What is your favourite boys name?

[WhatTheFlap]

DH and I expecting our first child in July, a little boy.

We had a girls name picked out which we both love, but obviously not using that now! I find boys names really difficult so curious to know what your favourite names are/ what your sons are called!

On my list at the moment:
Milo (DH doesn't like)
Riley (DH not sure)
Freddy (DH loves, I don't)
Otto (top runner at the moment but DH definitely needs convincing)
Jesse (such a cute name but his friend has a daughter called Jessie and this has put him off a bit)

I don't like really traditional names like George, Michael, Peter etc. but something a bit more unusual/ less common?

My favourite boys names include

Raphael
Quentin
Orson
Marcus
Rufus

Of your choices, my favourite is Jesse.

My DS is Gabriel. We wanted Caspian but he just didn't look like it suited him.

Other names we had on our list: Elliot, Evan, Rafe (Raphael), Isiah.

Milo - milky drink
Riley - car
Freddy - ok
Otto - don't like. too Ottery
Jesse - Big Jessie.

Freddy's the least worst one

I would cross out Freddy if you don't like common names - there are loads of them about at the moment, far more than Peter and Michael.

I love Jude, Caleb, Rowan, Jonah and Sebastian right now.

There are lots of Freddy/ies around.

My favourites:
Lee
Aaron
Mason
Jamie
Jude

Freddie is overused so I'd avoid that.

I like Otto out of yours. Know a few Milos. Riley doesn’t seem to fit your other names in style.

I like Raphael, Gabriel, Tom, Caspian, Casper, Nicholas, Joseph, Alexander

James has always been my absolute favourite name but that’s probably too traditional for you.

Names I loved but didn’t use that may be more your style were Darwin and Edison.

From your list Milo is my favourite

I love Freddie with an ie.
Really like Milo.
Also love Jenson but I know in England it’s maybe more popular, it’s not here in Scotland. We were considering it for our little boy (due in the summer too).
I LOVE Jasper, Rory, Arthur, Finn but all are already used in our family
Kit is another one I’m considering just now but I think I’d just call him Kit rather than putting Christopher on the birth certificate

Arthur
Frank
Chester
Harrison
Barnabas (Barney)
Otto 💓

Ahh yes I love Finn as well!

There are some lovely suggestions on here, I don't know why I find this so hard

DS1 is Alfred (Freddie), DS2 is Albert (Bertie), they (I...) get lots of compliments on their names!

And I’ve been a teacher for 16 years and have only ever met a couple of other Freddies, it’s not as popular as people think, certainly not as a nn for Alfred.

@WhatTheFlap

Ahh yes I love Finn as well!

There are some lovely suggestions on here, I don't know why I find this so hard

If I could use Finn that would 100% be his name! Just wish it wasn’t already taken for us. Boys names are sooo hard. We had a definite girls name and wouldn’t even have looked at the lists

I don’t know what it is about boys names that I struggle with! I have a list as long as my arm of girls names that I love but I suppose I’ve never heard a boys name that I’ve fallen in love with.

It just seems so much harder to find the right balance between unusual but not ‘weird’. Feels like there are way more choices for girls 🙈 I’ve had too many boy pets too and have used up a lot of nice names 🤣

Isaac
Sebastian

Lawrence
Tom
Seth
Ivor
Owen

Leo
Lars
Max
Alex
Tobias

@HelpfulBelle - Being a teacher will mean you are 5-18 years behind seeing the trends as far as names in the classroom, so a name may not be as popular in 5-18year olds, but it is currently quite popular in newborns/toddlers. (My husband is a secondary school teacher and is always saying "I've never taught an Arlo, it can't be popular" but there were 3 I met in the 2-3 baby classes I went to with my son and in the last 10 years it's moved up 400 places in the popularity charts....)

Freddie was the 14th most popular boy's name used for babies born in the UK in 2019. It's moved up 39 places in the last 10 years.

If you are worried about popularity of names, OP, always take a look at the ONS data - www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/babynamesenglandandwalesbabynamesstatisticsboys - Michael is 70th and Peter is outside Top 200.

Ironically, I'm not too bothered about popularity myself, but I like data and I find people base what they think are common or popular names on anecdotes!

My favourite boys names:

Jasper
Rowan
Otto
Dylan
Lorcan
Felix
Nicholas

As a teacher I would say Riley is by far the most common of those you've chosen. Of course, those children are a lot older than yours will be but it is my only experience.

I love Ethan, Max, Fabien, Finn, Hector and Noah

From your list, I like Otto. If I'd had a son, he would have been Conrad.

Love Otto Milo and Jesse

How about
Tristan
Hugo
Winston
Walter
Spencer
Axel
Casper
Ellis
Marley

Funny you see a name like Peter as popular and common OP, it would actually be extremely refreshing these days and one of the least used name on your list and almost definitely the only one in class /school. Falls in numbers every year.

@Constance11 @renovationfatigue
wow we have such similar taste love all the names on your lists except Rowan as know too many girls Rowan, also find it's too similar to RoMan, too popular and dislike inevitable nickname Row.
Jasper, Caleb and Nicholas are so cool! Great lists, great taste.