The Baby Name Wizard

Hi, all. I've been a lurking through my last pregnancy and am now back for some help! My husband and I are looking for a boy's name. Our daughter is Catherine - which we love, both sound and sentimental - but are looking for something a bit more pithy and modern for our son. We'd love a girl equivalent to the sound and feel of Tinsley, Riley, Ally. We also love William but think it sounds too stodgy with Catherine. We also like the nickname Jamie but aren't in love with James and don't like nicknames as full names. The following names were also on our list but we can't use for a variety of reasons -
Milo
Jude
Emerson
Amory
Hugh

I know a 20-something guy named Jamesley. It's sort of a combination of James and Tinsley, and you could use the nickname Jamie.

Riley and Ainsley are both seeming to be more popular for girls these days, but I know boys under 3 with these names.

Other ideas :
Rory
Tate
Kale

Thanks Laura for the Advanced Search! I have two suggestions.

First, I would separate out the Word/Place names from the Surname names. I think Surnames have an entirely different feel from word names. Someone who picks "Jefferson" is not also going to like "Sequoia."

Second, it would be nice if the browser would save some of the search requests. For example, let's say I search "Girl," "Jewish," and "Starts with E." Now I want to search "Boy," "Jewish" and "Starts with E." Currently, I have to reinput all of the factors. It would be nice if all I had to do was switch "Girl" to "Boy."

Thanks!

Wow, what a fun new toy! For me, being able to EXclude certain things is more useful than what I tell it to include. ;-P
Two suggestions:
1) Add more ethnic styles, so I can go straight to French or Slavic or other things you have in the back of the BNW book.
2) Any way to combine this with the Nymbler feature of trying to match with other names already in the family?

It's great! Suggestions: When your search turns up more than 500 can the preferences you chose be saved to as to add more, rather than redo the whole form? It's not clear whether the search functions for style preferences are AND preferences or OR prefernces? Ie., should the name be both Jewish and Traditional if you select both? Or Jewish AND traditional, if you select both?

Maybe add some more ethic searches too- French? Greek? Or a "nature names" search?

Guest-

Some other suggestions:

Jameson(not James, can be shortened to Jamie)
Asa
Reid
Liam (if you like William but find it stodgy)
Wesley/Weston
Eli
Zane

Let us know, good luck!

Guest-
boys: Jameson, Jasper, Malcolm, Grant, Josiah

girls: Ainsley, Ruby, Sally, Lucy (hm, not sure you want ONLY /ee/ names...)

Guest - Archer, Finley, Finwick, Holt, Arlo

I had a hard time coming up with searches that had less than 500 names without ending up with nothing at all!

This exactly--if I input a search that gives back over 500 hits, the page I'm taken to makes me start the search over.

Guest:

Here's a few suggestions I thought would fit well with Catherine but sound a little offbeat slightly modern in an old fashioned way:

Fabian, Axel, Abel, Luca, Jonas, Ezra, Roman, Galen, Asher, Walker, Crispin, Tobin, Rowan, Rex, Dante, Vance, Broderick, Grady, Silas, Ellis

Laura-
In addition to being able to search for letter strings, it might be nice to have a feature that would just search for a given letter grouping in any order. It would also be nice if these could be longer strings or groups-let's say, for example, that you're determined to use some letters from each of your grandma's names.
Of course, it could be that this would result in a lot of "No results found."

Guest-
I have to say I'm not totally sure if I have a handle on your style. I loved both your list and the description of what you're after, but somehow the two didn't quite match up in my mind.
Anyway, let us know if we're getting close.
Also, are you in need of a girl's name as well?
For some reason, I'm not clear on that from your post (maybe I'm having a foggy day)!

Some boys' names: Brooks, Emmett, Elliot, Julian, August, Leo, Clive, Heath, Wade, Nicholas, Rex, Alec, Tobin, Griffin, Satchel, Blaise (Blaze), Everett, Dashiell, Cooper, Russell, Duncan, Fletcher, Declan,

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but it would be great if you could refine your original search from your results set. As an example, I input my preferences and got back girls' and boys' names. At that point I would have liked to exclude the girls' names (which I should have done at the start) and then work to refine my boys' name list. But I could think of any number of times I might want to refine my original search based on the results returned.

And I agree with Tirzah's comment:
>>Second, it would be nice if the browser would save some of the search requests. For example, let's say I search "Girl," "Jewish," and "Starts with E." Now I want to search "Boy," "Jewish" and "Starts with E." Currently, I have to reinput all of the factors. It would be nice if all I had to do was switch "Girl" to "Boy."<<

This is a cool toy! Thanks, Laura.

Guest,
I like the boy suggestions of Jameson, Wesley, Zane, Griffin, Everett and Duncan. I would also add Elias, Felix, and Miles to the list.

I'm also not clear if you are wanting girl suggestions, but if so, how about Ainsley or Sadie? I think those are a nice counterpoint to Catherine.

Good luck!

New baby names:

From a friend: Celeste Marie, which I love.

In announcements: twins, Ansel and Oskar! Wonderful!

And, knowing how some of you love the names like Verity, Honor, etc., I saw a five-year-old Noble in the paper this week.

I was at the birth clinic today and the annoucement board was a treasure trove. Among others...
Hazel Fig
Stella Quince (whats up with the food)
Melody Marie (I dont like it but it sounded fresh, new)
Ronin Jean (boy)
Jessica Padma
???? Suzette
Jelly Bean (uh... this is real)
Siena Noelle
Owen Tucker

Plus more that I can't remember.

The Advanced Name Finder isn't working for me either. How can there be more than 500 very popular, traditional boys names that have at least 3 syllables and don't begin with either A or C? Another search did yield a small number of suggestions, but about half of them began with one of the letters I had excluded. Maybe this would work better if you just check the categories you're looking for and not have to indicate "require, exclude or any" for each category. ???

Mother of Brogan and Hudson, I'm reposting this from the other thread in case you miss it there:

********
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this name, but I was thinking about MaKenna (which is nms, unfortunately) and the name Henley, which is similar to Hadley (which you liked but can't use).

Anyway, long story short, I think Kenley and Kenzie would be cute options with your mn choice.

Kenley Joanna-Mae
Kenzie Joanna-Mae

Just a thought!
******

Mom who likes Jamie but not James---What about Benjamin? Jamie would be an unconventional nn, but not impossible (though you'd likely run into some of EO's frustrations with automatic Ben nicknaming).

Also, again piping in with my love for Jasper.

I concur with the saving thing - it said I had 500+ names and then wiped all my checks out. When I tried to go backwards it brought me back to this page. I'd also like to see more categories.

The Advanced Name Finder isn't working for me either. If I leave everything at the default but deselect all but Rare names, I get more than 500. If I then select either Require OR Exclude names popular in locales outside the US, I get nothing at all.

What great suggestions! We are only looking for boy's names (I would have loved Ainsley for a girl!). I also love Emmett and Brooks but my husband doesn't. And he loves Julian but I don't. Elias, Wesley, and Luca sound like great contenders!

Thanks for your comments on the Name Finder! We'll fix the problem of it clearing your choices asap, sorry about that.

Some feedback on other specific comments:

"If I leave everything at the default but deselect all but Rare names, I get more than 500. If I then select either Require OR Exclude names popular in locales outside the US, I get nothing at all."

The searches you describe should all return >500 results. Think of it this way: you're asking for the 1000 top girls' names AND the 1000 top boys' names in the U.S., then simply dividing them into two groups depending on whether they're also used anywhere else. That doesn't narrow down your choices much!

The <500 result restriction was intended to be useful feedback. If your search returns 12 screens worth of names, it's presumably not too helpful in guiding you to the right choice. But if the 500 number proves too restrictive we can change it.

"How can there be more than 500 very popular, traditional boys names that have at least 3 syllables and don't begin with either A or C?"

When I enter those criteria, the Name Finder returns exactly 9 names. Could you try it one more time, and let me know via the contact form if you get the same result? Thanks!

Laura: Love the Advanced Name Finder--it's awesome! Thanks for making it. I do have one suggestion: pink for girls' name is very hard to read on the screen--I have to squint to see it. Might I suggest changing the lettering to dark purple or violet? The blue for boys' names could be a little darker too, but the pink really presents a readability issue. (Or green for girls might be another option, to go with the chromatic theme of the site. I don't think losing the girls=pink connection would be any great loss, myself.)

A question for NEs: What do you think of sib set Lucienne (nn Lucy) and Seraphine (nn Phina)? Sublime? Crazed?

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Mom of Catherine,
Haven't browsed through other suggestions, but what about these:

Miles
Elliott
Ellis
Elias
Graham
Nolan
Spencer

Oops, I forgot to erase Miles after realizing Milo is a no.

Artemis- I think Lucy and Phina are cute nn's together and I like Lucienne, but I wouldn't use Seraphine. I'm not crazy about the sound, but it just seems like a lot to put on a kid. For some reason it bothers me more than just Angel would, Seraphine comes across over the top-- latin (I think) with the religious overtones/ strong Church feel and it's a bit frilly anyway. How about Philomena with Phila or Mena? Or Phyllis?

Artemis: How are you pronouncing Lucienne? Is it like LOO-see-en? LOO-shen? I think I like the pair if it's LOO-shen--if they are both three-syllable names, it seems over-the-top to me. Otherwise, they are too "fancy" for me personally, but I think they would be really great esp if you have a common last name. I always feel that people with last names like Smith should go all out.

Artemis- I love Lucienne and Seraphine! I presume Lucienne is pronounced Loo-see-ENN? I've always liked Seraphina myself, and Seraphine is beautiful too.

Valerie, I have been pronouncing Lucienne LOO-see-enn for a while now, but poking around online, I'm thinking that might be wrong! Does anyone know definitively?

Jenny L3igh--Yeah, that possible frilliness is something I'm worried about (hence dropping the 'a' that sometimes shows up at the end of Seraphina). (And I believe it's from Hebrew.) I like Philomena a lot, but sadly, it doesn't work with our last name, which starts with an M.

RobynT--Our offspring will have a hyphenated last name. Not an overly complicated one, but still. Something to think about.

Lucienne is French, the feminine of Lucien. As such, it is pronounced loo-ci-ENNE. And it's said more quickly than that might appear - more like loo-syENNE.

Artemis-I think I'll have to agree with the "fancy" statement RobynT made. The first thing I thought of was French and formal.
Lucienne is pretty but when paired with Seraphine it comes across differently then when paired with say Lydia or Beatrice. Seraphine alternates: Josephine nn Josie, or Marcheline nn Shelly.

Laura-I have not played with the Namipedia lately but that is where I will go next!

Guest Mom of Hudson+Brogan-I responded to a few more things on the last thread. You may want to go back and look them over.

Guest mom to Catherine-The names I thought of were Allistair, Rowan, Finley, Reginald, Lincoln, Linwood, Victor, and Wesley.

Laura-Totally fun! I also agree that the Word/Place/Surname exclusions should be separated. I would also second or third the request for a back button (something where you can amend what you just did) and also a save results feature. In addition, I didn't see an exclusion for Androgynous names. I think that would be helpful to some.

Ok sorry to hog the board but a few more suggestions to Guestmom of Hudson + Brogan:
thanks to Laura's nifty tool, I came up with Emerson nn Emmie Jo (unless its too androgynous for you), Camryn nn Cammie Jo, or Taryn. Let us know.

Hi there,
I'm a long time reader of this blog (on and off) and finally plucking up the courage to ask for help regarding our current baby naming dilemma.
We have two boys already and I am 13 weeks pregnant with #3. We will probably not find out the gender, but we have had trouble coming up with a boy's name for both our children (have had a girl's name sorted since quite early on in the 1st pregnancy!) and would love advice on what to name this baby if it is a boy.
I have grown up in Australia with an unusual, difficult to pronounce, Scandinavian name, and I would like my children to avoid the problems I had as far as possible. Hence I have some "rules" :)

Must be easy to pronounce on first reading (for a native English speaker)
No androgynous names
No "surnames as first names"
Preferably reasonably easy to spell
Preferably "travels well" as we have a number of relatives in different parts of the world, mostly Europe

Our boys are named M@x Andre@s and Luc@s Alex@nder. All names we liked the sound of, went with our surname etc, no family connection or anything.
If we have a girl she will be called Emm@ Fr@nces. The first name because we both like it and the second is the name of a relative.
If we have a boy I would like to use Finn as a middle name, also to honour a relative, but that is not essential if it doesn't go with the first name we like etc. So suggestions for middle names are welcome as well.
Our surname is 3 syllables starting with a short vowel (think Ibbotson).
Names one or both of us like that are out for various reasons: Oliver, Felix, Joshua, Daniel, William, Andrew
Names I like but my husband doesn't :) : Leo/Leon, Joel, Oscar.
I feel like I've written a bit of an essay here, so if you've got through it and have any ideas for us, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

Do you like Rhys/ Reese? Other's from Namipedia- Julian/Julien, Nicholas/Nico, Thomas/Tomas...

I haven't finished catching up on all the comments yet, but I thought I'd share some good news: I had successful surgery for removal of a benign brain tumor on Monday! Unbelievably, I feel no pain at all, am doing very well, and am expected to make a full recovery with no lasting consequences. So to say I'm thankful is an enormous understatement.

Of course, being an NE, I had to name the tumor. I called it "the booger", partially because it came out of my nose (the way they remove most pituitary tumors) and partially because giving it a silly name made me feel superior over it. So this week I celebrate the demise of the booger! And if you should have the misfortune to need the services of a neurosurgeon, I highly recommend coming down to NC!

Elizabeth T -- Congratulations on a successful surgery, and best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery!

Aslaug -- Some suggestions from Nymbler that I think complement Max's and Lucas' names and sound good with Finn as a mn: Adrian, Dominic, Silas, Timothy, Colin, Brady, Jasper.

Elizabeth T- So glad to hear you are ok!

Aslaug-
A few suggestions--keeping in mind your requirements, and the sound of your last name

Simon
Samuel
Adam
Gregory
Noah
Henry
Neil

Good luck!

Elizabeth T.: That is wonderful news! I'm sorry you had the misfortune of having a tumor in the first place but glad to hear you are doing well!

Aslaug-First, thank you for naming yourself and not just being a "Guest" looking for help. Secondly, I put your rules into Namipedia and also sought out Nymbler for some ideas for you. Here's what I found:FN Finn "Ibbotson"
*Adam; Arthur; Charles; Curtis; *Connor; Gabriel; Gregory; *Jacob; *James; Jonas; Nathaniel; *Nicholas; Noah; Patrick; Spencer; Travis; Dominic; Russell; Henry; Steven/Stephan
The *'d names are suggested by both Nymbler and Namipedia. I think you need some kind of S sound to go with the Lucas and Andreas parts of the other names. Good luck!

Laura-Namipedia is refreshingly accurate and found similar matching name requests to Nymbler. You are amazing!

You ladies are so wonderful!
I really liked Makenna until I looked on name mapper and seen it has been in the top 100 for the past three years in and around where I live. I like names to be not too common (in my state) yet not unheard of.
Emmerson is super cute but not too sure if the husband will go for it.
Thanks again!

Aslaug: How about Alan? I am always recommending it for some reason...

Aslaug, Id like to second the suggestion of Dominic. Max, Lucas and Dom sound very cool together, and Dominic Finn is a really naice name, and it goes with a three syllabul last name well.
Also I know a Max and Oscar sib set, so I always think of them together.

Other ideas

Oliver
Ryan
Aled
Ross
Jamie
Tristan
Nathan

Ooops sorry scratch Oliver.

Artemis- I think you could get away with the frilly names since you'd be using nicknames most of the time, but I do like Zoerhenne's suggestions of Josephine and Marcheline as well!

Aslaug- I like Dominic as well, also Tristan, Gregory. And what about Leopold or Leander? Sort of a random shot, but they occurred to me and I don't mind the 2 L's in the 3 kids thing in this case. Finally are you planning on having any more children? If not you could use Francis, the boy's version, as a first name...

Elizabeth T.- Congratulations on your successful surgery and way to go taking charge in a difficult situation, they say humor helps with recovery and it certainly won't hurt:).

Aslaug- my suggestion is Eric/Erik. It's been my favorite name for 30+ years, it's my oldest son's name, and he loves it (he seems to have inherited the NE gene from me!). Goes well with Finn and the fictionalized Ibbotson.

Elizabeth T.- Congratulations on a successful surgery. Cracking up over "...the demise of the booger...". :)

In other news, met a sibling set (ages 2 1/2 and newborn) named David and Esther. Thought those went together really well.

Aslaug:

Here's a few suggestions that haven't already been mentioned.

Benjamin, Trevor, Devin, Sebastian, Dylan, Elliott, Brendan, Caleb, Zachary, Liam, Philip, Jason, Aaron, Jonathan, Justin, Joseph, Anthony, Clayton, Nolan, Paul, Peter, Roland, Scott, Calvin

I think Jonathan would sound really nice with siblings Max & Lucas. Also really like Calvin but it doesn't work with the middle name Finn to well.

I saw a toddler on the playground name "Orson." Now that's a name I've never seen IRL!

Mom of Hudson& Brogan:

I just thought of another name suggestion that you might like. It's similar to Makenna.. but not as common.. Makinlee. Let me know what you think.