Boys Names???

[WaterBearer]

Hi,

My sister in law is 7 months pregnant and is struggling to find a boys name, she likes quite modern names but also traditional any ideas???

Thanxs

[sunflower68]

Daniel

[acw]

Well, I would say to consider a few things, but I'll stop short of precise suggestions:

• She should look for a name that will suit him when he's 5,15, 25, 35...55, 95 etc
• Make sure it doesn't rhyme with anything too horrible (including in shortened form).
• Make sure it matches well with his surname and doesn't give him silly initials.
• Please don't go for "original" spellings.  I find it annoying enough explaining that HannaH has H's in it, my name doesn't! 

I hope the final couple of months of your sister's pregnancy go smoothly and that you have a gorgeous healthy nephew in July/August! :-)

[kick3m0n]

she should check out the  Top Ten Boys names in UK for the last couple of years and avoid them all like the plague. Unless of course she is happy to have 3 or 4 boys answer when she calls out Jack, Joshua etc..............in the supermarket.

[justineo]

I always wanted the name Maximilian if I had a son.  You can shorten it to Maxi or Max.

If you pick a longish name, the child can choose different versions of it. It also depends on the surname

[spudqueen]

Having an unusual name myself I opted for more traditional names for my children, and choose Richard for my eldest son as we liked the name, and it is also Mr Spudqueens middle name. We also gave him the middle name Alexander. When we choose Richard we'd not heard of any babies being called that for ages. Isn't it funny how everyone thinks the same? Two weeks after our Richard Alexander was born there was a birth announcement in the local paper, and yes, it was another Richard Alexander. Then when Richard started school there were only 15 children in the reception class, and THREE of them were Richard!

So yes, my feeling would be traditional over modern. Modern names can so easily date you - think of how old Ethels or Susans or Traceys or Kayleighs are. Choose a name everyone can spell (I've spent the last 40 years spelling my name to all and sundry), make sure it goes with your surname, and also does it sound alright when preceeded by Uncle or Auntie?

[spudqueen]

Sorry - just reread the question and realise it is a boy - so ignore the Auntie bit!

PS I like Robert or Anthony!

[smudge]

Mine would be a choice from:

• Alan
• Alex
• James
• Jack
• Harry
• Samuel (Sam)
• Oliver (Ollie)
• Fynn
• George
• Stephen/Steven (Steve)
• Christopher (Chris)

No doubt I'll think of more as I'm finishing off my ironing!

[smudge]

That isn't St even - it's Steven!!

[jock]

We've just had twins, and have given them fairly unsual names, as my wife has an unusual name (for a female!) of Dayle, and on the basis we didn't want anybody in their class at school to have the same name. We didn't want them to be "silly" names, or be abbreviated to anything ugly. They are actually old english names, which have fallen out of use.
Our little boy is called Baxter Barnes Cameron, and our little girl is called Crosbie Rose Cameron. We've had mixed feedback, but generally positive! Any thoughts? Oh, and I think their names have to "suit" them when they're born... purely subjective of course! You can see some pics of them at www.baxterandcrosbie.co.uk if you like!

[cre]

There are some great baby name website - mind you it can get a bit daunting. I think the advice you've already received is really good, but I think it's important to choose a name that you like and not be too influenced by what everyone else thinks.

My husband and I have had an ever-changing list for a while now and I think I am driving him mad with it, but it has been interesting...I have about 10 boy's and girl's names short-listed and I ask him to rate them out of ten, every few months or so I do this to him - poor man! But he's been quite consistant and it has helped narrow it down- I realise your sister-in-law is a bit pushed for time, so this is probably not an option, but she could at least do it once!

We've settled on Jackson Max and Lily Grace but like someone said before, it has to match the last name and of course, the child. Daniel's a beautiful name too.

Keep us posted with what she decides!

[butter1]

I've always liked the names, Karl, Joshua, Max, Daniel (Danny) and Olivier.  My Aunt named her son Barnaby...they call him Barny for short.. personally, I feel sorry for the little boy but everyone has different tastes.

[lissyl78]

I don't know where you're from but I used popular American names for my two boys - Bailey and Jesse. They're not common names over here in UK so are quite original without being over-the-top. Also, to add an extra unusual twist we used a favourite singers surname for Jesse's middle name - Cohen. In fact, surnames can bring up some good names - a friend of mine had a little boy and called him Harrison. Just a thought. Best wishes to the little one in advance! x

[Goddess]

My husband and I had agreed on a name for our first son not long after we actually started seeing each other during a drunken conversation!! Our favourite western being The Searchers it had to be Ethan.  When our 2nd came along we decided to keep the John Wayne connection and called him Jake.  They suit them perfectly!

Whatever your sister in law decides she should only ever be concerned that her son likes his name and she and her partner do.  Don't listen to anyone else as people can be thoughtless.

[smudge]

I nearly forgot: Thomas (Tom)!

[Cristo]

Two months of watching -neighbours- should supply a name that will match his classmates when he's about 5.

Otherwise Christopher is a great name.

[Dark Angel]

Damian. lovely name, pity it is associated with the evil one, after Omen 2.

[libertie]

We chose fairly bulk standard names for our two sons, Nicholas & Stephen.  They are both adults now and generally get called Nick & Steve, which I like...... and more importantly so do they!

[smudge]

Yes, Nicholas too. Our youngest daughter is Nicola & everyone calls her Nicky or Nick.

Nick & Steve go well together.

[OBonio]

We're in the same boat. We decided 2 months ago on Ben, but have since decided not to go with it.

The boys down the pub have suggested Indiana. You can guess my surname. So that puts Tom out the window too. Some good suggestions here though, thanks!

I think we'll just have to wait and see what he (if the little one is a he) looks like. I like Jack (after my granddad), but it really is too popular at the moment.

We're sorted for a girl's name without a doubt. Why is that easier?

[Greenbhoy]

We called our son Drew (keep getting asked if it is Andrew shorted to Drew but it isn't). The reason we chose it was because it gave us pictures of a little "rufty-tufty" boy running about.

But choosing a name can all change in an instant. My daughter (Bryony) has a boy in her class called Jay Low.