The Baby Name Wizard

My first son's name is Evan. If he'd been a girl, we would have named him Emerson. First children's names are interesting to me because they can completely set the trend for the rest of the children in the family. I've had four more children, and I wonder what they'd be named if our firstborn had been Emerson!

I think it is also interesting to consider parents motivations in boy vs. girl naming.

For instance, my soon-to-be brother in-law, Thomas, would have been Stacey if he were a girl. Such a different style in my mind! I know at least in my dad's case that the boys were named after family members and girls were names the parents just "liked" so maybe that accounts for the disparity? As far as I know Tom isn't named after anyone though...

I've asked my mom this before. Consensus seems to be that I'd have been Brian (after my dad.) There is some debate over whether my middle name would have been Clark like my dad's or Adam, my mom's favorite name.

I could kind of see me as a Brian, I guess, since I see similarities between me and my dad.

Great Topic, Laura! I'm Renee Elise, and I would have been Christopher Owen. I really don't think I'm much of a Christopher, and DEFINITELY not a Chris. What name would I be?
I think maybe Will. Or Charlie.

My name would have been James, my younger brother's name. I've always envied his timeless classic name. My name is a nicknamey, overused, flash-in-the-pan name that pinpoints my decade of birth. I like to imagine what life would have been like if I'd had a name like Catherine or Sarah or Elizabeth. I know I would be much less defensive. As it is, I find myself telling people, "I don't know why my parents chose to give me this name. It really isn't their style. I swear they are better than this."

I'm an Aimee complete with the accent on the first E which I'm not sure how to add here. My parents originally were considering Jennifer and Samantha. I'm glad they went with what they did. If I was born a boy I would have been a Christopher. I can't say that I feel like that would have matched my personality.

In naming myself I'd naturally pulled to the names I'd consider for my hypothetical children such as Atticus, Cassius, and Hugh but none of those seem right either. Growing up I always liked the name Alex, but I think at this point in my life I'd choose Henry or the alternate spelling and pronunciation Henri.

Aybee -- Your comment reminded me of how much I adored the name Paul as a kid. I'm not sure that fits me as well David would, though.

I did just ask my daughter if she thought a particular boy's name fit her. Her name would have been Elliot, but she says she thinks Joshua would be a better name for her if she'd been a boy!

Both my older sister and I would have been Benjamin with Grandma's maiden name as a middle name, had we been boys. She ended up Sarah and I am Alison. I like the name Benjamin but always thought it would have been weird to have it as my name, and never felt like I could have been a Ben. Now my nephew has that name, and I find myself wondering what HIS name would be now if I had been given that name first. (Does that make sense?)
I think that I would pick Eric for my alter-identity.

(my captcha is security false - kind of creepy!)

Hi Everyone,

I hope it's ok to use this board to post a question concerning names.

My name is Inbal. It's a modern Hebrew name that most Americans mispronounce. The correct pronounciation is Een-balle with the accent on the second syllable.

I recently moved to the US and am now in the process of looking for a job. Seeing as how my name is almost scary looking, I'm wondering if I should adopt an Americanized nn in order to ease the process. And if so, should I have the adopted nn on official stuff like my resume, or just use it when introduced to people?

The nn I tend to use when making dinner reservations or getting coffee is Belle.
It fits nicely, I think because not only do the names sound alike, but Inbal means the clapper inside a bell.

Fun topic!

My name is Alicia. My mom was sure I was twins, though, and if that had happened I would've been Lydia and Lydell. I know there are a lot of Lydia enthusiasts here, but I really dislike it for some reason--so I think I dodged a bullet there (that, and the matchiness is pretty painful). If I had been a boy, I know my mom really liked Sheldon. Again, I think I dodged a bullet.

When I think of a male name that would fit me, Alex(ander) jumped immediately to mind, and it seems really natural to me. Not my very favorite name, but I do like it a lot, and it seems like a reasonable alternative to Alicia.

Inbal, I like Belle. I think that could work well. If you're going to use it on a resume, wouldn't you need to change it formally, so it would match your SS card? Maybe it would be easier just to introduce yourself that way? How sad that you're having to think this way. What a sign of the times.

Funny blog entry- a four year old and her Mom talking about names:
http://www.dooce.com/2008/10/15/conversation-over-bowl-cocoa-pebbles

KneeCoal--I think you're right about Heather. I'm one of the botanical name people, and I would totally love Heather if I didn't know about a zillion people born in the early 70s named that. At one point, my two cousins (brothers) were both dating women named Heather who had sisters named Heidi. Eek. But it has a nice soft sound, has the relatively unusual consonant ending for girls, refers to a lovely plant, and is floral without being flowery/frilly.

I would have been Carl, which I have never liked, after my great-grandfather, Charles. I much prefer Charles, but it still doesn't feel like me. My sister, Emily, would have been Gregory. I don't like Gregory either, but I do love Emily, even though it's become common. Good thing my parents had girls.

I think I could be an Alaric, which shares some of the same sounds as Annelise as well as the German roots. Simon or Thaddeus also would have been okay, but those names have a definite "nerdy" vibe that neither Annelise nor Alaric have.

My name is Sarah and I would have been Jeffrey. That would have been fine, I think. I don't have a strong opinion on the name but I do have an attachment to it, in that every time I meet a Jeff it feels like 'my' name.

If I were to pick a name to match mine, the first one that came to mind is Michael. When I was growing up the two names were similar in popularity and in the types of people who had them, and I knew lots of people with both names. If we're going for stylistically similar, maybe Aaron? Same length, biblical, no nickname.

Me (a Megan) and my sister were both meant to be Jesse James but as we both ended up being girls, it didn't get used; When my brother came around he was named Nathan.

Jesse doesn't feel like it suits me, but that may be because I have a close female friend named Jessie. But as for male name *I* feel like, I'm not sure. Nothing jumps out at me.

I am another Sarah. I would have been Andrew or Brian. I much prefer Andrew, I can see myself as an Andy. When my younger brother was born, they were convinced he was going to be a girl so only had Emily picked out as a name. I guess they forgot about Andrew and Brian, because they named him after my dad instead.

My husband would have been Phoebe, which he hates! I'll have to ask him what he would choose now for his alternate gender name...

My name is William D3r3k. If I were a girl I could have been Lindsay (which I don't think I fit at all), Bryn(n)(e) <-unsure of spelling on that one, or Tiffany (smush of Theresa & Stephanie, my grandmas, another name I can't imagine having). If my dad didn't have his say I'd be Derek William. If i were a girl, I don't think my dad would care at all what the name would be. He just insisted that if he has a boy it'd be William, no ifs ands or buts. I prefer William to Derek because I like sharing a name with the likes of Shakespeare, among others.

At one point in my mom's pregnancy there was a possibility that I was actually twins. Billy & Lindsay. I'm glad I'm not Lindsay, and no, my mom did not have gestational diabetes.

I could handle being a Cecily or Genevieve. I have friends from high school named those, and those were the names that stood out to me the most.

Mine would have been "Michael". I don't dislike it, but it would be odd and unsettling to have a popular name that I didn't have to spell for people.

Having an old unfashionable variant name has naturally become part of my identity. So, if a boy, I would want a similar, unpredictable eye-catcher.

Might choose my uncle's name-- "Trennum John", who was given his mother's maiden name as a first name. People would be constantly spelling it "Trenholme" or a million different ways, and I'd feel right at home!

Other family names I would like to have as my first name:

Josiah
Montgomery
Frederick
Holmes
Wilkinson

Or my favorite Biblical name: Barnaby/Barnabas
Or my favorite Welsh name: Gower

Gosh, it's so hard to narrow it down...

The boy name my parents had picked out for both my sister and me was James, a name I easily identify with- a classic english one-syllable name- just like my name, Anne. However, my mother would have nn'd me Jimmy, which I cannot see at all...I was born in the 80s, and Jimmy is decidedly not the James nn of my generation. I could see myself as a male Jem, but certainly not Jim, Jimmy or Jamie.

Not sure what else I might have been named, but I remember my brother, Blaine (b. 1981) might have been For(r)est. This made no sense to me until the mapper showed me that Blaine was most popular in the western US. I can sort of see both fitting into the western US names Laura has talked about (Dakota, etc).

draiad: I like Belle too. I think it depends what field you are in. I agree that it is sad if you feel you HAVE to have an "American" name, but I definitely understand it. And I think Americans do appreciate it. If you do use the name on your resume and stuff, you might do:
Inbal "Belle" LN

Up until I was born, I was supposed to be Jeanette Lynn.
I am so NOT a Jeanette! It sounds a little more formal, more dowdy, a little more "Little House on the Prarie" to me.
My mom instead named me Allison Noelle. Which I see as more modern, more upbeat - and my name suits me perfectly.
Had I been a boy, my mom had several names in her mind (she knew I was a girl via mom's intuition) - Jeremy, Jason, Jamie, Jake or Luke. No idea where those came from, but the only one I think I could relate to would be Jamie. Laid back and kinda cool.

totally unrelated pronunciation question that came up for me yesterday, if anyone wants to weigh in.
Name: Amelia.
Do you all pronounce it Uh-me-lee-uh or
Uh-meel-ya?

If I had been a boy, I probably would have been a Daniel, a Matthew, or a Joshua. My parents insist that they had no male name in mind, as they had been hoping for a girl, but judging from my brother's name and some comments about other people's names, those are my best guesses. I think I would have been fine with any of those names, but I grew up with a very uncommon name (at least for my gender), so I'm sure my personality would have been shaped very differently had I grown up with such a common name. I'm really glad my parents didn't go with their other girls' choices: Carly or Molly. Both are a far cry from my actual name, which is akin to Martin (born in the 80s) -- yes, "Martin" for a girl.

I would have been a Derek.
I really dislike the name Derek (no offense to any out there), and I remember being horrified when I first found out this tidbit.

My mom wanted to call me Laurel, which is a name I really like now, although when I was a little girl I wished I'd been named Nicole.

I was an early Maegen, and my parents gave it the faux-Irish spelling, so I'm not sure Evan would do the trick.
I was a really bookish kid with a sort of overly dry sense of humor...maybe more an Ethan than an Evan?!

In another funny twist, I'm finally getting around to reading Middlesex by Eugenides.

Aybee-I use the first.

draiad-I think Belle is a fine solution, but I wouldn't feel that you Have to use it.

Finally, I wonder how many of the moms & dads who post here had an "alternate," name firmly in mind. There are several girls' names I considered and feel a tad sentimental about, but I always knew my boys were boys, even before science backed me up, so I never got to the point of firming up a girl's name.

I'm an Amy, and if I had been a boy, I would have been Aaron. Other names my parents considered were Joshua, Christian, and Zachary. Which is odd, because I ended up with cousins named Joshua Christian and Zachary Aaron. I don't think Aaron really fits me, though. I could see myself as a Joseph, but that's mostly because my nickname has always been Jo, and I answer to that as often as I do Amy.

My parents also considered Erin, Michelle, and Darcy for me, and I don't think any of those names fit me.

My sister was going to be Cody if she was a boy, and Kylie if she was a girl. Somehow, she ended up as Amber.

I had two older brothers. The elder was given my mother's maiden name and father's name - Macklin Leslie. A friend cautioned they had used up their two best boy's names and would be challenged to name another boy. When the second son arrived he was named after the friend - Donald, mn William, after one grandfather.

My mother had theories about the timing of conception to assure the sex of the baby, and was sure I would be a girl, named Marjorie, in honour of a college friend. I don't think a boy's name was selected just in case. My father was working away from home and mother stayed with friends near the hospital. The son, Lawrence took her to hospital and I suspect I might have been a Lawrence, if not a girl. I could have lived with that, probably as Lawrie? Laurie?

Always liked the name Andrew but would not go well with either my surname or my married name, so we didn't use it for either of our sons.

Aybee - I'm sure this question has come up a few times before and I find that funny because I would never consider saying anything other than the 4-syllable version. It takes great effort to smush the last two syllables together like that.

Delurking to comment on this one....

My name is Bree - unusual for the time I was born, although I suspect it will now become a more popular choice due to Desperate Housewives :)

If I were a boy, I believe I would have been named Zachary. Totally NOT my cup of tea and I cannot relate to that name whatsoever. My dad was pushing for Ezra, and I *can* relate to that name. I would love to be an Ezra had I been a boy, and contemplated naming my own son Ezra just last year! (husband veto'd it unfortunately)

My name is Anna. If I had been a boy I would have been Andrew, which is actually my younger brother's name. (It's traditional in my country for the first boy to be names after the paternal grandfather.)I like the name Andrew, and I can imagine being that. I would also have liked to be called Nicholas, that's the name of my maternal grandfather, and I identify with him in several ways.

My DD Matilda would have been Philip if she was a boy. We later named my DS that. If he had been a girl, he would have been Nephele (pronounced Neh-FEH-lee.)

Namewatch alert: I met a little boy at church called Jotham; I liked it, what does everyone else think? Also I love the name Leda for a girl... sadly (again) we can't use it cause of our last name, but I wanyted to share it with others.

Anna

I'm Marie-Claire, named by my French mum. If I had been a boy, my dad (with Irish ancestry) would've had the say, and named me Patrick or Brendan, probably with his name, Michael, as the middle.

My mum's told me she always liked Thierry for a boy, but didn't think it would work in Australia.

I can't see myself as either Patrick or Brendan, or Thierry. I don't know what would suit me as a male - what's a good match for Marie-Claire that works well in English too?

Oh, and my younger sister is Dominique, because my parents were sure she was going to be a boy and had picked out Dominic. So they just went for the feminine version (which is both masculine and feminine in French) when she turned out to be a girl.

I'm Laura, but would have been Tim. It would have suited me perfectly and alliterated nicely with my last name. Also, being quite tall, nicknames would have come readily.

When my cousin was having her first child she discussed the names Matthew and Amanda Nicole. The first child was a boy, and was named Mathew, un-i-que spelling intentional. Three years later she gave birth to girl, which got the leftover choice Amanda Nicole, apparently she still liked the name. By that time, my grandfather (Marion,but called Nick) had died. My cousin claimed (falsely) that her daughter was named in honor my grandfather. I think the girl would have had a more un-i-que name if she had been called Amanda Marion, and then she would have truly been named in honor of the old man.

I was born Amasa - if I'd been a boy, I'd have been a Jr., going by Mace. (Rightly or wrongly, my parents pronounced Amasa as if it could be shortened to Mace. One of the many things I didn't like about my birth name is that I always suspected I was mispronouncing it.)

A couple of years ago, tired of the mispronunciations, misspellings, and family baggage associated with the old name, I renamed myself. I chose Shay, which I like a lot and suits my personality, but I really wanted Hale, which has a lot of personal associations, and if I'd been a man, I would have gone with that. (And, frankly, if I'd known so many people would think Shay was a man's name, I'd have gone with Hale anyway! I'd only ever heard Shay as a female name.)

I'm a Rebecca, but have a hard time thinking of myself as anything other than "Becky." I was very nearly an Amanda, but my parents changed their minds when they saw me. (Well done, mom and dad.)

Since I was the firstborn, had I been a boy, I would have been Clifford. I would have probably gone by my middle name to avoid confusing me with the three other Cliffords in the family. I am not sure what they were considering for my middle name, but my brother was born Cliff0rd Andr3w a few years later. He always went by Andy.

I think the other Rebecca posting had it spot on with her suggestions of Benjamin, Nicholas, or Christopher. I perceive them as being traditional names that somehow still have an 80s flair AND feel vaguely religious. I can see myself as a Ben.

This is so interesting! I'm a Nikki (not Nicole). If I had been a boy, I would have been Dusty (not Dustin)...definitely dodged a bullet there. And luckily my parents changed their minds two years later and gave my brother the name Stephen. I don't think I'd be a good Dusty. To me Dusty would have a mullet and drink too much Budweiser. I think the masculine of my own name, Nicholas, would have worked well for me if I had been a boy.

My own son is Grady. If he was a girl, I was pushing for Charlotte and my husband wanted Audrey.

If I was a boy I would've been Ben Peter. I guess I could be a Ben. I can definately see myself as a Pete, but I think thats probably because its my dad's name.

My sisters would've been Robert Douglas and William James. A few months ago my mum found it hilarious when she realised she could've had Benny, Bobby and Billy. Though it is more likely we would've been Ben, Rob and Will.

Aybee and Karyn--I definitely say Amelia as "Ah-MEEL-ya", and this is the only way I've heard it pronounced by my acquaintances (including my friend, Amelia). I think four syllables would likely come off as pretentious/trying too hard among people I know, unless they had a "good reason"--i.e. they were actually from a foreign country where that was the standard pronunciation.

I don't know what I would have been called as a boy. My mother was convinced I was a girl, and claims they didn't really have a boy name picked. My younger siblings did have both sets of names selected, so I don't know if mine was just forgotten or there never really was a boy option ready.
And should I have to pick a male name for myself now... I don't think I could do it!

Hmm I'm a Stacey. The first name that came to mind as matching in that style was Gregory. But I'm not set on it 100%. It has an easy nn which my name does not. But it is Greek in origin which my name is as well. My name was only mildly popular for my birth year and Gregory was more so. I know my mom liked the name Quincy but that doesn't seem right at all. Other mildly popular names might be Russell, Craig, Keith or Kevin. Russell can be shortened but the others can't so maybe I'd be Keith. I don't remember any Keith's in elementary but there was a Kevin. No Russell's or Craig's either. Great subject Laura!

Felicia-Carrying you over to this post and responding. You siad you needed P and I names. Well, without knowing your style I can't settle on THE one, but I can list a few names that I've seen come up on this board quite frequently. Maybe one of these wil fit:
Ivy; Indigo; Isabelle; Ingrid
Paloma; Penelope; Paige; Persephone; Polly; Phoebe; Pamela

My name would have been 'Seth.' Instead, it is 'Corinne.'

I can imagine being 'Seth,' which sounds and feels to me like a fit for who I am. It sounds introverted and heartful to me.

I like my name, but do envy that 'Seth' would probably hardly ever have had to do much clarifying of spelling and pronunciation.

My own children will get highly straightforward and pronounceable names, as it is an ongoing source of irritation for me. Top of my list on this day: Alexander and Ramona

I'm another Amy, born in the eighties. My parents never could remember what my name would have been if I had been a boy. I was always a little offended by that! How could they forget?

I do know that the choice for a girl's name came down between Amy, Mera (I actually like this a lot, it's better than Amy) and Randi. I am SO GLAD I escaped the Randi... especially when you consider its alternate meaning...

No offense to the Randis out there. It's just not my style.

Anna- how do you pronounce Jotham? Is it like Gotham city from Batman? That could be totally off, but it's how I read it!

Re:Amelia
I definitely say it with 4 syllables, and I'm from New England. I can't be sure everyone up here says it that way, but I assume everyone I know does...

Hyz, Aybee and Karyn:

I actually just posted a similar question (under another topic) about the name Emilia. I wondered whether people would tend to prounounce that the same as Amelia. It seems as though there is a pretty even split among the 3 and 4 syllable option.

We are thinking of using Emilia if we have a girl this January but the confusion concerns me. It is compounded by the fact that I don't even know which way I like better. Also, does anyone have an opinion on whether or not Emilia/Amelia is becoming too popular/overused?

Incidentally, I would have been named Steven, after my father. I can't imagine being called Steve. In doing this excercise, it was also interesting to discover that I would not even considerfor myself the name we will likely choose if we have a boy!

My dad insisted that my name be Maftoon if I were boy. My name is from a James Mitchener novel (Pippi is my internet name, my real name is way too google-able) and Maftoon is from another book by him. My mom was sure I was a girl and thank goodness she was right! She wouldn't have let him actually Maftoon, but she didn't have an alternate boy's name picked out. Maftoon Johnson -- what a lucky escape!

Stacy, I didn't respond before about Emilia, but I think I might assume that had 4 syllables, since it looks Spanish to me. Maybe I should clarify that my point of reference is midatlantic and midwest US--and the Amelia (ah-MEEL-ya) I know is from the DC area. I actually prefer the 4 syllable pronunciation, but I personally would feel too abashed to try to enforce it on the general public with the Amelia spelling. To me, it's similar to trying to make people use the German pronunciation for Adelaide (something like ahd-ul-EYE-duh) instead of the more American "addle-aid" (which sounds a bit clumsy to me). This was a name we considered for our daughter, along with alternate spelling Adelheid to steer people's pronunciation, but in the end it just seemed like too much. Adele is still in the running for any future girls, though.

I don't think Amelia/Emilia are too overused, although I do think Amelia is on the rise. Both very nice names, though.

Well my name is Melissa... but my boy name was supposed to be Cody William.. which ended up being my brother's name. Since it is my brother's name I can't quite picture it for myself.

If I was to name myself as a boy I would probably pick Bennett Paul. I chose this because Bennett is a little off beat.. but has the common nickname Ben to fall back on. Paul because I am short... and it means small.

My daughter's name is Chelsea.. but her boy name was to be Mason Scott. I still love the name Mason... but I am not sure if I will ever use it. I think it does suit her though.

I would have been William Walter had I been a boy - a really nice name, definitely, but I don't know how I feel about the idea of being called Billy (which was what was intended). A little too bully-ish, in my mind. They're both family names, both names I'm seriously considering for a future son. But I'd go with Will as the nn for a child of my own. Interestingly, I would pick Liam as my male name, and I decided that before I even remembered that was also a nickname for William. Seems I would have been that kid who was called one nn and insisted on the other one my parents hadn't intended.

My sister, Betsy, would have also been Billy, I suppose, but my parents knew she was a girl from early on (my mom was nearly 40, so early ultrasounds). I wasn't told she was a girl, though, and was very upset for my poor sibling when they told me that their boy name was Justin Case.

Oh, and new baby alert:

Simcha Lieb

Brand-new nephew of my coworker. I think it's gorgeous, and I know it honors family as well, as an added bonus.