Classic, but not common boy's name! Why so hard!

[kmini]

Hi,

Like many, DH & I, are finding boy's names so hard!

We are both traditionalist. We like classic names for boys. No surnames, cool names (we are too boring to carry this off) or old man or vintagey style names. I don't want a name that is common. This is not a concern of DH.

Finally surname starts with H and ends with IE. It rules out lots of y & ey first names(Rory, Toby etc).

So on DH list:

Henry (far too many h & y sounds with surname)
Christopher (far too many boys from my childhood called this)
William (too common & done for me)

Me (I'm not Scottish BTW, just seem to tend towards them):

Alister
Alec
Magnus

Only common choice is Benedict or Benjamin, preferably the former. However, Benedict is my brother's name & for someone who's been obsessed with baby names since childhood it just seems so disappointing to choose something that's already been chosen by your parents!

Help help help!!!

[florascotia]

Sara - you're absolutely right about it being derogatory.
This BBC article suggests that it might have been an anti-Scots slur, to discredit Scots as 'savages' at the time of the Jacobite risings:
www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/scotland/s_sw/article_1.shtml

[JustPassingThru]

Smiled at Sawney, as the only time I'd heard it used was in the name Sawney Bean! I come from a part of Scotland where this particular diminutive of Alexander is pronounced Sanny rather than Sawney. However, Sandy is the more modern (and 'proper'!) usage.
Cameron is a traditional boys name, though when a colleague named his baby Cameron he was asked by confused English relatives if it was a girl, because of Cameron Diaz. And some might associate Sandy with Grease I suppose.

[ozymandiusking]

Clive

[BeQuicksieorBeDead]

Cormac is a lovely traditional Irish name, which you would get many compliments on, in my experience!

[SimplySara]

Florascotia - Did not know that about Sawney! I had read that at one point in time it was a derogatory term for Scots much like Jock is (kind of) today. Although I've never actually heard it used. Thought that it might be time to reclaim it, but guess not.

[ShoeWhore]

Don't know what my phone did there!

Donald
Arthur
Oscar
Ned
Ted/Edward
Bertie
Joseph
Michael
Lawrence
Jude
Leonard
Leo
Dominic
Seamus

[ShoeWhore]

Aidan
Angus
Ewen
Hamish
Fergus
Finn
D

[Frikadellen]

Conrad
Michael
Eli
Carradoc
Douglas
Bertram
Saul

[dizzyday07]

My DS is Philip with Niven as his middle name which is an old Gaelic name my father had.

Others we liked were:
Stuart
Alistair
Robert
Peter
Edward
Ian
Andrew

[HoneyandRum]

Gabriel

James

Jonathan

Warwick

[monkeymamma]

Rodrigh (sp?) pr. "rodree"
Sandy
Sholto
Dougie
Jonah
Joss

[bouquetofpencils]

Henry

[GillyBillyWilly]

Some of our faves right now are...

Alexander
Zachary
Frederick
Daniel
Edward

Don't know if I'm as happy with any of them as I am with our girls choices though.

9 weeks until our due date...

[florascotia]

Great list of Scottish names above!

NB if thinking about 'Sawney'. It's the name of a legendary Scottish cannibal, called Sawney Bean. Sawney is a version of Alexander.

NB also: Sorley is more often spelled 'Sorley', not 'Sorely' (I presume just a typo in the list above). It's the English spelling of the Gaelic name, Somhairlidh (= summer traveller = Viking), which is pronounced 'Sorley'. It's sometimes spelled Somerled (also pronounced 'Sorley') though purists don't like the spelling.

You might also like Adair, Athol, Alpin, Colm/Columba, Dougal, Ewen(or Eoghan or Euan), Finnan, Lorcan, Maxwell...

[Lottystar]

If not Christopher, why not Christian?

Other ideas:

Sean
Anthony (sorry a y ending but nice underused name)
Jonathan
Edward
Gabriel
Charles
Justin
Joel

[SimplySara]

I dont really see your list as being too Scottish. Magnus is a latin name that I would associate more with the scandi trend. It has been used in Scotland for quite some time but would have been pronounced Manus (hence why there is a last name MacManus and not one MacMagnus). Its all small potatoes though. If you do like Scottishy names that arent too out there (I.e. Mungo, Schloto)

Classics
Malcolm
Douglas
Wallace
Walter
Bruce
Craig
Donald
Duncan
Seamus
Tavish
Gordon
Gregor
Niall
Angus
Hamish
Fergus


Newer Generation/ rediscoveries
Lachlan
Innes
Oran
Afton
Struan
Declan

Wildcards
Eachann
Kester
Menzies
Fingall
Sorely
Sawney
Auley
Diarmad
Farquar

[sonlypuppyfat]

John and Michael classic names.

[Foosyerdoos]

Daniel
Fergus
Drew
Lachlan
Lewis ( very common but a good name)
Calum
Cameron
Jackson

[shoobidoo]

I like Bruno too.

[shoobidoo]

Christopher, Quentin and Magnus are lovely classic underused names!

[BlueChampagne]

Conrad is the name you're looking for (though I might be biased ...)

[Biscuitsneeded]

I think Christopher is great. very under-used, but classic as you like! You could call him Kit for short.

[BelleOfTheBorstal]

How about Bruno?
Out of the names you have listed, Magnus is the one I like best.
Or what about Albrecht, shortened to Albe?

[RahRahRasputin]

George
Thomas
Phillip
Charles
Oliver
Owen
Andrew
Arthur
Christian (as you like Christopher)
Richard


I'm not a Royalist, honestly. In fact I find it irritationally annoying that they have so many of the good names!

I won't have babies for a long time but I'm hoping for girls as it is so hard to think of a nice boys name

[Reastie]

James
Oscar
Stanley
Douglas
Spencer
Winston
Ernest
Albert