Whittled down to a choice of two....

[foresttarotadmin]

okay so the hubs just will not have damian and I wont have damon. Baby is due in 4 weeks and at this rate wont have a name!

There is two we have decided on, but cant decide between them. Now...I know these choices are unusual and wont be to everyones tastes. If you dont like them fair enough, but we do so telling me you dont like the name choices wont help anyone and we need to try to decide between the two, so constructive thoughts are welcome please.

The two choices are:

Saul Nealan Willams. - I liked sol when thinking about names, but the long version is solomon which I dont like, so I did a search on sol as a baby name and found Saul. It was the previous name of the apostle paul, which is my husbands name and isnt short for anything. Its my favorite.

Nealan Ellis Williams - This name is gaelic (we are scottish) and means 'river'. My dad's name is Neil. Ellis is a family name. I like this choice too, but I dont really want the name shortened to neil. My good sense tells me that it will be...but someone said, well just tell people the name is nealan and your child will do the same when he is older. Is that fair though?

Husband prefers Nealan, but not shortened to neil like me. I prefer Saul, as it cant be shortened, is unusual without being extreme if you get my meaning...

What say the jury of mumsnet?

I like them both can you not just wait and see which one suits him? I dont' understand this desire people have to choose the name before baby arrives?

I think it would get shortened
I like Saul (it was on my list)

How about Saul Ellis Williams? I know theres lots of ls but I think it works ok

Saul.

I prefer Saul too, Nealan is a nice name, but you are right, it will be shortened. If it were down to me I would go for Saul Ellis (love Ellis, very cool).

Saul

Saul is brill.

dizzydixies, I remember waiting till my eldest was born with my husband (mum of 4) and we both turned to each other and said...aw look she is a...he said olivia, I said summer. LOL. In the end he gave in, but it got a bit tense for a while! Ever since we always felt it was better to settle on a name beforehand and only if baby pops out and really doesnt look like the name choice, sort it out then. I dont really believe a baby looks like a particular name either, I think they grow into a name.

I thought about Ellis as a middle name for Saul, but I really wanted to have my dads name in there somehow. Our son was Mason David, david being my FIL, and I am quite big on keeping family names. Ellis is my step mothers maiden name, i could sacrifice that for my dads name. I think Saul Nealan flows a wee bit better than Saul Ellis too.

Not very compromising am I

Prefer Saul.

Saul is better of the two but Solomon is better than both in my opinion.....

saul love it

I prefer Saul

Nealon will get shortened to neil even if you tell people not to. Thye get to be teens and their friends shorten their name if you like it or not.

I've never heard the name Nealon before but I presumed it would be pronounced Nay-lon, in which case it wouldn't be shortened to Neil.

I like Saul Nealon better.

I prefer Saul Ellis too I'm afraid! Love the name Ellis .

Actually I think that Ellis Nealan sounds good too - flows better than the other way round.

I havent heard anyone say they would pronounce Nea as Nay...I would have thought it wouldnt be mispronounced, as Nea - is pronounced Nee, as in Nea-r or nea-t not nay-r or nay-t but it has made me think if there is a chance it will be mispronounced I dont want to have it as a first name.

Thanks for all your opinions, we are pretty sure it will be Saul Nealan now. I told my best friend and she told me she hated both names you can always trust your best mate to tell it straight! Hasn't put me off though, most reactions have been very positive and you cant please everybody, just hope HE will like his name!

Agree Saul Nealan is the better name.

Saul.

I'm with you forest and think Saul Nealan flows better. And at least this choice would have both your and your dp's favourite names in it.