We seem to be having such a hard time deciding on a name for this new bundle of joy so I'm taking it to the blog for some help and suggestions!!
Here's our naming criteria:
-We would love for this baby's name to start with an 'A,' but it's not necessary since it narrows the field so much.
-It has to go well with Patrick as a middle name.
-We don't like weird spellings.
-I'd like for it to be something somewhat uncommon, but not too unusual, since we have a pretty common last name.
Ryan doesn't understand that last criteria, first of all because he doesn't think the last name Harris is common and secondly because, unlike me, he didn't grow up going to school with 10 other people in his grade having the exact same first name. I like my name, but lets be honest, Jennifer was the most common girls name for over a decade between the 70's and 80's and I was guaranteed at least one...usually 2 or even 3...other girls with the same name as me in every class while in school. Don't believe me? Check this out- (courtesy of www.socialsecurity.gov)
| Year of birth | Rank |
|---|---|
| 1989 | 7 |
| 1988 | 5 |
| 1987 | 4 |
| 1986 | 4 |
| 1985 | 3 |
| 1984 | 1 |
| 1983 | 1 |
| 1982 | 1 |
| 1981 | 1 |
| 1980 | 1 |
| 1979 | 1 |
| 1978 | 1 |
| 1977 | 1 |
| 1976 | 1 |
| 1975 | 1 |
| 1974 | 1 |
| 1973 | 1 |
| 1972 | 1 |
| 1971 | 1 |
| 1970 | 1 |
| 1969 | 3 |
15 years as #1...isn't that crazy!!
Ok, so it's not a huge deal to share a first name with someone else, there are billions of people and only so many names out there, but I would like just a teensy bit of originality, is that so much to ask?
That being said, the following names are OUT as they are the top 15 boys names of the past decade:
1 Jacob
2 Michael (And I thought my name was bad, Michael has been in the top 2 since 1954!!)
3 Joshua
4 Matthew
5 Christopher
6 Andrew
7 Daniel
8 Ethan
9 Joseph
10 William
11 Anthony
12 Nicholas
13 David
14 Alexander
15 Ryan
So there ya have it...
Maybe it's all these criteria that are making it so difficult for us or maybe it's the fact that Ryan prefers traditional names and I prefer more contemporary ones. Either way, we would love some ideas, feedback or even a referral to a good naming website that we've somehow overlooked. Baby boy Harris #2 needs a name!
FYI - The names Harrison and Neal are out due to (what should be) obvious reasons.
13 comments:
What about Aidan? Aidan Patrick sounds great to me!
I agree with Rachel! I was going to type the same thing!
Or...Alex, Alec, Aaron, Andrew, Amri???
I agree, too and Aidan is def. not a common name.
Have you looked into family names? I don't know how keen you are on family names(like great-great grandfather) or where the name Patrick came from, but it might something to look into. We got our son's first and middle name from past generations.
Have you looked at the Baby Center's website? They have a list of top names.
Aiden/Aidan is my suggestion as well. It was on my final list...I have others (and I doubt we are adding to our family), but they aren't "A" names.
Aidan is my favorite, but there is also Ashton, Aeric, Avery, Adrian, and Alistair. :) Peronal surprise when I looked up A names: Aboody. Maybe not go with that one?
Aaron... I still only know 1.
I thought about Ashton too. I really like Aidan, but I've noticed it has gotten more popular recently. The spelling of "Aiden" is much more common than "Aidan" though. I'm guessing you are going with the "popularity cut-off" of around 15 since you said anything in the top 15 was out. This is what I found from the SS website about Ashton and Aidan/Aiden
Ashton - has been ranked around 120 for the last several years and topped out in popularity in 2004 @ 76.
Aidan - ranked around the 50s in the past couple years topping out in 2003 at 39.
Aiden - ranked 16th last year and then around the 30s the 2 years before that. Obviously topped out last year.
I know it's so hard to decide on a name. I hope all this helps some!
Being a teacher I have to think back to all my kids and the association I have with their names. A few mentioned would be out, but that is my criteria not yours!! :) I do know a little boy named Alden. I like that.
The more I think about Ashton, the more I like it. And, I was going to mention that having a child with the same name as a celebrity, oddly enough, rarely causes people to make the connection between the two. Unless you went with Neal and then I'd think it would happen a lot more than with Ashton. :)
Oohhh! One of my favorite past times - coming up with names for my future children, lol. I can't give you the one that I would use (I have a strict policy about sharing - I know, I'm crazy) but I do have a suggestion. And I'm going to go the non 'A' route. I think the good old southern name Jackson sounds really good with Patrick. Jackson Patrick Harris.
I know everyone likes Aidan but it kind of sounds like the name of some Scottish warrior out of a romance novel. Congrats - BTW! (Wendy from MMRML!)
our little man's name is Anderson, my maiden name! Everyone loves it! It has seemed to go over pretty well.
I think Aiden is getting pretty popular. I really like Reece, Mason, Cullen, and Hampton. I could seriously go on FOREVER!!!
For A names, I like Abbot, Abner, Adler, Ashford.
I am just a "blog lurker." :) But we have common friends... I love coming up with baby names, as I do not have kids yet. Here are my thoughts:
Brayden, Connor, Evan, Landon, Noah, or Owen. If you want to stick with the "A' route... Asher, Alton, or Anderson.
Best wishes to you.
Alexander Patrick Harris
calling him Alex for short..I know my nephew will shut this one down also...LOL...but I liked it..also Augie, one of my friends named his son Augie years ago and it was a big hit way back when...Good luck and I am sure you will find the most perfect name...Love ya'll
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