Asa or Ezra

[DottieRose]

Which do you prefer for a little boy?

Neither (sorry).
I have some in my family trees (born 1790 or 1830) so strong associations for me. Nothing bad, I just think folk will ask you twice what you said & how to spell them, and I prefer names that are less work.

yes, i do, he's nearly 3 now :)

I mostly get "that's interesting" or "ooh where did you get that from" in response to his name.
Unsure whether that's positive, negative or just meh though lol

Had some people who've said what a lovely name it is as well though, and no outwardly negative remarks

My 3 week old DS is called Ezra, I think it's a beautiful name

Asa is pretty cool too

I think these names are going to become very popular soon they keep popping up everywhere

Yeah I have seen Ezra in particular popping up again and again.....though wether or not people will actually pick the name in the end I don't know. That's the thing about the mn names may come up as considerations over and over but there may not be that many babies getting the names. Look at dark greener.com....very few Asa and Ezra babies around!! Congrats on your little Ezra what has the feedback been like for you??

If your ds is likely to spend some time in Scandinavia, I'd advise against Asa as it is a girls (very popular one too) there. Also, the pronunciation in other languages (e.g. German, French, Spanish) will be AAh-sa, not Ay-sa.

Ezra, on the other hand, works well in most langagues (that I can think of ).

Yeah I have heard that it is a girls name there though I think it is pronounced differently! I have to admit that it does annoy me ever so slightly! Not sure if it totally puts me off but certainly a relevant consideration!

Everyone seems to like it so far but

a) it's only 3 weeks in and we haven't seen everyone yet
b) I'm not sure anyone would say to my face if they hated it or not
c) I couldn't care less what anyone thinks, I love it so stuff them (im just like that though).

It suits him and he's registered and DD (aged 2) has got used to calling him that now so that's that.

IME its best not to tell people your name choices before you have your baby because everyone will give opinions and try to sway you and give you their own choices as to what they think your child should be called

Ruby...totally agree with you, it is impossible to please everyone and I have been getting myself in a tizzy trying to pick a name that everyone will love....that's never going to happen!! I love Ezra and I love Asa......I will concentrate on deciding between myself my dh and of course with a little help from muumsnet!!!

Absolutely. And neither should we aim to 'please' others - we all have different tastes and thankfully so - wouldn't life be dull if we all chose the same names! Good luck with your decision!

I love Ezra and wanted to use it for a boy but it is a girl's name where my DP is from so it's been ruled out

I used to know an Asa and everyone thought it was a really cool name.

Prefer Asa. Ezra sounds a bit redneck to me or Emmerdale Dingle biblical.

What about Asher? Love that.

Asher is nice but could sound a bit like ah sure!!

I couldn't decide - I love them both (not very helpful I know!)

Asa it was on my list

Ezra gets my vote! Sounds more masculine. Although Ace is a damn cool nn! But what if they use Ass?

applepieinthesky can I ask where your DH is from that Ezra is a girls name? In the Bible Ezra was a male, am curious to know what country it is a female name.

This is on my list for middle name if DC2 is a boy :) Love it!

Needles I don't think you need worry Ezra is without a doubt a male name.....you can't get much older than biblical times!! Anyone who uses it for a girl is just plain wrong!

He's Persian. It is definitely a girl's name there, not sure about other Middle Eastern countries, they may possibly be the same. He has an auntie called Ezra and it is pronounced more like Oz-Rah.

I think Asa is starting to win out for me, and then there is that oh do cute Asa Butterfield that played Hugo in the movie of the same name....he is so hip and cute a real ambassador for the name!

In many European countries most names ending in -a sound feminine. That is why someone, who doesn't know the names, might think they are girls names.

In fact, Asa IS a girls' name in Scandinavia.

I know it is a girls name in Scandinavia but it is pronounced differently....plus I'm not living in Scandinavia!! Anyone who knows their bible will know its a boys name! And you only need correct somebody once on it anyway if they do mix it up.

There are lots of names that are pronounced differently in other countries, DottieRose, so I wouldn't let this be a dealbreaker with Asa!

Not the best example but it's my name so it's the one that's coming to mind right now: it's pronounced shar-LOT, SHAHR-lot, SHAHR-lut, shahr-LAW-tuh, shahr-LAWT-tuh, etc. depending on where you are in Europe!

The Swedish name Åsa is different to the Biblical name Asa and, even if it's not, it hardly takes any explaining to say: it's a Biblical boys' name.

I totally agree with you Stellan! And I think it may be a name that is going to come more into the mainstream in the near future and therefore people will be more aware of it as a boys name!

Sounds like you've made up your mind, then . I was only trying to offer a different perspective and, having Swedish relatives, I still think of Asa as a girls name. (But then I've not read the bible ).

Asa, definitely. No offence to any parents of Ezras.