Baby boy names - can’t agree

[Mummylcluelsss]

Baby is two weeks old and we still can’t agree on names. The options are

Noah Otis …
Otis Noah

i prefer Noah & think since I went through awful Labour I should name him 🥲. Partner prefers Otis as thinks there will be too many Noah’s as it’s popular. I did like Otis to start with but I’ve gone off if a bit.

Is it a nice name?

Feeling under pressure to decide as every day we have people asking what we have called him 🫣😬😫

I prefer Otis but plenty would prefer Noah- I mean it is more popular for a reason! They are both nice though

Noah is more popular. I prefer Otis personally, less popular but still known enough to not encounter spelling or pronunciation problems. Otis Noah sounds better too. Noah Otis just blends into each other

I prefer Noah myself. But not sure it works with Otis as middle name. But then that depends how often you will use his middle name.

I prefer Otis and it's definitely less popular than Noah. Another thing to consider is does Noah Otis spell out a word when put with your surname as that would also put me off.

If you genuinely can't agree then I'd probably just put them both in a hat and get someone to pick one out.

Noah is lovely and I think suits all ages.

Otis reminds me of Otis the aardvark from kids tv (showing my ages there).

I'm not a fan of Otis so if they are the only options it would be Noah Otis for me! Think about future CV's for him! Otis is a bit too out there rather than unusual but still a good name.

I’m not keen on Otis as it makes me think of ear infections 🙄so I wouldn’t choose that at all!

Noah is a great name, but doesn’t flow well when followed by Otis.

If you’ve gone off Otis and need a bit of convincing then that would be reason enough to discount it. You don’t want to regret your name choice. Having it as a middle name is fine.

I much prefer Noah personally, but if your partner has reservations, maybe you’re better compromising with a whole new first name and having both first choices as middle names.

If like like the O sound in names, maybe Jonah?

Noah was the most popular boys name in England and Wales in 2021, so if popularity is a concern then it is really best avoided. If popularity doesn't matter I think Noah is a far nicer name that Otis which I just don't like at all - however Otis is a top 100 name, over 700 babies named it in 2021, so clearly loads of people think it's wonderful.

I love both, push for what you prefer. I wish we’d been able to use Noah for our little boy but we already have one in the family. I love Otis just as much but it’s our dogs name.

I think it took us about 3 weeks and I found it really stressful, so you have my sympathies!

I’ve always really liked Noah but it’s become very popular so my husband wasn’t on board with it. Otherwise it would’ve been a top pick for me. It just depends it it will bother you that he might be Noah Initial at school. I loved the name Olivia for a girl but every baby class I go to has about 4 of them! So in hindsight I would’ve probably regretted it if we’d had our own Olivia. My husband liked Lewis but I’m a teacher and have taught soooo many so it was immediately out.

Is it worth going back to the drawing board? I was trying to decide between Benjamin and Ruaridh but ended up going with Blair which had been a front runner for my husband early on but I’d completely discounted it at the time. When I looked back at our original list and saw it, suddenly it just fit.

Try calling him by each name if you haven’t already. I found it helpful testing them out. Benjamin was just too much of a mouthful in the end!

good luck!

I am not so keen on Otis, but Noah seems very out of date to me. I know a couple who are in their late 20s now. One has had his own child, so it’s almost a dad name!

I like both (ds2 has one of these names and it was the frontrunner for ds3). Noah is the most popular name this year, but I think Otis is more likely to sound dated in a few years…

I like both and I agree you should have final say!

I would go with Noah and try to put your partner off Otis even as a middle name. 😬

I love Otis as it reminds me of the legendary Otis redding also Otis Noah flows better x

Noah is much better than Otis.

I prefer Otis and also, I don't think Noah Otis flows as well as Otis Noah.
Noah Otis sounds like a medical condition. Sorry!

I don't really like either of them.
Which sounds best with the surname without the middle name?

If you use Noah Otis just make sure your surname doesn't mean his initials spell anything daft that people could make fun of e.g. NOB (trust me, kids will!!).
I think Otis Noah flows better than Noah Otis.

I agree Otis Noah flows better - it's a bit awkward with the two vowel sounds clashing - to avoid a weird pause you'll get "Noharotis" which is a bit odd because it's Noah not Noar.

That said how often do people really say the name with the middle name?

I must prefer Noah Otis - I think it flows a lot better than the other way round. Otis Noah feels a bit clumpy to me.
I also absolutely love the name Noah - my eldest is Noah but was named before it was popular and people would raise an eyebrow and say "oh that's different" when I said his name lol. Whilst it is popular now it's still a lovely name and even after all the years I've been saying it I still absolutely love it.

Otis the Aardvark or Otis Redding?

Hmm, I know 1 child called Noah and have met 3 called Otis. I don’t think either way flows better than the other.

Are there any other names you both like?

I vote Otis Noah but did wonder how each options flows with his surname? But l appreciate you probably don’t want to share that on here

We are quite taken with Otis. Noah l don’t dislike but it was a no for us as it’s so popular and he was an alcoholic apparently (lots of my family have alcohol issues)