Calling him kicky-man just isn't going to work long term.
November 20, 2011 10:31 AM   Subscribe

Since you guys are so good at this and looking at baby names lists are already making my eyes bleed, I was hoping for some recommendations for a baby boy.

In March I will be having my second child, another boy. The problem being was that on the first go around my husband and I could only agree on 1 boys name and 1 girls, and so now we have no names and very little ideas. Looking at lists of names is exhausting me and I've only made it through 1 letter of the alphabet! Asking my friends for ideas got the name Bagel suggested and heartily agreed upon, and my other son is consistently requesting a name of someone that lives in the 100 acre woods or on Sesame Street so I thought I'd take another tack.

Couple guidelines, relavent points. First son's name is Xander, so should sound horrible when I yell the two together. Last name is Bettencourt. No Sam, Jason, Tom, William, John, or Michael as those are already names in the family. We tend to like names that are slightly more unique, without being Pilot Inspector, mostly we just want to have a name that 3 kids in his daycare don't already have (and I already have 2 friends with kids named Liam). And the big one, no names with obvious nicknames. I don't want to name my son one thing and then call him something else. For example, my first son's name isn't Alexander, it's just Xander. But I don't want to make the kid have to fight to have people call him his right name all the time by insisting that people use the full name of a commonly nicknamed name (ie. naming him Thomas and not wanting him to be called Tom, etc).
posted by katers890 to Grab Bag (125 answers total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Hudson?
posted by runningwithscissors at 10:33 AM on November 20, 2011


Ciaran.
posted by oflinkey at 10:35 AM on November 20, 2011


Best answer: Do you know the baby name voyager. It lets you chart the popularity of names (girl and boy) over the last century. At least it will be good for getting a sense of whether a name you choose is making a comeback or not. It's a hugely fun browse even if it doesn't help you pick a name.

As for names to go with Xander, I guess the obvious ones are: Spike, Angel, Giles, Oz, Riley etc. But not, whatever you do, Parker.
posted by yoink at 10:35 AM on November 20, 2011 [12 favorites]


Nuno.
posted by box at 10:35 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Max.
posted by box at 10:36 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Oliver.
posted by box at 10:37 AM on November 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Muir.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:38 AM on November 20, 2011


Best answer: Owen
posted by katypickle at 10:39 AM on November 20, 2011


Otto.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:40 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Zeno.
posted by Francolin at 10:40 AM on November 20, 2011


Nemo
posted by carmicha at 10:42 AM on November 20, 2011


My nephew's name is Xander. His brother's name is Cyrus--I think those go pretty well together.
posted by Go Banana at 10:43 AM on November 20, 2011


Wendell.
posted by threeants at 10:44 AM on November 20, 2011


Xerxes.

Nero.
posted by pecanpies at 10:44 AM on November 20, 2011


Tycho

Raphael

Claude
posted by fearnothing at 10:45 AM on November 20, 2011


Percy
posted by carmicha at 10:47 AM on November 20, 2011


Kim.

It needs to be reclaimed as a boy's name and can't be shortened. Also, it's an awesome book.
posted by MuffinMan at 10:49 AM on November 20, 2011 [3 favorites]


Simon.
posted by atropos at 10:49 AM on November 20, 2011


Yuniesky. Okay not really Yuniesky.

Xavier?

Louden. Lawson.

Christopher and Gordon are both perfectly respectable names that meet your older son's requirements, although Christopher comes with obvious nicknames and is decently popular.

Oliver. Declan. Ian.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 10:50 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Roscoe (though it could be shortened to Ross I suppose).
posted by kirst27 at 10:50 AM on November 20, 2011


Trajan. It's an emperor and a nice font. Come on!
posted by Monsieur Caution at 10:50 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Oz

Riley
posted by logicpunk at 10:50 AM on November 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Declan. Bonus: it's Elvis Costello's real name.
posted by BeBoth at 10:50 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: You can limit names by popularity on baby name voyager which is pretty neat.

A friend named her son Miles which I think is quite nice.
posted by bluesapphires at 10:52 AM on November 20, 2011


Hector

Ralph

Sergey

Igor

... why, yes, I am a classical music buff. Why do you ask?
posted by fearnothing at 10:53 AM on November 20, 2011


Response by poster: Heh, you guys are fast, but possibly a little weirder than I'm going to be able to swing by my husband, MIL, and my own parents. I was actually vaguely considering Oz, but think the direct Buffy link might be too much. And I liked Parker, I had kinda forgotten about him being a jerk that gets rightly hit over the head by cave Buffy. I'm kinda liking Connor (also Whedonverse), but haven't actually tried it out with the boys in the house yet. My husband and mom were making a play for Jonah, but I'm not sure that I'm feeling it. Max is our dog's name, so that's out. Owen is kinda nice though. And unfortunately, my older son's request have been more in line with Tigger or Eeyore, less actual usable names.

I will have to check out the baby voyager, but I think I may need more names that I actually like before I can get anything out of baby list thingies...
posted by katers890 at 10:55 AM on November 20, 2011


Get used to Bagel because that's the obvious answer.
posted by mullacc at 10:57 AM on November 20, 2011 [7 favorites]


Dalton
posted by ainsley at 10:58 AM on November 20, 2011


If you like Oz, you could go with Azi, which sounds like "Ozzy."
posted by limeonaire at 10:58 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Jonas
posted by runningwithscissors at 10:59 AM on November 20, 2011


Felix
Pierce
Lionel
Calvin
Sebastian
Milo
Galen
Taft
Thurston
Jonas
Castor
Everett
posted by easy, lucky, free at 11:01 AM on November 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Asa.
posted by oflinkey at 11:03 AM on November 20, 2011


Dom
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 11:05 AM on November 20, 2011


My SIL just named her son Milo. Middle name Jones (which is a family name).
posted by Gilbert at 11:05 AM on November 20, 2011


Piers
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 11:06 AM on November 20, 2011


Best answer: Caleb
Gideon
I like Conner, too.
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:07 AM on November 20, 2011


Shadrack.
posted by ecourbanist at 11:07 AM on November 20, 2011


Dane.

Heath.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 11:10 AM on November 20, 2011


I just want to say something in defense of names with obvious nicknames: they allow the kid to choose what he wants to be called. One day Xander might decide he wants to be an Alex instead. (I have an easily-nicknameable name. Instead of the variant my parents picked out for me as a kid, I go by one my mom's not super-crazy about. Sorry, Mom.)

That said, I like Clark.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:12 AM on November 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Fergus
Grey
Carson
Thane
Beck
Reef
Gregor
Elias
Clark
posted by easy, lucky, free at 11:14 AM on November 20, 2011


Julian
posted by brujita at 11:15 AM on November 20, 2011 [3 favorites]


Robin.
posted by box at 11:16 AM on November 20, 2011


Reuben.
posted by box at 11:17 AM on November 20, 2011


Gray
posted by kimdog at 11:18 AM on November 20, 2011


Harlan.
posted by box at 11:19 AM on November 20, 2011


Snoop
posted by H. Roark at 11:22 AM on November 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Issac
Robert
Micah
Kermit (hey, it was a people name first! even if that short & fuzzy green dude comes to mind first....)
posted by easily confused at 11:27 AM on November 20, 2011


I have been on a quest for years to bring Ulysses back into vogue. No one seems interested in taking me up on it, though.

My nephews all have interesting middle names that might work for your purposes:
Eakins (from Thomas Eakins)
Wilder (for Billy Wilder/Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Koufax (for Sandy Koufax)
posted by scody at 11:31 AM on November 20, 2011


I've never met a Lucas I didn't like. It's less common now than you think (I work in an elementary school and can't think of a Luke or Lucas there) and gives the kid the choice of Luke or Lucas.
posted by shortyJBot at 11:35 AM on November 20, 2011


I hesitate to give any specific names as answers, but here's the way I go about thinking up names.

First off, are their any family names on your husbands or your side that you like? Those can be a good choice.

Next, make sure it's a name that goes well with their last name.

Are either of you religious? Names from various scriptures (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu etc etc etc) can work well.

Any favorite activities? Race track corner names, famous mountains, artists, scientists, race horses ... things of that nature.

Anyway, that's my input.
posted by Relay at 11:37 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Look into family surnames, maybe on the mother's side, where they may no longer be passed on. You could even use part of a surname, or tweak it a bit.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:39 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


If your husband is pushing for Jonah, he should also consider Gerard. ;)

(The perils of responding to someone you know so closely on metafilter)
posted by jozxyqk at 11:41 AM on November 20, 2011


My dad's family had Ulrik, Einar, Hrolf, and Ingolf, none for which have easy nicknames (well, Ulrik can be shortened to "Rik," but any name longer than one syllable can be shortened). Mark or Marc is not weird but not so common any more. There are loads of Old Testament names like Ahab, Namuh, and Nimrod (I do not recommend the last) that used to be relatively popular.

I am a sucker for the Puritan names like Increase, Cotton, and Temperance, but I probably shouldn't be allowed to name a child, who might otherwise end up as "Praisegod" or something equally horrible....

The family surname idea has a long history, too.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:42 AM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Any Dactyl will scan perfectly.
posted by digitalprimate at 11:44 AM on November 20, 2011


Seconding Micah. I also like Mahlon and Hugh.

If I were you, I would not be so rigid about the no nickname thing though. My first name has no obvious nickname and I use my full name, but people still try to shorten it or make up nicknames for me, which I resist. Just pick a name you like and then let him worry about the nickname thing (or not), when he is older.
posted by gudrun at 11:44 AM on November 20, 2011


Don't name him Conne/or. It's a last name.
posted by miguelcervantes at 11:46 AM on November 20, 2011


Best answer: Do you care at all about meanings, or just about sound/uniqueness? I'll include meanings because I think they're important. I've taken a lot from my somewhat unique girl's name meaning.


Devin (poet)
Austin (majestic)
Carlisle (Carl's island)
Damon (constant, loyal / spirit, demon)
Darius (wealthy)
Everett (courageous as a boar)
Evan (young warrior)
Spencer (dispenser of provisions)
Tobias (God is good)
Wesley (western meadow)
Isaac (he will laugh)
Jaeden (God has heard)
Oliver (olive tree / kind, affection)
Quentin (fifth / queen's town)
posted by DoubleLune at 11:51 AM on November 20, 2011


Grant
Paul
Lorin or Loren
Lewis
Colin
Lyle
posted by castlebravo at 12:03 PM on November 20, 2011


Don't name him Conne/or. It's a last name.

Speaking as someone whose last name became a super-trendy first name about 20 years ago, I can say that trying to insist on this distinction is a losing battle.
posted by scody at 12:05 PM on November 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Bastian!
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 12:05 PM on November 20, 2011


Bram
Keir
Yves
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:09 PM on November 20, 2011


Nuno.

I assume this is a joke, which isn't what AskMetafilter is for. Do not name him Nuno unless you want him to have the exact same name as the famous rock musician Nuno Bettencourt.
posted by John Cohen at 12:12 PM on November 20, 2011


Gabriel, Lorne, Tristan, Allen, Ian, Hugh
posted by mermayd at 12:12 PM on November 20, 2011


Theo!

Disclaimer: it's my sons name. But he was only one of 7 Theos in our state born last year, so it's not common (though there were more Theodores but still a pretty low number).
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:13 PM on November 20, 2011


Willis.
posted by box at 12:23 PM on November 20, 2011


Kelly.
posted by Jairus at 12:24 PM on November 20, 2011


My very favorite boy's name ever is Rowan, but my husband hates it. We went with Alden for our son, which I love; it has a long history as an American name (it was Neal Armstrong's middle name!) but has never been terrifically popular.
posted by KathrynT at 12:24 PM on November 20, 2011


Knox.
posted by box at 12:24 PM on November 20, 2011


Derek.
posted by box at 12:36 PM on November 20, 2011


I was also worried about the names that could be shortened or were super common and we settled on Luke. It is surprisingly not a commonly-given name.
posted by murrey at 12:41 PM on November 20, 2011


Adam
Damon
Dean
Josh
Keith
Leo
Murray
Rory
Xavier
posted by maurreen at 12:46 PM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Moses <3
posted by mittenbex at 12:46 PM on November 20, 2011


Declan Bettencourt. Julian Bettencourt. Lucas Bettencourt.

Wow. Yeah, you need to have a few more sons.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 12:57 PM on November 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


I was also worried about the names that could be shortened or were super common and we settled on Luke. It is surprisingly not a commonly-given name.

Yes it is. It's about as common as Lucas. (Luke is #41; Lucas is #35.) You can see this by entering it in the Baby Name Wizard.
posted by John Cohen at 1:02 PM on November 20, 2011


Darrow.

(Darrow is my grandfather's middle name, for Clarence Darrow, who was allegedly a friend or associate of my grandfather's grandfather. Alas, there's no one left alive I can ask to confirm that, but it's a nice bit of family lore either way and Clarence Darrow was kind of a BAMF. If I ever had a son I'd name him James Darrow Lastname after my papa, but I'm not going to, so if you want it, use it! And mazel tov!)
posted by palomar at 1:09 PM on November 20, 2011


Aliotto
posted by b33j at 1:25 PM on November 20, 2011


Ezra.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 1:27 PM on November 20, 2011


Enzo. Very popular name in France that hasn't crossed the pond, as far as I know. No obvious nicknames, and goes well with you last name.

Re: Connor, it is a very popular name. Your son will not be the only Connor in daycare, I'm afraid.
posted by ohio at 1:29 PM on November 20, 2011


I just checked, and Enzo had a spike in 2010 to 150th place. So still not as popular as most of the other names suggested, but surging.
posted by ohio at 1:35 PM on November 20, 2011


Response by poster: The popularity thing isn't that we want him to be completely unique, there are plenty of Xanders out in the world, for example, but we just want to minimize the super popular or super traditional names. And I think popularity must vary by region, we've got lots of Jacob/Jakes, Lucas, Ians, and Gabes around us, but no Connors.
posted by katers890 at 1:36 PM on November 20, 2011


Milo
posted by sciencegeek at 1:55 PM on November 20, 2011


Dante, is a name that my wife and I fought about.
posted by njk at 1:55 PM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Hector.
posted by apparently at 2:01 PM on November 20, 2011


As mentioned - Darius, Enzo.

Blaine
Evander
Paul


Connor sounds super trendy to me.

Congratulations!
posted by rainbaby at 2:04 PM on November 20, 2011


The baby name voyager link that yoink posted upthread is a gem. There is a "namipedia" section, which has a sibling names sub-section for each name found in the namipedia. I'll direct link you to the male Xander entry, so you can see sibling names that other Xanders have. That whole site is fantastic.
posted by Joh at 2:12 PM on November 20, 2011


Graham (nickname of Gray)

Alden
posted by redtriskelion at 2:23 PM on November 20, 2011


Calem
Dustin
Garrett
Taylor
posted by wondermouse at 2:29 PM on November 20, 2011


Riddick.
posted by box at 2:40 PM on November 20, 2011


Clyde.
posted by box at 2:41 PM on November 20, 2011


Trevor.
posted by box at 2:42 PM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


I think Ari sounds nice with your last name. Congratulations!
posted by Fui Non Sum at 3:06 PM on November 20, 2011


Best answer: Reese.
posted by peep at 3:11 PM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Drake.
posted by maurreen at 3:11 PM on November 20, 2011


Wayne.
posted by box at 3:17 PM on November 20, 2011


Marshall.
posted by box at 3:17 PM on November 20, 2011


Felix
posted by beandip at 3:47 PM on November 20, 2011


Seth
Neil
Bruce
Gram
posted by platinum at 3:47 PM on November 20, 2011


Asa
posted by diamondsky at 4:09 PM on November 20, 2011


Jasper
Harvey
Alfie
posted by triggerfinger at 4:10 PM on November 20, 2011


Ooh, Gray. Yes.
posted by runningwithscissors at 4:40 PM on November 20, 2011


Titus
posted by foxhat10 at 4:52 PM on November 20, 2011


Pax
posted by foxhat10 at 5:03 PM on November 20, 2011


Shay
posted by rosethorn at 5:13 PM on November 20, 2011


Llywelyn is a name I would like to see brought back.

However, in your case, I recommend Julian.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:36 PM on November 20, 2011


Becket
Oliver
Xavier
Milo
Asher
Henry
posted by deborah at 5:40 PM on November 20, 2011


Style-wise, I'm thinking of: Silas, Milo, Leo, Arlo, Felix, Sterling, Jude, Ansel, Trey (Warning: I'm largely trawling my mental database of friends' babies, kids at daycare, and "what didn't you name your child" conversations, so these are not total unknowns for kids names.)

If you want something that's matchier with Xander, I'd say Topher, Remy, Drew, Yann, or Bastian.
posted by tchemgrrl at 5:47 PM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Graham (Gram)
Palmer
And another vote for Gray
posted by JacksonandFinch at 5:48 PM on November 20, 2011


Emilio
Matthias
Marcus
Howard
Ivan
Winston (then he could be Winnie!)
posted by emeiji at 6:38 PM on November 20, 2011


Yuniesky, like the baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers.
posted by XhaustedProphet at 6:43 PM on November 20, 2011


Ethan
Barry
Bart
posted by maurreen at 7:30 PM on November 20, 2011


Nthing Baby Name Voyager. It is not just endless lists of names-take a look.
posted by purenitrous at 7:46 PM on November 20, 2011


Gray is the new Jacob
posted by interplanetjanet at 7:57 PM on November 20, 2011


Sasha! (Or Sacha)

Sasha would be a great name because it is related to Xander, in that they're both etymologically related to Alexander ("great man/warrior").

Also, it's not common for boys at all in North America, and, like Xander, is already a short form.

Other variations on Alexander that might float your boat, and don't also belong to little girls in the White House:
Alec
Sandy
Alistar
Alexi
Zandros
Saunder
posted by emilycardigan at 8:09 PM on November 20, 2011


Mitch.
posted by asuprenant at 9:12 PM on November 20, 2011


Thad.
posted by calgirl at 9:25 PM on November 20, 2011


Kicky-man is cute but I'm suggesting Rhys. It's short, not that popular but similar enough to Chris to not sound odd to most people.
posted by stray thoughts at 9:48 PM on November 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Rafe? I think it would sound superb with your last name.
posted by jabes at 7:15 AM on November 21, 2011


Jared.
posted by to recite so charmingly at 8:15 AM on November 21, 2011


Response by poster: Lots of good suggestions here, I think I'll favorite ones that either I or my husband thought might work.
posted by katers890 at 9:45 AM on November 21, 2011


Marius.
posted by flyingcowofdoom at 1:10 PM on November 21, 2011


Nthing Xavier. I like the idea of both your sons having names that start with 'X' and I think Xavier Bardem is really hot, and I just think it's a cool name.
posted by marsha56 at 2:31 PM on November 21, 2011


Rex
Hank
Harry
posted by maurreen at 6:35 PM on November 21, 2011


you mean Javier Bardem? don't name your son Javier unless you're Spanish; my (very white) boyfriend was nicknamed Javier (long story) and it always raised eyebrows, in an annoying way.

seconding Rhys. Or Gruff, like Gruff Rhys from the Super Furry Animals. good Welsh name!


Those other name sites are great, but you should be trawling the Utah Baby Namer. now that's some serious fun! it's how I decided my (future) daughter shall be named Southern Justice.
posted by custard heart at 7:01 PM on November 21, 2011


Seth
posted by maurreen at 12:20 AM on November 22, 2011


Cyrus
posted by carmicha at 9:37 PM on November 23, 2011


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