Willoughby...Alistair...Rafferty...Hawthorne

[frenchie]

Back to the drawing board and help needed!

For a boy, we have been set on Willoughby Knox Polk for as long as I can remember. Wills was the original nickname, but after much debate (and as seen on the, "Can I have a West and a Wilder" thread) it just isn't sticking, so we moved to Knox, but that does not feel right either.

Give me options other than Willoughby! I like names that are unique and eclectic, but not too odd. Handsome. Strong. Considering...
Rafferty, Ripley, Rigby, Rufus
Hawthorne nn Hawk
Marcomir nn Major
Caspar (though DH hates)
Jocelyn nn Joss (like the idea, but too feminine for me)
Alistair (also a bit weak...not rough and tumble enough)
Huckleberry...if only DH were ok with this

We have a Manton West that goes by West, and a Mazarine (maza-RHEEN), and for another girl we like Ottilie, Magnolia, Lavender... Quirky, but not too much so.

So what would you do?
________ Knox Polk

Name my baby!

[shutterbuglove]

I see with the West and Wilder being too play-on-words... Wilder is number 1 on our list if this LO had been a boy! (stashed in my back pocket for the next ones, Lord-willing!)

I like Rafferty and Hawthorne both! Rafferty is spunky and fun and Hawthorne is more sophisticated with cool nn potential too.

What about.....

Lincoln Knox Polk
Bronte Knox Polk
Rockwell Knox Polk
Cassius Knox Polk
Ramsey Knox Polk

Happy naming!!

[hazelybasily]

I love Hawthorne/Hawk! How about- Cormac, August, Wyatt, Warner or Beckett?

[mischa]

From your list, I think Hawthorne and Rafferty fit your criteria. Here are some other suggestions.

Bramwell Knox Polk
Abram Knox Polk
Sterling Knox Polk
Dacre Knox Polk
Granger Knox Polk
Cedric Knox Polk
Donovan Knox Polk
Bardolph Knox Polk
Conrad Knox Polk
Cyrus Knox Polk
Eben Knox Polk
Arkady Knox Polk
Lysander Knox Polk
Gideon Knox Polk
Cormac Knox Polk
Rhodri Knox Polk
Abel Knox Polk
Ulysses Knox Polk
Ishmael Knox Polk
Aidric Knox Polk
Caedmon Knox Polk
Somerled Knox Polk
Darius Knox Polk

[ellenelle]

I really like Hawthorne, Caspar, and Rafferty. Some of the other R- names I find a little difficult to say with West (West and Rigby sort of makes me want to say Rest and Wigby, haha). I think Jocelyn is pretty decidedly a girl's name now, and I don't really care for Marcomir (esp. since you already have one unusual M- name that you use and another M- name that you don't). I liked the suggestion of Cassius!

With West and Mazarine, I'd say:
Cabot/Cabott/Cabbott Knox Polk (Bo/Beau, Cab, Abe)
Julian Knox Polk (Jules, Lee, Jax (thanks to Knox))
Solomon Knox Polk (Sol, Sully)
Lionel Knox Polk (Lion, Eli)
Everett Knox Polk (Ever, Rhett, Rev, Rex (with Knox))
Barnaby Knox Polk (Barnes, Abe)
Fitzwilliam Knox Polk (leaves room for Wills if you want it, but Fitz, Fritz, Liam, Fox work, too)
Tristam Knox Polk

[krismichelle]

I adore Rafferty and Hawthorne!

[frenchie]

Thank you so much for the help and suggestions everyone! I love seeing all of these new names I would have never even thought of. Fitzwilliam Knox Polk nn Fox is extremely intriguing!!! (Better than Hawthorne nn Hawk though? Hmmm...)

So let me ask you these two questions:

(1) Our last name starts with F. With Rafferty, my hang up has been that I feel I would naturally shorten it to Rafe on occasion, and when said along with our last name, Rafe F___ would sound like Ray F____. You know? Should I be concerned about that?

(2) Regarding Rhett - too similar sounding to West? Are there any other names aside from Everett (which I love!) that Rhett could be drawn from? I don't have a problem with Rhett on its own, but his entire name would consist of single syllables with Rhett Knox Polk.

[pam]

On your two questions, I think you're right to be concerned about Rafe running together with an F last name -- not that Ray is a bad name, but I do imagine some confusion around that, especially if he wants to call himself Rafe or Raf. You'd have to make a very deliberate stop between the first name and the last.

I do think Rhett and West are similar enough that you should keep looking.

On to some other possibilities.

I am struck here by the fine line between "rough and tumble" and pretty dang girly. Cedric and Lysander and Bronte may have their virtues as names, but they certainly aren't macho. Neither is Willoughby, for that matter, at least in my opinion. And jocelyn: Surely you jest.

Onward. Love Cassius -- though Cass? Yep, kinda girly. How about Cassian instead of Caspar?

Other ideas:

Raleigh
Walker
Amos (love Abel too)
Winston or Winslow nn Win
Blaise
Gulliver
Romulus
Orlando
Hector
Otis (I know I'm getting kind of outrageous here, but I think you can take it)
Zebedee nn Zeb
Roscoe
Wylie
Lander nn Land

Hawthorne nn Hawk is pretty hard to beat. You could also call him Thorn!

[frenchie]

Hey Pam!

I see your point on the girly thing. I agree that some of the names I originally suggested are not rough and tumble; I listed them more to give a taste of the quirky names or style I go for. Jocelyn is most definitely seen as a girl name here, but I love the Joss nn that is so very British. Same thing with Alistair. Heartsies for the Brits

Cassian - very interesting! I will ponder this one. I love Cassius as well though, and that actually seems stronger than Cassian to me.
I like Raleigh but a dear friend is Raleigh, about to name his son Raleigh as well due in March. Reeves has been considered, but next to things like Hawthorne it seems lackluster. I also love Roscoe! I don't know why I did not originally list this...perhaps DH nixed it a while back. I will have to ask again.
Otis - this is great too, but I know DH would veto on the spot. Is it a bit too... I don't know... old man sounding?

I'm not sure why it is hard for me to let go of Willoughby (my maiden name), because I am not truly crazy about it and there certainly is not family pressure to use it. With Mazarine, I had always been set on naming a daughter Isabel but that went to a middle name due to its popularity, and I am SO GLAD I was able to let go and decided to use Maz instead. I need to just learn from my own experiences and cut bait!

Hawthorne Knox Polk.
Pretty handsome.

Thanks for commenting!

[pam]

I remember when you were naming Mazarine -- love that name! And didn't realize Willoughby was your maiden name: That changes everything! Could you call him Obie? (mind, I'm not sure how I feel about this) Or Wylie??

Yeah, my husband nixed Otis too. And Omar.

I actually like Cassius better than Cassian too -- more character.

It would be fun to stage a British-American baby name knockdown.