Middle name for Adair?

[cafedesreves]

We like Adair for a boy... any thoughts on middle names?
Thanks!

I think it’s a lovely name and have several family members with it as a middle name and I’ve never heard anything negative about it. Ffs Jack is one of the most popular boys names ever and starting with Jack the Ripper there are definitely one or two bad’uns.

Just pick names you love and don’t worry about it.

Thanks @Okbutnotgreat

OP if you’re not from NI then you wouldn’t make the association at all. But for a NI person you literally can’t get away from it, and they are awful.

However, I wouldn’t go by any name website when choosing a name. Have you checked how many people in Scotland actually have it as a first name as opposed to a surname? There’s a tradition in Scotland where children are often given the mother’s maiden name as a surname, so to the extent it does crop up as a first name id imagine it’s in that context.

You’ll find loads of websites telling you eg Riley is an Irish first name, but in reality the surname is Reilly or O’Reilly and you would never get an Irish person calling their child this.

I agree, I think of Mad Dog Johnny.

Also just to say, you can’t compare the name “Jack” with the name “Adair” for reasons so obvious it’s not worth spelling out.

As an analogy, there are plenty of boys called Fred today but not many little girls called Myra.

I LOVE the name Adair but my husband has vetoed it 😭

How about something solid and Scottish like James / Lewis?

Also I think in Scotland the associations aren’t bad - I’ve never heard of any of these negative associations, so unless you live in an area where they’re prevalent I wouldn’t give them any headspace!

I like Adair

Adair Andrew
Adair Griffin
Adair Roman

Honestly please don’t call your kid this
Johnny Adair
Adair Paxton
That’s all I’d think of

@meringue33 thanks for being honest... such a shame! It's such a lovely sounding name and we can't agree on any others!

I wouldn't worry about the Johnny Adair thing tbh, I'm in NI but can guarantee you it's not the first association someone from outside of Ireland would have. Also people still call their kids jack, Fred, Harold, Joseph... The only thing I'd veto on connotation is Hitler-short of that I say go for it! I think Adair James or Adair Henry is nice :)

I'm in Scotland and Mad Dog is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear Adair.

That's a fair point, I did forget that that's where he fled. Still wouldn't let it put me off though if I loved the name I've heard ten times worse!

Moving on from associations, I think it's difficult to come up with a middle name because it sounds better if you have another name with a short first syllable and the emphasis on a long second syllable. Most names in English have the emphasis on the first syllable - Peter, Eliot, Rory etc.

There are more foreign names - e.g. Gervaise. You might do better with another Scottish surname, beginning Mc or Mac? Adair Mackenzie/MacArthur....Depends on your family name, of course.

I like it as a first name.

Imdoingthisfor.

Thanks @Thymeout

@HarrietM87

OP if you’re not from NI then you wouldn’t make the association at all. But for a NI person you literally can’t get away from it, and they are awful.

However, I wouldn’t go by any name website when choosing a name. Have you checked how many people in Scotland actually have it as a first name as opposed to a surname? There’s a tradition in Scotland where children are often given the mother’s maiden name as a surname, so to the extent it does crop up as a first name id imagine it’s in that context.

You’ll find loads of websites telling you eg Riley is an Irish first name, but in reality the surname is Reilly or O’Reilly and you would never get an Irish person calling their child this.

It's an unusual name so not many! But it appears in the Penguin book of baby names so it can't be as crazy as a first name as all that!

Adair Dexter

And for what it's worth I think you've chosen a great name and it's good to go away from the confines of what only a small number of people associate it with. There are plenty of children called Jack (no one associates with Jack the Ripper), plenty of boys called Ted (again, Ted Bundy) etc. so I think you should go with the name.

If you are worried about associations, and I’m not sure you need to be, what about Alasdair? Which is definitely a first name.

Thanks. For some reason I don't like Alasdair as much! Not sure why!