We are due Oct. 16th with our second child. Our daughter’s name is Charlotte Josephine Engel. I am a big fan of a formal name with a lot if nickname options. We often call our daughter Charlie Jo. If baby number two is a girl her name will be Eleanor Margaret. Margaret is my grandmother’s name. If this baby is a boy we will be saving this name for if/when we have another daughter.
Ok, so we are stumped on a boy’s names! We have several that we like, but nothing seems to be quite perfect. My husband has a boy naming tradition in his family where the father’s first name will become the son’s middle. We like this tradition, so the baby’s middle name will be Evan.
My favorite choice is Abraham Evan Engel. I think Avery would be a perfect nickname (a combo of the first and middle name just like we use with our daughter, but my husband doesn’t seem to love the name and thinks Avery is too girly these days…
My husband has always like Moses. But I hate Mo for a nn and we had friends recently name their baby this, so it doesn’t seem as fresh or special to us.
We both like the name Graham but it sounds like a nickname to me… of course I can’t think of a full name where Graham could be used as the nn AND it doesn’t lend itself to any of its own nicknames… It just doesn’t feel right to me, but I do really like the name…
Another one we both like is Elliot with the nickname Eli. Elliot is my grandmother’s maiden name, and I like that it has a family connection. I worry about the triple E sound Elliott Evan Engel, and it seems like this name is becoming more feminine too…
Recently I have been thinking about the names Lincoln (Linc, Colin), Malcolm (Mal – not too sure about this nn option), Sullivan, Robin/Rueben (Ben), and Oliver.
Other names we like or have considered but are totally out for a variety of reasons include Noah, Matthew, Samuel, and Zachary.
I can’t wait for your thoughts, I feel like we are going is circles and going nowhere!!
I think the trouble here is that you'd like to find a long name with lots of nicknames, but (1) this is more common for girl names than for boy names, and, more importantly, (2) your tastes run more toward boy names without nicknames (or with only one nickname, or with nicknames you dislike), so then the nicknames seem forced/unconnected (Colin for Lincoln, Avery for Abraham). AND, you've got a great double nickname for your daughter from using two nicknameful names, but your middle name for your son is not one with nicknames. Boy names that have double nicknames like Charlie Jo tend to be along the lines of Billy Bob or Bobby Joe---and I suspect that's not your style in boy names.
I think there are two choices, then. One is to find some names that DO meet your specifications: first names with multiple nicknames you like, and perhaps a middle name with nickname options as well. The other is to give up on what you think you want and choose a name that you like despite it not meeting specifications.
One of the best boy names with nicknames is Alexander: Al, Alex, Xander, Sander, Lex. Another is Nicholas: Nick, Nicky, Nico, Cole. Another is Edward: Ed/Eddie, Ted/Teddy, Ned. Another is Robert: Rob/Robby, Bob/Bobby, Robin, Bert. As with girl names, the ones that tend to have a lot of nicknames are the ones that are OLD, from the days when more people shared names. A name such as Alexander Nicholas gives you Charlie Jo equivalents such as Xander Nick; Nicholas Robert would give you Nicky Bob.
My guess, though, is that as with many parents, your preferred style in boy names is different than your preferred style in girl names. And you WOULD like to use Evan as the middle name. So then it is a matter of changing what we're looking for: not long names with lots of nickname options, but Names You Like, names that go with Evan as a middle name, names that have maybe one nickname option but a nickname option you LIKE.
I think of "Mose" as a more natural nickname for Moses---do you like Mose, or is it just as bad as Mo?
Eli (with its long E and long I) never seems right to me as a nickname for Elliot (short E, with I pronounced as long E), though I've seen it mentioned before. I think of it as a standalone name or as a nickname for Elias. Elias Evan Engel IS a lot of E, but I kind of like that! One issue is that Elliot/Elias are similar to Eleanor, if you later have another girl.
Similar to Elliot but with neither the used-for-girls problem nor the similar-to-Eleanor problem: Emmett. Emmett Evan Engel.
If you like Graham but it seems too nicknamey, I wonder if you'd like Bram as a nickname for Abraham? Or there's the name Abram, although I find that a little difficult to say with Engel.
It seems like you like hip biblical names, in which case I suggest Ezra. Ezra Evan Engel: again, a lot of E, but I do like it.
Or Asher. I find it a little difficult to say with Engel, but not dealbreakingly so: Asher Evan Engel.
Or Judah: Judah Evan Engel, nickname Jude.
Levi Evan Engel, nickname Lee (which is also the initials).
Isaac Evan Engel, nickname Zac or Ike.
