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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Who else is struggling with boys' names?! Come and vent!

60 replies

nasara · 04/06/2014 20:18

This seems to be a very common subject on this forum, so are you also finding boys' names bloody hard?!

Girls' names seem to be so much easier - I have two already and would happily name a third! But first boy and I'm clueless!

These names have made it on to the list but for one reason or another haven't made me feel like they're "The One", except Oscar which I think is just way too popular for me.

Reuben
Caleb
Oscar
Jasper
Theo
Henry
Leon
Robert
Sebastian
Felix
Tristan
Rowan/Rohan
Dominic
Nathan/Nathaniel/Nate
Alexander
Fabian

Anyway, rant away! I know I'm not alone...

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funnyface31 · 06/06/2014 23:59

My DS is Roan and I love it! Smile

rootypig · 06/06/2014 23:58

miffy I have a cousin named Joseph Daniel nn Joe or Josie Dan Smile

miffybun73 · 06/06/2014 23:50

The only boys names that I really love are Daniel (Dan) and Joseph (Joe)

Nessalina · 05/06/2014 15:47

I feel your pain. I've got a million girls names, but we're having a boy!
Me & DH sat down last night and compared shortlists, with neither of us being particularly passionate about one name or another, and it actually made it easier in a way! If one of us had our hearts set on a name we LOVED, and the other wasn't keen, then it wouldn't have been pretty Grin!
We've got our list down to 10, with two that we particularly like the sound of (Theodore & Isaac). My long list looks a lot like yours actually!
Others that were on my list that aren't on yours and you may like:
Gregory
Benedict
Nicholas
Benjamin
Elliott
Jeremiah

rachel234 · 05/06/2014 14:04

Yes, it is an important choice that you want to get right. We had these on our shortlist for ds:

Dominic
Quentin
Sebastian
Thomas
Lucas

friendface · 05/06/2014 09:21

I am also struggling with DC3! With my older two DSs being teens (well, one pre-teen) I am feeling a bit out of the loop when it comes to trends. The older two are called Cai and Adam and so far our list contains Dougie and Gus - I dispair!

There are some fab names being suggested - Ivan and Nate are awesome

SquirrelledAway · 05/06/2014 07:04

I find it hard to like Otis, to me it's the name of a lift company. I've always wondered if they have an office in a Reading.

strawberryjam · 05/06/2014 06:18

I love Otis and Freddie, H likes them but doesn't love them

Topsyloulou · 04/06/2014 22:40

We're struggling with a boys name too. Had a girls name picked about a week after we found out I was pregnant & we just knew would be having a boy as a result! Our shortlist is currently

Theodore
Wilfred
Rex
Nathaniel
Zachariah
Alexander
Elijah
Sidney
Tobias
Callum
Finian
Seth
Rufus

Have gone off Theo a bit lately as it seems to be getting quite popular. Current favourite is Rufus.

Other names I like but can't use as we have a 3 syllable surname beginning with B are Bertie, Benedict, Bartholomew, James - family name, William & Fred - people I work with / for.

Taking my baby name book & a highlighter on holiday with me next weekend & hopefully we can find something we love.

Original poster
nasara · 04/06/2014 22:19

strawberryjam, it looks like a good list - do you have a favourite?

OP posts:
rootypig · 04/06/2014 21:50

Reuben is a particularly delicious sort of sandwich Grin

I still love the name though! possibly more

strawberryjam · 04/06/2014 21:37

I am struggling too, so far on our list we have

Charlie
Freddie
Oscar
Otis
Henry
Ben
Noah
Zachary

Pandora452 · 04/06/2014 21:26

If I saw it written down, I would presume Rowan X was female.

I like Reuben as mentioned earlier

EverythingsDozy · 04/06/2014 21:20

I liked the name Oscar when we were thinking of names but immediately my mum said it's a type of fish! And not a particularly beautiful fish either! (We are big fish keepers in our family!!)
I love Rohan

Original poster
nasara · 04/06/2014 21:18

dancinggerald that was meant to be... (ahem).

OP posts:
Original poster
nasara · 04/06/2014 21:16

I like Rowan a lot, too. It ticks a lot of boxes for me.

How many weeks do you have left, dancingemerald? Or rather, how many weeks do you have left to convince dh? Wink

OP posts:
dancinggerald · 04/06/2014 21:08

Exactly the same problem here! Have one ds, 2 dd's, expecting no 4. Could name several more girls but boys' names are so hard. Your taste seems similar to mine.

My top pick would be Rowan but dh thinks it's a girls' name.

Other that dh doesn't like:

Dominic
Ivan
Laurence (Laurie)

Also like Theodore but its common nn rhymes with ds's name.

dd1 wants Henry

dh likes Pip. He also likes Bill, but I hate it.

rootypig · 04/06/2014 21:03

Oh I see! no I just don't like them

I think it's the sounds, and maybe a vague association with Oscar the grouch. The fact every other kid is called Oscar doesn't help. I know there's a cuteness factor that other people see, but I don't. Others on your list are lovely though!

RiverTam · 04/06/2014 20:52

I like Rowan and Robert from your list - Robert is good, old-school but not had a comeback, has it? And lots of shorts to choose from including the excellent Bob (or Kate, of course). When's he's being naughty you choose fix him with a steely eye and say, 'Well, Bob' .

EverythingsDozy · 04/06/2014 20:47

Yes definitely! Especially because if it does become popular you can be a trend setter! "Well DS had it first!!"

Original poster
nasara · 04/06/2014 20:46

You're so right Everythingsdozy. My dds are 3 and 18 months (so there's still time for regret) but I love their names and feel I always will, partly because they are fairly unusual (although dd2's name has grown quite popular - I still haven't met another yet). This has made me realise that I must choose a fairly underused name for this little boy/man-to-be.

OP posts:
CPtart · 04/06/2014 20:45

Adam
Luke
Evan
Marcus
Ben(jamin)
James
William
Alexander
Love Dominic
Edward
Toby
Isaac
Zachary

devoncreamtea · 04/06/2014 20:41

1 in 5! wow.

EverythingsDozy · 04/06/2014 20:40

Apparently about 1 in 5 parents regret their childrens names! It's so important to get it right! Out of the four I gave my kids (first and middle names for two DC) I regret one name and only a little bit. More of a "if I had her now it would be different" than a regret and it's a middle name so not terribly important!!

Original poster
nasara · 04/06/2014 20:39

Why you don't like Jasper or Oscar - is it because you think they're pet names?

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