Uncommon boys names - shortlist?!

[deliwoman1]

We’ve got a shortlist of sorts! But we’re still struggling with falling in love with a name. It was so easy with DD, so it’s getting me down a bit! 🥺

Hoping this thread will help us finally fall for one of them!

Need something short to go with our surnames and uncommon, to go with sis named Vada. What’s your favourite/least favourite? Any other suggestions in a similar vein?

Cato
Iven (softer spelling, can’t get past Russian feel of Ivan)
Levin
Amos
Eden
Linus
Asa (sounds too much like Vada?)

Middle name James or August (for my late Dad). Neither works for us as a first name. 🫠

I like Levin best from your list. It’s nice. I’ve only ever known female Edens. And I like Ivan but not Iven.

Not keen on the others, sorry!

I do like James and August, though!

I like Linus

How about Evan?

Evan James is nice

Fraser ?
Don't like any on your list sorry

How about Ivo, Kim or Guy?

James is great. The rest 😳

Amos is a great name

Cato ok
Iven (softer spelling, can’t get past Russian feel of Ivan)
I do think that is a life of no with and E
Levin my favourite from this lis6
Amos like it
Eden like it
Linus. Like it
Asa (sounds too much like Vada?) Yes I think so sorry

What about
Eli
Bowen
Abel
Zeke - A diminutive of Ezekiel
Silas

They’re nearly all pretty awful.

Cato? Pink Panther’s arch-enemy.

Eden is a chavvy girls’ name.

Linus was the drip in Peanuts with the security blanket.

I like Amos.

Thanks! DP’s favourites are Eden and Cato at the moment but it changes every day almost. He’ll have both our surnames so it’s hard to find a name that sounds right (and doesn’t already belong to one of the million boys and men we aren’t close with)!

Thanks, this is helpful. 🙂 I like Bowen but it doesn’t quite work with our surnames I think… will run it past DP 🤔

We like but can’t do Eli, Silas or Abel due to family!

Cato - love.
Iven - lifetime of correcting the spelling. If you don't like the Russian association, don't call a baby Iven or Ivan.
Levin - surname strongly asociated with Jewish culture, from the name Levi, a priest; unless you are Jewish, I'd say this has a whiff of cultural appropriation. Also, pronunciation issues - "Lee-vin", "lev-IN", "Levvin"?
Amos - love.
Eden - this is very much swinging toward an exclusively girl name.
Linus - love
Asa - too close to Vada but very nice.

Suggestions:
Ivo
Asher
Amias
Kit
Vaughn
Van
Elias
Louis
Lev
Leif
Bram
Rory
Eben

Please don't call him Iven-with-an-e-no it still starts-with-an I. He won't thank you for it!

How about Seth, or Ivo?

Cato is my favourite from your list.

I love James! The others are not really to my usual taste, but I think Asa and Amos are nicest. I like the suggestions of Bram and Rory. Eden and Cato would be my least favourites.

Out of interest, how do you say Vada? I don’t think it sounds at all similar to Asa (Acer?) so I wonder if I’m pronouncing it wrong in my head.

Cato - very Hunger Games to me and not a great association there
Iven - it’s not a softer spelling, it’s a wrong one. A bit blunt, but changing the spelling of a name based on vibes is just going to be an admin nightmare
Levin - not a fan
Amos - really like It, but sounds very S heavy with your middle name choices
Eden - it’s a top hundred girls name so if you’re in England and Wales then it’s not that unusual. I don’t hate it, but don’t love it
Linus - love it (like Amos, S heavy with the middle names)
Asa - similar cadence to Vada, it would be a deal breaker for me, but if I were between two names that would sway it in the other name’s favour

Cato - like Kato Kaelin, OJ Simpson’s lodger?
Iven (softer spelling, can’t get past Russian feel of Ivan) - everyone will misspell it and he’ll spend a lifetime correcting them. I do like Ivan, though.
Levin - meh
Amos - meh
Eden - Will people see the name written and assume he’s a girl?
Linus - wimpy kid from Charlie Brown
Asa (sounds too much like Vada?) - I don’t know how to pronounce this. Asha? Asia? He’ll spend a lifetime correcting people.

Ivan is the best option IMO.

We pronounce it Vay-da, so a bit close to Asa pronounced A-sah.

I like Bram too but the first of our surnames begins with B so it’s a bit of a mouthful! Same problem with Bowen.

I really like Cato tbh! Different but a softer sound and goes with Vada

Thanks! That’s lovely. I still don’t actually think Asa is too similar if you love it, though I can see how it has the same sort of pattern to it.

I prefer your middle names to be honest.

James August
August James

From your list, Ivan is OK but with an 'a' not an 'e'

This

Linus makes me think of the Charlie Brown and Snoopy character, but that won't mean anything to kids nowadays. I know an Eden and he is lovely, so that makes me biased (has a brother Ellery, if you wished to know what the parents' had teamed it up with). And I am also biased towards Amos - my great grandfather's name and a middle name of my grandad, father and son!

How about Eben? Pronounced eh-ben (not ee-ben)

Vada and Eben?

What about the Welsh name Ifan (pronounced as Ee-van)?