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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toastofthetown · 16/04/2022 08:42

When deciding if you want to use Henry as a first name or a middle name, think about what you want to call him every day. His middle name will rarely come up. I wouldn’t worry about Alexander pronunciation. I know an Alexander whose parents have the pronunciation difference you have, and it’s not an issue. Odds are he’d end up as an Alex anyway.

Henry is very popular (as you say) and I don’t think the name is going anywhere anytime soon. It seems to have plateaued outside the top ten and I can see it there for a while. I watched a video on names Gen Z liked (and bear in mind that this was an international poll) but Henry was the favourite name. Names (even classic names) and Henry Arthur and George are popular while Richard, Michael and John are out of favour. Henry will fall again, but these trends tend to move slower than the ‘trendier names’.

It’s also worth considering that popular names now are used on far fewer babies than previously. Since 1996 there has been a 55% drop in the number babies given names in the top ten. The ‘five Sarahs in the class effect’ is much smaller than it used to be. Popularity is also highly localised. If you live in a city/diverse area you probably wont run across as many Henrys as you would if you lived in more rural area where names tend to be more traditional. The ONS does release regional data, but I don’t think it’s that useful as name trends tend to be more localised than that.

I wouldn’t worry about Harry. Henry seems to be pretty nickname proof these days. Most people are surprised when they find out Prince Harry is a Henry. I think Hank is also very much out of favour too.

Sorry this reply got way too long!

VeneziaGiulia45 · 16/04/2022 08:19

I like Henry Owen

RussianSpy101 · 16/04/2022 08:17

I’m in South Yorkshire and I know of 4/5 Henry’s under 6. Lovely name.
Henry George is lovely.
Henry Jack
Henry Ellis

Electrox · 16/04/2022 08:13

I like Alastair Henry.

Mumofgirls2017 · 16/04/2022 08:08

I agree I love Henry Owen. My favourite.

I don’t think he will be a Harry unless you introduce it. Most boys called Harry are that on the birth certificate from experience

Henry is probably not getting less popular, but it’s a classic and won’t date badly. There are no Henry’s in my daughters nursery but 4 Alfies, so you never really know.

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