A brother for Lois - help!

[gufflings]

DP and I are drawing a great big blank trying to agree on a name for our baby boy. He's not due till the end of February, so we have a while to go, but the hunt is starting to drive me a bit nuts. We have zero names on our list! I loved picking a girl's name for DD, but boys' ones just don't grab me in the same way.

DP likes Flynn (Tron fan) but I'm not sold.

I like Bill, but not William (coupled with surname it becomes a wrongly spelled version of a famous American novelist's name) or Billy (silly billy). I also like Eric, but DP has vetoed. And Wilfred (love Wilf) - vetoed. I have a hankering for Marv(in) too, but suspect that's the pregnancy hormones talking (and too many episodes of Charlie and Lola).

We've toyed with Joe and Saul, but neither is 'the one'.

We want something unusual, but not too 'out there', preferably one or two syllables and not ending in -y/-ie. It must suit a baby, teen and man equally well. Plus it needs to go with Lois (and, no, we aren't considering Clark).

Please, bunch of strangers, can you help us out? I really want him to have a name we love as much as our DD's, not a compromise.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

Just looking at lists from 30s and 40s, lots are either the same as today, or totally unusally. A few straddle that line...... but have bolded a few good ones

Vincent / Vinnie
Roland / Roly
Jerome
Rudy
Hughie
Arnold / Arnie too hasta la vista? I like it, sort of. Tentatively.
Gene
Glen
Claude
Dean
Douglas / Doogie
Gilbert (really don't like this one but have seen it suggested here a few times so others consider it usuable)
Francis - I like Frankie
Anything that ends in 'is' probably doesn't sound great with Lois. Like Curtis. Curtis might work. It is recognisably from that era but sounds cooler and less nerdy than some of them!

Most of the 1930s names are either classic or don't have the same feel as Lois. The ones you would definitely tie to that same era are just awful, Horace, Delbert, Elmer, Maurice... just spotted curtis which is nice but probably doesn't work with Lois. Lois and Curtis

CappuccinoCarrie, I do like Noah, but I forgot to add yet another criterion: DP wants to avoid anything religious. (Have countered this argument by explaining to him that Lois was Timothy's grandmother in the Old Testament, but he's not budging.)

B1ueberryMuff1n, I was lobbying for Rudy, but we have a friend with one and DP isn't sure. I like Roly but not Roland (Grange Hill - showing my age). Vinnie reminds me of Vinnie Jones... A friend has used Gene for a middle name for her son - not sure about it to be honest. Agree about the 'is' endings, so Curtis and Francis are out, I think. I do like Curtis though... Maybe a middle name? Jerome has already been vetoed, and Hughie reminds me of Green/Lewis and the News.

What do people think of Ray?

The Lois I know has a brother Luca

I really like Luca, but guess what ... DP does not! He is a s*d.

Ray is a bit short. I like Raymond and also Redmond with Red as a possible nick name. I am lost in my own World here but Red sounds just the right side of quirky / ludicrous to my ear.

I remember Roly from GH and Hughie Green and of course, Vinnie too, but I think I could get past the associations.

Ps, although there's apparently a Lois in the bible it doesn't sound like a bible name, so I wouldn't pair it with a bible name either. (of course it's not down to me, I'm getting too involved in this decision because it's an interesting one )

Rory
Reuben
Florian
Maxian ( max)
Hugo
Timo
Elias
Henry
Arlo
Merlin

The bible thing was why Joe and Saul were rejected. Will try Raymond and Roland on DP tonight - like the NN Ro. Although then I'd have a Lo and a Ro. Perhaps am overthinking just a teeny bit... Red will forever be a Fraggle to me (albeit a cool one)!

Curtis has got me listening to Move On Up and Superfly now...

Thanks, forevergreek. Reuben was on the list, not sure now why it came off. Like Elias too. Both fall into the biblical category though, but perhaps DP will be too dim to notice? :-)

What about Frankie?

How about...
Seth
Jonty
Blake?

Have met a baby Frank. Do like - and NN Frankie. Will float that one too...

DD has a friend called Blake, so feels too close to use. Seth - DP cannot say 'th' (nor can DD, but she's 2 so has an excuse). One reason we're not going for Theo either.

Sorry, but Jonty sounds a bit doggy somehow!

Have bought that Baby Name Wizard book off Amazon too. Surely naming shouldn't be this painful!

What about Neo if you liked theo?

As in The Matrix? Bit too out there for me...

Actually, maybe that's a thought: I should just start trawling sci-fi films, then I might finally find something DP agrees with.

Having had Howard and Leonard mentioned am wondering about Sheldon and Raj (just joking - Big Bang Theory)

Sydney (love it or hate it, I think)? Martin (kinda like Marvin)? What's the other brother in Charlie and Lola - oh yeah, Morten.

If you like short names and previously toyed with Joe, can I suggest Jago ("Jay - go"). Fab name. I always thought it was Welsh for James but someone told me recently it's Cornish.

Other shortish / unusual boys' names:

Dylan
Cormac
Milo
Reuben
Greg(or)

Gilbert

Love Lois and Frank. Can I also suggest-
Alban
Arthur
Patrick
Vaughan
Gideon- but is religious
Seth- as above!
Corin
Inigo
Alastair

Ooooh Lois and Milo sound like they'd be loads of fun! Building dens in the garden and fishing kind of fun!

gufflings, what does the book suggest as brother names for lois?

Being american they do categorise names differently from us (slightly)

B1ueberryMuff1n, will defo let you know when it arrives. Am hoping it holds the answer to our naming woes.

RosannaBanana, I really like Corin, but no one will agree with me.

Minicc, DP likes Milo, but then we have two kids with the same potential NN: Lo.

Jago is cool, but it might be shortened to Jay and then I'm not keen. Knew a really drippy, wingey Jay once...

DP is home and likes Lloyd. Let you know the verdict on the rest!

For some reason Evan and Nathan work well with Lois for me. And Hal (as a NN for Henry or in its own). Is that going too American?

Nope, not too American. DP likes Hal (2001: Space Odyssey - can you see a theme emerging here?). I do like it, but not keen on Henry and dunno if I could just put Hal on the birth certificate.

We talked about Evan last night and we both like. Will add to the list while I remember...

Ivo?

Hmmm, doesn't feel like a complete name to me somehow. (Sorry to any Ivo owners out there.)