Boys' list fattened over the holiday!

[emmabobemma]

Oh my! What a trove of names!
Blade: Yes, you'd better be sorry for the miso-erection. But thank you for the names! I am totally agreeing with your "keep and reject" choices. Good points all around. I hear what you mean about Cody.. :-( I feel affectionately about it because it was the name my best friend would always call herself when we were playing make-believe as kids. Her middle name is Key, which I thought about swiping too.

Cabot- love your idea, love Shackletonish types, but I have VT family who are constantly eating Cabot cheese.
Cadfan- doesn't feel like enough of an... iconic "name name".. you know how a house that's house-shaped feels especially good? I want a name that feels nicely contained like that.. I think ;-) Caspar, Clement, Crispin have that. Cyro I'm not sure about.
Cadfael- I do like the AE, but I haven't read the books, just watched the silly Mystery series long ago.. don't love it enough to justify using a Cad name.
Caledon- nah. I do like Calidore though.
Caradoc- Like this, though it rhymes with paradox.
Casimir- Gorgeous but not sure husband will bite.
Cassiel- LOVE. And Cassius, Cassian, Cassia for a girl. Love this.
Cathal- Beautiful but so breathy.. it doesn't give much more rootedness to Cy.
Chariton- I think Charity, and Sheraton Motel. Nope.
Cheyne: Hm.. Like that it means oak, but is it pronounced "chain" or "Shane?" Dislike that it's almost Cheney. But I DO like the sound of "Shane" though the usual sh-spelling doesn't do it for me.
Chivan: Not wild about the sound. I do love Ösel, which means "clear light of the sky" ..name of a teacher of mine, but there was Ösel Tendzin, who was a pretty dark guy.
Clovis- This is a beaut. And Clove too. Somehow very androgynous, and it does make me think of devilish goat hooves.. not sure.
Colwyn: Too whispy
Constantine: Too regal. Somehow I like Constance but dislike Constantine.
Corbyn: Of raven names, I prefer Bertram.
Corentin: I like this one. I might be tempted to call him "Tin" all the time.
Corydon: I had a "hero-lover" named Cori before I was married, so no.
Corrado: I think "carotid" for some reason.
Cosimo/Cosmas : I like this a lot, but there is a new baby in my close family named Nova, so not sure. Prefer Cosmas- the Medici association looms large.

"Are you pronouncing Ywen somewhat close to Owen? The starting vowel is not like the French Yves, from what I understand. I think it's lovely, tied with Yvain for its evocative nature. I think Yves would be constantly misheard as Eve, which might create embarrassing gender confusion."
It's "YU-wen" like Ewan, but I feel that it's almost a bit like "EE-wen" or that you say the "Yew" sound quickly, so it kind of sneaks up on you. Glad you like it! Yves I prefer as a middle rather than a first, but think I prefer the boyish earthiness of Ywen.
Ybarra: Lovely, but I know someone with the last name Ibarra, and I do find it feminine.
Yestin: I see yeast.
Ynyr: You really shouldn't encourage me with these kinds of vowelless wonders. I love it, but my husband will laugh laugh laugh.
Ysidro: I like this one. And I love Isidore, Isidor, Isadore... Ysador?

Arvid: Beautiful. Like a cross between "earnest" and "avid." Again, not sure it's enough of a "name name."
Berkeley: Prefer just Birch- Berkeley has too many other associations for me.
Hawes: I hear a silent R.
Haslett: I love the idea of a settlement near hazel trees, but I see "hassle."
Holt: Wild about the meaning, but I hear "halt."
Laurence: Hm. Hadn't considered Laurence. It's beautiful. But is it too aristocratic-feeling?
Lindell: Prefer Linden.
Nairn: nope.
Orrick: For some reason I think of Little Otik, that scary Svankmejer film.
Tamarack: Ooh I love this!
Waldwick: Sounds snippy to me.

Lordy, that was a lot of names! I'm going to post again with a narrowed-down list.

Andalusia (love your name btw!) Thank you. I am really fond of Schuyler. It's going on the list. Sky is probably the more natural nn with this one, but I think Cy could work.
On Crispin Makepeace.. yes I know, it does sound like "kiss and make peace." I think I'd want a Y-middle with Crispin anyway, to get Cy.
Caspian is too over the top Narnia for me, but I do love the sound of it.

Ok. I'll be back later with a new list!

[blade]

Glad to help-- couple of quick points.

If Cathal is too breathy, you might like the similarly Irish Carbry / Cairbre ("charioteer"), Ciaran, Cinaead (original form of Kenneth, "born of fire,"), Conall (strong wolf), or Cormac (bad meaning, great namesake).

Cadwallader is a fantastic Welsh name (also a NYC white shoe law firm) meaning "leader of the battle"

Cassiel is the angel of Saturday; Cathiel is the angel of Thursday

Cheyne is pronounced Shane.

If Corrado is no good, why not the original Conrad?

Hazlett is the traditional spelling of Haslett, and it removes the 'hassle' worries.

Other C suggestions:

Callistus (from Greek Kallistos; "most beautiful." Saintly male name).
Cedomir (Slavic again-- "children's peace")
Ceferino (Spanish form of Zephyr)
Celestyn / Celestine (brings back Caelus, in the modern saintly/Polish form)
Cenric ("bold power" in Old English)
Chandan (Sanskrit for sandalwood)
Charalampos (OK, out there, but Greek for "to shine with happiness")
Charon ("fierce brightness" in Greek)
Conway (River Conwy, 'holy water,' in Wales)
Cyneric (KINE-ric, "royal power" in Old English)

I think you have all the good Ys already.

[emmabobemma]

OK, this list is really no shorter, but here's where I'm at. Thanks again Blade. Cassiel, Cathiel, and Cheyne are making me happy right now. All of these names, actually! Well, happy and vexed, at once.

Cy Ywen
Cy Linden
Cy Quincy (can't bring myself to part with Quincy, that Q! and quince! ugh. maybe if I don't use it on a boy it could work as a girl's mn)
Clement Yaromir, Clement Ywen? Clement Yvain?? Clement WHAT?
Caspar Ywen, Caspar Yvain
Crispin Ywen (THIS ONE DOESN'T WORK RHYTHMICALLY, BUT OF THE CRISPINS, IT'S CLOSEST IN TONE TO WHAT I WANT)
Crispin Wythe - Love this, but not sure I can get to Cy this way.
Crispin Yves, Crispin Yvain, Crispin Yarrow
Sylvan Marsh? Sylvan Yves
Cyro Basil, Cyro Wythe, Cyro Marsh, Cyro Julius, Cyro Raoul, Cyro Ywen - not sure.
Cypress Marsh, Cypress Yaromir, Cypress Raoul, Cypress Randolf

NON-CY POSSIBILITIES:
Ywen Marsh, Ywen Wythe, Ywen Heath
Caspar Linden
Clement Makepeace
Crispin Basil, Crispin Makepeace, Crispin Seafrid, Crispin Marsh
Basil Raoul, Basil Wythe, Basil Yvain, Basil Ywen, Basil Clement
Felix Makepeace, Otis Clement

ALSO ON THE TABLE:
Cyril
Cyngar
Cyndir
Cabot
Calidore
Casimir
Cassiel
Cassius
Cassian
Cheyne
Clovis
Clove
Corentin
Cosmas
Ysidro, Isidore, Isidor, Isadore, Ysador???
Arvid
Laurence
Tamarack
Schuyler
Elm, Alder, Birch, Acanthus, Victor, Ishmael
Cinaead
Cormac
Cathiel
Cadwallader (!)
Cenrid
or Cedric
Cyneric (lovely, but the pronunciation is bananas!)

[javad]

I feel like Cy by itself is too nicknamey, so personally I'd probably opt out on that one as a stand alone name. Your idea of using the initials C.Y. to come to Cy would work well within the family, though it's probably unlikely he'd have the nickname Cy outside of the family (perhaps that doesn't matter to you). What about Silas? Has the nn Si/Cy as well.

If you do go with the C.Y. initials, here are some of my favorite C names:
Cian
Callum
Caius
Cassius
Conrad
Caelum
Clayton
Cianan
Cullen
Canaan
Caleb
Corey
Cody
Cassian
Caledon
Cadoc
Cohen
Constantine

Don't have any Y names on my list, so can't really help you much there.

[emmabobemma]

Thank you Javad! I do agree that Cy is nicknamey. If I used it as a standalone, I'd want to use Simon sometimes as a lengthened-nick. Silas - meh. From your list I like Cian (like that it's close to Key), Caius (though it makes me think of Caligula), Cassius, Caelum, Cianan, Cassian, and Cadoc. All these nice KEE sounds...
I like the name Keane too (or Keene) though it's a surname.

[emmabobemma]

Slightly reduced list.

Cy Ywen, Cy Linden, Cy Quincy
Clement Yaromir? Clement Ywen? Clement Makepeace? NEED HELP WITH THIS ONE.
Caspar Ywen, Caspar Yvain, Caspar Linden
Crispin Wythe, Crispin Yves, Crispin Yarrow, Crispin Ysador (can I spell Isidor like this?!) Crispin Seafrid, Crispin Marsh
Sylvan Marsh, Sylvan..something else?
Cyro Basil, Cyro Wythe, Cyro Marsh, Cyro Julius, Cyro Raoul, Cyro Ywen - Cyro flows well with everything. I like how close it is to "Zero," and it's very sleek. I think I may prefer the more sentimental names though, with a nn as sleek as Cy.. not sure.
Cypress Marsh
Ywen Marsh
Basil Raoul, Basil Clement... Crispin Basil? Confused about Basil. Very fond of it but not sure what to pair it with.
Felix Makepeace, Otis Clement

OTHER OPTIONS:
Cyril
Cabot*
Calidore
Casimir
Cassiel*
Cassius*
Cassian*
Cheyne*
Ysidro, Isidore, Isidor, Isadore, Ysador???*
Arvid*
Laurence
Tamarack
Schuyler*
Alder, Acanthus, Victor, Ishmael
Cormac- Oh I do like Mac! Why can't I name my future son Macheath?
Cathiel*
Cadwallader
Cedric
Cyneric
Cian (assuming it's pronounced like Keane, "keen")*

[blade]

Breaking it down...

For Cy as a stand-alone, I don't think a middle which begins with a vowel is needed. You don't strictly need your Y names as you've already got Cy....

Cy Linden, Cy Somerled, Cy Randolf, Cy Mederic, Cy Marshton, Cy Prospero

Clement Yorke, Clement Yvain, Clement Yukon, Clement Ysidro, Clement Yule, Clement Wythe

Caspar Ywen works best!

Sylvan Cynewulf, Sylvan Arvid, Sylvan Makepeace, Sylvan Ranulf, Sylvan Ysidro, Sylvan Wythe

Cyro Calidore, Cyro Makepeace, Cyro Cheyne

-- don't care for Cypress--

Ywen Cassiel, Ywen Seafrid, Ywen Somerled, Ywen Calidore

Crispin Wythe, Crispin Yves, Crispin Yule, Crispin Yorke, Crispin Yair, Crispin Young (like monosyllabic names here)

Basil Calidore, Basil Emeric, Basil Rodolfo, Basil Talfryn, Basil Cathiel

Cyril Makepeace
Casimir Yves
Cassiel Yves
Cheyne Yosemite
Laurence Ranulf Wythe
Cian Tamarack
Arvid Makepeace, Arvid Talfryn
Cormac Marsh
Cathiel Yvain
Cadwallader Yann
Cedric Ysidor
Cyneric Yves

[ottilie]

Reading your name lists makes me happy! Good progress.

Cy Linden
Clement Yaromir is lovely, my suggestion is Clement Ishmael.
Caspar Ywen
Crispin Wythe or Crispin Seafrid
Sylvan Marsh is nice, also Sylvan Tamarack & Sylvan Wythe (huge fan of Wythe!)
Cyro Wythe, Cyro Marsh & Cyro Julius
Cypress Marsh - sounds like a marsh full of cypresses?
Ywen Marsh
Basil Raoul is badass. Basil Cheyne, Basil Isidore.
Felix Makepeace
Otis Clement

Arvid Cassian, Arvid Makepeace, Arvid Clement
Cassian Marsh, Cassian Seafrid, Cassian Wythe
Isidore Wythe, Isidore Marsh, Isidore Yvain

[emmabobemma]

Thanks so much you two nimble namers! I’ve been just dying to respond to all your fabulous suggestions but haven’t had time - torture! Here are the ones I like....


BLADE:

Cy Linden, Cy Somerled (Languid and beautiful. I like Somerset too, but it's too hissy with Cy. Somerled is better.)

Clement Yule (lovely for a Xmas baby, and a nice way to incorporate Yu) Clement Wythe (has such a peaceful feeling) ..on the fence about Yorke. I like the sound with Clement, and the meaning, but I think Richard II. Maybe my husband and I will feel differently connected to some of these beautiful English names after we travel there next month.

Caspar Ywen. YES.

Sylvan Cynewulf (this one's over the top but so cool I just couldn't erase it!) *Sylvan Ysidro, Sylvan Wythe

Cypress is out. Cyro is teetering on the brink.

Ywen Seafrid, Ywen Somerled

Crispin Wythe, Crispin Yves, Crispin Yule, Crispin Yorke - all lovely

Basil Calidore, Basil Emeric (I like Emeric for a son of Em) ..I want to like Talfryn- love the look of it, and I AM Welshish, but it feels a little out-of-nowhere to me.

Cyril Makepeace- I was starting to give up on Cyril, but Makepeace strengthens it. Something about the association of Cyril to the evolution of the alphabet, with Makepeace - I feel like a person with this name might be an excellent diplomat!

Casimir Yves- This one's perfect if I have an intersex child. Ze would be the best-named transbaby this side of the Mississippi!

Cheyne Yosemite- Oh I love this. Only we don't have a special connection to Yosemite, though we've been talking about going there. If we fall in love with the place, I might be tempted to use this one.

Laurence Ranulf Wythe- So beautiful. Maybe a little too formal, esp the two middles. But I love it.

Cian Tamarack- Tamarack is wicked.
Arvid Makepeace- Cute cute cute.
Nixing Cormac.
Cathiel Yvain - yes.
Cadwallader Yann (This is crazypants but I can't erase it because you have created a thing of weird beauty!)
Cedric Ysidor- oh handsomeness!
Cyneric Yves- I keep wanting to pronounce it cinnarick, like "incinerate" or "cinnamon stick.” Not sure about “Kinerick” ..I think Heinrich.. hm.

OTTILIE:

Cy Linden- Husband is mixed on Linden, but I love it. I’ll never forget the first time I heard “Der Lindenbaum.”

Clement Yaromir - love it but husband does not :-(
Clement Ishmael - beautiful, thank you! Such a lovely meaning. I think I mistake Ishmael for a name with lots of bite because I associate it with Moby Dick. But actually it's very soft and full of quiet soulfulness. I see there's an Ysmael spelling too! So that's going on the list.

Caspar Ywen- a definite favorite

Crispin Wythe - another favorite

Cyro Marsh

Ywen Marsh- one of husband’s favorites

Basil Raoul IS badass! Basil Isidore is pure sweetness.

Felix Makepeace

Otis Clement - It’s like Otis Redding plus Samuel Clemens! Really American and folksy yet dignified.

Arvid Cassian, Arvid Makepeace, Arvid Clement- love them all!

Cassian Marsh, Cassian Seafrid (I probably won’t end up using Seafrid, because there are too many others I love. But isn’t it nice? Makes me think of frigid seas.) Cassian Wythe- Love this!

Isidore Yvain - Romance squared. I do fear this boy would be born wearing velvet pantaloons and a plumed hat.

I also like:
Caspar Ysmael *(or Ishmael)
Cy Ywen- One of husband’s favorites. I like it a lot, but it’s very minimal!
Cassiel Ywen
And Quincy. Let's not forget poor old Quincy.

What do you think are the best Marsh options? I like Ywen Marsh and Cassian Marsh. Is there a Cy name that won’t be just flattened by Marsh? Cyro Marsh is ok...

[emmabobemma]

Woah that was a long post. Sorry guys!