Favorite Names Thread

mermaidca

I'd like some advice.  H is Jewish and our twins were converted and we will do the same for this boy.  Both girls have old testament, Hebrew names but they are simple and well known names.
We are both in love with the name Meyer.  H's great great grandfather was Meir.  It's a super old Hebrew name.  Think along the lines of Saul or Herschel.  MIL doesn't like the name because she thinks it's an old grandpa name, ha!  There's a few variations on spelling (Meir, Meier, Mayer, Meyr) but we like Meyer best.
We are worried because it's not an old testament name it won't really "fit" with the other names.  We also don't want people to think we're trying to be trendy and use a last name as a first name.
There's a lot of cons for the name but I really love it.  I don't know what to do.  Is it too out there?

lyse01

@mermaidca go for it. Isn’t it a Jewish tradition to name after a dead person anyway? (Ashkenazi/Sephardic differences aside...I never remember which is which)

mermaidca

Yes it is.  Both girls' middle names are after H's grandmothers.  The middle name we've chosen is also after his grandfather and we could use it for a first name if we finally decide Meyer is too weird.  So baby will have lots of family name regardless of which way we decide.
Thanks for the input @lyse01
ETA tag

thatbaintforbetty

@mermaidca The first thing i thought of when i saw that name was lemons. Meyer lemons are a commonly found breed from China. 

Aside from the above i don't see anything wrong with the name. It's hard to really say without knowing your DDs names but i feel that no names really go together "perfectly." If you love it and you think it's a good fit then that's what matters.

For what it's worth DD has an "old lady" name but this kid won't have an "old lady/grandpa" name. They sorta go together to me but probably not to some people.

mermaidca

@thatbaintforbetty MIL said she thinks of Oscar Mayer wieners which I guess is a valid one...
I love "old people" names on little babies.  And they age well so that's not a concern.  Also I had never heard of the name before so I don't have the same old man connection to the name.

Naming children is hard!!

thatbaintforbetty

@mermaidca I can totally see the Oscar Mayer connection. I love "old people" names as well, my DH not as much though, he had a bunch of "old people" type feelings about most of the names i loved for DD.

mrs_nadinek

How would everyone pronounce Joachim in the US?
It's a family name, Biblical, and DH loves it. But I'm very concerned about the pronunciation, lol.

lyse01

@mrs_nadinek wah-keem. Or maybe if I’d never seen it before joe-ah-cheem? Joe-ah-chim (as in chimp)?

mermaidca

@mrs_nadinek I would say Waa-Keem.  Almost like Joaquin Phoenix.

thatbaintforbetty

@mrs_nadinek Honestly I've been staring at it for like 3 min and i still can't figure it out. The sounds that the letters have to me don't make anything that sounds right. (that's the best i can describe it, like my mouth wants to say it the way it looks but my mind says that doesn't work) Closest i got was something near the latter 2 that @lyse01 posted. I probably would have asked how it's pronounced if i saw it and had access to the person. If it's pronounced like wah-keem i think you'll get a lot of misspelling it if they hear it before they see it.

Bringmemylongswordho

@mermaidca I'd do it as a middle name, but I live in an area with lots of Germanic last names, so you can't throw a schnitzel without hitting someone with the last name Meyer/something Meyer

@mrs_nadinek Wah - keem as well, but depending on the area I could see people having difficulty with it.

kaitykins

Meyer reminds me of lemons, it sounds nice though and if suits you I say go for it. If people don’t understand that’s ok.

honey_suckle

@mrs_nadinek in Swedish we spell it Joakim which might give a different pronunciation. 

ysotte

Any suggestions for one syllable names? We’re having a girl and my SO’s only input thus far on her name is that he wants it to be one syllable and As aggravated as I am over it, I don’t want to completely disregard his wishes. I’m willing to at least TRY to find something I like that fits this one request.

lyse01

@ysotte
Hope, Faith, Grace, Rose, Ann(e), Ruth, Jean(ne), Joan, Jo, Beth, Noor, Cass, Jess, Bea, Dee, Lea, Mae/May, Sue, Rae/Ray, Cher, Elle, Liz.

Give us a vibe or some multi-syllable names you like.

ysotte

@lyse01 Eve, Belle, Faye, Ashe, and Prue are ones that I’ve seen and kind of liked, but I’m not sure about them. I like them, but I just don’t feel super attached to any of them. Iona, Amara, And Artemis were names that I love, but do not fit into the one syllable requirement.

batmama31

@ysotte

maeve
jewel
claire
june 
fern

i think my personal single-syllable faves for a girl are maeve & ann. 

side note: i did a quick google search for single syllable girl names & nameberry ACTUALLY has true listed as a fucking name 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ i hate that the shallowest people in our society have the greatest influence on our culture (perhaps should’ve saved this for UO this week 🤷🏻‍♀️)

ysotte

@batmama31 I saw True as well when I was looking through names and was like “absolutely not.” 😆 

Thanks for the suggestions so far. It helps even if nothing really feels like her name yet.

lyse01

@batmama31 @ysotte May has a mom whose children’s names have a theme: True, Truth, and Trust.

@ysotte Wren? Lark? Jane? Sage? Dawn? 

mermaidca

@ysotte Sloane, Lynn?

happymoni21

lin0442 said:

Roger has the additional super cute old nicknames of Hodge (or Dodge), though. And, if the kid is into pirates they’ll be psyched about Jolly Rogers lol. I think it’s a pretty good name.

I need to give a belated shout out and thank you to @lin0442 for legitimately helping to name our son! Thanks to your tips on the nicknames we are going with Roger but using the nickname Dodge, which I love.

Thank you for saving us so many fights!

thatbaintforbetty

So i thought we were good on a middle name but now DH isn't so sure.

He now says he's on the fence about Liliana Dawn but likes Liliana Zoe, which i feel like it doesn't flow at all.

Ugh.

sheepshepherdess

Wanted to list some of our favorite "hippie names," mostly pretty normalized at this point but some not as much.

Sparrow, Coyote, Wren
Indigo, Hemlock, Willow, Lilac, Hazel, Lupine, Asher, Leaf
Arrow, Terra/Terran, Mica

MRDCle

DH has been thinking as he drives all day apparently. His current top two are Phillip and Howard. 

izzymarie80

Since we know we are having a boy we have 3 names picked out. DH wants to meet him and then decide on the name lol
Declan Clyde
Ethan Randall
Wyatt Randall

Randall was my dads name. Lost him in 2012.
Clyde is DH and FIL name. DH hates it but it’s a family name and fits with Declan pretty well. 

A friend end of mine is due around April 17th. She revealed the name this week. They picked Bane Micah. Not sure how I feel about Bane but I thought it was interesting.

lyse01

@sheepshepherdess I’m liking those hippie names. LOVE Hazel, lilac, Terra, Indigo. 

@thatbaintforbetty I don’t like Zoe as much as Dawn for mn, but I don’t think it’s bad. It’s different vowel sounds, so better than lily Zoe, or Liliana Zoana, y’know?

Bringmemylongswordho

Not going to lie, Bane Micah makes me think of an alternate universe Michael Caine.


We have a long list, and need to narrow it down and come up with middles. Our top three for the short list are Percival,  Tobias and Lawrence. Percival is difficult because it ends in l, and since our last name ends in er I'm trying to avoid other names that end similarly.

@thatbaintforbetty Liliana Dawn flows better, but Liliana Zoe isn't bad either. 

@sheepshepherdess Lupine is pretty bad ass

lyse01

@Bringmemylongswordho are you using FNs as MNs? If so, you’re welcome to the Percival-Rufus combo in my family tree. I think Tobias Lawrence and Lawrence Tobias work well too. Other names to throw in the ring may be Benjamin, Elias/Eli, Jebadiah, Jeremiah, Lucas/Lucias, Edmund/Edward, Archibald, Malcolm. (I’m finding Edmund pretty versatile with your choices!)

MRDCle

@Bringmemylongswordho I love Lawrence! 

thatbaintforbetty

@sheepshepherdess I actually really like most of those. Except Hemlock cause I automatically think deadly poison. 

Now DH says he likes Eve which i like more then Zoe. I thought since we agreed on a first name pretty easily we wouldn't really have any name issues. Boy was i wrong.

professormama

@sheepshepherdess hemlock makes me think of poison too. And specifically shakespiran poison? 

@thatbaintforbetty I like Liliana. I think lots of one syllable names would work with it. I honestly think both Eve and Zoe sound fine! 

I think we settled on Oliver. I hate that it’s so popular. But we both love the name, it sounds great with the middle and last name we have. And it goes super well with my first sons name. Plus Ollie is a darn cute nickname! 

HGRich

@professormama that’s how we are with Liam. We both like it, it’s a family name, but so popular! Oliver is a great name too. It doesn’t work with outlet last name or I’d seriously put it on our list. 

thatbaintforbetty

@professormama I think one syllable too. I love Pearl, Jane, Jean, Jade, Opal, Maeve, But DH doesn't like any of them. I also love a lot of flower/plant names but feel weird pairing it with such a flowery first name. 

Oliver was our boy name too and i had the same thoughts about it. Really loved it and went so well but not super fond of the popularity. Ollie is a super adorable nickname though.

kangstadt

@professormama, I love Oliver too for the same nickname reason but agree with the popularity problem.  Still, if it's a name you love then who cares?  I have a nephew named Oliver but they refuse to call him Ollie .  Side note, I had siblings I taught once named Oliver and Shea and I loved both of those names.

MRDCle

@thatbaintforbetty but Opal and Maeve are gorgeous!! He’s gotta get it together and come around  

mrstmoose

Ok so now we are on Brooks. Thoughts? 

Also, for any FTM trying to figure out if it "fits" try yelling the child's first and middle name that you are leaning towards to see if it works. I promise it's helpful (because no matter what you say, you will raise your voice and middle name your child!)

blueberrymomma

Now that we know we’re having a girl I am even more torn about a name. Just recently met a little girl named Ellison. (Or Ellyson). I loved the sound and possible nicknames, El or Ellie. DH isn’t sold but also isn’t full of ideas 

frenchfrymama

How do you decide between a family name or a name that has no familial ties?? Both DH and I like Thea, but it has no family meaning. I also love Elaine (call her El) it was my grandma’s name and she passed away young so I was the only grandchild to ever really know her. It would be a beautiful tribute... but I’m not sure how that name will age? Thoughts?

thatbaintforbetty

@frenchfrymama Can you do Thea Elaine? I actually think that's really pretty!

We went with non family names because the one family name i love that i have a good association with (Catherine), DH has a bad association. I think it's always nice if you can included one if you also really like the name but i don't think it's must. Neither of our girls will have any family names, i hate almost all the middle names for girls in our family (and a lot of the first names, lol), so the positive ties/connections aren't enough to overcome my dislike of the name. The few that i might consider DH doesn't like and it's more important to me to that we both really like the name. Our boy name had DH's middle as the middle because we both like the name and it was mildly important to him. He used family names for his first daughter and they are beautiful names with great connections, but aside from the 2 he already used he doesn't like most of the ones left in his family, either because of the name or the connection. Neither of us would use anything we didn't like just to say it's a family name.

Also my DH has a family name for his legal name but no one uses it. Not his family or me or my family or his friends growing up. Various jobs have but he says that always feels funny. His dad gave it to him solely for the connection but never had any intention of actually calling him that and it's been a huge pain his whole life. He's gone by a nickname since birth, even our wedding invitations had his nickname. So that may color both his and my view on names.

frenchfrymama

@thatbaintforbetty funny enough, I genuinely never thought of that but it’s beautiful!! Thank you! I will totally bring that up with DH tonight. 

I also never ever thought of the family name becoming a hassle. I didn’t think we would ever call her Elain, just mostly El. I could see how that would be frustrating. Thanks for the insight!!