Boys names shortlist/ideas - second child

[Flint2923]

Expecting my second child later in the year. Don't know the sex, but if we have a girl I think I know what we'll end up going for. Boys names, however, we find a lot tougher.

We have a DD called Marla and it is important to me to have a sibling name that goes with it - at the very least, not something that is starkly different. Surname is Irish, begins with R, three syllables. I get quite fixated on the flow of first name and surname - I like it to be memorable (although trying to avoid alliteration as DH feels it's 'too much'). DH is Irish but we live in England.

Our shortlist currently:
Sidney
Patrick, known as Paddy
Ivor
Fergus
Issac

None are perfect for various reasons, but interested to hear people's thoughts on them. I feel like we've gone through every possible name in existence, and ruled most out, but interested to hear other suggestions too.

I like Issac and Patrick from your list but please don't shorten it to Paddy. Patrick is such a lovely name and no doubt when he gets older his friends will give him the nickname Paddy but please don't do it yourself.

Patrick is PERFECT

Editing to add: do you mean Isaac?

@ClearlyNoIdea interested to know why you think we shouldn't give him a diminutive ourselves?

I do really like Patrick, the drawback with that one is have a relation on my side with that name - not close enough to be named after him, not distant enough for his name not to come up. I like Paddy and thought it may help differentiate. Although my worry is the full name will be very Irish for someone with an English accent. But I suppose it hasn't harmed Paddy McGuiness and Dermot O'Leary.

@QuaintBeaker yes I do mean Isaac - guess that's the drawback with that one, I keep mistyping it! Will see if I can edit my post, thanks

Not your question your DD’s name Marla is beautiful

Ah dammit, too late, can't edit.

To confirm, I would go with Isaac as the spelling if we opted for that.

Like Sidney and Ivor. Also Patrick.

how about Ivo? Irish name

stanley
jasper
flynn
orson
leonard
jude
silas
vincent
torin

@Mumofgirls2017 I've always liked Ivo since hearing it on Child of Our Time years back. What slightly puts me off is I wonder if it has posh connotations? Might have got that idea because of Ivo Graham, not quite sure. Also I like the r ending of Ivor as think it flows well with the surname and also matches my DH whose name also ends in r.

If it was solely my choice I think Ivor would win hands down, but DH really isn't sold on it (left it on that list in the hope it may be a grower). Perhaps Ivo could be a compromise for us.

Stanley - have a family friend with one
Flynn - not keen on names I mainly associate as surnames as first names
Leonard - my sister really likes Lenny but I'm not sure on it
Jude - like but too popular for my taste
Vincent - FiL's name
Jasper, Orson, Silas, Torin - sorry, they just don't endear themselves to me for some reason

From your list I only really like Patrick but don’t like nn paddy.

what about Sebastian or Vincent?

I like Patrick the best

Totally agree

Also, sibling names don’t need to match. What if one day they live on separate continents?

There are so many beautiful Irish names!

Patrick is my favourite from your list.

darragh
Conal
Tadhg
Páidí
Fionn

@Sparklinggreen Vincent is my FiL's name - I like middle names to honour a family member, but don't really agree with using family names as first names as I'd like the child to form his or her own identity with their own individual name. Sebastian isn't my cup of tea, too posh sounding to my ear.

@Floppyearedlab I never said they needed to match, just that they go together or at least aren't starkly different. For example, having Marla alongside Elizabeth or Victoria just wouldn't sit right with me as the latter are more formal and give me a totally different vibe. Interested to know why you feel friends can choose diminutives but not family?

@Stressymcstress there are, but we live in England and I suspect they'd probably spend their life (or at least the first few years, depending where they end up) having to clarify the pronunciation and spelling to everyone. Including to my family who would likely struggle. That said, I would seriously consider Darragh but my nephew has it as a middle name and I think it's too similar in sound to Marla. I like Fionn too but the only one I know of is female and not sure how I feel about unisex names. We have associations with Connor too so that would rule out Conal for us which, again, is a shame. We do have Clodagh on our girls shortlist, but in my heart of hearts I don't think it would quite work.

Rían?

Or Rory? I wouldn't go with the traditional Irish spelling personally, though you might not mind! It is more beautiful but I've always been a confident speller and it's one of the few words I still really struggle with.

Marla sounds lovely with all five names.

Patrick 10
Isaac 10
Sidney 10
Ivor 9
Fergus 9

Others ..
Angus
John

are your family unable to remember a name? Don’t be silly, I’m sure they can pronounce and remember countless politicians/ footballers/ actors/ actresses without an issue.

Conor and Conal are different names with different meaning/ origin.

I like Patrick but not Paddy/Pad.

i like Sidney or Fergus best or how about
Finnian
Quentin
Magnus
Leonard

Fergus looks and sounds like Fungus when I read it quickly, so that would put me off.
I like Patrick but not Paddy. Sorry, but it sounds like the start of a joke- Irish Paddy was in a bar .....
The others are all fine, although the Isaac spelling might be an issue as you said.

Why does that sound like a joke @7238SM?

I've not voted as I like Patrick, Isaac and Fergus equally.

Ivor slightly reminds me of Ivor the Little Engine from when I was small.

Sidney I don't like. I don't like Sid and the full version makes me think of Kidney.

I know what you mean, but equally I know a little Paddy and it is so sweet on him...

I'd agree with Angus and John as well.

I assume YOU are joking now, but if not, just google 'Paddy walks into a bar' jokes.

@beeble347 Trying to avoid alliteration as DH not keen on it, surname begins with R - it's a shame as I find I'm drawn to R names.

@user1492757084 @Calliopespa DH has a brother called John so that wouldn't work for us. I don't mind Angus, I think we could justify using a Scottish name as we met in Scotland so have a connection to it. I just don't feel overly drawn to it.

@Stressymcstress maybe they'd get used to it, but I can see them stumbling or hesitating every time they go to say it. I do have a tendency to affectionately shorten names to one syllable nicknames, so Conal is just too close to Conor for me.

@Helenbelena I like Finn related names, but we have a friend called Finn, he's the only one we really know, so think we'd always associate the name with him, whatever the variation of the full name. I quite like Magnus but want to avoid another M name. Quentin not to my taste. Another suggestion for Leonard - interesting, I wonder if it's on the rise?

@7238SM Fergus is more my DH's choice, I'm not convinced. I try to keep our name ideas quiet with people we know, but he's mentioned it to a couple of people and not got very positive reactions. Never had any reference made to fungus though. I think Paddy is well-known enough not to associate it with a Paddy joke - I feel like those sort of jokes are a bit of a bygone era, but I could be wrong!

@Calliopespa I'm not familiar with Ivor the little engine, think it must have been before my time. I love the idea of Ive as a nickname with that one. DH associates it with Eastern Europe (which we have no connection to) but think he's getting mixed up with the name Ivan.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Paddy could be quite sweet. Just not sure how well it would work with an Irish surname and an English accent/setting.

Patrick is fantastic, but I'm biased as my DS is Patrick! We don't use Paddy, the full name really suits him. What about Sean, Cillian, Seamus, Cian, Flynn, Cormac, Lorcan, Tadhg or Fintan.