Help! Our favourite boys' name has just been 'stolen', we need a new one!

[cupcakefairy]

I'm 24 weeks pregnant, don't know if it's a boy or girl but we have loads of girl names we like...and NO boy names.

We finally settled on Jude about 3 weeks ago and have both grown to love it, now some friends just named their baby boy Jude yesterday I'm devastated- we didn't know any before that. I know we could still use it but we feel it's just too close and we have soooo many mutual friends it would just be too weird. So gutted about it.

Before coming up with Jude I just couldn't get excited about the idea of having a boy, now I'm back to that again...our potential ds needs a name otherwise I fear I might be disappointed if it's not a girl

The only other name we both like is John but it seems boring now. I love Benedict & Theodore but dh doesn't, and Ralph but it doesn't go with our surname...HELP!

We want something strong, not too common but not too 'out there'...anyone?

Toby and Percy are other personal faves of mine.

Hi cup cake

I had baby no5 on tuesday and if it was a boy would have been Austin, but I don't think it would suit her, so she's Erin instead.

I also have a Mason which went through a popular stage, but he's been the only one l through school.

I agree Jude is very/to popular at the mo, it depends what you want/like, John is nice but with my other dcs names would be too plain IYKWIM for us.

italiangreyhound no it's not that the friends wouldn't like it at all; I'm sure they wouldn't care...it's just that I feel like a copycat especially as we have so many mutual friends...it would be different if we didn't move in the same circles at all.

cinderella no they didn't know we wanted it...haha, we can't stand Jude Law either but it reminds me more of the biblical Jude and Jude the Obscure (Thomas Hardy) so I try to ignore the Jude Law association!! Funny cos one of the girl names we really like is Siena

Brigit I love Zachary, dh hates it...plus another good friend has a baby Zach! (We know too many people!)

gagamama Otto is a fab name but how hilarious is this- it's my sister's boyfriend's surname & they plan on getting married so might be a bit odd!

partyofsix congrats! Erin is a lovely name. Never heard Mason before, thanks for the suggestion

Well, I think the clear solution here is to make some new friends with crappier names!

Congratulations partyofsixseven, Erin is a beautiful name, that has popped up in my shortlists too.

Another vote for John. My ds is John officially, but we call him Johnny.

We only know one other child with the same name, and he is a Jonathan.

You know cupcakefairy all the suggestions are really lovely - but i now of some mutual friends who ended up naming their child the same as another friends purely because that was the name they had settled on and loved so much too.
So we now have two Milo's around us and it's lovely because both their parents love the name.
I say - try not to be discouraged - if you love it - then why not think about still going ahead with it?

John, nicknamed Jonty?

Robin - it's my brother name and I've always liked it. Not very common, and no weird implications.

John is absolutely fab.

If not, Patrick nn Paddy which is very cool.

Love Vincent. My favourite name I couldnt use is Ryland

Gregory (greg)?