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Baby names

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

Original poster

Final two boys names

39 replies

Clairebear1809 · 26/05/2020 17:58

Hi all,

I think we are down to our final two boys names for our Son due end of June.
They are Reuben and Austin.
Our potential concerns are:
Reuben - my husband's name is Ben and he worries that people will think he is named after him or that it could potentially be shorted to Ben even though that's not how it's pronounced.
Austin - although it is a name, it's also a place name. Also, it could remind people of Austin Powers or "stone cold"' Steve Austin (if you are of a certain age).

What are your thoughts on both names and our concerns?

Many thanks Smile

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PurBal · 30/05/2020 17:24

I prefer Austin

Original poster
Clairebear1809 · 30/05/2020 17:15

Thanks for the ideas, I really like Rory but my husband knows a dog called Rory and that's all it reminds him of unfortunately! My brother in law is Alex so that one is out too. So hard to find a name we agree on.

OP posts:
EmbarrassedUser · 30/05/2020 16:50

In all honesty I don’t like either. Reuben is quite wet sounding and Austin is a bit ‘meh’. For similar sounding names, I’d go for Rory or Alexander. If I only had yours to choose from I’d go for Austin.

daisypond · 30/05/2020 15:35

Reuben is a fundamentally Jewish name to me, and I would think it’s a bit odd to use it otherwise if you’re not. So, Austin.

newmum332 · 30/05/2020 15:24

Love Reuben , definitely the best in my opinion out of the 2. I’ve known a few Reubens and never have they been shortened to Ben. Mainly Rubes or Ru (Roo) so I don’t see it as being a problem in the future.

Austin is ok too but for me personally I prefer Reuben I think it’s a much stronger name.

MikeUniformMike · 30/05/2020 15:11

Austin.

BeMorePacific · 28/05/2020 22:24

Really like Austen. I’m not a huge fan of Reuben (sorry!). xx

YummiestBut · 28/05/2020 14:16

Austin ! Really dislike Ruben.

river12 · 28/05/2020 14:12

I really like the same Austin, it would've been our top choice but doesn't really go with our surname

Shmithecat2 · 28/05/2020 03:13

Austin is ok. Reuben is dreadful.

Aclh13 · 28/05/2020 03:12

Ironically I know a little boy named after stone cold Steve Austin, the whole family are obsessed with it, and I also have a cousin called reuben who is adorable and has autism. I don't think there would be anything wrong with the name it's sweet and ages well

finallychangedmyusername · 27/05/2020 22:32

I like Reuben but I'm not so keen on Austin. Roo is lovely as a nickname. I also like Rufus, Robin, Rupert and Rex as similar options.

DramaAlpaca · 27/05/2020 22:28

I love Austin. I'm not as keen on Reuben.

Ughmaybenot · 27/05/2020 22:05

Reuben is a bit overused now imo, plus the nicknames aren’t great, Roo, Rubes etc. I don’t like it much anyway personally.
I do like Austin...

(And am appalled you say stone Cold Steve Austin is a bad link Hmm Grin )

user1493494961 · 27/05/2020 22:03

Not keen on Reuben but do like Roo. Austin is nice.

Whatsyourflava · 27/05/2020 22:01

Austin is much less used than Reuben plus there are quite a lot of top 100 names that sound fairly similar to Reuben and begin with an R, so Austin feels more special to me. Plus if you look at the official statistics Austin is on a downward slope numbers wise whereas Reuben is on a massive upwards trajectory year on year.

Charis1503 · 27/05/2020 21:58

@Clairebear1809

I have a Reuben and it's rare that anyone pronounces it 'roo-ben' it's usually 'roo-bin'. So I wouldn't worry about the link to Ben.

It's an awesome name that gets loads of great comments xx

Mesmeri · 27/05/2020 20:39

I like Reuben. Don't like Austin at all.

Haz1516 · 27/05/2020 20:30

Reuben was our top choice if we were having a boy. Would probably have ended up shortened to Roo.

badg3r · 27/05/2020 12:26

I like both but Austin is easier to say! I presume you are in the uk? In which case I think it's not such a big deal that it is a place name too, it's not like you're calling him London which would make people think of the place here.

I don't think you need to worry about him getting called Ben, that wouldn't occur to me as a nn for Reuben.

LooseyGoosey · 27/05/2020 10:08

I really like Reuben.

Original poster
Clairebear1809 · 27/05/2020 09:42

Thanks for all your comments. It's quite split on which is favourite so I guess that is a positive that they are both good names Smile

OP posts:
123Dancewithme · 26/05/2020 21:46

Austin

iamrubyfinch · 26/05/2020 21:32

Austin is a great name. Reuben is more popular though, which puts me off

Linny88 · 26/05/2020 21:25

I have a Reuben and people always shorten it to Reubs. I love Austin too - if you want something more unusual then go for that.

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