We're due with our first child on Sept 21st and we CANNOT figure out a boy's name. We've got a girl's name picked, but are struggling MIGHTILY with t'other. And since apparently everyone and their mom thinks I'm having a boy (up to and including the lovely woman behind the counter at Qdoba, who couldn't speak a lick of English, but nevertheless assured me that it was indeed a niño) I suppose we had better get a good name picked.
Ok, the important info is as follows: our last name is Smelker, we're partial to the middle name Loren (after my husband's dad...we've thought about using it for a first name, but aren't sure...) and I'd like to avoid anything that ends in -er. We don't want anything too popular or common, but also want to stay away from the really esoteric names like Dweezil or Pilot Inspektor. My current favorite is Phineas, which husband also likes, but he's thinking more for middle name while I'm thinking first name. (We'd go with the nickname Finn...) Husband's current and long-time champion favorite is Abram, which for some reason I can't STAND. (Well, I know one reason why I can't stand it--the nickname Abe makes me want to chew tinfoil.) Other names we like include:
Emerson
Aaric
Graysen
Sullivan (husband likes this one--I can't help but dislike both the alliteration and the nickname Sully.)
Arden
Fintan
Of course, none of these has yet proven to be "the one", but hopefully they give you an idea what we like!
These things are hard to predict, of course, but I'd say Emerson is going to be like the name Mackenzie: first used for both boys and girls, but now used almost exclusively for girls. It's unfair in both cases, I know, since both -son and Mac- are supposed to indicate a BOY---but not in the U.S., they don't. (See also: Allison, Madison, Mckayla, Mckenna.) Grayson/Greyson is still considered a boy name, but is getting girled into versions such as Gracen and Graceyn.
Instead I suggest Anderson or Harrison: they have the rhythm of Sullivan (without Sully or alliteration) and the -son ending of Emerson and Grayson. Edison, too: sounds like Emerson, but so far the Eddie nickname is keeping it all boy. And I think my favorite -son name is Lawson, but that may or may not be because of a cute boy I went to high school with who went by his surname Lawson. Ooo, or Carson, I like Carson: it was being used increasingly for girls in the late '90s but since then has been dropping like a stone for girls and rising up for boys.
Emerson makes me think of Emmett: despite the matching Em- beginnings, Emmett isn't being used for girls so far.
Aaric and Arden together made me think of Aidric. I like how it blends Eric (getting to be a bit of a Dad Name) and Aidan (one of the Caden/Jaden/Hayden/Brayden cluster) in a way that gets rid of the slight problems with both.
You like Phineas and Fintan, so I wonder if you'd like Finian or Griffin.
