Not sure :/

[joycemcbride]

Hello! My husband is Hungarian (from Budapest) and we currently live in England and we're expecting our first child (a boy) in September. He wants to call the boy "Ishvan" after his grandfather and great-grandfather, apparently it's a family name with a lot of meaning and significance, but i want to call him James or Joseph. We're in a rut: traditional Hungarian moniker or an English lad's name? Help!!

Hmm, I can't find Ishvan anywhere. Could it be István (pronounced EESHT-van)? That's Hungarian for Stephen.

Personally I'd go for the Hungarian name! Not too long, not too tricky to say or spell (maybe a few possible mistakes), and Joseph or James would make a lovely middle name.

But the reverse is also true! Having a cool Hungarian middle name would work too.

/is no help

Ishvan James.

Perfect.

OK, genuinely intrigued now. Can only find "Ishvan" as an Indian pharmaceutical company, and Hungarian doesn't seem to use "sh" in its spellings anyway.

What is this mysterious name?

I like it.

József and James are used in Hungary so one of those as first name, Ishvan as middle name (whether it's actually Hungarian or not, as it's a family name).

My OH is polish and we've had similar conversations but since we are going to live in the UK we are going to go with typical Britsh names that work in polish aswell. I think Joeseph and James translate well in Hungarian so would maybe give them as a first name and Ishvan as a middle name. That saves any mis spelling/ pronunciation during school years etc x

Could it be István, which is Hungarian for Stephen?

Oops, Attica already said that!

I’d compromise on Jozsef Ishvan.

What about Zoltan?

I know an Ishmael who goes by Ish.. I'd have thought an Ishvan would end up with that NN as well - I really like it

Well you could use ish day to day which is cool sounding I think. Then use James as middle name. Or vice versa.

I would call him Joseph Ishvan. You could use Ishvan as his middle name or his baptismal name (if you're going to have him baptised)...:)

Joseph is quite international. People in most historically Christian or Abrahamic countries are likely to know it (or a version of the name. Like József...)

My OH is polish and we've had similar conversations but since we are going to live in the UK we are going to go with typical Britsh names that work in polish aswell

That's what we've decided as well :) (well, other countries/nationalities but same principle. "Prioritising" the country a child is likely to grow up in makes sense imo...)