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Baby names

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

Original poster

What to call the boy I’m growing

30 replies

eachpeachpearplum12 · 16/04/2022 01:31

Having a tiny little boy in the summer!

DH and I both like Henry, as both of our lovely grandads were Henry. My awesome childhood cat was also Henry. Maybe not cool to be named after a cat but to be fair he was the best little cat ever. And we can just tell people the grandad story instead.. But not sure whether to use as first or middle name.

Some thoughts have been
Henry Owen - possibly current fave
Henry Lewis
Lewis Henry
Rowan Henry
Owen Henry
Alastair Henry
Patrick Henry - or vice versa for each.
Alexander Henry (one of my faves, though irritatingly have reservations as me and DH would pronounce differently I.e. Alexander vs Alexarrrnder (northern/southern)

More personal connection to Owen, Rowan and Lewis, but no dire need to use a ‘connection’ name, and keen to consider others I might not have thought of (despite having spent 6 million hours on baby name websites)

Having looked at darkergreen, ukbabynames, ons etc, I’m aware Henry is very popular everywhere, but does anyone have an inkling as to whether that feels to be rising, falling or staying the same? It’s ranked about 10 in my region. I’m not super bothered about ‘out-unusual-ing’ anyone but I’m slightly worried it’ll suddenly jump to be the next Noah or Arthur and every second boy will be Henry. How many baby Henrys do you know of? And if not cheeky to ask, what region are you based in? Is he going to be known as Henry Surname forever because there are nine in his class? I mean I guess it should be a ‘who cares’ situation.. But if everyone was to reply ‘OMG I know 5 baby Henrys born this year, how dull, so overdone’ I might re think. I’ve heard of two personally born in the last 3 years, but then I’m not really exposed to copious amounts of babies.

Also, anyone got any insights into how likely the Harry nicknaming of Henry is these days? I had an ex named this, and wouldn’t be super keen on my son ending up a Harry. I could probably make my peace with it. But I’m told it’s not commonly done anymore. Thoughts?

Sorry this got really long and boring, hopefully someone will say a name and I will say ‘Eureka’.

Eureka Henry…… hmm… has a ring to it

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pitterypattery00 · 26/04/2022 10:55

(Sorry I posted twice - I got an error message when I posted the first time so didn't think it had worked!)

pitterypattery00 · 26/04/2022 10:52

Great names OP!

My son was very nearly an Owen! And his middle name is also on your list.

Owen, Alexander and Alastair are my favourites. Also like the Alasdair spelling but that's probably not so well known in England.

Lewis and Patrick also nice names.

Not keen on Henry - a bit too 'royal' for me, but there's nothing wrong with it and a lot of people like it. The two I know (an adult and a child) are always Henry, never Harry.

A PP mentions Ronan, that was my number one choice at one point but my partner wasn't keen (he liked name but he googled it and then said people would associate it with Ronan Keating).

pitterypattery00 · 26/04/2022 10:15

You have some great names on your list OP!

Owen was one of two names we were still considering when our son was born. Took until he was 5 days old to name him and we went with the other name in the end, mainly because it went marginally better with our surname. But I still love Owen.

From your list I also think Alexander, Alastair (and Alasdair), Patrick and Lewis are great names. One of them is my son's middle name! A PP mentions Ronan and that was my number one choice at one point but my partner wasn't keen (he liked it as a name but couldn't get past the Ronan Keating association! Whereas I knew a Ronan growing up who was a great guy so I more associated
the name with him).

I'm not personally keen on Henry - a bit 'royal' for me - but there's nothing wrong with it. The two that I know (adult in his 40s and child aged 10 are both always Henry, never Harry).

Good luck choosing!

Original poster
eachpeachpearplum12 · 21/04/2022 16:26

I agree Isaac Henry sounds lovely!

I still can’t decide 😂 husband’s view is ‘they’re all nice options’ which is sort of both not helpful and nice that I probably get the casting vote! oh well at least I have a few months left to choose! 😁

OP posts:
resm · 18/04/2022 23:47

I have an Isaac Henry (Henry was after both of our grandfathers too). Also considered Luke Henry, I loved how the hard ‘ck’ sound rolled into the softer Henry - to me anyway. I like Alexander Henry from your list.

RiverRats · 18/04/2022 11:55

Owen Henry works. I think Henry is lovey and haven’t met any. Also love Patrick though

AprilShortbread · 18/04/2022 11:34

I know a Ronan too.

antibacterial · 18/04/2022 09:34

Henry, Owen, Alastair, Patrick and Alexander are all really lovely classy timeless choices that have been in and out of the top 100 through history. Only name I'm not keen on is Rowan. Prefer for a girl but there's so many RoMans (and Reubens) these days it feels really trendy. RoWan and RoMan have both never been in the top 100 in history ever before now, when they're both now storming up the top 100, continuing to rise and exploding in popularity. RoMan looks set be top 15 in next year or so. I think those names will date (not that that's necessarily a bad thing but def a different feel to your other choices)

mathanxiety · 17/04/2022 23:59

I love Henry Owen.

Owen Henry works well too.

Wrt popularity, a cautionary tale -
DD3 has an extremely popular name. There was one other girl with this name in her year in elementary school.
DD4 has an extremely unusual name. On her first day of school she met the only other girl with her name she has ever met.
The moral is, there are no guarantees.

All the four girls used different abbreviations of their names so there was never any 'Emily A, Emily B' problem.

JessyCarr · 17/04/2022 23:28

Henry Alexander! Very nice.

WhyTheWhales · 17/04/2022 09:55

I love Henry Lewis. Two of my favourite names and they sound nice together.

notsureaboutTAAT · 17/04/2022 08:39

I think it's popular and lovely, but I only know one age one. Harry is a very separate name and I know many more Harrys ( my Ds is in infant school)

I think I would have used Henry if I had another boy, although first boy is a H name.

Henry Owen is lovely 🥰

Original poster
eachpeachpearplum12 · 17/04/2022 01:07

Oops, posted with another account. Not sure why I’ve got two other than being a noob. 🙃

OP posts:
squatternutbosh12 · 17/04/2022 01:02

Thank you everyone 😊 really appreciating all your thoughts

Initials - definitely a good point to consider - he would be ‘HOC’.
So nothing obviously terrible I don’t think. I guess ham hock?! I love ham though 🤷‍♀️ 😂 and I doubt it’s quite bullying fodder territory.

I think the top 3 currently are Henry Owen, Owen Henry and Rowan Henry. and they keep changing order of preference 😆 I’m not too worried about the ‘Roman’ mixup thing with Rowan. Potentially somewhat annoying but not a dealbreaker. Thanks for highlighting it for me though, bloominglovely. I also like Row as a nickname, so I’m sorry you’re hating it for your daughter- I hope it can grow on you over time as I think it’s cute. Likewise RoRo or Rolo, but I am a bit partial to a silly shortening!

TheLadyDIdGood · 17/04/2022 00:54

Owen Henry just gives it that little edge because Owen is under used.

I'm throwing in another suggestion: Sebastian Henry because Alexander is very popular here. Or you could use Alexis instead of Alexander so Alexis Henry or Henry Alexis.

NoSquirrels · 17/04/2022 00:00

Both Henry Owen and Owen Henry are gorgeous. My DH vetoed both but they’re both real favourites of mine.

I’d only say check your initials if you go Owen as middle, as a vowel in the middle can give a word if you’re unlucky… HOW, HOG, HOP, HOT etc. Maybe not a problem?

sunflowerdaisyrose · 16/04/2022 23:56

I love Henry and Alexander. I know a 5 and 8 year old Henrys. None in either of my children's school years.

Maternitynamechange · 16/04/2022 23:10

Henry Alistair ❤️

Alyssasbackrolls · 16/04/2022 23:07

Rowan Henry

WeasilyPleased · 16/04/2022 23:05

Henry Owen is a very handsome name. I only know 1 Henry and he's 4. He's also a splendid little boy...he's my nephew!

Firebird83 · 16/04/2022 23:02

I like Henry Owen or Henry Alastair

bloominglovelyorange · 16/04/2022 14:50

Henry Owen and Owen Henry are both really nice @eachpeachpearplum12

Rowan is my baby girl's name so it's a girl name to me but I know it's unisex. It's getting increasingly popular for girls in Scotland (where it's top 100 for girls and not boys) and America if that bothers you. Unfortunately her name gets shortened to Row all the time which I really hate and ask people not to but it's inevitable it seems. The main issue with the name has been that I didn't realise Roman with an M is THE top fastest rising boy name 📈 📈📈. Risen hundreds of places over last few years to now be top 30 in official chart and still rising, could be top 10 soon. Everywhere we go there's at least 2 baby Romans (swimming lessons, small nursery group) and there's always comments and confusion from other parents for Rowan and Roman and also Reuben. "Is that a M or a W in the middle?" gets asked a lot. I hate this but you may not mind.

Original poster
eachpeachpearplum12 · 16/04/2022 14:27

Thanks all for your helpful replies!

@toastofthetown good to know others with the same pronunciation difference aren’t feeling too bothered by it. I do like the nicknames Alex and Xander as well.
And no not too long a reply, very helpful thankyou!

So hard to know what I’d like to call him day to day though. I’m finding it quite difficult to even imagine him being out here let alone the name! Henry has felt like the obvious choice with the family connection and also ready-made ‘ee’ ending which I do like especially for little ones.

My area is a village just outside a big town but it is semi rural I suppose and probably somewhere that would have traditional names. Local kids I know of called Charlie/Edward/George for example.

Do quite like Owen as a first name too as it’s less widely used but still well known/easy to say and spell etc. Does Owen Henry work well too? Or is the flow a bit off?

OP posts:
Luredbyapomegranate · 16/04/2022 09:33

Well I would go for Patrick or Alistair as they are fabulous names and not overused, and have Henry in the middle.

Henry is a nice name, but there are a lot of them. I don’t think it will get more popular, but it might not get less for a while

You can’t stop him being called Harry when he’s older but that is nice too.

Alexander is rising in popularity too, but it will certainly be shortened to Alex so you probably don’t need to worry about your accents on the full name

ThruTheKeyholes · 16/04/2022 08:45

I don't know any baby Henrys, not a name in this area.
There aren't so many duplicate names nowadays due to many more names being used.