Joshua, Toby, Alexander or Rowan?

[Summersuncocktails]

Little boy due in a few weeks time

We are soooooo struggling with boy names

What would you choose?

Joshua
Toby
Alexander (alex)
Rowan

Any other suggestions welcome 🙏

Alexander is a strong name! Toby and Joshua are 'meh' inoffensive middle of the road names. I find Rowan a bit 'wet', tbh. Sorry.

We don't know the surname but Josh Shaw and Toby Shaw do not work. Try saying them.

If the surname is something else then it's not an issue.

Your attitude is why people end up with names like Chris Peacock or Mike Hunt.

Alexander is my favourite by far - don't like Alex that much.

Toby is a cats name to me.

Joshua is meh. Josh even more so.

Rowan is ok.

Presumably though OP has already decided that the names do work with her surname?
And Joshua Shaw sounds fine. OP didn't ask about Josh so it's irrelevant. Actually I think Josh Shaw is cool because it almost sounds like Joshua, children would find that funny.

Maybe she hasn't.
She asked for opinions.

Joshua is highly likely to be shortened.

All lovely names imo. Alexander would be my favourite ❤️. There seem to be a few around but not overused imo.

Bad day? @NamingNoNames

I said to my DS " I could've called you Josh"

He was "Pffft like every other kid in my class" , so if he noticed , it must be a common name !

I liked Alec ( hard "c" rather than "x" ) but there was a family member with the name so couldn't use it .

Fine, ta. It's just that how it goes wth the surname is really important.

I really like Alec but Alec Smith would probably saying 'Alec not Alex'.

But OP hasn't asked how it sounds with her surname. So its irrelevant. Otherwise we could be here for hours discussing it based on not knowing the surname.

My friends surname is Rowan so I think Rowan is a terrible choice because it might also be OPs surname.

"What do they sound like with your surname?"

Rowan is great IMO, but not with a surname like King or Kerr.

Rowan Kerr

Alexander

Rowan.

Not keen on the others at all.

I have a Joshua Alexander he loves his name .

Toby, just no, so awful.

Alexander or Rowan.

Have only ever known and taught male Rowan's - would not think of it as a girl's name.

Toby, love it.

really dislike Rowan.

Alexander or Joshua for me. I see Rowan as more of a girls’ name now, but that’s probably specific to the area I live in.

I have a teenaged Alexander. I still love his name and he does too so it’s first place by a long way. Josh and Toby are fine too. I really don’t like Rowan for a boy because I personally associate it with being a girl’s name.

Alexander

I associate Rowan as a girls name

Definitely not Toby, its a dog's name. Rowan I prefer for a girl, Alex is entirely toocommon. I like Joshua and the diminutive
Josh.

Go for something unusual. Rowan is amazing

I love all of them and all were on my list funnily enough! I find it interesting how many people say they associate Rowan as being a girls name as the only one I know is Rowan Atkinson!

Rowan Williams.

Baby name explorer - in 2024, 1246 boy Rowans registered (#41), 101 girls (#425)

Thank you everyone this has been soooo helpful

I think i have taken Toby off the list, and the top 2 are Alexander (although would likely only really call him alex?) Or Rowan. Hard choice as they are really quite different.

I need to dig more to see whether people associate the name with more of a girls name though, although if i did use Alexander shorted to alex, they would both be interchangeable boy/girls name.

Our last name is a bit outing so wont say but its a short punchy masculine name, both name sound okay with it, but tbh no one goes round saying my full name, so im not overly worried!