Hector? (and a female alternative)

[CaptainWentworth]

Due first baby in the autumn and we haven’t found out the sex, so aiming for a shortlist of 2/3 boys and girls names to pick from when DC arrives.

The male name I keep coming back to is Hector - it was my paternal grandpa’s name and I think it’s a little (nicely) unusual but not totally ridiculous. However, while I think it goes really well with my very Scottish maiden name, I’m not sure if sounds so natural with my married name which is very common and Welsh (if anything). Grandpa was actually Scottish but DH and I are both English.

Also we now live in the NE (although we’re not local originally) and while some names that are well liked on Mumsnet would fit in in London I’m not sure we would get away with them so easily where we are! Could you imagine a Geordie sounding Hector?

Other ideas for a boy are Arthur, George, Alexander, possibly Leo?

Also I need a few ideas for girls - have a list but haven’t come across anything I love yet. Kind of like Violet (one of DH’s grandmas) but then I keep thinking of Violet Elizabeth Bott! DH likes Esme (although I’m not sure of the correct pronunciation to be honest!) Freya (too popular I think) and Anna.

Love Hector and Violet.

Hector is a bit more unusual than your other choices, which is a plus if your surname is a common one. It will get shortened to Hec.
Of your choices I think I would choose Violet.
They are all a bit popular, and my favourite is Anna, but maybe not if the surname is a very popular one.
Esmée is the favoured spelling - Esmé is a man's name. It will get pronounce Ezmy and spelt Esmay, Esmae etc. Lovely but not loved on MN. The misspellings would put me off.
Freya is overused.

Sorry, I'll add Freya, like Chloe and Olivia, is one of those names that is really nice if you only know one or two, but when you know about 12 of them it's not as nice.

Boy would get called Flippin 'Eck. George, Alexander and even Arthur are ok. Violet is ok. Jasmine?

I really like Hector, unusual without being too weird iyswim. Also like Alexander, George and Arthur, they're all quite popular but for good reason, same with Anna. Leo always sounds to me like it should be short for something but I'm never sure what. I like Freya and Violet but I think the misspellings and different pronunciations of Esme would put me off. How about,

Lara
Verity
Meryl
Cora
Ruth
Lydia
Anya

If you are worried about a NE Hector maybe switch to Henry which works everywhere?
That said, I think that Hector and Violet are both lovely.

Yes I think that’s the problem - as we are first time parents we don’t really know many children yet so I think we’re a bit out of date with what’s popular.

Also surname is 3 syllables so don’t want first name to be more than 2 ideally or it becomes a bit of a mouthful.

Hector is just lovely! And goes with Violet. What would you think of Honor?

Why would he be called flipping hec? I know a hector and he is never called anything but his name. People can be very strange on the baby names forum

My son has what is considered a very very cutesy nickname style name despite him that I often read in here that he'll never get through school without being bullied

Umm he has. People just called him his name

I love hector. Good solid and slightly unusual without being daft name

I love Hector and Anna, both are on my shortlist for DC2 if he/she ever happens!

I know a Geordie Hector as it happens, sounds surprisingly lovely and with the accent

Hectoria 😊

You. Are. Welcome.

Just like Nora would be Flamin' Nora, you will get Flippin' Ec or Eckaslike.
There's a link that was on one of the threads on here for checking how popular a name is in your are. Sometimes names can be very popular in one local area but not be in the top 100 nationwide.

Eckaslike would probably happen in NW where we’re from - not sure about here. Hmmm... Although you can make any name silly if you put your mind to it!

Loving Hectoria! 😂

Not sure about Honor - don’t think DH would go for it. I like Cora as suggested above. Also maybe Beatrice/ trix? Like the Bea nickname. DH likes Thea but I’m not sure- it sounds like it should be short for something, as a PP said about Leo.

mikeuniform our DD and my MIL are both Esme and they are spelled in that way with an acute accent on last e ( I can't do on phone) . We pronounce it Ehz- may. Ifyswim. It hasn't been commonly a male name since mid last century. I know many people may spell or say it differently though it's just how our family does ( and JD Salinger)

I love hector for a boy and Arthur .

For a girl obviously I like Esme . Too many Freya's around now ( but no reason not to have if you like it).

There are so many names for girls that I could choose now! I would go for one that can be easily pronounced but that's because we have a tricky surname

And I adore Thea ( with a hard t not 'th' sound) if we'd had another girl she would have been Thea

Theodora

I think Hector is dreadful. On MN you'll get tons of people saying it's fabulous, in real life people will struggle to hide their expression when you say it.

Hester or Esther?

The accent is (Num Lock on) Alt 0233 - not sure what it is on a phone.
Esmé is a man's name in France.
Esmée is the feminine form.
If your Esmes spell it Esme or Esmé, that's up to them. I think it's nice but the various spellings would be too much.
I'm not keen on Hector but I think it's ok.

I'm really sorry...I don't like Hector. It just reminds me of the Addams Family though I realise no-one your DC's age will have that reference at all.

I dislike the meaning (and the nickname Heck)

I love the name Hector!

Hector is a fab name! I know one, usually called by his full name, sometimes Heckers.