Baby boy - Louis/Hugo/Balthazar...what else?

[Helpnamebabyboy]

Hi All - I have nc for this as I have discussed potential names with friends and think they are probably fairly distinctive.

Baby boy (firstborn) due very soon and I am stuck on names. I quite like Louis and Hugo but wonder if they are about to become wildly popular. Not necessarily an issue but I would prefer slightly less popular given the choice.

A while back DM suggested Balthazar which I scoffed at but it’s been playing on my mind recently. I think it’s a great name but it’s also a big name and challenging to shorten outside of Bal/Baz.

I’m not sure any are “the one” and it’s stressing me out!

Any thoughts or suggestions very much appreciated! Surname is a fairly bog standard British name.

Not Balthazar!

Humphrey
Wilfred
Wilbur
Gregory
Peter
Edward

Definitely Louis!

Balthazar is dreadful. Hugo and Louis lovely.

Enzo
Rupert
Elias

Definitely not Balthazar. Neither the full name nor the shortened version are nice.

I think boys' names are so hard!! But always liked Adam. Ok not exciting but a good solid name and everyone l know called Adam has been a nice guy!

@Fishfingersandwichplease I agree Adam is a lovely name and you say not exciting but I'd be much more surprised to meet a baby Adam than a baby Arlo

Rupert
Perry
Percy
Felix
Basil
Rufus

Louis and Hugo are really nice

Balthazar a bit too mad for me but I think Barnaby would be a lovely alternative. Never met one, it's very underused!

Here are some other options of names that are further down in the charts :

Marley
Christopher nn Kit
Wilf(red)
Barnaby nn Barns or Barney
Peter (not used much these days at all)
Nathan/Nathaniel - Nate
Sidney Or just Sid
Laurence nn Laurie
Vincent nn Vinnie
Curtis
Eli
Ellis
Miles / Milo
Seth
Cole
Otis
Eric
Casper
Rudy/Rudi
Dexter
Blake
Angus
Dominic
Idris
Percy
Chester
Caleb
Austin
Griffin or just Griff
Tristan
River
Bodhi
Otto
Oakley
Cooper

If you like Baz, what about Barry? Or Gaz/Garry?

I really like Hugo. Louis is nice but Balthazar sounds like a character from Grimm! If you like the nickname Baz what about Sebastian?

Balthazar was a demon in Charmed! An alternative could be Benedict?
Louis is a lovely name and has waves of popularity.
I personally have never met a human Hugo, but have met a lovely dog.

A few traditional ones I personally like:
Oscar
Lucas
Andrew
George
James
Jack
Aaron
Christopher
Samuel
Callum
Thomas

Lorenzo
Lysander
Lorcan
Maximilian
Barnaby

Louis was popular well over 20 years ago where I live. It’s definitely been done and dusted here. But it’s a very nice name and timeless. Hugo is growing on me. I used to think it was very posh. The ones I know are. Again, it’s a 20-something name to me. But I suppose both names will have changed demographically over time. Hugh?

Balthazar is utterly bonkers, don’t do that.

Hugo and Louis are both fairly common but acceptable names, I don’t mind either.

Caspar? Or jasper?

Louis is timeless, Hugo is ubiquitous here ( France), maybe less popular in the UK. Most Hugos I know are early teens. I have a Balthazar in my class. I quite like it!

I quite like Balthazar albeit it’s a bit of a mouthful. Bal and Baz are awful though.

Christ, not Balthazar!

Hugo and Louis are both absolutely lovely. I've got a Hugh if you're worried about Hugo being too popular. I've never met another baby/toddler Hugh yet.

Byron!
Or..
Otto
Otis
Benedict
Freddie

I like Hugo or how about
Quentin
Marcus
Caspar

Thanks all! Yes totally agree that Bal and Baz are both awful - if I did use it I think the nn would be Zar but it’s such a polarising name (and mostly negative!!) that I don’t think I can go there...

Not Balthazar... please.

How about Wilbur or Rufus.

Love Hugo, but it's SOOOO popular

How about Caspar or Melchior

To my ear Hugo sounds quite posh, but not in a bad way. I think it would be a bit of a burden being called Balthazar