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

This.

No-one apart from you is going to think of the 'meaning'.
Some people will "hear" roads and be very confused. I suspect most people will think of the Greek Island, and ask why he is named after a Greek Island.
Try walking around introducing yourself as Kos or Rhodes for a few weeks and see how tiresome it gets.

I mean, if you use it for a middle name he will still get it, but probably not every time he has to give his name.

Stylistically Rhodes matches Grey. It doesn’t match Elias at all. To match Elias I would use an Old Testament style name. (Noah, Adam, Saul, Asher, Ezra, Joseph, Daniel, Jacob, David, Malachi, Levi).

However it depends how important matching is to you. I wasn’t all that bothered - I avoided “Molly and Polly” and “Billy and Tilly” but I went for names I actually liked. Kids are only a sibling pair for their childhood - I haven’t been part of “Lucy and Fred” for over 20 years now.

I dislike using where the child was conceived as their name - firstly because it is a bit “all about me” and secondly because as a mum of a teenager I do not have the words to describe their horror of their parents having sex!

I did also think of Cecil Rhodes when you first said the name and it would make me wonder about your beliefs!

"No-one apart from you is going to think of the 'meaning'."

Particularly as it doesn't appear to mean what you think it means....

Rhodes does not mean "where the roses grow". These baby name websites honestly seem to make up meanings from whole cloth.

"Greek island, largest of the Dodecanese, from Greek Rhodos, which is perhaps from rhodon "rose," which Beekes allows as a possibility, or rhoia "pomegranate," but "more likely" [Room] from a pre-Greek name, from Phoenician erod "snake," for the serpents which were said to have anciently infested the island."

Not that "snake" is a bad meaning for a name, but do rethink the botanical meaning.

Rhode Island more likely comes from the Dutch for red, roodt.

I love the name Rhodes! As a first name and as a middle name:) Elias Gray is also gorgeous, and I think Elias & Rhodes sound great together.

some combos you may like:

Rhodes Matthew
Rhodes Morgan
Rhodes Everett
Rhodes Evan
Rhodes Alexander
Rhodes Asa

Asa Rhodes
Jesse Rhodes
Bellamy Rhodes
Neil Rhodes

Ethan Ezra
Asher Davis
Gideon Isaac
Nathaniel Micah
Shiloh Reid

I instantly thought Cecil Rhodes and the row about his statue on Oriel College in Oxford. Honestly, why would you inflict that on someone for a lifetime just because you think it's a funky name? Plus he'll have to spell it out all the time. Your poor child.

I like Rhodes and Elijah

Could also have Rourke

Benjamin is fine as a middlename... Nice and safe

Benjamin is a fabulous name that goes beautifully with Elias (which I also love).

Sadly all the negative thoughts listed so far sprung to my mind regarding Rhodes. I then started singing “Country Roads”. Nice bit of John Denver.

Elias Grey is a beautiful name.
I think Benjamin Rhodes goes better stylistically than Rhodes Benjamin.
I also, I'm afraid, think that people will think of Cecil Rhodes. It was my first thought (and I'd completely forgotten about the Greek island).
I don't think it's unusable but I think it will raise a lot of eyebrows and that people will assume some white supremacist views.
I'm sorry but I think it's the case.
I think there are similar sounding, unusual biblical names that would be less problematic - how about Boaz? Or Judah, Asa, Abel?

I also think of Cecil Rhodes

But isn’t Elias derived from Helios? If so, and Helios had a wife called Rhodes, you can’t use it for his brother…

@Rhubarbx1 I don't know if you are still reading but you said that the meaning of Rhodes was important to you. I am sorry but I think you have been misinformed. I cannot find any reputable source to corroborate the meaning of 'where the roses grow' beyond the usual poorly-researched American name sites. Use it if you like but please don't use it because of an incorrect meaning.

It’s a bit wanky.

OP it's your baby but Rhodes is not a great name by by any measure. The child will get the road jokes, the rose misspelling and the general it's a surname comments. Plus probably abbreviated to Ro which is awful. So I'd definitely keep it as a second name.