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Baby names

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

Original poster

Boy names ending in schwa

44 replies

Algor1thm · 07/01/2023 07:03

A bit stuck naming our little boy. I've come to the conclusion that we love boy names that end in an 'uh' schwa sound... we have a standard British English accent with 'r' sounds not produced at the end of words, so that would generally be names ending in er/ar/ir but also a/ah, for example names we like include:

Caspar
Asher
Leander
Judah
Micah
Archer
Wilbur
Ezra

(These names all end in the same sound for us, which I know might not be the same for other accents)

We wouldn't go for anything top 100 popular and open to more unusual suggestions. Please help 🙏🏻

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Keha · 08/01/2023 22:31

Nestor? (Greek mythology name)

AmandaMirandaPanda · 07/01/2023 21:20

Akiva

itsgettingweird · 07/01/2023 20:49

Taq · 07/01/2023 07:07

Joschwa?

First thing I did was channel Rachel from friends and say that 🤣🤣

CharitySchmarity · 07/01/2023 20:23

Asa
Peter
Alexander
Oliver
Conor

Buzzer3555 · 07/01/2023 20:03

Fraser

mathanxiety · 07/01/2023 19:50

@Namechangeforthis88

The sound isn't 'schwa'.

A schwa is a neutral vowel sound occurring in a huge number of words.

It is an 'uh' sound that isn't represented by the letter U.

The last E in the word 'remember' has a schwa sound.

Original poster
Algor1thm · 07/01/2023 19:23

scottishnames · 07/01/2023 18:36

I know I don't have you local accent. But to me, names ending in a schwa - such as America - sound totally different from names suggested by many posters ending in 'er' such as Peter.
Perhaps this does not matter to you - in which case, I apologise.

Yep, I did say in my OP that this isn't the case with all accents. Doesn't matter to me at all that some people will pronounce differently.

OP posts:
LaChatte · 07/01/2023 19:19

scottishnames · 07/01/2023 18:36

I know I don't have you local accent. But to me, names ending in a schwa - such as America - sound totally different from names suggested by many posters ending in 'er' such as Peter.
Perhaps this does not matter to you - in which case, I apologise.

Yeah, this is why I chose America as an example rather than Peter (both end in a schwa for me) as the final a of America is a pretty good example of a schwa for most accents.

Preggingswearingleggings · 07/01/2023 18:37

Garyschwa
Alanschwa

scottishnames · 07/01/2023 18:36

I know I don't have you local accent. But to me, names ending in a schwa - such as America - sound totally different from names suggested by many posters ending in 'er' such as Peter.
Perhaps this does not matter to you - in which case, I apologise.

waltzingparrot · 07/01/2023 18:29

Jeremiah
Walter
Sawyer
Oleander
Kiefer

CaptBuckyOHare · 07/01/2023 18:04

Luther
Micah
Dexter
Sylvester
Evander

CaptBuckyOHare · 07/01/2023 18:02

Luther
Micah
Dexter
Sylvester
Evander

Original poster
Algor1thm · 07/01/2023 14:34

AnotherNameChangeYes · 07/01/2023 13:08

Noah

Thanks, Noah is the #1 most popular name for boys so definitely one we'll be avoiding! But I do like it

OP posts:
LulooLemon · 07/01/2023 13:32

Ezra
Alexander
Christopher
Xander
Oscar
Caesar
Asher
Sacha

AnotherNameChangeYes · 07/01/2023 13:08

Noah

Sandysandwich · 07/01/2023 11:34

Alastair
Alexander
Asa
Rafa
Jonah
Noah

Consufed · 07/01/2023 11:13

Alexander
Gregor
Fraser
Ivor
Josiah
Jeremiah
Tyger
Hector
Arthur
Connor
Oliver

Greybutterfly · 07/01/2023 09:46

Love jasper

WonderingWanda · 07/01/2023 09:09

Joshua
Arthur
Xander
Walter
Peter
Christopher

Talia99 · 07/01/2023 09:05

River is a nice name but it’s so uncommon you might get people asking if you named him after River Phoenix, at least in the 40+ age group. It was the first thought in my head.

Whatever you choose, I’d strongly suggest googling ‘nicknames for [X]’ (or asking on here). Make sure you can live with your most disliked nickname because that’s what he’ll probably end up with at school. 🙄

Namechangeforthis88 · 07/01/2023 08:45

I'll leave it to the linguists then.

LaChatte · 07/01/2023 08:39

Schwa is just the name of a sound (upside-down e in the phonetic alphabet). It's the non-stressed ''uh'' sound in loads of words (the final a in America for example).

Allthingsbrightandbeautifulx · 07/01/2023 08:29

Namechangeforthis88 · 07/01/2023 08:07

Not getting the 'schw' in these, other than Joshwa.

Me either, exactly how Rachel in Friends pronounces it too ha.

Original poster
Algor1thm · 07/01/2023 08:26

fajitaaaa · 07/01/2023 08:12

Do you live somewhere where most other people have the same accent as you?

Yes the regional accent here is non-rhotic

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