We peaked with our first, help us with our second
August 25, 2020 5:58 AM   Subscribe

Baby 2 is due to arrive next month and we are still flailing about with potential names. We have some snowflakey requirements but my personal barrier is coming up with something I love as much as what we named our first born. Maybe the hive mind can help?

First the high level requirements:
- We know it's a boy
- Would like something easy to pronounce in Korean. Generally this means avoiding names with V, R, F, Th sounds. Now to be fair, my mom (the grandmother) has "Vivian" as her "American" name so it's a bit more nuanced than that. But just something to keep in mind if anyone is familiar with Korean. Ultimately I will judge its pronounceability so please don't let this hold back suggestions.
- Last name is very "Scottish" sounding. Similar to "McKellan" or "McLachlan".

I know it doesn't really matter, but I would love to find something that hits me the way our first child's name does, which is "Sunny". I just love it so much:
- Uncommon but not obscure
- So easy to pronounce in Korean
- Has an amazing song associated with it (which we actually didn't realise until after she was named)

That third point is of course, just gravy. But we're having a hard time just trying to hit the first two. Any ideas?
posted by like_neon to Grab Bag (73 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Oh and this is in the UK, so for some context on what is common here is this year's most popular boy names.
posted by like_neon at 6:07 AM on August 25, 2020


Coen or Hugh
posted by unlaced at 6:10 AM on August 25, 2020


I looked up nature names for boys...is Sky too cute with Sunny? How about Alder? Clay?
posted by wellred at 6:11 AM on August 25, 2020 [5 favorites]


Forest?
posted by poppunkcat at 6:16 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Aidan? It's not on that UK list at all and the Aiden/Brayden/Jayden etc trend seems to have peaked in the US. There's a really lovely Rich Mullins song that he wrote for a friend's baby.
posted by Flannery Culp at 6:17 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Could I talk you into Seamus? There's a very silly song that goes with it. And, it's not on the list of boys names from the article you posted.
posted by gladly at 6:29 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Colm was the first name that came to mind for me. Another idea that fits with Sunny (though perhaps runs into pronunciation difficulties): Ray or Raymond.
posted by minervous at 6:34 AM on August 25, 2020 [2 favorites]


Asa

(Song by Bry Webb)
posted by Juniper Toast at 6:35 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Gus
posted by xo at 6:36 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Sky
posted by saladin at 6:42 AM on August 25, 2020


Sandy and you've got a beach theme. Bonus, gender neutral.
posted by solotoro at 6:46 AM on August 25, 2020 [4 favorites]


Arthur (has song and a movie)
Duncan
Lyle
Saint
posted by NotLost at 6:46 AM on August 25, 2020


Somehow Michael is not on that list of top 100 boy names?! I think Mike & Sunny would go nicely together... and maybe Mike is uncommon?
posted by jabes at 6:54 AM on August 25, 2020


Ian
It uses the last three letters of the grandmother's name, so it's a bit of a shoutout to her, but it sounds different enough that it wouldn't be confusing.
posted by FencingGal at 7:10 AM on August 25, 2020 [18 favorites]


Tree and geographic names work nicely for boys and I think would pair well with Sunny. wellred suggested Alder above. I would add to that: Rowan, Birch, Ash, Holm, River (too many Rs probably), Lee...
posted by phunniemee at 7:10 AM on August 25, 2020 [2 favorites]


Desmond, but shortened to Des ("Dez").
posted by cocoagirl at 7:11 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Sky, suggested above, had me thinking of Skylar.

Then going with a Sun and/or Moon thing:

- Artem (male version of Artemis, could also be Art or Arty)
- Moon / Mun
- Lucian / Luan
- Tae (short for Taeyang)
- Wol (or Wollie)

Finally, randomly: Grove / Grover, Lake
posted by guessthis at 7:12 AM on August 25, 2020 [2 favorites]


Names that sound nice with Sunny that wouldn't sound bad with a Scottish-sounding last name, for boys:

Colin
Malcolm (shortened to Mack)
Michael/Mickey
Dylan
Milo
Sawyer
Logan

I like these in particular because they have the same cadence of Sunny, with emphasis on the first syllable.
posted by juniperesque at 7:23 AM on August 25, 2020 [3 favorites]


Sunny & Jay? (Like the bird)
posted by Elysum at 7:33 AM on August 25, 2020 [2 favorites]


Quinn
posted by maxg94 at 7:35 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Jude
Rudy
posted by to recite so charmingly at 7:45 AM on August 25, 2020


Stuart
posted by flabdablet at 8:09 AM on August 25, 2020


Eugene/Yu-jun?

Duri is a lovely name and I love Sunny and Duri!
posted by DarlingBri at 8:14 AM on August 25, 2020


Luca/Lucas (also means light)
posted by pinochiette at 8:23 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Lachlan? (or any of the various tweaks; Laughlin, Lochlainn, and Loughlin). May well roll nicely into the Scottish sounding surname, being a Scots name itself.
posted by ewan at 8:26 AM on August 25, 2020


I like Ken for this. Could be nicknamed Kenny, which is cute with Sunny. It’s easy to pronounce, not in the top names, and could work with a Scottish last name (though it does have a meaning as a word, so grain of salt).
posted by Night_owl at 8:31 AM on August 25, 2020 [3 favorites]


Going from Soltero's suggestion, Alexander which will go well with your last name and can be shortened to Sandy. And I do love the combo Sunny/Sandy
posted by biggreenplant at 8:48 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


William?
posted by azalea_chant at 8:53 AM on August 25, 2020


Cormac
Frank
Angus
Archie
David
Leo
Greg
Hamish
Percy
Arlo
Orlando
Thomas

(Sky definitely reads as a girls name in the UK)
posted by plonkee at 9:05 AM on August 25, 2020


Bo
Seconding Jay
Ben
Sam
Gabe
Owen
Matt, Nat
Leo
Ewan
Gene
Noah
Nick
Andy
Danny
posted by trig at 9:14 AM on August 25, 2020


Declan
posted by BibiRose at 9:24 AM on August 25, 2020


Xander or Xavier (with the X pronounced as a Z sound)
Kai
Cedar
Ian
Loren
Locke
posted by hydra77 at 9:27 AM on August 25, 2020


Bobby
posted by AugustWest at 10:08 AM on August 25, 2020


Barney. Just because.
posted by HandfulOfDust at 10:54 AM on August 25, 2020 [1 favorite]


Jason
Sean/Shaun/Shawn
Jamie
Simon
Orion
Cosmo
Orson
Neil
Alfie
Jesse
Ansel
Casey
posted by wintersweet at 11:31 AM on August 25, 2020


Nthing Jay. Or Jason if you prefer, but Jay is less common and is a happy name, just like Sunny. Bonus easy-peasy in Korean.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:53 AM on August 25, 2020


Balthazar.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 12:05 PM on August 25, 2020


I LOVE River but it does have some letters you may want to avoid.
posted by kapers at 12:18 PM on August 25, 2020


Augie
posted by AugustWest at 12:19 PM on August 25, 2020


I love the upthread suggestion of Lucian.
posted by Dolley at 12:57 PM on August 25, 2020


Lark. (It has an R though). I have a friend named “Young Lark” and I have always loved their name :)
posted by saucysault at 1:07 PM on August 25, 2020


Stormy?
posted by The Violet Cypher at 1:23 PM on August 25, 2020


A friend of mine has son named Ocean. I do like Ocean a lot with that Scots last name, and Ocean seems as all-world-encompassing and as warm and natural as Sunny is.
posted by citygirl at 1:24 PM on August 25, 2020


Kai (rhymes with sky)
posted by carmicha at 2:08 PM on August 25, 2020


Wesley.
posted by terooot at 2:15 PM on August 25, 2020


Hmm. The cool thing about "Sunny" is that it also works as a Korean name (single syllable 선, which in practice would result in people saying 선이, or as Romanization of 선희), so of course it's easy to pronounce in Korean.

Thinking in this vein, 'Sun' is the middle syllable of the trio 진선미 (truth, goodness, and beauty). "Gene" (진) would be easy to pronounce in Korean and also works a s Korean name.

So consider first thinking of Korean words or names, and then think about whether it would work in English, maybe by tweaking a bit with the romanization.

(BTW, have you seen the Korean movie Sunny?)
posted by needled at 2:35 PM on August 25, 2020 [5 favorites]


Cal, Ned
posted by caoimhe at 3:28 PM on August 25, 2020


I just want to mention that I have two girls, and honestly didn't love my first's name initially, but by the time I had to name my second, it felt like the most perfect name, and my second's name I gave into despite it being incredibly popular. Now, I can not imagine either one without the name they have, and I think they are both perfect names for who they are. So- I would go to the hospital with a couple of names that meet your criteria, and then just do it- and I think you will find your babe will grow into their perfect name.
posted by momochan at 4:43 PM on August 25, 2020


Ogden
posted by unreasonable at 4:46 PM on August 25, 2020


My nephew's name is Alden, which I love. Alden McLachlan (or something similarly Scottish) would sound nice!
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 5:46 PM on August 25, 2020


Graham
posted by calgirl at 9:36 PM on August 25, 2020


Maybe it will help to remember that the name isn't for you, it's for another person, for your child. They will have to live with it. Pick something that won't give them any trouble. Something that is reasonably common, easy to spell and that doesn't have multiple common spellings (e.g. steven vs. stephen, so they don't have to spell it out for people their whole life, which gets to be annoying), something not easily made fun of, something that doesn't rhyme with anything weird, something that won't be a google sniper scope, something that is practical.
posted by smcameron at 10:44 PM on August 25, 2020 [2 favorites]


In case you haven't come across it, Nico or Niko is uncommon but not totally left field. Not sure if it's easy to pronounce in Korean. One of my favorite singers is named Nico (of The Velvet Underground & Nico). She's a female singer, but I've seen this name used more often with males.
posted by saltypup at 10:55 PM on August 25, 2020


Clancy
posted by Salamander at 11:24 PM on August 25, 2020


Huw/Hugh?
posted by stillmoving at 4:19 AM on August 26, 2020


Response by poster: Thanks everyone!
Lots of great suggestions, funnily a lot of which we considered but we had to reject as we have either close friends or family who have used the name (for example, Hugh, as it is actually a family name but already taken as the name of our nephew).

Our shortlist has expanded after this question and so far it's surprisingly more traditional sounding than I originally anticipated but not necessarily in a bad way. Just surprising to me.

- Duncan
- Michael (to me sounds so common, but the commenter is correct, seems to have fallen quite out of fashion and would be uncommon now and it has a lovely cadence with the Scottish last name)
- Rudy
- Ian (really cute association with Vivian)
- James
- Xander/Zander
- Bobby
- Cooper
- Joseph (Joe/Joey)

And since last night I've got a wild card. What do people think of... Indy? (Not short for Indiana. Just Indy.)

I don't know if late pregnancy hormones are messing with my head with that one but I kind of like it? I like the associations with the word independent and Indiana Jones. Or is it a bit much? I know I shouldn't really care but I also feel like I need a reality check before adding it to the list.
posted by like_neon at 5:36 AM on August 26, 2020


I know I shouldn't really care

You should care very much. Your primary responsibility here is to give the kid a name that will not make his life harder. It's the rest of it - eg how much you like it - that you shouldn't care about.

I think Indy is not the worst I've heard, but is definitely something that will make the kid's life a little harder. Every.single.person. he meets will ask him "like in the movie?" or "are your parents Sundance fans?" or "so like NASCAR?"

As someone who in her mid 40s still finds her name to be an albatross, I'm telling you: please put the kid's welfare and convenience above your own aesthetic priorities. Everything on your short list is fine, although I'd stay away from Rudy at this point, nobody wants to be thinking about the Cosby show anymore.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:24 AM on August 26, 2020


Response by poster: Nascar, Sundance, and Cosby will not be an issue here in the UK. (Maybe "Indie Music", which we are actually fans of.)

And as an Asian American with a name that "Westerners" have always struggled to pronounce and spell, I'm very familiar with the experience of growing up with an "unusual" name and all it entails. I even considered changing my name as a young adult but I'm very happy that I didn't go through with it.

I suppose your remarks are part of the reality check I was asking for, but I'd appreciate a little less condescension, thanks.
posted by like_neon at 6:37 AM on August 26, 2020 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Oh and the reason the name occurred to me is because Joe Wicks (who is hugely popular here) named his daughter "Indie". I don't know if Joe Wicks has the same naming trend power as Chrissy Teigen/John Legend have had with Luna, but the name is in the public space, at least with a certain community here (she features heavily in his social media).

I always really liked it but not sure how gender neutral/transferrable it was as a boy's name, changed to "Indy".

Anyway, still on the fence with this one! Could be a mad idea from lack of sleep due to going to the bathroom 4 times a night!
posted by like_neon at 6:52 AM on August 26, 2020


I'd think of Rudy the football movie before Rudy the youngest Cosby Show kid, especially since that Rudy was a girl, and anyway those are both fairly old and primarily US references.

Indy is adorable and no more unusual or casual than Sunny. Does Sunny have a more formal government name? If it was a girl I'd say India nicknamed Indy but can't think of a good male name off the top of my head. There must be something with an -nd sound in it. Or, y'know, just go with Indy, it's short and cute and fits the 'uncommon but easy to say and spell' mark, which as the owner of a weird first name and ethnic last name I approve. You can always give them a more traditional middle name so someday the resume can read I. Winston McScotsman or whatever.
posted by Flannery Culp at 6:58 AM on August 26, 2020


An acquaintance/friend of mine had a son about 13 months ago and named them Indy, and I loved it, as do most of the people I see interacting with baby posts on facebook. I say go for it
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:57 AM on August 26, 2020


(was looking up youtube links for this before I saw OP's update but anyways...)

Jonah (song)
Teddy (song)
Noah (song)
Mickey (song)
Charlie (song, song)
Carey (song)
Joey (song)
Kody / Cody (song, song)

also - Dale and Neal, (but can't think of any nice songs for those).
posted by aielen at 9:24 AM on August 26, 2020


NIGEL Making plans for Nigel
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 10:06 AM on August 26, 2020


Someone actually made the perfect website for you:

https://mixedname.com/english_korean_masculine_names
posted by saucysault at 1:01 PM on August 26, 2020 [4 favorites]


I love the name June for a boy.

I would though huh...
posted by moons in june at 3:17 PM on August 26, 2020


Of your list, I like best:
- Duncan
- Ian
- James
- Xander
- Cooper

Indy is interesting, makes me think of Endy which I understand as the Greek version of Andrew/Andy.

I love the old English/Western American tradition of naming a baby with a trait you want them to have: like Capability Brown, or Earnest, Chance, Patience, Grace, Honor, Justice. So I would say name him “Independence” and call him “Indy”.

FWIW, Michael, Joseph, Ian and James hit my American ears as very “common” - nice strong classic traditional male names, for sure, but not “uncommon” like Sunny.
posted by amaire at 3:59 PM on August 26, 2020 [1 favorite]


Maybe use mixedname.com with Korean and English and see where that gets you?
posted by Betelgeuse at 5:33 PM on August 26, 2020


I live in UK but not British born so take it with a pinch of salt but I immediately think of Indy 500. Being from NZ that means I’m predisposed to think of the Undy 500 or worse the Lundy 500. (Just as well that’s not a well known association here in the Uk.)


If you don’t land on Indy ...

Have you thought of Andy instead of Indy? Perhaps with a less traditional spelling? Or continuing with the D sound - something like Sandy (or Xandy or even Xand To avoid confusion with Sunny), Buddy, Dean or just straight Dee?
posted by BAKERSFIELD! at 12:10 AM on August 27, 2020


Or even Bodie/Bodhi etc?
posted by BAKERSFIELD! at 12:18 AM on August 27, 2020


Response by poster: That mixedname.com website is very cool, thanks! (Also, when I went to select Korean in the dropdown they also had Klingon, ha!)

I also like the idea of balancing Indy with a less "controversial" middle name. I considered making Indy the middle name, but it hadn't occurred to me to consider the other way around and I find that really interesting to ponder.

I also had to laugh at Nigel. This lefty-leaning family living in the UK will most definitely not name their son Nigel.
posted by like_neon at 4:08 AM on August 27, 2020 [2 favorites]


Glenn
posted by gt2 at 7:51 AM on August 27, 2020


You could also pick a name that could be nicknamed to Indy, like Linden. Linden and Sunny would sound nice together.
posted by jabes at 8:15 AM on August 31, 2020 [1 favorite]


I work with an Indy. Very bright guy.
It's uncommon, only comments have been that it's easy to hear, easy to spell - it's a good name.

Not sure why anyone would think that's a hard name to have?
Unless you're the sort of place where someone would be getting the side-eye if they had any name that wasn't a straight up Biblical male name, or in the 50 most common and traditional male names.
In which case you have bigger problems...
posted by Elysum at 6:50 PM on September 2, 2020


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