We’re having a boy!
Our little one
My husband and I are very excited! He has been wanting our firstborn to be a son all along. As a big brother himself, he tends to feel that role is very important. I’ve been going back and forth, but lately I’ve been wanting to decorate the nursery in trains, and now it looks like I’ll get to.
Of course, this means we still have a long road ahead of us in terms of naming. You see, we had pretty much settled on a girls’ name. If it were a she, she would probably have been Clara Joy Anneliese. We’d even jokingly come up with a hermaphrodite name, in case our child were to be born with both parts and we wanted him-her to make the decision later on. He-she would have been Elliot Joyce. (I know Joyce might not be ideal as a boys’ name anymore, but we want to use family middles, and it’s the only family name that even comes close to sounding decent on both genders. Because you really can’t have a boy named Ruth or a girl named Steve.)
But our little one is clearly all boy, at least judging from the pictures the sonographer showed us. And boys’ names are tough, at least for me. We’ve yet to find one that sounds like “the one.” For those who are curious, here’s the current list of names that have been suggested by either me or my husband and not flat-out vetoed by either one of us. Current favorites (of mine or his) are closer to the top:
- Julius
- Jeremy
- Elliot
- Wesley
- Henry
- Edward / Edmond
- Frederick
- Franklin
- Simon / Simeon
- Kenneth
- Miles / Milo
- Alasdair
- Oliver
- Caleb
- Duncan
- Callum
- Lachlan
As I mentioned, we’ve agreed to use family middles. We’ve narrowed the list down to these five, and once we pick the first name, we’ll choose the middle that sounds best with it:
- Arthur: This was the middle name of my father and my husband’s grandpa, and I love that it honors both sides of the family at once.
- Daniel: Another two-for-one choice. My husband is Brian Daniel and my grandpa was John Daniel, though he always went by Dan instead of John.
- Benjamin: My husband’s dad is Ben… just Ben. We’d use the longer form in honor of him.
- Bennett: A less expected way of honoring Ben.
- William: After my husband’s favorite grandfather, Wilbert Arthur. Wilbert is just a bit too dorky now-a-days, but I think William makes a fine adaptation.
The good thing about not having settled on a boys’ name yet is that we still have several months of naming fun ahead of us! As always, any comments or suggestions are appreciated.
Well first of all, congrats! James has a train room, I’ll have to send you pics
As for name choices, I think Arthur is a perfect middle name. I think Elliot Arthur or Simon Arthur are my favorites, although I also adore Lachlan. Lachlan is a little more modern sounding, and Arthur balances it out. Franklin Bennett is another pick of mine.
Congratulations!
I really do love your naming style. Your little boy is going to have such a charming and handsome name, no matter which one you decide on.
Thanks!
Kayt, I’d love to see your train room pictures! Please do send them to me.
Congratulations, Emmy Jo! How very exciting. Your choices are great – I don’t know how you’ll choose just one name!
I have to say I really love Jeremy. Jeremy Arthur is nice. (I mean I really like it.)
I think if I were to to a Jul- name, it would be Julian rather than Julius. It’s a little less antiquated.
Henry is another nice one. As for the popularity issue, I thin that only matters if you live near a cosmopolitan area. I wouldn’t do Henry if I lived within an hour of NYC. But since I live so far from any real city, I think it would still be seen as a new, interesting name, rather than “Oh, another Henry”. I think that’s a nonissue for you, too. Are you anywhere near a big city? Henry William is such a nice pairing!
You have q fewmonths left before you really have to choosee – unless you plan on having his name embroidered on everything! I think you have a great list here. Lots of luck!
Congratulations! I adore Julius!
Julius is currently the dearest to me, but I think it would take the right kind of kid to pull it off. I DO like Julian, but it actually ranks very high in California where I live (#28, which is higher than Gabriel, William, Benjamin, Nicholas, or James). We’re trying to stay away from names that are that popular.
Henry is one we both like. We do live near a big city (San Francisco), but Henry is still considerably less popular here than in other parts of the country. I’ve never taught a student called Henry (or heard of a student’s sibling, cousin, or friend called Henry). In fact, I’ve only heard of one baby Henry — the child of the college pastor at the church I used to attend — but it’s a large church, and we don’t go there anymore, and I never even met the kid, so it’s not like we’d be “stealing” his name.
My husband loves Jeremy. It feels kind of 90’s to me and a bit ho-hum next to the others. But it’s a nice “normal” wearable name, and in that sense might be a better choice than some of the others.
Congrats on the blue bundle
I like Julius, Elliot, Henry, Edward & Milo the best
Congratulations – With two boys of my own, I can honestly say that boys are fun! I know how you feel about Jeremy… Does your husband have a reason for loving it so much? (something that you could get behind and like the name more because of…)
Personally – I think that he’ll have a wonderful name, no matter what you settle on – you have exquisite taste!
No, he doesn’t have a reason for loving Jeremy so much. I think he just likes the way it sounds. The one thing that might sell me on it is the fact that we could call him Jem (like the older brother in “To Kill a Mockingbird”). Still, I’m not sure. Using Jeremy kind of rules out ever using Julius. It’d be pretty silly to have boys called Jem and Jules (gem and jewels), wouldn’t it?
Congratualtions on the boy, Emmy Jo! I am so excited for you! I agree with your husband. I love the idea of having a boy first, to be the protector of the younger siblings, especially they girls. Perhaps because I have always wished I had an older brother, rather than a younger one. I felt that perhaps we would have been closer, if the roles were switched.
I adore your names, as always. Henry is my favorite, closely followed by Julius (I prefer Julian though), Henry, Franklin, Alasdair, Callum, and Lachlann.The one ones I really do not care for are Jeremy and Duncan.
For the middles I love all of them, but especially the two for ones, Arthur and Daniel.
Henry Benjamin Arthur would be fantastic!
Your little guy is going to be one lucky, well-named babe.
Jane
Aka The Infamous Bunny.
Love the names you’ve short-listed! My favorites are Julius, Oliver, Frederick, Milo, and Duncan. I’d be hard-pressed to choose. Frederick was on my list until I realized Fred + our Ed- last name was not at all a cool combo. I love that it has a lot of nickname options (in addition to Fred you could go Rick, Derick, Deri, and Flick). Milo, Duncan, and Julius represent names (or close approximations) that my husband has vetoed – I’d love to see someone else get to use them! And Oliver is great (and also features on my list, so clearly I like it!) Whatever you choose, your boy will have a great name! And congratulations on reaching the mid-point, or thereabouts, of your pregnancy – you’re halfway there!
I love Jeremy, Edward and Oliver! But over all, all your names are pretty nice!
And congrats on the boy! Make sure he doesn’t act all superior, and more important than your second child (if you plan on having one), just because he’s older!
(Sorry, just some experience I’ve had, and what I think of when I hear someone’s first child is gonna be a boy, I’m the youngest, so I know what it’s like)
Oh Congratulations on a boy who is sure to be beautiful.
Its no surprise that my favourite on your list is Edward. Henry and Miles are also strong contenders for us. We have 6 weeks to our due date so if anyone knows the excitement and the struggle with names right now its us.
I really like Jeremy nn. Jem and Mockingbird association is cool. I also like Elliot, Wesley and Milo. Oliver and Henry are also nice but kind of trendy. Kenneth and Duncan aren’t really doing it for me. Other suggestions: Desmond, Grant, Graham, Finn, Leo, Everett, and Atticus (probably not as a middle name for Jem though)
Good luck
My son’s name Wesley (age 3) has been a hit. He often goes by Wes, which we’ve found is a fun sibset visually with (his sibling) Sam because they are a rotational (180 degrees) ambigram.
That’s very cool!
Wesley Arthur Gray! Yay! :] I can’t wait to see his picture. Congratulations.
Congratulations, Emmy Jo! He looks so cute!
My favorites are Wesley, Callum, Caleb, Alasdair, and Henry.
I think Milo is best as a nickname for Miles. Milo just seems too informal.
The only name I don’t really like is Jeremy. It’s not a bad name, and I can kind of see the appeal. I like the way it looks. I do love Jem as a nickname.
I like Elliot and Miles/Milo best. With Henry in a close second.
Congrats!
Congratulations!
I like most of the names on your list. I think my favorite is Elliot. I was more familiar with Alistair than Alasdair, but I looked up Alistair quickly and I guess one is just a form of the other. I used to not like it, but have grown to love it. A name so obviously Scottish would look strange next to my obviously Italian surname though.
If you’re worried about being too diamond-like with a sibset of Jeremy “Jem” and Julius “Jules”, you could go with Remy as a nickname for Jeremy. Sure, then it loses the Mockingbird connection, but Remy is still an awesome nickname, without the pretentiousness of Remington. I think Jeremy and Julius is an awesome sibset, if a bit alliterative.
Congratulations! I love your taste in names…boys names are definitely not my strong spot but I’m going to see whether I can come up with my 5 favorite combination’s from your list…
* Milo Arthur: Milo is definitely one of my favorite boys names of all times, and probably the least common name on my rather predictable list (Lukas, Noah, etc.) I love the name and I would use Arthur with it even if it wasn’t a family name.
* Simon Daniel: Simon is also high on my list, paired with Ellis. As I was going through your list I didn’t like this name at all at first (The “n” and the “d” were clashing) but over the course of a few rereads it’s starting to grow on me.
* Oliver Bennett: This combination is actually one of my favorite boys names! There’s a book that we had to read for English class a couple years ago featuring a character named Oliver Thicket, so I had Oliver Beckett up there for a while before changing it to Bennett a few months ago…definitely my favorite so far.
* Caleb William: Caleb has always been the name that isn’t on my name lists regularly, it kind of hovers on the edge not quite one of my favorites but a name I do like a lot.
* Jeremy Benjamin
I actually like those quite a lot! That should be something people post on Answers as a BNG.
–Gavi
Congrats on the boy! I’ve been secretly hoping you’d have a boy all along.
I agree with your husband on the whole “big brother” thing. Whenever I have kids, I hope and pray that my first will be a boy (I want more boys than girls, anyway, but the boy being the first is very important to me, as I’ve always wished I had a big brother.)
I absolutely adore Duncan and Elliot. Duncan is my number one all-time favorite boy name, and Elliot is in the top five. I can never understand why Duncan gets so much negetive feedback when it’s mentioned. It seems so boyish and handsome to me. Nameberry says that it’s “jaunty, confident and open” and that it “makes it into our golden circle of ideal names”. I couldn’t love the name more.
Elliot has a unique, quirky kind of sound to it. It really rolls off the tongue, and I absolutely love the nickname Eli. [EE-lye, not ELLE-ee]
Some other favorites of mine from your list are Jeremy, Wesley and Henry. Jeremy is so precious and likeable. It sounds friendly and sweet. I love Jair and Remy as nicknames. Wesley is awesome. My best guy friend is named Wesley, so maybe I’m a bit biased, but I still think it’s wonderful. I call him Wes, and I think it’s way cool. Henry is like Jeremy. It’s got a sensitive, young kind of feel to it. It’s one of those names that you know you’ll like the person before you even meet them, just because of their name. Hank is really sweet.
Good luck and congrats!
Congrats! I love Oliver Daniel, its cute and simple but mainstream enough so that its not weird. Good luck!
I love the name Julius, I as well will be using it, although it will be a middle name. I say stick with it, its a strong and amazing name.
I happen to like Julius Bennet and Julius William. Julius William seems very strong and masculine, I love it.
I also like Wesley and Callum. Since the name ‘Wesley Callum’ is on our top three list
. I love the nickname Wes. Although I really can’t pick a middle name from your family names, that goes perfectly with Wesley.
As I said above, I just love the name Julius! That would be my top pick of all your names.
Good luck, and congratulations!
Ohh, I love Remy and Jules as a sibset! and I’ve always loved the name Remy
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations! Oooh, so many months of fun ahead of you! Naming is such a perfect example of pain mixed with undeniable pleasure, but it’s always wonderful in the end!
OK, enough for my effusions. Personally, I like Franklin Arthur or Alisdair Daniel best. Franklin is so delightfully unexpected nowadays and Alisdair has a cool sophisticated sound to it. Whatever you choose, I’m sure you’ll both fall in love with it as your little guy grows to “become” the name you choose for him.
Big congrats! I’m be absolutely THRILLED to see you with a little Wesley, Lachlan, Simon, Alasdair or Miles/Milo. Great names. Have a happy & healthy 9 months.
JULIUS!
:D:D
I’m sorry for being so excited, I just love that name! I’d use it in a flash if I wasn’t a Julia.
Are you having two middles or one? If you go for two, I love the sound of Julius Arthur Bennett.
Jeremy’s nice also – I like the nicknames Jem and Remy. Would also work well with Arthur in the middle spot.
Congrats on joining the blue team! You have great names picked out I personally like Kenneth Daniel a lot but I am partial to the first name as one of my family memebers has it. I have always liked it and I never run into many.
I am having a ton of difficulty coming up with names for my twins boys that are due in early jan/late dec. I already have a son who will turn 3 in December and it was easy coming up with his name (family name) but we had no other back ups and so we are at square 1 trying to come up with 2 more boy names…have mercy!
Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!
~Ninali
I’m a big fan of your Judah/Jude option on your list. However, since DH is into Jeremy, I thought I’d throw Jeremiah out there…
I’m in the SF Bay Area too! I love many of your names. I haven’t heard them around the playground either (I don’t have kids but my best friend has a boy who just turned 2 so I’ve heard all his friends’ names).
I particularly like these:
* Julius — Great name! I like it better than Julian actually. Maybe Jem could stil be a nn?
* Elliot — On my fave list too: I’m afraid it will be getting popular soon but still a great name.
* Edward / Edmond — ditto for Edward. Edmond is a nice alternative.
* Franklin — this would be on my list if it weren’t for my last name . Frankie is a great nn.
* Simon — so British classic but not common here!
* Alasdair — a bit exotic, fun.
* Oliver — I’ve heard of a few Olivers but not many.
* Caleb — perhaps not as dynamic as some of your others but still nice.
* Lachlan — I really like this — not common, a standout.
All the middle names are great!
Some combo ideas (Daniel, Bennett & William seem easiest to pair with the firsts) — personal faves have *
Julius Arthur**
Elliot Daniel**
Edward Bennett*
Edmond William*
Franklin Arthur
Franklin Daniel
Simon Bennett*
Simon Arthur*
Alasdair William
Oliver Benjamin
Caleb William
Lachlan Bennett*
Good luck!
Love your blog!
)
Just wanted to say that I think all of those names are lovely! (It seems we have similar taste
My favorites are Miles, Oliver, and Lachlan (I would use Locke as a nickname though).
Congrats! Happy naming
Love Henry and Caleb. LOVE Henry Benjamin the best.
Hi Emmy Jo! I don’t know if you remember me or not, but I wrote you a while back about naming our baby. Congratulations on your baby boy! Being a mommy is the most amazing thing. We ended up having a baby girl, on Labor Day, and named her Gabrielle Lynn. We chose Gabrielle, since it means woman of God, and she is my miracle that saved my life.