Thoughts on Caius

Javad

I'd appreciate some more thoughts and opinions on the name Caius. It's currently our back-up choice for a boy name (if any name was to overtake the top spot, this one would be it), but it hasn't elicited nearly as many responses (positive or negative) as some of our other top options on various forums I've posted.

So...

What are your thoughts on the name Caius? And the reason for your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

It's pronounced like 'ky-us' or 'kai-us'. Nickname= Cai (kai) It's a Latin name that means "to rejoice". It's steeped in history.

oliversmom03

nms

Vespah

I love the name Caius and would seriously consider using it myself if it didn't clash so badly with DD's name (Caelyn).

Makes me think of  "The Dream of Eagles" Series by Jack Whyte with Caius Merlyn Britannicus as one of the main characters.  (an excellent series by the way for anybody at all interested in the King Arthur story). He was pretty bad-ass, and the name will always be a strong male name for me.

Mochadoodle

I like it, but it does remind me of Twilight.

TofuMama7

It's not my style. Since you asked for reasons I'll give you mine, I prefer names that you know how to spell when you hear them (I grew up with a tricky to spell name and hated always having to spell it out for people) and for me it's just a little too uncommon, I prefer names that are uncommon, but still common enough that people have heard of them and know they're not made up.

That said, there's nothing wrong with the name, those are just the reasons I wouldn't use it.

queenbone

It reminds me of Gaius, which reminds me of Battlestar Gallatica. So, a little too sci-fi nerdy for me to use personally.

dressandtie

Mochadoodle:

I like it, but it does remind me of Twilight.

Same. I just get a Volturi vibe from it.

gimmietimmies

Vespah:

I love the name Caius and would seriously consider using it myself if it didn't clash so badly with DD's name (Caelyn).

Makes me think of  "The Dream of Eagles" Series by Jack Whyte with Caius Merlyn Britannicus as one of the main characters.  (an excellent series by the way for anybody at all interested in the King Arthur story). He was pretty bad-ass, and the name will always be a strong male name for me.

Love Jack Whyte!

Caius is okay, its neutral for me. 

daylight11

I like Caius quite a bit. But isn't there a Twilight character who's called that?

I hate myself for knowing that.

Javad

There is a Caius character in the Twilight series, but to my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong) he's a relatively small character who only pops up several times. As such, I'm thinking that he's a character who will be completely off of people's radar several years down the road (?). So my hope is only some people who are really into the series would associate it with that character for now, but in another 5, 10 years almost no one would associate it with him anymore.

And the name has thousands of years of history pre-Twilight (it was even Julius Ceasar's actual first name-- Caius Julius Ceasar--- not that I'd be naming him after Ceasar), so I feel weird nixing a historical name like this because of a minor character in a pop culture tv/book series.

lilhockeygurlMOM

I don't like it

missesru

I don't love it, but maybe for an odd reason.  For some reason it makes me think of the word "callous" immediately, and I wouldn't want that connection.  I'm probably the only one that put those together though. 

--halo--

queenbone:

It reminds me of Gaius, which reminds me of Battlestar Gallatica. So, a little too sci-fi nerdy for me to use personally.

It reminds me of Gaius from Battlestar Galactica as well, and while he was a 'bad guy' of sorts, I don't see the nerd factor as a negative. 

queenbone

--halo--:

queenbone:

It reminds me of Gaius, which reminds me of Battlestar Gallatica. So, a little too sci-fi nerdy for me to use personally.

It reminds me of Gaius from Battlestar Galactica as well, and while he was a 'bad guy' of sorts, I don't see the nerd factor as a negative. 

I said too sci-fi nerdy. My names are definitely nerdy, just not that kind.

capulet

We have a friend named Gaius, who is (probably inevitably) a classicist.  I think I prefer that spelling - the Romans used them interchangeably - but then I think, oh, people are going to pronounce it GAY-us and it will lead to all kinds of teasing.  Also, it's such a wildly common Roman name that it seems kind of bland to me, even though it would be highly unusual now.  I guess what it comes down to is, I wouldn't use it myself, but I appreciate the reasons you want to use it, and I definitely wouldn't side-eye it.

JET29

I like it. I wouldn't use it myself (just not really my style), but I do like it for someone else. I also like Cassius, which has a similar feel. 

I read the Twilight series and don't even remember the character named Caius, so that wouldn't be a negative factor for me. 

The one thing I dislike about the name is that the pronunciation is not obvious.

 

BC&LM

It's not my style. It's too ancient Roman for me, along the lines of naming your kid Julius or Cato. I disagree with the person who said she wouldn't know how to spell it if she heard it. I would know how to spell it.

AsOctoberFalls

Love it.  But, I love ancient Roman names.  (DS is Lucius).  I would definitely know how to spell and pronounce it.

I think one of the reasons I love ancient Roman names so much is because they're classic, steeped in history, spelled correctly, no one could accuse you of making them up... but they're uncommon. I also love the meaning.  That was one of the things I loved about DS's name as well (Lucius means "light").

RealityJunkie

missesru:

I don't love it, but maybe for an odd reason.  For some reason it makes me think of the word "callous" immediately, and I wouldn't want that connection.  I'm probably the only one that put those together though. 

That's the very first thing I thought of too, which is why I'm not into the name. Kai, however, is really nice.

catahoulatte

I actually really like it. It's different but not out there.

That.Just.Happened

I love it!  What a great, strong name!

arlingirl

Mochadoodle:

I like it, but it does remind me of Twilight.

 This. I'm mean, but  I just don't like these overly Greek/Roman names. Sorry. 

evaazalea

I love it, but it was to different for DH. 

salt78

Twilight.

Javad

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Definitely helpful. I'm appreciating Caius more and more each day, it's right on the tail of Kian and has the potential to pass it up and move into the first place slot. My parents are visiting next week, and I'm sure we'll talk baby names a bit, and I have a feeling their thoughts and opinions will probably sway the end result a little bit- on whether Kian or Caius is in the lead.

naybird

starshineamator

 

AsOctoberFalls:

Love it.  But, I love ancient Roman names.  (DS is Lucius).  I would definitely know how to spell and pronounce it.

I think one of the reasons I love ancient Roman names so much is because they're classic, steeped in history, spelled correctly, no one could accuse you of making them up... but they're uncommon. I also love the meaning.  That was one of the things I loved about DS's name as well (Lucius means "light").

I agree with this!

I really like it, personally, but I LOVE old Latin names (I'm a classics scholar) so that makes me strongly biased.

I definitely prefer it to Kian. 

Javad

All the responses here have been super helpful. It's nice to get some various perspectives on this name.

I really like classic names steeped in history, but this one also seems more 'accessible' to me than a lot of the other old Latin and Greek names I've found. It's ancient but seems somewhat 'fresh' too. It feels like a strong and solid name for an adult but also like a name that would suit the newborn through youth years, especially with the NN option. It's meaningful ("to rejoice"). It's uncommon, but not totally unfamiliar feeling. My parents really like it (moreso than Kian).

And the negative things about it just don't seem like such a big deal. I think the Twilight connection will not be caught on by most people (and five years down the road, by even less people). The spelling and the pronunciation may have a few issues here and there by some people, but I don't think that's a big deal (my name and several of my good friends names growing up were mispronounced regularly and I never knew anyone who was really bothered by this).

I think it's up and just about matched Kian as a tied for top choice....