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Baby name help

Puppmom

Ideal_Rock
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...just need some perspective, ladies. I'm hormonal and probably overthinking this just like everything else these days. We decided not to discuss potential name choices with our family this time because it really was horrible last time. People were BRUTAL and, even those who weren't, would just suggest names other than those on our short list. Hint, hint. DH slipped a bit over the weekend to his mom (is it okay to punch him for this?) and, as expected, I've gotten several emails with *suggestions* since. She means no harm and I'm not mad at her but just wish DH hadn't opened it up.

We have narrowed it down but just can't decide. With DS, it wasn't *easy* but, when we made the decision, we were certain and very happy with our choice. His name is Nolan. So here goes...these are our narrowed down choices and why I just can't commit to any of them. Keep in mind that I may not be thinking rationally... :roll: I thought about just waiting until the baby is born but am I really going to be thinking any more clearly then?

Henry - I really do like this name but it was our second choice with DS so it feels sort of like a left-over. And, I grew up with a *classic* name but hated it as a child. All I wanted was to be Jennifer or Kelly or Christine. I (probably irrationally) worry that the kid will wonder why DS 1 got a *normal* name and he didn't...at least during his youth. I don't love the nickname Hank but I've come to grips with the fact that it's possible some people will call him that.

Nathan - my fav! :love: DH likes it but it's not his favorite and the Nolan/Nathan combo seems a little catchy/twinsy to me. Thoughts? If I were forced to choose today, this would probably be it but something is still preventing me from saying it's the one.

Ryan - DH's fav...to be honest, I can't even tell if I like it or not. It just doesn't really strike me I guess and I know nothing about THE Nolan Ryan - other than the fact that we was a famous baseball player but feel like we would get tons of questions/comments about the relationship between our boys' names and this dude. We haven't even told anyone we're considering this name and more than once we've heard, "Well, you know you can't name him Ryan, right?" ...and then they launch into the whole Nolan Ryan thing.

Ellis - like it but the same worries as with Henry and our dog's name is Hollis. Kinda close, right? And, it feels better suited as a middle name maybe?

That's pretty much where we are. I feel like this short list isn't going to change and the likelihood of hearing something else that strikes us is slim. Ideas? Opinions?
 

AP1976

Shiny_Rock
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I LOVE the name Henry! I should also add that I adore the name Nolan, too. Great choice! While I like the name Nathan, I would not do the Nolan/Nathan combo, but that's just my personal opinion. I think Henry is such a great, strong, classic name - I love it.
 

StacylikesSparkles

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I agree, Henry is just about perfect! Super classic, but adorable! Oh and my bio father is a jerk and his name is Nathan. It just puts a bad taste in my mouth lol..go Henry!! I do love Ellis as well, but with a dog named Hollis, it might be a little too similar.

Also, who cares about the other people! You've chosen names that YOU like and as the parent, your choice rules!
 

dani13

Ideal_Rock
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Love the names you chose, but I say no to Nathan and to Ryan for the reasons you stated. Henry is super cute. Do you like Owen? I think that sounds cute with Nolan!
 

Puppmom

Ideal_Rock
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I love how decisive you guys are! I totally need some of that.

AP1976, that's where I am with the Nolan/Nathan combo. Nathan seems more like a name you would use instead of Nolan not in addition to. It is so dang cute though!

Stacy, don't you hate when a name is just ruined for you for some reason? It's hard to disassociate a name from a sucky person. I have a lot of teachers in my family/friend circle and lots of them rule out names purely based on former students. That really makes things difficult because their lists of names they can't use is long! DH actually works at a school for autistic children and one of the kids is OBSESSED with pregnant women and babies. He asks DH every day how I am, when the baby's coming, what we're going to name him etc. His name is Nathan and DH swears this will be a neverending conversation if we choose that name. :lol:

Dani, we have thought about Owen. It was our third choice with DS. On paper, Nolan and Owen don't look similar but they sound similar when you say them. DH joked that he can barely hear me as is and does not want to wonder all the time which child I'm talking about! :lol:
 

AP1976

Shiny_Rock
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What about Nathan as a middle name? I like the sound of Henry Nathan :appl:
 

amc80

Ideal_Rock
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I am going against the grain and voting for Nathan. I grew up knowing brothers named Nathan/Nolan and I always thought it was cute. Not in a matchy matchy sort of way, but in a "those names go well together" way.

Ryan would be my second choice, but I think Nolan Ryan takes it out of contention.

I like Henry, but the style is so different from Nolan.

Names that (I think) go well with Nolan- Gavin, Mason, Logan, Carter, Conner, Preston. Do you care for any of those?

Are you having more kids after this? That could change my opinion. Nathan and Nolan are great...but then what would you use for a third name? Nathan, Nolan, and Henry...well, you see the problem. One definitely sticks out. On the other hand, Nolan, Henry, and Ellis are all different styles, and work together in that way.

Another recommendation- check out this blog- http://swistlebabynames.blogspot.com/
You can email her with your questions and she will help you out.
 

aviastar

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First and foremost- go ahead and feel free to give DH a nice little love punch for spilling the beans...I mean, honestly, those emails from your MIL sound exhausting!

Second, my parents had my name all picked out and knew the second I was born that it wouldn't work. They changed it on the spot to a name that hadn't even been in contention before. So there is something to be said for taking your short list and waiting to meet him and see what strikes your fancy.

All that said, if I were going to choose from your list right now, I would go with Ellis. The dog's name can be shortened to holly, or fuzz brain and I think Nolan and Ellis are different enough sounding in their actual sounds, but similar in style. All are solid choices, but I would rule our Ryan because of the baseball thing, and other than that I don't think you can go wrong!
 

monkeyprincess

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Argh would be annoyed with your DH too! My inlaws asked us about names constantly while I was pregnant and it drove me nuts. I just wanted it to be up to us without any pressure from anyone else.

I haven't convinced DH to have a second baby yet but I am already thinking of name combos. lt is tough!

For me, the combo of Nolan and Nathan is a little too matchy match. I think it might be confusing. But Nathan is a nice name of that it's what you decide. I would stay away from the Nolan Ryan thing for the reason you said. I think Henry is super cute. It was my top choice until my cousin used it. I also really like Ellis.It is one of the names I will consider if we are blessed with another baby.

A former classmate of mine has a Nolan and a Leo, which I think works.

Good luck with your decision!

Yuck sorry about the typos. I am typing one handed on a new phone holding my wiggle worm son!
 

Skippy123

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I love the name Henry! Love it! I wouldn't worry about your dog being Hollis. In fact our dog was similar to my sisters and my name and no one ever called us the dogs name or had problems confusing us. lol Maybe when the baby is born you will have stronger thoughts?

I know when we had Evan and Miles we had no plans on names; hubby didn't want to start thinking names as he felt it was bad luck. We talked about a few but when Evan and Miles were born they were baby A and baby B for half the day and we saw them as Evan and Miles. I didn't like the name Miles at all but now love the name Miles.

The names you listed are beautiful; I hate when family gets involved, this needs to be your hubbys and your decision. hugs and sorry that happened.
 

vc10um

Ideal_Rock
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Of your list, pupp, I love Henry the most. And I love AP's suggestion of Nathan as a middle name.

What are your feelings on Nathaniel instead of Nathan? I feel like it flows better with Nolan in a pair...reminds me of my sister and me, we are Victoria and Veronica.

I also have to give a thumbsdown to Ryan. Lovely name on it's own, but paired with Nolan I would feel like, somehow, it tied their identities to one another...
 

megumic

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Henry
Ellis
Nathan
Ryan

In that order love to not love. Except I don't care for Ryan at all. Plus, the Nolan Ryan thing...

Personally, I love the name Henry and we considered it. I think Henry goes well with Nolan too.
 

StacylikesSparkles

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puppmom|1356970550|3343592 said:
Stacy, don't you hate when a name is just ruined for you for some reason? It's hard to disassociate a name from a sucky person. I have a lot of teachers in my family/friend circle and lots of them rule out names purely based on former students. That really makes things difficult because their lists of names they can't use is long! DH actually works at a school for autistic children and one of the kids is OBSESSED with pregnant women and babies. He asks DH every day how I am, when the baby's coming, what we're going to name him etc. His name is Nathan and DH swears this will be a neverending conversation if we choose that name. :lol:

So true! It's totally ruined for me! I have friends like that as well, so I'm just thankful I'm not the only crazy one lol..oh and it sounds like Nathan would drive the hubs nuts! Which may or may not work for you :devil: ;))

aviastar|1356973552|3343662 said:
The dog's name can be shortened to holly, or fuzz brain

If only I would have thought of this!! Bahahaha!!
 

SB621

Ideal_Rock
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I absolutely adore the name Henry! It might sound very english but Henry James?

And for what it is worth i know what you mean about people getting too involved with baby naming. My kids both have different names (a mix of very hebrew and very irish), and most people just look at us funny, but i have gotten over it. It just really pi$$ed me off in the beginnning.
 

Bella_mezzo

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Yes, give DH a loving punch:)

I love Henry or Ellis and would definitely avoid Ryan. Nathan I could go either way on.
 

Puppmom

Ideal_Rock
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AP, I hadn't thought about that but I kind of like the sound of it. Ellis originally started as a middle name for Henry but we liked it so much it evolved into a first name.

AMC, that website is really neat! That woman puts a lot of thought into her responses! We actually thought of some of the names on your list. Logan was high on our list but one of DH's best friends has a daughter named Logan. Oh, and no more kids for us. I think maybe that's why we're struggling? Because we won't ever get to use the names we don't choose?

Aviastar, your post gave me the laugh I needed today! Hollis has been called worse so surely he wouldn't mind fuzzball! :bigsmile: I had a similar situation as your parents with DD...name all picked out and just knew it wasn't right when she was born. We chose another name (that wasn't on our list) and it suits her perfectly!

Monkey, I love your name choice and think Ellis would make a lovely pairing! I am annoyed with DH - I cried. I was so upset with him. It probably didn't warrant such a harsh reaction from me but I just wanted this time to be between us and he agreed. Now, it's not and he can't take it back. To make me feel better, he said he would call his mom and ask her not to discuss names with me. Thanks...that won't make me look like a crazy B or anything! :roll:

VC, your post has me REALLY thinking about the Nolan/Nathan thing. When I hear Victoria and Veronica, I think...choose one; don't pair them up. We like Nathaniel but DH prefers Nathan because, even if we named the baby Nathaniel, he would want to call him Nathan or Nate.

Meg, I'm feeling kind of bleh about Ryan. I think I'm leaving it on the list because it's DH's idea but I'm kind of hoping he gets over it. Oh, I don't think I mentioned this but it's his middle name so I think that's what is creating the interest for him moreso than anything else.

Skippy, I didn't realize you and DH decided after the boys were born. You guys did a great job! They're great names and suit the boys so well. I feel like there's no turning back with the family involvement now but hopefully it'll die down. I'm worried that they'll keep suggesting until we tell them our choice...which we weren't planning to do until the baby is born. I'm also worried that DH won't be able to commit if the suggestions keep coming. MIL literally sent me an ALPHABETIZED list of suggestions then just random emails with one name in them. She's a tremendous help to us so I try to cut her a bit of slack. She also recently bought us bedding for the baby without asking. I near had a nervous breakdown until I saw it was the cutest dang bedding I had ever seen! It went a little something like this, "Why would you buy someone bedding without asking? I mean, that's a MAJOR design decision in the...Oh, this is cute!" Here's what she bought: http://www.landofnod.com/not-a-peep-crib-bedding/f9771.... Sorry, got a little off topic!
 

Puppmom

Ideal_Rock
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Bella, we cross-posted. I snuck a peek at your future baby names in the TTC thread a few weeks ago and I love them! See...I'm not really feeling Ryan either. I just can't put my finger on why. I do feel like Henry and Ellis are both very *strong* names and I think that's what draws me to them.
 

blondebunny

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What about Elliot or Emmett?
 

Logan Sapphire

Ideal_Rock
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I like Henry the best. I also like Ryan but totally hear you on the Nolan Ryan thing. Henry was my grandfather's name and it took me awhile to not associate it with an older man, but I now know several young Henrys and I like it.

The Ellis/Hollis thing...it sounds silly but our neighbor has a dog and a daughter with a similar situation and she always gets the dog and her daughter's name confused. My daughter's name is similar to theirs and I also confuse them! I could see myself confusing Ellis and Hollis...not that it's a big deal.

I also love the name Logan, but that's my married last name, so one can't really have a Logan Logan ;))
 

Kunzite

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Just a few quick thoughts...

1. After your other thread and now the name issue, I would be happy to come to your house and junk punch your husband. I mean seriously :angryfire:

2. The "left over name" issue. Don't worry about this at all! Honestly, take it out of the equation. Elliot was our #2 name with Oliver (well really #3 but we used the #2 for his middle name) so when we found out the twins were boys it was almost a given because there weren't many boy names we liked. I worried that we were making a mistake since there had obviously been a reason we didn't use it the first time around, but after he was born I didn't think twice about it! It never crosses my mind.

3. Of those I like Henry the best. It was our #3 this time around.
 

Miscka

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I like Ellis, but I'm partial because its my sons middle name! I also love Henry.
 

Laila619

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I like Henry; it's a little old-fashioned IMO but it's a nice classic name.

Nathan is nice too--you could call him Nate if you're worried about Nathan/Nolan sounding too similar.
 

Bella_mezzo

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:) thanks Pupp, I like our names too...here's hoping we'll get to use them someday :cheeky:

I think the Nolan Ryan thing is pretty compelling as to a reason not to use it, even for your husband (unless he's a huge Nolan Ryan fan :lol: )

I would be more inclined to use Nathaniel and Nolan than Nathan and Nolan b/c it seems less matchy matchy.

But...I maintain, Henry and Nolan and Ellis and Nolan are both awesome combos!
 

Haven

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I like Ellis best, then Henry, then Nathan, and I don't like Ryan because of the Nolan Ryan thing.

I think Ellis sounds the best with Nolan. I love the name Henry, but I feel like every little boy under the age of three in my town is named Henry, so that's the only reason I didn't choose it first. Nathan is a fine name, but I really dislike the nn Nate.

Really, though, they're all great names. If I were you I'd choose my favorite two, find middle names for each, and then wait until I met my son to decide. We were all set on a first name for our son for a long time, but we couldn't decide between two middle names. Once we met him, we knew immediately which middle name to choose.

I also want to second the notion of giving your DH a punch for spilling the names to his mom! Oooh, I would have cried, too. The last thing you need right now is *friendly* input from outsiders about such a big decision. We knew people were going to love or hate the names we chose, which is why we shared them with NOBODY. If DH told someone the names, especially someone who would then start emailing me suggestions . . . I would have been out for blood!
 

february2003bride

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Maybe I missed it but what about using Ryan as the middle name? Have to agree with everyone else though- I wouldn't use Ryan as a first name,

Love Henry the most! I like Nathan and don't think it's cutesy at all with Nolan.

I know an Ellis and I think it's such a cool name! While it IS close to Hollis, I don't think that should deter you too much, especially if you love the name.
 

Loves Vintage

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I also really like Henry, and I think Henry goes very well with Nolan. Can't wait to hear what you decide!!
 

lulu66

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I like Nathan Ellis.

Nathan was on our short list for the few weeks we thought Ellie was a boy (along with Nash, which I think would have won). Once we found out she was a girl, we had a really hard time w/names & after settling on one about a month before I totally threw a wrench in it 2 weeks before & said "that's not our babies name." in the end, we chose a name we love :D good luck, pupmom! oh, and my mil was constantly sending suggestions, none of which were considered :lol: :lol:
 

ponder

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I just don't get people. I would never suggest baby names unless my advice was specifically solicited, even to family. I don't think a single person ever suggested a name to DH and I. It's such a personal decision. But for me it's not really a big deal. I let DH names all three of our kids and we did several of the things on your list that are bothering you. We used our back up name for DD#2 and DS and DD#2's names combine to make a famous persons name, way more famous than Nolan Ryan. But trust me, people don't usually get the connection, but maybe it's because we have three kids. I also have a name that is very similar sounding to my brothers name, and it really wasn't a big deal. But, then again, it was my brother and not the dog.

Since you asked, I think all of your suggestions are fine with my favorite being Henry. My only recommendations, on naming in general, is to stay away from weird spellings of common names, you are dooming your child to a lifetime of having to spell their name out loud, and make sure you take your last name into account when naming. DH's cousin almost named his kid Tanner Hyde, which when said quickly sounds like tan-her-hide. You should have seen the look on his wife's face when DH pointed that out.

Good luck picking, any combo you make will be lovely.
 

lulu66

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just reposting to say that I did not get why everyone was so adamant against ryan...and didn't get the references to Nolan Ryan till just now. maybe I'm just super slow :lol: :lol: that's to say, if you love Ryan, go for it. if you don't love it, use Nolan Ryan as the reason to dismiss it :cheeky:
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I think Henry is a really cute name! (We had the sweetest most loving cat with that name! :lol: )

I really like Ellis as a middle name but not as a first name for a boy. It sounds a little too much like Alice, and I think something like Elliott is a much stronger male name. Love Evan as well. Both would go with Nolan to me.

Nathan would be okay, but I wouldn't do Ryan.
 
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