to hear "ooh no, I don't like that." But I was so surprised when my dad called to tell me she had a boy, and named him Brody. My plain jane sister came up with Brody! and I LOVE it.

Miss to Mrs said...

I LOVE the name Gavin. But, MODG just named her baby that so if you name your baby Gavin she might think you are cyber stalking her.

I just can't help myself. I love Rescue Me and I think that Thomas Gavin would be a fantastic name.

I also like Cooper. And Kai is a really great name.

Robin said...

Yay...names are too fun!
Beck
Raines
Dov
Can you tell I like one syllable names? All would sounds good with your last name :)
Also, super traditional but I love
Ben
Sam
Luke

Patti said...

I like names that are occupations / passtimes.

Like:

Tanner
Marshal
Hunter
Blacksmith

Okay. Maybe Blacksmith is pushing it a little. But my names still stand.

Also, I like 'Ryan' because it's my main man's name, and no one really uses it anymore because it was so popular in the 80s to name your kid Ryan. And my name is Patti - my mom used the same reasoning - and I have never met another Patti or Patricia the same age as me, but many mothers. Just meant I was never "Patti 1" or "Patti 2" and I like that.

I also really like the name Holden.

A friend of mine just named their son Kian, which is cool.

I have to name my son (when/if I have one) IAIN. And no, that is the correct spelling, it's Scottish, and it's my man's dad's name (who passed away when he was a teenager). It'd be fine, but I think "Ian" is one of my least favourite boys names, just because the only Ian's I know are big geekazoids.

Melissa & Emma said...

Nico

SGM said...

Doesn't everyone love a Tommy? I think that is the sweetest little boy name. Same with Luke, Nick. I also vote for Beau, it's masculine and Southern and anyone named that will grow up to be big and strapping and ruggedly handsome. But also kind and smart. Maybe a Doctors without Borders type. A kid named Texas would never get admitted to med school.

Weitzell4 said...

Oh, and I was just reminded by one of the posts, be careful to think of all nicknames. My friends named their son Miles Owen Johnson.
Miles O Johnson.
I think it was intentional.
Either that or his middle name really isn't Miles and they're full of it.

Anonymous said...

Felix

Weitzell4 said...

Wyatt

Anonymous said...

Luke
Wyatt

Ryn said...

ohhh susannah.. bryan's names are..yikes. haha

Boy names are tougher than girls fo shoo.. I think. But I would suggest:
Benjamin, but call him Benj rather than Ben.
I also like Kale, Romy, and Pacey.

good luck =)

Sara said...

I am diggin Wyatt. Perhaps for my love of Miike Snow's front man Andrew Wyatt who is grizzly and sexy as hell. Your baby could be grizzly and sexy one day.

I agree that Luke is a fantastic traditional name.

Warren

Laird after hard bodied surf master Laird Hamilton

Jayme said...

Grey
Xander

kate said...

Calvin, Desmond, Otto, Roscoe, Felix, Alden.
Kai is the boy version of Maya--nice "I am sort of alternative" statement name, but getting very overused. Ditto Caden, Jaden, etc. Alden means "wise old friend." Plus there's an ice cream company called Alden's--their mint chip is flawless. I ate mint chip every day while I was pregnant with my first Hooligan. Boy names are tremendously hard. The girls I never had were going to be Rosemary and Sabine.

Geli said...

Please consider that one day that little cute "Cody" or
"Brody" will be 30 years old and not to happy about a name like that. Names are important, especially for
boys/me and they should be unusual (but not in a weird way) so everyone will remember him.

Alesio
Aneo
Dante
Gabe
Luca
Lewis
Nils
Sal

Richie Designs said...

Graham is a nice solid name

we'll avoid the thought of ages 5-10 when he gets called cracker though.

aden
Gray
Enzo

are three little ones in my life that I adore.

btw I can stand behind Brooklyn but not Texas guess it's the city girl in me.

Unknown said...

Blake
Lucian
Garland
Dusk
Merlin
Jango
Caio
Tyme
Joshua
Endymion
Ren
Cassian
Prairie

Anonymous said...

I would go with Aidan, Zach or Ian, good luck!!

Only A Girl said...

Layne

Claire said...

If we ever have a boy (we're 3 for 3 on girls...), then his name will be Riggs after my husband's grandfather. It reminds me of Lethal Weapon (Mel Gibson's character goes by Riggs). We also like the names Paxton (a family name) and Nash (after Nashville, where we lived for a few years). Also, my husband's name is Chandler, which is a great name, but he doesn't want a junior.

Good luck! Naming babies is a lot of pressure!

JackeeG4glamorous said...

Pacey, Caden, they all are paste eaters. Just sayin. No respectable cool chick loves a Pacey. come on, try writing I {heart} Pacey on your folder, yeah, um, No.

Love LOVE Luke, Paul and Thomas.
Kai is ok, but sounds Asian, and if you are not Asian, then Kai would not be a cool name.

sorry.

two cents worth, that's all

Anonymous said...

Lance
Dane
Arturo
Tasilo
Pablo
Santiago
Mateo
Matias
Rodrigo
Alvaro
Diego
Geronimo
and I love Tristan and Oliver

Anonymous said...

Arturo
Dane
Lance
Diego
Rodrigo
Santiago
Diego
Sebastian
Charbel
Emilio
and I love Tristan and Oliver

AngieLou Harris said...

I have a little boy due in January named Parker.

The other names we considered were

Grayson
Easton
Prescott
Hayden
Isaac
Henry

and I love the middle name Jude

Anonymous said...

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and
www.facebook.com/clubdepatos?v=photos

xxx
Isabel

dee said...

Whispy pube facial hair!! OMG!!!

I heart you:)

Lucas. Please use it. I can't. Because when you put the name Luke with my last name, it sounds like a fat Italian used car salesman. (Say it out loud. Lou Ca-Ru...) SEE?!

Anonymous said...

Hmm..
I like:
Cyrus, Paul (great name- common but currently Uncommon), Dean, Luca, Charlie, Leo, David, Casey, Sean, Walker.
That was fun.

carla fox said...

I wanted Julian but got a Sam. I also like Titus (loved the movie).

lucie said...

Maximilien
Nico
James

Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Love Kai, but it's getting popular with the crunchy crowd, if you care about that kind of thing.

Asher?

kate said...

Tristan and Sebastian are too Soap Opera. Oliver is good, but you have to like Ollie, which I do. I've got some more for you (I love names): Ivan, Isaiah, Carter (Because of Jimmy), Cyrus, Caleb, Theo, Peter, Reed, Darius, Huck.

I really wanted to name my boys Henry Huckleberry and call them Huck, or Huckle, like Huckle Cat in the Richard Scarry books, but I was shot down, twice. Who cares what it rhymes with? My friend's son is Tucker, and no one calls him Tucker the F--er.

: said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Cash
Jagger

Bearden 365 said...

I was totally obsessed with boy names while trying to name #2. It was nearly impossible. My husband really wanted Dirk and to this day, insists its a great name. Which its NOT, because who doesn't think of Dirk Diggler when they hear the name Dirk??? I digress...

I loved this blog while I was obsessing, so I'm going to share it here:
http://swistlebabynames.blogspot.com/

Author said...

Name him Bradley J. M. ..... : )

Sarahviz said...

Cooper.

Cindy said...

Geronimo? What?

My sister LOVES the name Kai too, but I just can't seem to get on board with that one. I feel it sounds asian too, and you are not asian.

How about Harper?

I could most definitely have babies with AngieLou Harris. ♥ her list.

You have a last name that can go with almost anything, so that's cool. xo

Anonymous said...

My older boys are Weston & Mitchell....then came Brodey. I love my little men! Congrats.

the space between said...

i'm giving you my future baby name only because u live on the other side of the country and there is no danger of us calling the same name on the playground (which is actually a real shame seeing as i think that might be fun) and only because i think your kid could actually pull it off. no one else is allowed to steal though....got it!!

oaks

Megatron said...

Hmmm...I'm kind of a names weirdo, so here are a few of my faves:
Neil
Liam
Charles
Milo
Reid
Brooks
Finn
And if Bryan is dead set on a "location name", try throwing Lexington into the mix. Lex would be so badass.

Michelle M in KY said...

OH SUSANNAH...
I so want to give you a profound name that just rings..."that's it". But, I'm not that good...so here goes! I, too love Appletree's suggestion of Mack. I wanted to name my son this because this is the name that they use to call my Dad when he was alive. But, I leaned toward my husband and let him take the lead. So, Austin it was. That was never on my list...my fav's were Mack, Aaiden, and personal best Collin. That's still a fave of mine. Lately, I've been liking the name Ian. Zoey and Ian and I think any of them sound good with your last name. I do think that once you name him, it will fit and you'll wonder how you ever thought of anything else. Good luck...and by the way, I think Bryan has been eating some of the chocolate that Zoey consumed last week...for his name suggestions definitely look like something you'd think of while hallucinating. LOL

Michelle M in KY said...

OH SUSANNAH...
Guess I should have read everyone's comments before making my suggestion since all of the names are already there. Good luck...make a list and keep adding to it. Eventually there will be one that both of you agree on and just love!

Petunia Face said...

You guys are awesome! Some great names here. Keep 'em coming! I thought we were on to a strong contender last night, then Bryan said one little thing about the name that I can't shake. Back to square one...

xo,
S

Anonymous said...

My only request is that you don't choose a name that is also the name of a Twilight character. Sense the book became popular Bella, Edward, Jacob, Jasper... Have been becoming more popular baby names and it just drives me nuts YUCK!

I love when family names are used especially maiden names... My man's name is BRIGGS

I also like alliterations. A good friend of mine just named her son Gates Garner so maybe you should choose an M name

caroline said...

Craven!!! (it is actually a family name)
Hank
Zan/Xan (alexander)
Miller
Mack
Max
I like a lot of the names suggested here, by the way. Good luck. :)

Richie Designs said...

oh one more...

Noah

Anonymous said...

James.

kate said...

Well I like Conrad, my son (Cal) has a friend we call Con-radical. It sounds like a surfer to me. But Allistair? Ugh. Just go all out and name him Nigel, why don't you? If it's just anglophile names Bryan likes, how about Giles? Not as over used as Miles and Milo are, at the moment. Sounds like a jazz musician. Nothing wrong with that.

Luke and Lucas both sound like you need to clear phlegm. That said, I've never known one, child or adult, I didn't like.

Alexsandria said...

Quinn.

That's my man's name and he's never met another man named Quinn. I absolutely love that name.

Also, Jack is always a good classic.

I think Kai is the new Jaiden or Aden. That name has been popping up a lot lately.

Haute Mama said...

I already have a Maxwell and a Hudson. Both names have shown up in personalized nursery catalogs since, which is kind of a bummer- but i still love them.

If we have a 3rd boy, we will name it Frank (not Francis or Franklin)- which is a family name and I HATED the thought of it at first (imagined birthing an old guy in coveralls with "Frank" embroidered on them), but it's kind of grown on me and is at the same time, kind of traditional and quirky.

Other names I love are Oliver, Elliot, Sonny and Dexter.

No offense to some of the other comments, but I am seeing a whole lot of romance novel fodder up in here. Cassian? Alessio? Really?

btw- finally got my blog roll up (thnx to your post) and you're up there!

Anonymous said...

I love Luke and Lucas! Wyatt, Cody and all those cowboy names are just too rodeo queen for me.That said, all the nicest men I have ever known are Sams.
Have you tried the baby naming site Nymbler? It could keep you busy all day!

Anonymous said...

Gabriel...??

Lisa said...

Jackson. I have a Jackson, but I like Hudson too.

Sharon Brown said...

My husband and I were having the - what to name "baby brother" (what we're calling him right now) conversation just tonight. My husband was dorking out on the names:
Vick (no)
Victor (no - hello, Young & The Restless)
Buck (hello no)

This discussion is fantastic for me right now. I am liking Brick the best, but husband is saying no go from the other room. Layne is one of my top choices too.

Anonymous said...

Jakob
Flynn
MacKenzie
Hunter
Keegan

Good luck - if only hausbands didn't have to have a say!!!

Brooke said...

I love the names Declan or Jack or Eli

Anonymous said...

Seven

kristacular said...

okay first of all. NO TEXAS. I'm from there. horrible name. almost just as horrible of a place. (Austin rocks though). Second and most importantly. You can't say you don't like Tex Mex if you've never been to Texas! Because living in SF now.... there really is no good tex mex comparisons!

Moving on.

Ryker? Rhett?

Jessie @ Style and Pepper said...

what about clay?!?

irisheyes said...

Cash

sarah said...

I'm v. Catholic, and love the name Joseph ... strong, could be Joe, understated. I also like Mason (don't know your last name) and Walter, my Grandad's name.

Someone mentioned Harper but I've been hearing lots of girls with that name lately . . .

Do you know of this site? I'm single and no kids nearby, but I'm addicted: http://swistlebabynames.blogspot.com/

Felicitations!

Kacey said...

Here are my suggestions without having read all of the other comments first,I apologize if there are repeats,hope they help,if not to choose one of these to at least help the wheels to turn and churn out the right name for Mister Man:
Kai,Cooper,Bay,Everett,Tucker,Dane,Tristan,Rylen,Easton,Edan,Shaw,
Trace and Vale.

Anonymous said...

try thinkbabynames.com they have a cool random baby name generator...it's fun and and a great resource for unusual names.

Anonymous said...

think about it.....all rise for the President of the United States_________M_______or Chief of Police ________M_______, Doctor_________M_________ or even Screenwriter_______M______.....now name your precious baby boy, and congratulations.

Anonymous said...

Saxton

e.gray said...

Here are some from our list--we had a girl and named her Eliza-

Everett (my dad-in-law's middle name)
Silas
Jude
Asa
Orin (love this one!)
Ari

You'll come up with something awesome, I know it!

Anonymous said...

I like
Saxon
Annon
Travis
Jackson
Nate
Jai
Flynn
Mason
and Devon.

Big choice, i always thought i'd get a boy and i thought about what kind of man he would be, strong, mature, worldly, passionate.... and i thought about looking at that tiny new face and calling him Ian!! sorry in Australia its not on the popular list for a reason!
Have fun, enjoy your pregnancy.

Anonymous said...

Boone

Sarah said...

I just named my little punk Jackson aka Jack.
We were also considering Henry and Benjamin.

noriko said...

a few of our favourite's i'll never get to use b/c we have 3 girls under 3...
-beck
-sheppard
-gavin
-atticus
-zade (this was our number 1)
much luck and pls let us know where you land!

Anonymous said...

check ancestry.com for names within your family history. you are bound to find some unusual and strong male names from all over the world that will fit your little man cub to a tee.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Finch.

...seriously.

Anonymous said...

Emmet and Judah are my faves

said...

Brooklyn is gorgeous but mabey too common
but for something a little more rockstarish there is :
levi
ace
decker
storm(y)
jagger
casper

Anonymous said...

My sister likes "Gunner"

Diana said...

Thanks for this. Me and hubby are trying to come up with a name for our little man (arriving sometime in early April) and all these suggestions have been great...

Some possible names that we've been throwing around:

Mateo
Nico
Rafael
Finn
Milo
Shea

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Brogan.

That is my little mans name. I love it because it is a cute "little boy" name but yet will work when he is an adult.

I was disappointed when I watched the last Shrek movie and there was an ogre named Brogan...but oh well.

Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

I gotta say, I love Hollis. Probably b/c Brendan's wonderful ex (one of my BFFS) is named Hollis. I would like to use it too, boy or girl.

amy b.s. said...

we just had some friends name their little boy "hatch". not sure what i think of that, but it's pretty unique.

declan
colt
jude
holter
porter
khanh

Merr of Locust Hill said...

Surely (no, not Shirley) there's a family name in your tree if you go back far enough. A family name always gives you the excuse..."oh, it's a family name!"

Ours is

Read.

Baby Names said...

Thank you so much for this post. I found it really useful. I love the look of your blog btw!

Melissa & Emma said...

Soren