Middle Name opinions?

stkmw02

My husband and I have always known our girl name, and it only took us a little while to agree on our boy name.  We're team green and expecting in May.  We quickly settled on a middle name as well, but now I'm wondering if perhaps there should be a minor adjustment.  I'd like some feedback so we can make the best choice... while we still have time! lol

 Our girl name:

Lily-Ana ~ it means Pure/Innocent-Grace and has a special meaning for us.  DH dreamed we had a daughter named Lily, the name Ana is a nod at my Croatian heritage (great grandmother Antonia), and the hyphen is a tradition in my family (I have one and so does my mother, Lisa-Ann).  

Our boy name:

Liam ~ it means Willing, which is my maiden name, and also goes nicely with my husband's Irish heritage.  Perhaps because it is similar in sound to Lily, this was the first boy name that came to my mind.

Our girl or boy middle name:

Ryann ~ it means Little King, which isn't necessarily relevant but coincidentally goes well with our last name that means King.  We chose this name because my brother's middle name is Ryan and DH's sister's middle name is Ann.  We'll be asking them to serve as godparents for our LO and wanted to honor them this way.

DH and I really love the names (Lily-Ana Ryann or Liam Ryann) and have decided not to share the middle name with our family or friends until LO arrives.  I only second-guessed it today and, not being able to ask my family for input, felt the need to post here. 

As a teacher, I have a student named Shyann who goes by Shy.  Today, he told me that he really hates having a girl name and plans to change it before he graduates so it isn't on his diploma.

I hadn't really thought about how Liam (if LO is a boy) would feel about having a feminine middle name.  DH doesn't feel it will be a problem at all, but is open to changing the name if its best for LO.  Since it wouldn't be his first name, is it a big issue??

Should we stick with Ryann, which we really love, or adjust the spelling to be more masculine?  There is the obvious form Ryan and the Irish form Rian.  I'd really like to stick with Ryann and hope Liam would be proud to have a name that honors two very important people in his life... but I also worry he might hate having a girl name.

Your thoughts?

PinkLillyLover

While I like your sentiment, I think Ryann for a boy is horrible.  I do not like feminine names for boys.  You are already honoring Ryan and Ann by making them the god parents.  It's sweet but you do not need to go the extra mile with the middle name...

doodlemonkey22

change to masculine spelling if it is a boy. i like the sound of liam ryan. like it spelled rian even more. my eldest son's name is liam. love that name.

plunderb

If it were me, I would go with Liam Ryan. As per the post above, I am sensitive to the "look on paper" and I think Liam Rian is weirdly matchy for two names that aren't actually pronounced the same way.

Helenahhandbasket

PinkLillyLover:

While I like your sentiment, I think Ryann for a boy is horrible.  I do not like feminine names for boys.  You are already honoring Ryan and Ann by making them the god parents.  It's sweet but you do not need to go the extra mile with the middle name...

This- word for word!

stkmw02

Thanks everyone for the feedback!!  I really appreciate the variety of opinions I've received.

To answer the question on pronunciation, we'd say it "Ryan" whether it was a girl or boy.

After posting this, I decided to ask my student Shyann for his opinion (I swore him to secrecy and he was very excited to be the first person to hear our middle name choice).  He voted to keep Ryann and said that if his name had some meaning behind it he wouldn't dislike it so much.  Then, he suggested we ask his classmates Ryan and Rian how they would feel about an extra n in their names.  Ryan said he thought it was a neat idea and, if no one told him otherwise, he wouldn't think it was girly.  Rian on the other hand said that he considers his own name to be "girly" and adding another n would make it worse.

The three boys then decided to research the name (I'm a librarian, so I was thrilled that they chose to suck up like that! lol) to find out more about it.  While the spelling is more common for girls, it actually started out as an Irish/Gaelic spelling for boys derived from a surname form of Ryan.  Rian noted that other names we consider feminine are actually "boy" names, like Ashley, Stacy, Tracy, and Jamie.  Ryan noted over a dozen other ways to spell the name that have been used for boys, including Rayan and Ryen which he thought were girl names.

I hadn't thought of looking for other guys with the name Ryann... the boys found a lawyer, a college student, a photographer, a blogger, a baby boy, a musician, and a "So You Think You Can Dance" contestant all named Ryann.  They also found one Ryann mugshot, but told me they don't think the name is connected to the crime. lol

At the beginning of this year, when I was a long-term sub for their English teacher, we did a name research project... and I shared my own name as an example.  I'm really proud of my name now and a lot of it has to do with the connection to my family. Shyann asked if I always loved my own name.  I told him no, I didn't really like my name - especially my last name - until I was in college. Shyann told me that while he doesn't like his name right now (as a somewhat new student in high school he thinks it makes him stand out even more), he plans to keep it as a middle name because he was named after his grandmothers, Annalise and Sheryl.

I'm still considering changing the spelling, but feel much less pressured to do so now.  Luckily I have a few more months to toss ideas around before we make it official... and who knows, it may be a girl!!

ShoeFanatic614

I cannot get past Cheyenne being spelled Shyann. My jaw is on the ground.

blaa27

IMO, I think you should stick with that you love. I will never understand why people get so livid over spelling. Spell it the way you like, its said the same way anyhow. Liam Rian doesn't look right anyhow!

 

GL!