In this day of the “metrosexual” and gender-neutral nurseries, many of us are looking toward strong names for our ladies, and softer choices for our lads.
While many of these read Little Lord Fauntleroy, they do push the envelope further than Jasper and Finn. I’ll be interested to see if you think any stand a chance of making inroads in this country. I’m head-over-heels for Ambrose, Barnabas, and Isidore, but will be keeping an arms length from monikers Peregrine and Aloysius. For now. If those are your sons’ names, kudos to you! You’ve got balls. Or ovaries, as the case may be. ;-)
Algernon
Alasdair
Aloysius
Ambrose
Barnabas
Bartholomew
Cassian
Clement
Erasmus
Florian
Horatio
Guen
Idris
Ilan
Isidore
Jonah
Lorne
Lucian
Marion
Peregrine
Piers
Philo
Sascha
Thaddeus
Tristram
Yancey
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Uh oh – I sense an ass kicking in my future sons’ futures…
This post is right up my ally. I am the wife of a Chauncey, from a long line of Chauncey’s (he is the 3rd) and we are planning on naming our sons Chauncey and Peregrine, which is another family name on his side. So these “fey” boys names are right in my sweet spot. I also quite like Thaddeus (one of my girlfriends gave this name to her son), Lucian, Horatio and Alisdair. Great post!
Chauncey and Peregrine! How lovely.
Cassian is on our list. I love it and the nn Cash.
I also love Ambrose, Jonah, Lucian and Philo, but can’t use them because of our last name or they have been vetoed by my other half.
Cassian and Lucian seem like they’d work without any fuss, because your kiddo could always be Cash or Luke.
And Jonah seems like he’d fit with Elijah/Noah, etc.
Florian and Yancey, however, would probably be less than thrilled.
I know a 3 year old Lucian.
I guess I never really saw his name as softer, as he’s a ‘boyish boy’.
I like Jonah a lot. With Noah being so popular, I’d think Jonah will become more popular too.
Online I know a 4 year old Ilan. He lives in Israel. I’d not heard of his name before he was born. I like it.
The name Barnabas came up the other day, when we were reading my daughter’s Bible storybook. I think it’s pretty cool, but our last name makes it off limits, as it sounds too similar.
I kind of like Ambrose, but it does make me think of British custard and then Ambrosia pudding.
Idris makes me think of the actor from the Wire and the Office, so I’m immediately picturing a handsome, intelligent, imposing adult man, skipping right over the playground.
I went to elementary school with a boy named Tapio, and for all the Tapioca jokes and the like, he was one of the most popular kids in our classes. I imagine all of these names would “work.” That said, Jonah, Lorne, and Cassian strike me as the “easiest” ones.
Alasdair, Ambrose, Bartholomew, Clement, Florian, Lucian, Peregrine, Philo, Thaddeus and Tristram are all favourites of mine, although it looks like Thaddeus and Alasdair are the most likely to actually be used. Today at least, but I really love the rest of them as well, Ambrose, Florian and Peregrine the most I think…
I love names like these, maybe Claude and Clemence would fit in as well, along with Amias, Bellamy, Clarence, Hallam, Emmanuel, Leander, Merlin, Stellan, Sylvan and Timaeus…
Wonderful list as always!
Peregrine is a big time guilty pleasure for me, though I could never ever imagine using it on a child. I think the love mostly stems from Tolkein though…
I would gladly use Lorne, Thaddeus and Alasdair, though
I definitely think Amias, Emmanuel, and Leander belong here… and that perhaps Jonah does not.
Florian is a totally normal, not-at-all-pansy name here in Germany – so I can’t see it as overly soft anymore at all. I love Isidore, but even the most knowledgeable of name nerds seem to mistake it for a girls’ name 50% of the time – so I guess it’s out.
I know a baby Lucien. His brothers have very traditional Italian sounding names, so it seems to work in the sibset to counter any “softness” of the name.
Personally, I prefer simpler, stronger boy names. Just about every one of my favorites is used on Mad Men, so that says it all. No Florians at Sterling Cooper!
I fell in love with Piers during my teen years while reading the Whiteoaks of Jalna series.
“Flowers for Algernon” is a sad short story. I like the idea of Algernon, but don’t expect to meet one anytime soon.
I like Alasdair and Bartholomew, although it turns out that a lot of people instantly recall Barfolomew, a character in the parody Space Balls.
Lorne is a great choice for parents looking for simple short and simple.
Alasdair is extremely popular in the UK, especially Scotland (as you would expect, I suppose). I know loads of Aliasdairs/Alistairs and it’s such a quintessential ‘guy’s guy’ name that I find it difficult to understand how people in other countries might see it otherwise!!
This is a great list – one or two of these are new to me.
I absolutely love Amias, as the poster above suggested.
Love Ambrose (Brose). This favorite in old Acadiana is complimented by sister Evangeline. Equally endearing – Clement (or Clementine) rounds out the family.
But you could easily call a child Peregrine and nickname him Per (well, at least I think so)…?
I love the name Alasdair and as Emz said it’s definitely all guy.
I know a Clement and a Piers and both are definitely one of the boys, not at all metro or soft.
My aunt’s name is Philo, short for Philomena!!
In NZ when you say Jonah, you probably associate it with Jonah Lomu, the All Black, so no chance of it seeming soft
Sascha on the other hand, even with the fame of Ali G, will always be a girls name to me!
I could easily use Ambrose up front if the hubby would warm to it. Isidore I LOVE but I think it would probably get hidden in the middle
I adore Cassian!
Jonah is considered a strong name where I’m from (New Zealand) because of the associations with our very big, strong and famous rugby player Jonah Lomu.
A pregnant friend has Valentine at the top of her list of possible boys names. A gorgeous but brave choice, me thinks.
Oh by the way, I had my baby 8 weeks ago! Not named Theodora after all, as we had a little boy! We named him Benjamin after my father. Unfortunately Benjamin is very popular now, but I’ve wanted a son named Benjamin for 20 years, so we just had to use it
Middle names are Marshall Otto, after our maternal grandfathers.
I truly love a lot of these names. I must add, though, that my baby son’s name is Thaddeus, and if anything people have often commented on it being a very strong, serious name — not a “soft” one.