Finally agreed on a name! Help please...

[Rhubarbx1]

So we've chosen Rhodes for our little boy.

We both really love the meaning and can't decide if it's a middle name or first name at this point.

My husband has suggested the following....
Rhodes Benjamin our surname is Eaton.

I think I prefer it as a middle name but I don't know if that's because I was hankering after something hebrew / biblical to match my little boy Elias Grey.

Do Elias and Rhodes go together or is it too much of a mish-mash?

I'm desperate for the boys names to sound nice together.

Just want some opinions before I get my heart to set on it.

Thanks all xxxx

I do think it does sound a bit of Victorian imperialist, and if we feel that now imagine how it will be in 20 years time

Why on earth would it have 'to go' with Elias? Why do they need to sound nice together which is very subjective anyway. If you let this point go, maybe other names that have not been considered yet may become options?

Agree with the poster below, I think it was 10 years after I had my children that I realised that all of them had names that could be surnames and all ended in s . Otherwise not very weird names at all.

Sounds like « roads eaten ». I would keep it as a middle name if you really want it.

My honest opinion is that how well it goes with his brother’s name is much less important than how that child will grow up with a name like Rhodes. I personally don’t mind the name but I only know it as the island and he will forever be telling people how to spell it.

Awww that’s a lovely name, and great with Elias.
it scans better as Benjamin Rhodes so could use that and call him by the middle name?
otherwise, maybe Rhodes then a two syllable middle name?
eg Rhodes Jacob sounds better to me

I think Elias and Rhodes is a mish-mash. Elias is a nice classic name, but Rhodes is an island. It works well as a middle name but I think you should find something else Hebrew or similar for the first name.

I have no idea how are you even pronounce Elias . I’m a teacher I’ve never seen in a school yet

Is it eel like the fish? Or Ell

This!

Love it as a middle name if it's a significant place for you both 😀

I think it would be a great, unusual middle name. It's not so good as a first name.

How about Rhys instead? It goes much better with Ella's.

If you don't know how to say Elias, you do mr know how English works!

Er…

Damned autocorrect! I didn't notice at first but of course 'Ella's' should be Elias.

Why doesn't the Edit function work for me? Grrr.

The traditional nickname for someone with the surname Rhodes is Dusty.

Another vote for Benjamin Rhodes. It flows much better with your surname.

Any need for this?

You could of moved on to the next post rather than be mean.

I think Rhodes is lovely and goes with Elias better than Ben/Benjamin.

Don’t see why there would be jokes about it, also don’t see why people would assume he was conceived there. We are not all Victoria Beckham.

The misspelling bit is a bit of a red herring these days. Even common names seem to have sprouted alternative spellings so it’s not unusual to have to clarify. I have a name that can be spelt with a y or an ie. It’s not a big deal.

Is 'stylistically cohesive' the way to choose a name that someone will have forever? How well it matches their sibling... when they're adults, do you think this matters? As opposed to the practicality of having a name that needs explanation, spelling and sometimes pronunciation every time they arrange a work meeting with a client, every time they book an appointment, every time they meet anybody new.

I just want to be sure you know who you are proposing to name your baby after, so this is from his Wikipedia entry:

Rhodes wanted to expand the British Empire because he believed that the Anglo-Saxon race was destined to greatness.[10] In what he described as "a draft of some of my ideas" written in 1877 while a student at Oxford, Rhodes said of the English, "I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race. I contend that every acre added to our territory means the birth of more of the English race who otherwise would not be brought into existence."[57]

I also would think immediately think of Cecil Rhodes if you introduced your baby Rhodes to me. Sorry I like an unusual name (plenty of people don't like my kids names) but I think you are underestimating this one. Elias is lovely!

It makes me think of the Greek Island, I had no idea about it's nature meaning. Don't like it sorry, you are opening yourself and him up to a lifetime of conceived on a Greek island jokes

It's not a name I would choose but I don't hate it. It goes well with Elias. I think he'll have a lifetime of spelling it and people thing he's called Rose...

Had you considered that when he gets angry, people will be calling him crossroads