I am expecting baby #3, a boy, in late October. The hubs and I are having a hard time with naming the little fella...its more challenging each time I think. My son is William Jack, who we call Will, and my daughter is Annabel Karen, Annie. Will is named after my FIL, my grandfather (both Williams/Bills) and my father, whose mn is Jack. Annie is named for my MIL (whose mn is Anne), me (also mn of Ann) and my mother, whose first name is Karen. To keep with our naming pattern, ideally I would like a traditional first name with a nickname, and a namesake (one will do this time, haha). But there's the rub... we covered almost all our bases with our first two kiddos...with all 4 of our parents accounted for, we don't have many special namesakes left for this little guy! I don't want him to see his sibling's meaningful names and feel left out... but out of necessity we decided to branch out to first names without family ties and use a family name for the middle name.
My list of first names right now are:
Henry, nn Hank
-This is our frontrunner. I love how Henry sounds with William and Annabel and how Hank sounds with Will and Annie...like they could fit in at Buckingham Palace or in the cast of "OKLAHOMA!" depending on whether they go by their given name or nickname. BUT, Henry seems to really be gaining in popularity. When we named our first son, I knew William was a popular name. Since the name has so much family significance, I don't mind. But since there's no tribute involved with this baby's name, I'd rather not pick a popular name. What is your take on Hank?? Is it rising too or are the majority of Henry-namers calling their boys by the full name?
Calvin, nn Cal
- I like this one much more than my husband does. I immediately think "Calvin and Hobbes" but hubby worries it sounds a little wimpy. I'm also not sure Calvin fits with our other names.
Charles, nn Charlie
- we love it but have pretty much eliminated it b/c of popularity, and my husband is scared to death someone might call him Chuck or Chaz, names he really dislikes.
Jay
- This actually is my husband's middle name, so it is a namesake. I love it--seems carefree and masculine to me, but I have some reservations. One is no nickname, which is a change from my other kids. Also, I worry little Jay might get lumped in with a slew of Jaydens and Jalens his age...and those names are not really my taste, so its a negative connotation for me. Also, it sounds just like the letter "J", obviously, and sometimes that sounds funny when you say the whole name, like he goes by his mn and uses the initial in front of it...does that make sense?
As far as middle names go, my husband and I both have brothers, but we don't want to choose one brother over the other for a namesake. We don't like any of their names, first or middle, enough to give a first name spot to one, and we do not want to use two middle names, so unless I am having a surprise twin I can't think of a way to honor both with one pregnancy. Our other grandfathers aren't options for various reasons. So we are left with some family surnames and my husband's name, Andrew Jay (nn Andy). We thought about doing a junior, but since we already have the confusion of an Andy and an Annie so Andrew junior seems like too many "An"s for one family! SOO....Our best middle name options are Andrew, Jay, and Patton (my husband's grandmother's maiden name, which holds significance to my mother in law).
Our last name is similar to "Roshcold".
Here are my favorite combos: Henry Patton "Roshcold", Henry Jay "Roshcold", Calvin Jay "Roshcold", Jay Patton "Roshcold". I would love more opinions and suggestions!
Thanks!
I do think it's okay if the first boy and the first girl have family names, and then the next children don't. But I also do love family names, so if you'd like to use them you've got me on your side!
I've definitely been hearing of Hank as a nickname for Henry on baby name questions---and yet I THINK all the actual Henrys I've encountered have gone by Henry. (Chime in, everyone: do you know Henrys who go by Hank?)
The nice thing about the name Charles is that although it's popular, its popularity is falling. Henry is rising and it's hard to predict how high it will go, but Charles has already gone as high as it's going. And it's wonderful with the others: Will, Annie, and Charlie is so perfect. You can probably keep him from being called Chuck or Chaz while he's young...but it's true he might choose one of those nicknames himself later on.
I know what you mean about Jay sounding like an initial, and I don't know how to get past that problem either. Well, one thing is that it's uncommon for someone to refer to himself by all three names: like, he'll say, "Hi, I'm Jay" or "Hi, I'm Jay Roshcold" WAY more often than he'll say "Hi, I'm Jay Patten Roshcold."
One option is to give him another name and nickname him Jay: that would give him a nickname like the other children. James would be so nice with your surname---but I realize that's probably more common than you want, and also it's a lot of fuss to go a roundabout route to make Jay a nickname if you really love Jay. But if you DID love James, or Jameson.
Or, I do like your Jr. idea for him. If you nicknamed him Drew, it gives you the nickname AND prevents you from adding to the Andy/Annie confusion. In fact, I think that's my favorite option. Or, you could make him a double namesake (like the other two kids) but not a Jr. by naming him Andrew Patton and calling him Drew.
