help prove me right to my wife.

[rollo]

There are many people out there including me that use their middle name on a daily basis so I would strongly suggest using a middle name that will convert into an everyday name if required eg Stone or Kane.

rollo

[catheyc]

I disagree that Oliver Ervin is a problem (with the double ER sounds). Normally that type of thing throws me off but this one doesn't for some reason -- maybe because the last syllable of Oliver is the least emphatic. And your wife already posted about that and got a lot of positive responses in favor of Oliver Ervin, so if you're starting to worry about that, you should read that thread.

Although I already voted for McKane because it was the most tolerable of the two, I like pp's suggestion of Oliver Kane Ervin. Another poster also made a lot of great suggestions: Oliver Lucas Ervin, Oliver James Ervin. Or, if you really want a bad-ass middle name, you could spell it Cain (as in Cain and Abel from the Bible). That's certainly a tough, "don't mess with me" name if there ever was one.

[phosphorescence]

Cain's fine, just hope he has no brothers.

[greyer]

I used my middle name more than 5 times, you have to write it down on applications, resumes, etc... so other people will see it. Also, I wouldn't want my child to be ashamed of their middle name.... so if a name like Stonewall has a lot of negative connotations, I wouldn't want my child to feel embarrassed to tell others or wish they had a different middle name.... I know friends where they refused to tell me what their middle name is because they hated it with a passion. Ultimately it's up to you though.

On most job applications that I've filled out (and I've done many of them) they just ask for your middle initial. Same thing with a resume - it's optional. You can choose to write down Oliver S. Ervin if you want or Oliver Stonewall Ervin if you'd rather do it that way. I know many people who do it that way because it just looks simpler on a resume. Also know a few people who've refused to tell me their middle name because they hate it or think it's embarrassing, only to come to find out it's something like Albert or Daisy or Prudence which to me isn't weird at all. But like I said, I wouldn't raise my eyebrows at Stonewall unless it was a first name. As a middle I think it's totally acceptable.

[just.say.no.to.e]

Love the name Oliver, but not too fond of either of those middle name choices. I agree with some other posters, they seem a bit political. I'm considering Oliver James-- you would have the 3-1-2 rhythm with that :0) Best of luck!

[lori johnson]

... Sometimes when I say Oliver, it seems a little "soft," Stonewall toughens him up. ...

I understand where you're coming from and support your desire for a "macho" [Nameberry term] middle.

Oliver is a "new manly" [Nameberry term] name: "Names for guys who shop and cook and diaper their babies. Guys who cry."


The vote I cast in the poll above indicates my preference for Stonewall to McKane.

However, my recommendation is Oliver Stone Ervin [3/1/2 syllable count].


Or another macho middle ...

Oliver Flint Ervin


Or an "intellectual power" first which is also "presidential" [Nameberry terms] ...

Truman Oliver Ervin [though the syllable count isn't ideal]


Or an "intellectual power" [Nameberry term] first ...

Winston Thackeray Ervin [though the syllable count isn't ideal]


Source: "Beyond Jennifer & Jason" book [1994] by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran.

[pansy]

Whilst Stonewall to you means Stonewall Jackson,my immediate thought was Stonewall the gay rights group and the Stonewall riots. And whilst people in your area think along the same lines as you,you can't guarantee your son will live in that same area for his entire life. I'd never heard of Stonewall Jackson (I'm a Brit,and under 25) and many others won't have heard of him either. The world is getting smaller. Whilst many seem to love the sound on here,remember nameberry is not real life and people usually make base connections with names,not "intellectual" ones.

So by this logic, no one in the UK should name their kid Jemima because it brings to mind an offensive stereotype in the US? What about the name Gary? Phonetically, it's the same as the Japanese word for "diarrhea", so is that out too? The original poster stated that he lives in North Carolina so for his area (not to mention a good chunk of the United States), the first association with Stonewall will be Stonewall Jackson, not the riots. I'm in my 30s, live in the US in a city where we have gay pride parades every year and I've never heard of the Stonewall Riots before reading this thread. Even if that was someone's first thought upon hearing the name Stonewall, it's in the middle name spot, so I really don't think it's going to come up all that much.

On a side note, I also find it odd that people think Stonewall Jackson is a bad association. I've never heard anyone ever refer to the Confederacy as "bad" or the Union as "good". There were several issues that led to the Civil War (which is what makes it such an interesting period to study) and only someone who was completely ignorant of its history would simplify it down to good versus evil (or any war, for that matter).

[rollo]

After reading the threads the consensus of opinion seems to be if you want to use the name Stonewall go ahead and do it if it is meaningful to you, and because it isn't a first name it will not impact him as much as if his first name was Stonewall and had to account for the reason his parents chose it on a fairly regular basis. I suppose that most people are just not liking the name Stonewall, they would probably be much more in favour of Jackson, and I like the name of Jackson Oliver Ervin a lot.

I like the suggestions of Stone, Flint and Kane as alternative middle names to Stonewall, and if I had to choose for myself I would probably choose Flint, if I was choosing for you I would choose Stone.

All the best,

rollo

[water buffalo]

Pansy-thanks for the reply. I also find it odd that people have a negative association with Stonewall Jackson. Could someone who feels that way please explain?

[thetxbelle]

Pansy-thanks for the reply. I also find it odd that people have a negative association with Stonewall Jackson. Could someone who feels that way please explain?

Are you serious or are you not in the US? I have a hard time believing this is real if you're in the states. Stonewall Jackson was a General for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Was he himself a bad guy? I personally am not so sure he was, the Civil War is not as black & white as people think it is.

You could consider that A) there are some good things about him and B) Most people were much more invested in their states preservation then they were in that of the Confederacy so it wasnt necessarily about slavery to the individual but to the Confederacy as a whole, it pretty much was.

Any good things about him are trumped by the ugliness of slavery, the confederacy represents a very unfortunate, horrible part of America's history, a part in which he happened to be one of the leading Military officers which is why a lot of people might have a negative association with it.