Terminalcoffee discussion

I am now accepting any and all suggestions for the name of my child.
I have some ideas, but not enough, and Sweeter, bless him, isn't much help. I know we're not going to know what it is for sure until we see the kid, but I'm gathering ideas now.

I'd like something classic, yet not overused like the currently trendy Adelyn, Addeline, Addy (sorry if anyone has recently used that name, but it honestly is the Jennifer of today).

What do you think?

This is an excellent question. What resources are you using? As stupid as they may sound, baby name books are worthwhile...just paging through and testing how they sound.

I also understand why some people don't tell their friends potential names, because invariably someone says, like, "You're really going to name her Rose? I knew a girl named Rose in college, and she was a total skank and slept with both my roommates."

And then you can't get "Rose the skank" out of your mind.

What are some of the other options? What if the baby is a boy?

Charlotte
Elizabeth
Mathilda (I love that one)
Caroline
Eleanor
Frances
Maude
Ophelia
Perdita....


Ok now I'm just getting weird. We name all our animals "people" names so I have a long list. I like the old-fashioned names.

I mentioned only girls' names----do you need boys' names as well?

::crosses Rose off the list::

Yes, Mary boys names too, please. We don't know if it is a girl or a boy, but I'm intrigued that you both assumed it was a girl. Perhaps that's cause of my Addeline example. (I had about 7 Adisons in my 7th grade class last semester, so that's out too).


What I meant to say in my first post is that I'm asking y'all because I'd love to have some really cool literary reference. Sweeter works with a guy whose son is named Ezra, and I just think that is the coolest.

My middle son's middle name is "Tempest" after the (unbelievably awesome) Shakespeare play. His first name is Skylar, so he tells people his name means "sky full of storm". My third son's name is Nathaniel Odysseus. Nathaniel means "gift from God", and with the Odyssey being an adventure, we tell him he's part of an adventure given by God, if you will. My wife wanted cool but not too whacked out names so I tended to nominate names and she'd narrow the list but since she had more pull on the first name I had more on the middle name except with my oldest son (more on that in a second).

Two slight sidebars...I may have said this one before...I often call these two kids by their middle names because I think the names are cool. The names, however, have morphed over time. For example, Tempest has been shortened to Temper (because Skylar hates losing and gets mad when he does) which was shortened to Temp. And now I have to be careful when I saying things like "Temp, we're leaving" out in public because no one but us will have any clue as to what we're saying or to whom we're referring.

Second sidebar...my oldest son's name is Tristan. His middle name is my wife's maiden name. That's a family tradition of hers which I didn't particularly like but my mother in law HATES my kids' names so the joy of pissing her off with the other names and making my wife happy with Tristan's middle name outweighed the negatives. Tristan has evolved into all sorts of different nicknames, by the way...when Skylar was younger he couldn't say "Tristan" so he said "T-T" which evolved into "T-Rex" and most commonly "T-Bird".

So, um, what I'm saying, at 5:30AM before coffee, is that 1) I thought of some of the books/characters I loved and whether any cool names were inherent in the titles/characters, 2) middle names are open season, if you ask me, and 3) nicknames are another option and often emerge organically, and 4) pissing off your mother in law is fun, esp. after she suggested you limit name choices to "the isles", by which she meant British/Irish names, because apparently the British Isles are the only isles that matter.

Awesome answers RA! This leads me to wonder - all of you who have children, how did you decide on their names?

RandomAnthony wrote: "My middle son's middle name is "Tempest" after the (unbelievably awesome) Shakespeare play. His first name is Skylar, so he tells people his name means "sky full of storm".

I love that "sky full of storm." What a powerful self image to carry through life. As for limiting names to "the isles" both Odysseus and Tempest bring isles to mind, so you didn't quite ignore her advice.
My thought in naming was to give each child a first name of their own and a middle name that had been in the family for generations for a strong sense of self plus a connection to those who went before. Imagine the name as the teacher's calling roll, on the playground, reduced to initials or shortened form, rhymed as kids will do, then in adult life on a resume', on the plant floor or running for election.

I love the names of RA's kids. Those boys are going to get major girl action with romantic names like that. :)

I was horrified when the Emily/Emma fad happened, because those were MY picks for a girl, if I'd had a girl. Am I really that stereotypical? Apparently. :\

That's how I feel about the Adelyn thing, as I'd always liked Evelyn or Adele.

Sally would you like some not-english names?

I'm fond of Alice, as it's my mom's middle name, and literary, as in Alice in Wonderland.

Eleanor is good, too, with Eleanor Roosevelt, and Eleanor of Aquitaine both as strong women to be inspired by.

Boys' Names:

Arthur
Rufus
Clarence
Hector
Cosimo
Laszlo
(those are all cat names at my house)
Owen
George
Atticus
Milo
Jude

Yes, Knarik! Please!

Mary - Owen is my maiden name, it is high on my list.
I really like Jude, but I don't like Jude Law or the Beatles. I'm afraid people would always sing "hey Jude" at him/her.
Milo is cute.

Sally, you could name a boy Henry Owen, and his initials would be HON. :)

Henry Owen is an awesome name!

There are also numerous names in the Bible you could use too if you are religious(or if your not), like Abraham, or Joseph.

Girls
Malena [mʌlænʌ:]
Ani [ʌnɪ:]
Sona [sonʌ:]
Gayane [gʌjʌnæ:] (j is like [jes:] for yes)
Nune [nu:næ]
Lusine [lu:sinæ]
Arpine [ʌrpinæ:]
Arpi [ʌrpi:]
Shushan [ʃu:ʃʌn]
Mane [ mʌnæ:]
Hasmik [hʌsmik:]
Nare [nʌræ:]

Boys
Vahe [vʌhæ:]
Narek [nʌræk:]
Vache [vʌtʃæ:]
Harut [hʌru:t]
Manuel [mʌnu:æl]
Gevorg [gævorg:]
Garik [gʌrik:]
Bagrat [bʌgrʌt:]
Ruben [ru:bæn]

Jackie "the Librarian" wrote: "I'm fond of Alice, as it's my mom's middle name, and literary, as in Alice in Wonderland.

Eleanor is good, too, with Eleanor Roosevelt, and Eleanor of Aquitaine both as strong women to be inspi..."

If we had a girl I was going to push hard for Alice as a middle name, or Carroll, perhaps, in honor of Lewis Carroll.

Those are some cool names, Knarik! Malena...that's a great one.

My great-grandparents were named Ephraim and Garnet. Can't get much more old-fashioned than that. I am named after the other great-grandmother who was alive when I was born - her name was Youndy Lavina, nicknamed "Viney" (not sure about that spelling, I'm going on pronunciation with that). I'm not fond of the name Ephraim, but I like Garnet. When they were still alive, my great-frandfather used to call my great-grandmother "Dirt" - I never knew the origin of this weird nickname, but apparently it was an inside joke - they were married over 70 years and seemed very sweet on each other.

My mother and grandmother are both Alpha. One is Alpha Mae, and one is Alpha Lydia. I love the name Lydia.

My grandfather is Wiley Benard. But I think I prefer Leon, which is the name of my great-uncle and his son.

I have a cousin Irina, and I like that name, too.

I've always liked the name Sophia, too.

As for different names for boys, when I was a kid I knew a boy named August. I like that.

I like old names.
Boy: Iver, Ivan, Emil, Henry, Owen.
Girl: Grace, Sarah, Charlotte.
My girls are Madeline Diane and Emma Louise. The whole selecting names thing was a huge headache. My husband wanted to name a boy Kilgore Trout.

P.S. I forgot two of my favorites: Asa and Willa.

Boy Names:
Grayson
Sawyer
Xavier
Noah
Keller

Girl Names:
Sloane
Hadley
Noel
Blythe

All names are either first or last names of "classic" book characters

I like classic but not-too-common names too.
My youngest daughter's name is Eleanor. I rock. ;)

I was gonna say Sawyer as a literary boy name, too. Also Max! I wanted Henry if we had a boy but we didn't. Love that name. It's gaining popularity, though.

Some names I liked for both my girls (before I saw them):
Marin (my FAVORITE but it just never seemed to fit. I'm still bummed out about it.)
Chloe
Louise
Rachel

Oh, I also liked Hollis.

GREAT name suggestions, guys! Youndy, I love hearing what your grandparents and great aunts/uncles are named.
I really want to find a name from a generation or two ago.
Our criteria: classic and simple. I also want something rather unique, as some of you may know my real name is Sara and there are about 7 Sara/Sarahs in every room I'm in.

Diane is a beautiful middle name, Cynthia.

Knarik, your name list gives me so many ideas. Ani is cool, as is Malena.

What is the protocol of naming your baby after someone? Do they have to be deceased for it to be proper? Unless it's Sweeter Jr. of course.
But I mean, is it not ok to give the baby the same name as a friend, just cause we like the name or because we want to honor that person?
I guess that'd be a better thing to do with the middle name than the first.

I don't know the particular rules, but I think it is okay to name your child after someone currently living. My great grandfather's surname is Anderson and my cousin was named Anderson in his honnor. It's a great way to carry on a family name when the surname will not continue within a particular line.

Sally wrote: "Diane is a beautiful middle name, Cynthia.

Knarik, your name list gives me so many ideas. Ani is cool, as is Malena. "
It is pretty. My mom is Mabel Diane. I understand Mabel is popular in Great Britain.

Heather wrote: "I don't know the particular rules, but I think it is okay to name your child after someone currently living. My great grandfather's surname is Anderson and my cousin was named Anderson in his hon..."

my friend Leslie says Jews usually don't name their children after living people...

Huh. I knew it was taboo somewhere!

I like Mabel, but our friends just named their weiner dog that and it makes me uncomfortable.

Another problem is a lot of names I like sound a lot like Marla, our cat's name.

Clara is another older-sounding name I like.

My husband and I had much more trouble agreeing on boy names than girl names. Anyone have the same/opposite experience? We knew the sex of both so the struggle didn't last long but it's still interesting. He seemed so much more particular about boy names and less inclined to go with something a bit off. We ended up agreeing on a short list and then waiting until we saw the babies to name them.

Sally!!! I LOVE this thread! What with my sister having recently had a child and all my friends are having babies, I've heard some really great names come up in conversation.

My favorite friends' boy name: Rhett

My favorite friends' girl name (a tie): Annalise and Eliza

I've always been partial to Katherine/Katharine/Katharyn for a girl's name and Jack for a boy's name. For either a boy or a girl, I'd like to use Daugherty for a middle name - it was my grandfather's middle name and I've always liked it.

Another friend's kid's name I love:

Eva Ireland

Okay, that's all for now.

I tried to make everyone call me Becky for a while when I was about 10.

My husband and I had much more trouble agreeing on boy names than girl names. Anyone have the same/opposite experience? We knew the sex of both so the ..."

I agree, Gretchen, boy names are harder.

p.s. I love your boys' names, RA. :)

Your boys do have awesome names, RA. I have trouble thinking of boy names too. My wife likes Aidan but that would be a little weird since our last name is Quinn and we would be unintentionally naming him after the actor.

I would love to name a girl Anastacia, but that is my wife's name and she doesn't like the idea. The best reason she can give me is that it was a pain to write out when she was five...

Yeah, I'm shooting for a name of four or five letters max, as our last name is already going to be challenging for a little kid. heck, it's challenging for me.

I love that this thread still lives.

RHETT!!!

About the naming protocol. 90% of Armenians are naming their children after the child's paternal Grandma or Grandpa. It is a very important tradition. If the name is very old fashioned, then they change something in it , but try to preserve the likeness to the original name.
By the way, Ani is the most used Armenian name for girls, it is the name of our 13 centuary Capital, and also is short for the pagan goddess of beauty and wisdom Anahit's name.

Sally wrote: "Yeah, I'm shooting for a name of four or five letters max, as our last name is already going to be challenging for a little kid. heck, it's challenging for me.

I love that this thread still lives."

I immediately thought, upon reading this post, that this child will someday have to take standardized tests, with those little boxes for his/her name, and the child will run out of boxes because of the long last name. I ran into that problem with "Anthony".

babynames are always a great subject. i know someone who grew up in a small town in albania. they had a very special practice for naming children, the other children of the town or extended family would decide on a name. they also didn't name children after living relatives, even though he did with his daughter. his oldest son's name is mika, after the prophet from the bible.

my parents named all their children after living relatives, first the grandparents and after they ran out of grandmothers moved on to aunts. they never used the exact same names but made them a bit more modern. i have a unique name - and it's not janine, that's an anagram of my middle name - and i like that, even though i'm always very confused when i meet someone with the same name. i know i'm naming my first daughter after my mother, her name is clara.

i like scandinavian names

boys names:
anders
bernt
davin
filip
gustav
joakim (j pronounced as in yes)
knut
kristoffer
leif
lorens
oskar
pontus
sigurd
thorvald

girls names:
anja (j pronounced as in yes)
birgit
dagny
elin
hedvig
klara
norell
stina
thyrza
ylva

Please don't name your child "Knut", at least in middle America. You're just asking for trouble.

janine wrote: "babynames are always a great subject. i know someone who grew up in a small town in albania. they had a very special practice for naming children, the other children of the town or extended family ..."

My dad had a nice Scandinavian name picked out for me: Veblynn. His commanding officer told him if he named me Veblynn he would be a dead dad.
Another fave of mine: Frances.

Sally wrote: "Yeah, I'm shooting for a name of four or five letters max, as our last name is already going to be challenging for a little kid. heck, it's challenging for me.

I love that this thread still lives."

I had the long name issue, too, with Jacqueline. I remember being miffed, as a kid, that I had a Q, and no one else did. Now, I am proud, PROUD, to have a Q in my name. Two, actually.

Your name would be gold in Scrabble were Scrabble to take names.

Although I bet the "Q" was hard when Jackie was learning cursive, but knowing her, she probably thought cursive was a joy:)

I was pretty excited to learn cursive, it's true! And I can write faster in cursive than print.