Boys names: why are they so bloody hard?

[Ilovekittyelise]

Help. we are struggling. we like james, but its a bit obvious. boys names seem to be either done to death (thomas, oliver etc), ridiculously try-hardy (henry, cosmo, etc), or chavvy (tyler, sean etc). are there any good names which are either kind of classic, a bit obscure (yet not TOO out there) and not overly popular? ideas so far:

gabriel (gabe)
noah
simeon
zachary
jonathon

we are not religious by the way, just stumped.

Simeon is nice, Sim for short.

Noah - more popular getting now - I know about 3 or 4 recently named Noah's.

Zachary - love it and Zac good shortening and not too popular

Jonathon - hmm - not keen but I guess it's making a come back.

Gabriel - very nice, especially Gabe.

I also like French-type names - bit different and not over popular here:

• Fabien
• Jules
• Lucien
• Louie
• Patric
• Leon
• Sebastian

"boys names seem to be either done to death (thomas, oliver etc), ridiculously try-hardy (henry, cosmo, etc), or chavvy (tyler, sean etc)"

I agree with the first category (done to death) but not the second (try hard) or the last (chavvy). Why do Brits have this urge to 'label' names. To me Henry, Cosmo or Sean are just normal names. So my advice would be: avoid the top 20 or top 100 names and choose a name you love.

Julian (or Julien if you want to be French). My all time fave as Jules is a great nn.
Damian / Damien.

Just throwing out a few ideas

Edward
Serge
Cassius
Silas,
Felix,
Tristan
Elijah,
Christian
Seamus
Dylan

Conrad
Quentin
Dominic
Gregory

Nathaniel
Aaron
Jonah
Joel
Elliot
Aidan
Gregory
Lewis
Laurence
Nicholas

hi guys

thanks for the suggestions!

you have come up with some of my favourites which im not allowed (dylan, my favourite EVER, felix, edward, aidan) plus one that we both like (joel) that is not allowed due to close friends child (damn all these people that started early and took all the good names!)

I love the french names like lucien and louie, i think husband had already veto-ed louie but its going back on the list, it might be a grower...i hope. i wasnt keen on how leon worked with our surname (think husband liked it) but going to put it on the list and see if it works its magic on me...

whoever said it, you're right about jonathon, its never been a favourite i was more keen because it is currently not so popular.

like gregory a lot, hadnt really thought of it, love jonah, eliot, dominic, silas, great for thought, thankyou. yes i love jonah its gorgeous.

really excited to be having a boy but we had so many girls names and new ones would add to our list, with the boys names one of us suggests one, the other screws up our face and looks at each other with distaste!!!

I met an Evan this morning. I think it's lovely and am hoping to persuade dh it can on our list. We haven't managed to agree on any so far, but I'm only 14 wks so have a while .

I really like Noah but know a couple. Also Lucas, Jacob and Jonah. All lovely! Or how about something traditional but not so popular these days like Michael?

James is a firm favourite as it's ds1's name. He's nearly 22 and he really is how I think a James would be (was discussing this with a friend who's having a boy yesterday actually). He's quite sensible, loyal and loving..... not that I'm biased!! He was Jamie for a while when a toddler, but he's really very much a James.

harassed - james just goes so well with our surname as well. i have been calling him james since i was about 14 weeks (before my certainty he was a he was confirmed!) and i love it. but still kind of want something more exciting.....grrrrrrr......my head hurts!

im the same about noah, love it, but its creeping up in popularity. im not so keen on jacob but husband is, maybe will grow on me though!

its so hard, i think we will have to wait to see his face....

John

Harassed I have a 20 week old Evan so clearly biased but I love it and everyone seems to like it.
ilove do you or your DH have any Welsh/ Scottish/Irish heritage? Some lovely under used Celtic type names about you could look into?

I don't think James is over-used. I don't know any at all. Lots of Sams, Rorys, Jacks and Maxes around our way, but no Jameses.

I went through this with DD1. There was one stand-out name from the moment I peed on the stick, but then I sort of got a bit sick of it, went through a gazillion alternatives and then when she was born, DH insisted that the original name was the only one he liked. She's now three and it suits her perfectly.

It's in the same vein as James - classic, but I worried it might be dull and ubiquitous, but I think like James it flies under the radar to a certain extent.

Jonathan.

It's ds's name, classic, one or two around, but not over-used. Can be shortened (Jon, Jonny, Jonno, Jonty) but doesn't have to be. Our ds is sometimes Jonny/Jonty/Jonno, (rarely Jon, often Jonathan).

But I think Jonathan is better than Jonathon (more classic spelling).

Edmund
Robert
Joseph
Isaac
Peter
Michael

Definitely Jonathan not Jonathon.

Jonah is lovely. Nathan is nice. I also really like Peter.

How about Edwyn?

Love James, don't think it is over used but OH didn't like it. We called DS Adam if that helps.

How about patrick - classic name and not many little ones about.

Well I have a Henry and a George and don't think they're too try-hardy. Was going to be James for no 3 but he turned out to be a wee girlie.

I like something strong and traditional and something that won't date too quickly, plus something that works well as an adult too.

Boy's names are definitiely hard. I have a heap of girls names but all the boy's names I like are very popular like Oliver, Thomas etc.

We ended up naming our DS George, which I thought was not too popular but still quite traditional. If we have another son the choices would be Henry, Theodore, Edward, Angus, Felix, Fergus.

Someone mentioned Robert on here which I think is a fabulous name, with the nn Bobby and it's not popular. Or what about Nicholas or Owen? They are not that popular at the moment...

and doradoo - Henry is definitely not try hardy at all! It's definitely on my list for DS2 if we ever have one. I love your names!

Duncan. Can't beat it. You could consider Adrian, but should use Duncan.

Ryan
Logan
Reece
Aiden
Luke
Lewis
Jacob
Ethan

Go with James!! To me its such a classic and elegant name but strong and masculine at the same time.
Love it.