Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Can anybody help me find a boys name to fit my ridiculously specific criteria?

142 replies

CuppaTeaJanice · 21/09/2010 11:00

I'm really struggling to find any boys names that I like. I know what type of name I'd like but so far it's remained elusive so I'm hoping you mumsnetters can help me identify a really great name that I'll be happy to give to a son (or a future male cat if this baby is a girl)!

So my criteria for good names are...

  1. Not so long as to necessitate use of a nickname in everyday use, but long enough to have a bit of interest to it - so 4, 5 or 6 letters would be ideal.
  1. A good mixture of letter types so it looks interesting written down. Dots are good (i, j), tails (q, y, p, g) (also f and z as I write them with tails), although I'd prefer to avoid umlauts etc as I should imagine they'd be a pain!
  1. A name that doesn't shout a particular class - so Eton or asbos wouldn't spring to mind when he told you his name.
  1. Unusual but not wacky - something you've heard maybe once or twice in this country, although I don't mind if a name is more common abroad. I don't mind a foreign name - some scandinavian names in particular would possibly fit my criteria quite well, but not a name from a continent I have no link with, so not obviously asian (eg Sanjay), African or American. A non British, European name would be fine.
  1. Not a noun, especially obvious 'nature' names - so no River, Bracken, Dandelion, that sort of thing. Also not a 'Kre8iv' spelling of a more common name.
  1. Can't start with a B, as we have a double surname and the initials wouldn't be good!

I have some possibilities to start you off, but none of them are quite what I'm looking for...
Benji - Like the letter combination, but starts with a B and possibly a bit 'doggy'?
Nijah - Again, like the letters, but it's a girls name, and a bit too similar to Nigel!
Kajri - Possibly a bit feminine?
Alvir - Not sure
Majni - Too much like Armani

Is anybody up to the challenge?!!!!! Grin

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
ElephantsAndMiasmas · 22/09/2010 02:30

Emile

thumbwitch · 22/09/2010 02:43

Klaus
Vijay
Jimzy (ok, it's a twee nickname for James but it covers many of your bases)
JazzyF (probably too wacky)
Fritz
Franz
Pyotr (Russian for Peter - might be "trying too hard")
Zavier (wrong spelling but more obvious how to pronounce it)
Rameses

nappyaddict · 22/09/2010 03:00

Geoffrey
Johnson
Josiah
Joss
Judah
Julian
Julius
Salvador
Beau
Robert
Bobby
Teddy
Tommy
Sammy
Nicky
Eddie
Joey
Patrick

ladymeg · 22/09/2010 13:56

Louie
Fhinnan
Rhohan

cyteen · 22/09/2010 14:04

Quint.

hatsybatsy · 22/09/2010 14:52

Elmo
Malachy
Blaine
Corey
Hywel
Ruben
Angus
Milo/Mylo
Hector
Levi
Jonah
Merlin
Austin
Rudy
Frankie
Teddy
Jethro
Taliesin
Alfred

rachel234 · 22/09/2010 22:07

Quentin
Felix

wilbur · 22/09/2010 22:11

Caspar - nice to look at and, crucially, easy for child to spell themselves when they get to school (A and S are the first letters they will learn if they do phonics)

rachel234 · 22/09/2010 22:18

Casper - in German a Kasper is a well known punch & judy Clown. In other words, Casper wouldn't travel well into Germanic languages.

meadowlarks · 23/09/2010 01:23

Ozias

CuppaTeaJanice · 23/09/2010 08:02

Thanks for all your suggestions - between you you've come up with a whopping seventy possibles!! I shall look them up and whittle them down to a manageable shortlist and get back to you for more input.

Grin
OP posts:
preghead · 23/09/2010 12:32

Thanks too from me as am also looking for a ds3 name on the tricky "unusual but not too whacky" line - some good suggestions. FWIW, I really do think that all this stuff about bullying at school is rubbish nowadays - at least where we are, there are barely any children with the same names at my son's school these days. I think spellable/pronouncable is way more important and I personally am glad that I have a fairly unusual name. Let us know what you decide OP!!

BTW I am liking Keir from somebodies list as my first two's names have slightly Celtic-y/Welsh overtones if you know what I mean so it would "go" - what do you (mostly) like minded people think? Any obvious negatives?

I am definitely drawn to the Welsh/Cornish/Celtic names despite being totally English (well Irish grandparemts) - do you think that matters?

thumbwitch · 23/09/2010 12:41

preghead - I don't think anyone is too bothered these days, tbh. I think if you use obviously foreign names when there are English versions, when you have no link to said foreign country, then that is a bit odd, but lots of people do it so what the heck.

I know a doctor here in her 40s who has an ostensibly Japanese name, but she is white Australian through and through - so it's not a new phenomenon.

preghead · 23/09/2010 12:43

good, I think with conventional spelling prob ok as well.

Adair · 23/09/2010 12:51

We have a Schuyler. Though we have chavved it up anglicised it to Skyler...

CuppaTeaJanice · 23/09/2010 14:00

preghead - I'm glad somebody else out there is a loon unconventional when it comes to choosing names! Grin

I can't see much of a problem with bullying for an unusual name either - maybe if the name sounded a bit like something rude, or was traditionally a girls name, but not just for being a bit different.

I'm not worried about spelling, either. For example, Inigo (picks name at random from above suggestions) is much easier to spell than many more common names - Niamh, Sebastian, Josephine etc. And pronounciations - as long as it when you say it, it doesn't sound like you're trying to hoik up a load of phlegm, or need to be said with a foreign accent, that's fine too!

I know two Kiers. One is a man in his fifties, the other a 5 year old girl (sp Kia). I like the name. My DS has a Welsh name too, but I don't think origin matters too much (not to me anyway). We live in a global society now, after all!!

Adair - I thought Skyler was an American name. There was a character on one of the teen sitcoms called Skyler. He was quite fit as far as I can remember!!!

OP posts:
Adair · 23/09/2010 14:35

Yes, I think it is a well known name in America. But no-one seems to have heard of it here! And everyone goes Hmm when they hear it (or 'Isn't that the serial killer off Heroes?'). We like it. We call him Sky.

(PS I say it a lot but am a teacher in Inner London and have NEVER heard anyone being bullied for their name... Kids don't really notice, they just accept names as names)

I like Cem/Jem. And little boy in dd's class called Hira. Like Rohan. And Sosuke. And Axel. And Linus. But we are going for Max/Maximilian (or maybe Calvin) for our ds2...

Kathleen123 · 23/09/2010 15:01

Vivian

ElephantsAndMiasmas · 23/09/2010 15:18

Adair - whatever happened to "Dworkin"?

shubiedoo · 23/09/2010 15:28

Martin? Sorry if it's already there!

voituredepompier · 23/09/2010 15:29

Rhys
Ruben
Iwan (Euan)
Lewis/Louis
Finlay

Lexx · 23/09/2010 17:57

Monty?
Felix?
George?
Fletcher?
Fraser?
Harris?
Hope this helps!

Snozcumber · 23/09/2010 19:28

My sons middle name is Illiam (Manx for William)

Friends of mine called their son Phelim (Irish origin) (pronounced fay-lim)

SirBoobAlot · 23/09/2010 20:14

Bryn is a fab name... Grin

ShowOfHands · 23/09/2010 20:24

Don't think anybody has suggested Django yet?