Please Help with Boy Names!

[kathrynsarah]

Okay, so I am not pregnant or TTC (I wish I was though!) but I am completely obsessed with names and am always trying to come up with names that I love. Literary ties and meanings are important to me (moreso the meaning than anything else). Anyway, my two favorite boy's names are Liam and Henry, and right now I feel like I could never use those two names because I'm a toddler teacher and we have two boys named Liam in our center (one is in my classroom) and one named Henry. Does anyone have any suggestions to names that have a similar feel to Liam or Henry?

Another name I love is Adrian nn Ian, but I'm worried that it sounds too girly. I love the nn Ian, but I wouldn't want that to be the full first name, as I would rather go with a longer given name. I also like the name Dorian (it has the bonus of being a literary character that I like) but when I suggested it to my sister, she said it only makes her think of her friend's sister named Dorrie.

My last name I would like an opinion on is Riley. I absolutely love this name for a boy, but again, is it too popular as a girl's name now to use it on a boy? Do you think he would be teased too much for it?

Please help me build a decent sized list! I have always had more trouble coming up with boys names than girls!

[stripedsocks]

Liam: Levi, Luke, Lemuel, Lewis, Lachlan. And of course William.

Henry: Harvey, Heath, Hugh, Hamish. Or in terms of classical British sound: Philip, Alastair, Maxwell, Piers, Rupert.

[gigigibbons]

I immediately thought of Oliver, from Oliver Twist. Peregrine,with nn of Pip from Great Expectations. Willoughby from Sense and Sensibility. I love names like Fitzpatrick and Fitzwilliam (and that latter is in Pride & Prejudice), I had it in a combo as Grayson Fitzpatrick, or Robert Fitzpatrick. I do LOVE Dorian. The story was a bit dark, but very interesting! I know a little girl named Doria but if you love it, don't let something like that stop you. It's your sister's friend, not yours. Who cares? Theodore is another classic sounding name (that was totally vetoed by my husband), and is Edmund (Mansfield Park). Crap I'm in a Jane Austen mood it seems. Should go and satisfy that. I've been reading David Copperfield and I do like how his aunt renames him Trotwood, Trot for short.

Man, I just completely nerded out on you.

[kathrynsarah]

Ugh I had an entire response typed on my phone and then I lost it! Here it is again:

Thanks for your suggestions!

stripedsocks: I never thought about Philip before, but after you mentioned it, I'm starting to really like it. My mom's name is Phyllis, and my dad sometimes calls her "Phyll/Phil", so that could be a way for me to honor her!

gigigibbons: Haha thanks for nerding out on me; it really helped! I love Oliver, but it is not an option because my dad's pot-bellied pig is named Oliver! I'm glad you love Dorian; you're the first person I've talked to who does! I do love Theodore, and forgot to mention that before. It's the only boy's name on my list that I would use if I had to name a son right now. Edmund is growing on me now since you suggested it; I could honor both my grandfather (Edwin) and my father (Eddy) with it.

Does anyone have an opinion on Riley? I should maybe add that I'm Irish, Scottish, and English (though mostly Irish haha) and I do like a lot of Irish names, so that's one reason I like Riley. I also love Rhys, but I worry about that being too girly too.

[saracita00]

I kind of like Dorian. Adrian is a favorite of mine! You might like some of the names from C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia -- Caspian, Rilian, Tirian, Drinian.

[saracita00]

Oh yes on Riley. Have you looked up the Social Security stats on the name for girls vs boys over the past few years? I'm on my phone right now so not very easy to check. I've not met a girl Riley so I think it can go either way, though it's nms because it reminds me of the slang "riled up." How about Wesley -- similar but still pretty much regarded as a boys name?

[kathrynsarah]

Thank you saracita. I will have to check Social Security stats when I get a chance! It's funny because I fell in love with the name Riley for a boy while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Wesley is also a character on the show. I really do like the name Wesley too, although I'm hesitant to use it because I do know someone with a son named Wesley. I'm not close to her at all though, and don't even talk to her now, but I guess it would depend on how far in the future I have to name a son on whether or not I would use the name.

Does anyone think Rhys is too girly/unisex? And does anyone think that people in the US would have trouble with the pronunciation? I actually only came across the spelling because of a British TV show that I watched at the time, but I think it is the best one for a boy.

I also absolutely love the name Alexander nn Lex (Alexander the Great is one of my favorite historical characters) but I don't like that it's so popular.

[saracita00]

Ahh!! Love Lex too. I beat my head in trying to think of a name other than Alexander that it could go with because I was put off by the popularity too. The best I could come up with was Lexington. Like American Revolution, Lexington and Concord...that was appealing to the history geek in me. Then I realized that since we are in the Midwest everyone would think Kentucky and that was just not what I was looking for, haha!

ALSO love Rhys!! Then I found out that Reese is one of my sister's favorite girl names. She works at a preschool and has only met girl Reese children. If I remember from the SS charts Rhys and Reese are of similar rank on their respective sides.

[r_j]

I like the name Dorian. Is the character you like Dorian Gray? Eek, he was not the nicest character! :/

I really like Adrian, and I don't think it's too girly. Same with Riley. My favorite from your list is Henry, but I like classic names on boys and am less concerned with popularity than with girls' names for some reason.

If you like Alexander/Lex, maybe Lennox? People seem to either love or hate this name. I love the sound!

[whit32]

I have known a lot more boys named Adrian than girls. I do have one girl friend named Adrienne, but I've known 3-4 boys named Adrian. Riley is one of my favorite boy's names, but it seems like every time I turn around I hear of another girl with that name. The SSA won't tell you the whole story because it separates the different spellings like Rylee, Rileigh, Rilee, etc, so there may be a lot more girls with that name than you think. I still love it though, and it might be fine for a boy. My husband's name is Jordan, and he never really had any problems with it being a unisex name. He was even in a youth group at church with a female Jordan. I also think Rhys is still fine for a boy. Especially with that spelling. There will probably be some mispronunciation, but it is becoming a more popular name, so I think people will catch on pretty quick.