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Friday, March 25, 2011

the name game

 

A few of you have asked, so here’s the low down on the “Great Name Debate of 2011”:

 

To preface, we’re not the couple that have had their unborn children’s names picked out since our first date. We’re also, hopefully, not the couple who finally pins down a name in the hospital, just in time to fill out the birth certificate. We’re somewhere in the middle and SURPRISE! SURPRISE! my patience with the process is wearing a bit thin.

 

{If my patience is always wearing a bit thin, does that mean I have any patience to actually speak of?}

 

In my dash to name our child, I purchased this little book a while back:

Beyond Ava & Aiden: The Enlightened Guide to Naming Your Baby

 

After just a few pages, I quickly learned that reading through a bazillion names can be a tad overwhelming and little hard on the eye strain. We decided we’d try harder when we found out the baby’s gender, cutting the names we’d have to sort through in half and supposedly making it easier on us.

WRONG.

 

While the baby name books and apps have a bazillion names to choose from, options do not equal ease. Half the names listed are truly only appropriate for a beloved family pet -  Banjo, Manolo, Sequoia… they’re just not my cup of tea.

I’ve been in love with many a name in my lifetime, but they all quickly lose their charm as I see them being used more and more often.

 

Our guidelines: we’re looking for a lesser used name, but not a weird name. A manly name, definitely not a unisex name. Something a kid can live with, that he doesn’t have to spell to everyone constantly but not because there’s 3 other kids in his class with the same moniker.

 

It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. I do have an absolute favorite name, but Nick doesn’t seem to be on board with it – he says he’s “indifferent” to it. I’ve given up hope on convincing him of this one and have moved on to my second favorite name, one we came up with together while eating at Cheesecake Factory on our 6 year anniversary… I at least really like that part of it =) We’re still looking to make sure no ground is left uncovered, but we do both agree on this one and keep throwing it around out loud to see how we feel.

We do, however, have a middle name chosen. A family name that luckily seems to go with every first name we throw up as an option. THANK GOODNESS for that. I can’t imagine having to come up with TWO names right now and making sure they both “go” with each other.

 

The search continues…

 

Any suggestions for our little man?

{Seriously!!}

82 comments:

  1. I can't imagine how hard picking a name would be! What a major decision! I'm a fan of classic names..My favorites for boys are: Jack, Noah, Blake, Davis, Greyson, and I really love Vance.

    Good luck with choosing the perfect one! I can't wait to hear what it is:)

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  2. Oh golly...this is the hardest thing to decide ever ;) There are SO many to choose from but only a teeny tiny fraction are actually usable. I had a girls name picked out and told a friend. WHOMP WHOMP...they took it and just had their baby. Not sure what to do about that! I like good classic names, they are almost a minority now with so many Braydens, Jaydens and the like.

    I know this was of absolutely no help to you at all but hope you will find the name you are looking for!

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  3. I'm obsessed with the name Oliver for a little boy!

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  4. My brother and his wife found their little girl's name on an NFL website. (It was someone's last name.) Maybe you guys could check out some baseball websites to find something since that's Nick's love! I know you guys will find the perfect name!

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  5. I have absolutely no advice on the name front LOL! Hubby and I just had to decide on 2 names (having twins) and now when I thought we had them picked he tells me he is still undecided UGH!! He wants both names to start with the same letter and I really have no preference. Good luck to you guys, hopefully you will find something you can both agree on!!

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  6. I completely understand what you mean about looking through a book just saying names aloud. It is tiring! I think boy names are hard; but, I found the best luck doing this: I wrote down the main characters names in all of my favorite movies and television shows. I also wrote down the actors names, and even my favorite musician's names. I had a really long list of names that I realized I was already somewhat partial to. Some were easy to omit right away and others I had never really considered yet! It helped me think a lot more about it.Hope that helps! Good Luck! I am sure it will be adorable no matter what you choose!

    Also, we have the same naming guidelines! haha.

    Cori @ ILoveLucyJean.com

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  7. Sequoia ? Manolo ? Really ?!! Hahaha.

    I totally get your guidelines. I love classics.

    What about Adrien ? Adrian ? I love this name. I also love Oliver. And Louis. (I'm French, but I think those names work really well both in English and French)

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  8. We loved Austin, Cole, Jacob, Henry... we had plenty of boy names and then had a girl. :)

    I'm a teacher and here are the cute boys in my class this year :) ...Thomas, Houston, Scott, Cooper, Tyler, and Caleb. :)

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  9. I know EXACTLY what you mean by not wanting common, but not so "unique" that no teacher can say it and the poor kid will spend his lifetime spelling it! My boys are Parker, Paxton and Beckett. Parker is common NOW, but mine is almost 17 and back then it was unheard of =) GL with deciding!!

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  10. I really like the names Micah, Jonah, Colt, & Clay, :) Looking forward to hearing what name y'all choose!

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  11. My son's name is Barrett, (middle name Blue--family name) so I obviously love it! I had about 6 baby name books and had a really hard time deciding. Are you going to share the name that you and your hubs like?

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  12. I also reco the book "Baby Name Wizzard" it has a section for sibling names. So if you like, Thomas, it tells you girl and boy names that sound good with it. It's so fun. Here's the Web site http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager

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  13. Names for me are always attached to people I know and if I like you, I like the name, if I don't like you I don't like the name. The ones I like right now are Brody, Gabe, Masen, Cole, and Colton.

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  14. My advice based on experience. Go with your gut, don't think about 'what other will say'. Somehow the name ends up picking you.

    We had a name for our boy and our friends had there baby before us and ended up with that name. I was mad and we agreed on a new name. His name now means brave and with all hes been through hospitals ect it couldn't be more perfect. It picked him! I can't imagine him being the 'first choice' we had picked.

    Good luck.

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  15. My son's name is Jonah and even after saying it thousands of times a day for the past three years I still love it. It also isn't a very common name which is awesome too.

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  16. We're expecting a little boy in June and I can't even tell (of course, we had a girl's name all good to go... figures!) Boys names are SO HARD.. it's difficult to find something cute/different/manly/ that will carry from baby to adulthood with ease... not to mention, I'm Indian and my hubby is Italian, so I wanted an ethnic name but not something TOO crazy or hard to spell/pronounce and we couldn't agree on ANYTHING. I think we've FINALLY settled on something but that's after going through 50,000 names... literally! I think I downloaded about 12 baby name apps to my iPhone :)

    I overlooked a lot of names that I loved but just felt weren't "us" -- my faves were probably Ashton, Gavin and Cameron. Good luck!! :)

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  17. I am partial to Brayden, of course, because that's our son's name. But it took awhile for me to love it! Others that I love? Caden, Cohen, Parker, Noah, and Grayson. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't LOVE any of those- so in 8 weeks? I am hoping we are having a girl!

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  18. My husband and I have had a really hard time settling on a girl name (boy name is 2 family names). We don't know what we're having yet, but I'm a bit OCD and wanted to decide. One site we liked was babynamewizard.com. You can type in the name and it will show you how popular it has recently been :) Happy naming!

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  19. I've always loved the name "Blaine" for a boy. That was my top pick when I knew I was expecting a boy! But, my mom didn't like the sound of "Blaine Brown"...whatever, I liked it ;) We ended up naming our little boy "Jarrett". Somehow we came up with that b/c my husband's name is Jason & his BFF's name is Garrett. I don't know, but we all agreed on it! A few of my other favs: Beckett, Bennett, Evan, Parker, Judson, Ashdon, Oliver, Lincoln & Owen. Hope that helps, ha ha! I keep names I like in a word document on my computer :D

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  20. Kaden! (is my son's name, so it's my favorite.) I also like Blair, but that might be too unisex, I don't know. You could always go with Robert. Ha. I actually know someone named Bob Roberts. I think that's just mean! Good luck, and ENJOY everything! (Well not everything, but you know, the happy stuff :)

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  21. i love the name colson and it just happens to mean son of Nicholas. just saying :)

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  22. Also, this is a fun site to play around with!

    http://www.babynamegenie.com/

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  23. We have gone with names that aren't easily made into puke nicknames- for all six of ours. Christian isn't shortened like Christopher. And both Noah and Evan are too short to shorten. However- since I know your middle name choice ;) I think Harrison would be a great choice. :)

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  24. I love Griffin! Griffin Roberts sounds good, right?!

    Picking a name is so fun but yet such pressure! I am sure you will find something great!

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  25. Hey girl! I like your guidelines. :) Thankfully we were that couple with our names picked out before we were married...HAHA...but with so many people pregnant right now I am getting anxious someone will 'say' my name before we get to! Good Luck with deciding! Remember- there's no time line, until you deliver! ha! :)

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  26. We had the same criteria and ended up deciding on Griffin. Best of luck to you!

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  27. My son is Cruz. I love it because it's different but not too out there. Some other names I think are nice but aren't too common.. Isaiah, Elliot, Phoenix, Lucas, Milo, Dane, Cohen, Jonah, Kai, Myles, Brock, Cooper, Rhys. I'm obsessed with names so I always have tons of suggestions for everyone. :)

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  28. We only have 5 weeks to go and JUST decided on a name last week!!! Boys names are SO hard! I loved "Will" William for a boy name - classic - but my husband did not agree! We are naming our baby boy Colson - something different...easy to say and spell :) GOOD LUCK!

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  29. I have always liked good old fashioned boys names, which have seemed to take a back seat lately. I have a son Brian, and a grandson Daniel, but I have always liked Connor and Kevin also. Can you tell we have some Irish in our family? I'm sure whatever name you choose, it will be just perfect for your little guy!

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  30. Hi Stephanie. I just started following your blog so congrats on the coming baby. Weird story? My husband and I got engaged on 09/03/07 but we WOULD HAVE got engaged on 09/04/07 because that was our anniversary. However, he couldn't wait. :) Also, I was even more intrigued by the pic you have with your ring at the baseball game. I totally recognized the stadium right away and excitedly thought to myself that you might be a Reds fan. Anyways, my baby name advice...maybe choose something that has meaning for you somehow. I mean it doesn't have to be super significant but I always thought it would be nice to be able to tell my child why he or she had their particular name. Congrats again. :)

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  31. Some of my favorites are: Judson (Judd), Henry, Levi, Wyatt, Owen.

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  32. If my girl had been a boy, his name would had been Emmet.

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  33. I totally wanted a unique but not "weird" name for our son. . .we ended up going with Paxson Boone. Everyone always thinks it's Paxton, so we now have a lifetime of correcting to do =) Good luck!

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  34. The names I like for a boy include Emmett, Abbott, Beckett, and Branson. Just suggestions for you! You all are a beautiful couple-I've never commented before but I love your posts! Congratulations on the new addition-I imagine you guys having a beautiful child! :)

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  35. I like Simon, Joshua, Noah, Harrison and Henry.

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  36. How about Ryder? Or Errol? Like Errol Flynn. Good luck!

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  37. Hi Stephanie!!! As a teacher of seven years, I can say the best thing on WHATEVER YOU decide--a common name or not is to just name your son a name he can SPELL and say correctly with the correct sounds in the name!
    I see it all to often with parents trying to be "Creative" by switching letters around in names. This becomes a HUGE problem with pronouncing the name when taking ROLL CALL haha aka attendance! The other thing people don't realize is it's grammatically incorrect to name a kid say "Leighton" (Like the actress Leighton Meester) then to say "Oh but by the way please know that it's pronounced "LAYTON" Ok really? where in the english sounds Does LEE (The "e" sound get said as an "A"? LEE- ton pronounced as LAY? I will never comprehend why parents do this. It's a huge headache when testing kids how to sound out sounds in first grade! haha Of course ultimately what you decide is yours and yours alone decision but I thought I'd offer from an Educating-the-youth-of-america standpoint. :)

    I've also never understood why people keep their kids name a "secret". There are over like 15 billion people on the earth. Duplication of names is utterly impossible. And as for friends trying to steal you name, well then they really aren't your friend if they nab your kids name right? Good luck!!! :)

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  38. I love the following names: William, Liam, Aiden, Jackson, and Max.

    Good luck!!

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  39. I love picking names!! We have three boys and I love all their names. We wanted something traditional but that had a strong meaning. When we first picked our names everyone thought they were too common, but now people use such different names that they don't seem to be so common anymore! So, we have
    #1 Andrew Spencer (middle name after daddy) which means manly provider
    #2 Joshua Stephen (middle name after an uncle) which means Lord is Salvation
    #3 Zachary Thomas (middle name after daddy) which means remembered by God
    I can't wait to hear what you all decide!

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  40. What about Eli? ...not sure how it flows with the middle name you've selected, but I know I haven't heard of many boys named Eli. It's also super easy to spell, haha!

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  41. We don't have kids yet, but right now my favorite names for a boy are Trent, Scott, Grant, Graham, Jack, and Ben.

    They're real names, common enough that everyone can spell them, but since the trend now is to name your child something completely ridiculous, he would be the only Grant in the nursery.

    I know they're all one syllable, but I think a one syllable first name sounds good with a two syllable last name, and ours is Taylor.

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  42. I had never written here so I take this opportunity to congratulate you guys :) some of my personal faves are benjamin, Christopher, aiden, james and I know you don't want unisex but I love Taylor. And trust me I can relate to spelling the name all the time cuz I'm from Venezuela and my last name is British so most people don't get it

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  43. I felt the same way, with not wanting to name the baby JOHN, or something 3 other kids in his class were named!! We settled on Mason Alexander. The name suits him to a "T", and he is the only Mason in his school! He is 10 now, and I think the name is becoming more popular, but I still love it! We chose Dylan for our 2nd little guy, and it fits hiom perfectly! So funny, how they suit their name!

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  44. I think Nate Roberts sounds so cute! Your choice if you want to make it Nathan or Nathaniel. :)

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  45. I haven't had a child yet (unless you count my three 4-legged ones...haha), but if I ever do it's going to be tough naming them. My reason..I've been a teacher for 14 years. You give me a name, and I can go back and relive the nightmare that child 'X' had given me 10 years prior :)

    I'm sure any name you pick will be perfect for your son! Good luck and can't wait to hear the final decision.

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  46. The right name will come in time. One day, it will just click! :) Good luck!!

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  47. My handsome little dude is Avery. Although, I wanted to name a girl this...he fits it perfectly. We nickname him Avs. I also heard a good one today...Koyer. I thought it was different and kinda fun. good luck! boys names are hard!

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  48. I love Michael. And I know this is starting to be a pretty common name, but I just read this: Jack - this Old English name means "the Lord is gracious." Thought that was pretty cool.

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  49. We just had a little boy in December, and it took us FOREVER to decide on a name for him. We had a girl's name totally picked out, but just could not agree on a boy name. My husband really wanted "Bison William" so that he could be "Buffalo Bill." Thankfully, I was able to talk him out of that and our son is Holland William. Unique enough that he won't be one of 3, but still easy to spell and pronounce. Good luck!

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  50. Stephanie, I came across your blog through a friend's. Congratulations on your upcoming little one! I personally love the names, Knox and Drew. I have 3 little girls so I have not had the chance to use them!:)

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  51. We are debating on the names Ian and Nolan for our son due in April!

    Good luck with your search!

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  52. I am no help, we have had our names picked since before we were married, haha! Now we just need to have like 8 kids...

    Good luck with the decision!

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  53. I'm a teacher, and my precious boys this year are named Peyton, Brady Samuel and Alex. Maybe that'll help!

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  54. Hi there! Congrats on your LO. My sister's son's name is Porter. At first I didn't like this name, but it is perfect. It's Southern, strong, easy to spell and say! His middle name is Jakub (family name/spelling).

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  55. We have a son named Jaden Reid which I LOVE. We're pregnant with our second and if it's a boy his name will be Weston James. I LOVE Weston. Our girl name is so-so but I am IN LOVE with Weston. :)

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  56. Graham fits your criteria and I think it would be super cute for a little boy with your or Nick's hair color.

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  57. well you know I have saddled my poor children with names they will be spelling for people for the rest of their lives :) but my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE name resource when pregnant was The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenburg. I got it at Barnes and Noble... she also has a website/blog http://www.babynamewizard.com/. I found it very helpful! :)

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  58. Oh and I see some people are suggesting Graham, I LOVE that name! that was my first choice but Jesse won out with Gray :) I vote Graham!

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  59. Congratulations on your pregnancy. Boy names seem easier to me, I have a few that are so adorable and unique.

    1. Drake
    2. Wyatt
    3. Sawyer
    4. Lane
    5. Landon
    6. Brennen
    7. Greyson

    Good Luck to you.

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  60. Chosing a name is so hard! I understand when you said 3 other kids in the class...My son's name is Jackson Davis (1st name have always loved and David a family name) IAfter having Jackson I now know like 5 or 6 other little kids around his same age with that name also spelled differently (ie Jaxson, Jaxon, Jaxston) And they also ask how do you spell his name, and what do you call him. Well I am very traditional, and I spell it the "right way" (hehe) and call him well JACKSON! That is his name. Being from the country folks are already saying "JD and Jack" grrr! ANywho...have you look at the website www.babycenter.com it has a lot of nice sugestions, espescially informing of the most popular names(which helps me push towards the other end of the name list) There are always great names like William or Matthew..classic. Good luck!

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  61. I'll share my favorite boys names with ya! Charlie and Brooks. Charlie is classic but getting pretty popular again, and Brooks is pretty far off the radar but I have seen it in Potter Barn Kids a couple of times after declaring my eternal love for the name. :) I also like Henry. Very classic.

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  62. I named my son Christopher Ty and we call him Ty. He's named Christopher after his dad, but I loved the simplicity and strength of Ty. His nickname since he was a baby is Ty-Ty.....so cute!

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  63. Stephanie, a very belated congratulations on the news of your pregnancy! (I'm sorry I've been such a slacker on commenting and blogging - I just had baby #2 a few weeks ago so blogging has fallen to the wayside and I'm just now catching up!). I'm so happy for you - little boys are so sweet and fun, as I'm learning now with my little guy. :) As for names, we had a hard time agreeing upon one for our baby boy, but we finally landed on Grayson, so I'm partial to that name! And might I just say, you are the cutest pregnant lady I've ever seen!

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  64. I just brought home a sweet baby boy named Grayson. I think it is strong and masculine, but isn't so odd that he'll feel singled out.

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  65. my boys are:

    Brandon
    Gavin
    Colin

    all nice names and all sound very good with the last name Roberts:)
    best of luck!

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  66. I LOVE talking about baby names!! I am kind of obsessed :) First, congrats on having a boy! so fun! I have 2 girls, so I never got to use any of my favorite boys names. Here is what I like:
    1. Grant
    2. Gavin
    3. Carter
    4. Owen
    5. Luke

    Good luck picking his name! Are you going to share what his middle name is?

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  67. I must say I love Easton and Parker. These are names we picked for our twin sons. Good luck with name picking! I know you are bombarded with tons of ideas, but the right one will come to you soon! It took my husband and I a while to decide also!

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  68. My husband and I are still a few months away from "trying", but we're already discussing baby names and nursery ideas:) My favorite boy name has always been Ethan, but my husband has a cousin with that name so it's off the table. I'm always suggesting it to others because I love it so much!

    www.mamaneedssushi.com

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  69. I am an elementary teacher and here are a few of the more interesting, less common names of some students:

    Keegan
    Hayes
    Houston
    Rex
    Price
    Lawson
    Good luck and congratulations!! The perfect name will come to y'all soon, I am sure!

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  70. Our baby is named Logan Holland which is a family name, but we just love it! Flows nicely together :) We also liked Gabriel, Gabe for short.

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  71. Just saw that someone named their boy Kreuzer and I'm in love with it... its different but so cute!

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  72. My son is Kai. I love it! I thought it was really original but now I hear it more often which is a little upsetting but what can you do?
    Love your blog by the way!
    Lindsay

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  73. We have a Gabriel (Gabe) and are always getting a lot of compliments!

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  74. Parker. It's my baby brother's name, a family name, a handsom, strong masculine name and not one that is frequently used. Congrats!

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  75. I'd like to think that I'd be the same way if we are lucky enough to have children. I have names in mind that I like, as well as some family names that will probably be middle names, but we are both very Irish and I think we are going to follow our roots and pick names in the Irish heritage.

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  76. I don't have much advice, but I sure am glad we had a family name we loved. Bennett is perfect for our little guy and it was an easy choice.

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I just shared my thoughts, I'd love to hear you share yours! {Besides, I'm tired of listening to the voices in my head.} I kid, I kid... ;)