Come and tell me what you think of these boys names.

[TheBookofRuth]

Our DS is due in about 15 weeks, and we are still struggling to think of a name.

The only boys' names I love - Barnaby, Leo and Oscar - DH hates, and has vetoed.

Our compromise names are Samuel, Thomas and Joshua, all of which I like but don't love, and suspect he'll be one of several in his class.

Two new additions to my list - which have had a lukewarm response from DH but not an outright "no" - are Anthony and Ashley.

Anthony I really like - and like the idea of naming him after one of my heroes, Tony Benn, except that I loathe Tony! Really, really loathe it! I know an Anth, and don't mind that, but I realise you can't control nicknames, and I really, really don't want a Tony!

Ashley I rather love, especially nn Ash, as I like the idea of a "tree" name, but DH thinks it's "common" (sorry, awful, snobby phrase - his not mine!). I don't agree, I know there was an Ashley on Coronation Street years ago, but I haven't met a little boy Ashley since I was at school, and it makes me think of Gone With The Wind.

Middle name will be David (family name), and his big sister is called Eve. Which was another compromise name!

Any thoughts, people?

not particularly helpful but they're all lovely names.

I like most of them, particularly Oscar and Samuel. Do you want to go with one of the names you have already thought of or do you think finding a name not already on your list might be the answer?

Only observation is that Ashley is a very unisex name now - I used to teach and more than once had a boy and a girl Ashley in the same class, which seemed to make one of the boys in particular feel awkward/ self concious... minor thing, just to take into consideration - obviously there are lots of unisex names people have quite happily.

I like the names you originally loved

Asher?

I think all your compromise names are lovely and I don't think you will find they are overdone. They are very classic and will not date your child to a certain era. Lovely on a boy or older man.

Not helpful but you have to pick a name you love.
I really like your original names rather than the new ones.

Theo
Edward
Henry
Cassius
Marco

Sam is a lovely name and something I considered for my son

Thanks everyone.

FutureSupreme, open to suggestions as the ideal would be a name DH and I both love. As he says there are no boys names he loves, one I love and he likes would be the next best thing!

HoneyandRum, I'm not keen on Asher, though I couldn't tell you why and I can see why you'd suggest it.

HRH, thanks for your suggestions. My thoughts:
Theo - I really like Theo, DH said no though, and I don't love it enough to fight for it.
Edward - nice name, but has bad associations for DH and I.
Henry - same as Theo!
Cassius / Marco - sadly, any name with a C/K or Ss sound in it is out because it doesn't work with our surname. I like Luke and Issac a lot, but they're out for that reason.

How about Samson instead of Samuel?

There will no doubt be hoards of Joshuas... I know soooo many baby Joshuas.
Barnaby is lovely

How about Samson instead of Samuel?

There will no doubt be hoards of Joshuas... I know soooo many baby Joshuas.
Barnaby is lovely

I like Anthony as Ant is a cool nn and I know a male Ash and think it suits a man better than a woman. I think Ashley is a nice name and probably not used much now.

Barnaby is lovely and is top of my list, followed by Felix, Gabriel, Hector, and Hugo

The problem with Anthony is I never know how to pronounce it, is is Antony or Anthony? With a t sound or a th sound?

You have better taste in names than your DH so you should choose.

Well Leo and Anthony were on our shortlist along with:
Nathan
Joseph
Leon
Christian
Hayden / Aidan
Christian
Marcus
Daniel
Simon
Joel
Ciaran
Jared
Dominic

For what it's worth, the 2 Anthony's I know are only ever known as Anthony or Ant.

If you have names that both of you like, does it matter that there will be others in the class with the same name? School doesn't last a lifetime, but names will.

I really like Ashley. Funnily enough, my DM saw it as being a bit "common" too. Not sure why, and I certainly can't think of any negative Ashleys IYSWIM.

I like all of your names though, to be fair. Except for Anthony.

Funny you should say that, Santa, because I couldn't either - till my DM reminded me about Ashley Cole!

ToffeeJungle, there are some lovely names on your list - and following a bit of pow-wow with DH, we have added Nathan (possibly Nathaniel, we're not sure which we prefer) to our shortlist.

FloatingHandle, I adore all of your names, but DH won't contemplate them, unfortunately. Maybe I should have a child with you? :D

overmydeadbody, DH and I had that conversation just this afternoon - turns out he would have Anthony on the shortlist if it was pronounced Antony, while I wanted it pronounced Anthony! So that was another non-starter.

Megrim, that's a good point, it's just the main problem with the names we both like is that I just like them - as in, if someone else told them they'd called their DS that, I'd think "oh, nice name", not "oh wow, I love it, I'm so jealous you got in first!" Having said that, I felt that about Eve when we chose it for DD, and now I can't imagine her being called anything else, it just suits her, so no doubt in time I'd start to feel that way about a little Sam or Josh (plus, West Wing/Terry Pratchett associations - this pleases me!)

During our powwow today, DH refused to bend at all on any of my top three, which makes me said. I feel a bit like he always gets final say - he did with DD - because he's stubborn and I don't have the patience for a long, drawn-out argument. On the other hand, he really doesn't like any of them, so I do totally get that it's not fair to insist on a name he feels that strongly against. He wouldn't do that to me.

Makes me a bit sad. Not said,