I check your blog daily for insight on naming baby #2. It's a boy and I'm due June 2nd. I'm Ashley, my husband is Patrick. And we have a very hard time agreeing on names. :)Our first child is Benjamin {middle name Patrick} and it took forever to name him. But we love his name and it's so perfect for him. Any chance that can happen twice?! Although, I think we've used up our one agreeable boy name with Benjamin!
Our last name is McBride. Benjamin's name is very strong and I want that for this sweet boy, too. I've been researching names and making lists and letting myself get pretty stressed out about naming a child! We have a girl name set, but these boy names are just too much for us! :) We would like several children, so here's hoping at least one is a girl to cut down this stress of baby naming during pregnancy :)
Here is the {very short} list of names we agree on {as in we both like the names okay}:
Andrew {My husband is already calling this baby Andrew. I don't mind it, I just don't know if I love it. And I don't like the nickname Andy at all. But I do like Drew. This name is so wishy-washy for me}
Jackson
Owen
Evan (Does this sound odd with Benjamin? Benjamin and Evan.)
Names I like, but my husband does not like at all:
Levi
Ethan
Issac
Collin
Henry
Everett
Names my husband likes:
Calvin (which I don't mind, really. But we've had so many people say negative things about this name. It's tainted the name for me)
Middle names:
Calvin
Shotwell (family name)
Knox
John (family name)
Reid (last name of close friends of ours)We tend to like more traditional names and also like having a family name in there - first or middle. Benjamin and Patrick are family names, which worked out nicely. But it didn't happen on purpose. In fact, we just found out that Benjamin is a family name and he's two.
Could you just name this baby for me?! :) Your help would be so appreciated!
Okay, I will! Wesley Reid McBride. Ben and Wes.
I would have used Wesley John (I love family names) except it seems like that takes the pleasing John Wesley association from a suggestion to a declaration. Shotwell would work too, but is Wesley Shotwell the perfect amount of cowboy or is it too MUCH cowboy? I wasn't sure. Calvin would work as a middle name (this would decrease negative feedback while still letting you have the name), but then it seems like John Wesley AND John Calvin.
I wanted to suggest Callum as an alternative to Calvin, but I'm afraid the blend with your surname might sound like Calla McBride.
Would you be willing to consider John as a first name? It's a name that I think seems "too plain/common" at first consideration, but then sounds surprisingly fresh and interesting on an actual child. There are so few children named John actually going by John. And John McBride sounds so wonderful to me, I can hardly stand it. Maybe John Shotwell McBride, so each boy has two family names?--or maybe it would be better to save some family names for future children. John Michael McBride has a nice crackling sound, or John....heh, I almost suggested Wesley. Maybe use your maiden name or another family surname (I think those tend to work particularly well with John as a first name), or use a name that you really like but wouldn't want to consider as a first name.
If John seems too short, maybe Jonathan. Benjamin and Jonathan make a nice brother pair. Jonathan Reid McBride, maybe, or Jonathan Calvin McBride (I THINK that works without too much of a John Calvin reference).
If Andrew is "not quite," do you like Anderson? Anderson McBride, Benjamin and Anderson. I'm not sure what to do about a middle name for it. Maybe Reid: Anderson Reid McBride. Oh, but then his initials spell ARM. Anderson John McBride?
Or do you like Anthony? Anthony R...oh, ARM again. Anthony Shotwell McBride. Anthony Knox McBride.
Or Joshua: to me, the name Joshua has the same "strong but kind" sound as the name Benjamin. Joshua Calvin McBride, Ben and Josh.
Nathaniel is in that group for me as well: Nathaniel Reid McBride, Ben and Nate. Strong but NICE.
Or Nicholas? I like the sound of Benjamin and Nicholas. Nicholas Reid McBride, or Nicholas Calvin McBride.
I once knew a Benjamin whose brother was Christopher. Christopher McBride. Christopher John McBride, or Christopher Reid McBride.
Name update! Ashley writes:
I am so grateful to you and everyone who commented about name suggestions! More so, though, I was so encouraged to hear all the positive things said about "Andrew". Our sweet boy came early, on May 17th, and is so precious! We chose the name Andrew Reid McBride. Sure, his initials are ARM, but the name is so great for him and we love that we can tell him how special the name is to us! Big brother Benjamin loves his little brother and it's pretty stinkin cute to hear him say, "Where's An-dew?" :)
Thank you again for your help and suggestions!
