Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka’s twins are here!
Gideon Scott and Harper Grace were born on October 12.
This is the second set of twins for Burtka, whose other children are from a previous relationship.
What do we think of the Harper epidemic in Hollywood? Tiffani Thiessen, Dave Grohl, and Lisa Marie Presley also have Harpers, all born within the last two years.
Ziggy Marley has a Gideon, but otherwise this is one ancient name that has been reserved mostly for motel Bibles. Do you like the names together? I see them as a definite stylistic mismatch, but not one that gnaws at me.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Harper – a person who harps on a subject; to harp – to dwell on persistently or tediously in speaking or writing.
I can’t see the appeal of “Harper” as a girl’s or boy’s name — other than the name is trendy and I’m guessing parents who choose it don’t hear “harper” when they say/think Harper. Of course Harper is from Nelle Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird” (and no further books which has caused some to speculate that Lee’s good friend and mentor Truman Capote wrote “Mockingbird”).
I agree that Harper and Gideon (Biblical) are not a good match for twins, but the names *look* well together when written — same number of letters in the first names and middle names.
I know Patricia. I see a person who harps too, but I also see harp like the musical instrument.
It’s gotten so ordinary I almost forgot about Harper Lee, who is no doubt the source of this movement.
I’m a musician (tempted by many trendy musical names) but I still can’t get on board with Harper. Probably because I’m Canadian and he’s our current Prime Minister.
Even if I try to block out that association, the harp is a beautiful sounding instrument. The name doesn’t have the same feel for me as the instrument- maybe the feeling that I’m spitting out that middle “P” is doing that.
I don’t understand the appeal of Harper either. Gideon however, is lovely. Just not with Scott.
Love them both. Harper is certainly trendy, but I see it as a harp player, not a nagger. Totally see where people get that from, though. And Gideon is my all time favorite baby name ever. I spent several pregnant months trying to convince my husband that our son was a Gideon. Didn’t work.
I’m sorry, Kayt! Neither one of my daughters wound up with my first choice name. I felt so lucky when I got him to agree to a name I loved each time. What did you wind up naming your son?
James Kenneth. Honestly, I’m a bit sad about it. I call him Jamey most of the time, but I just can’t shake the feeling it’s not the right name. He’ll be two in December, so it’s way too late to do anything, and it’s a fine name, just kinda blah. We do agree on Daphne for a future girl, and probably Dexter for a second future boy, both names that I like better than James.
Hector is another name I actually really like, but it would not pair well with Harper. Good thing they didn’t go with that.
Congrats to Neil and David – I can only imagine that they would be really fun parents.
I used to really like Harper several years ago when I first heard it…it totally brought to mind Harper Lee. But, now it’s definitely seeming to be too trendy/popular for my tastes. Still, I don’t dislike it…but only on a girl. In fact, my brother is set on using it if their baby turns out to be a girl.
Harper and Gideon does seem a bit of a stylistic mismatch…but, like you, it’s not one that really bothers me overmuch. And I’ve always loved the name Gideon. My husband has poo-poo’d it if we have a boy. And it doesn’t go so much with Norah and Lucy, I suppose.
Do you know what David’s other twins are named?
According to The Daily Mail, Flynn (girl) and Javin (boy). I like the twin names with NPH much better.
Jaime – I have friends who have twin girls named Lucy and Noor – what a fun coincidence!
Loving Gideon Scott. If I were I boy I would have been Scott, so I have a soft spot for it. I think the combo is perfectly balanced. I imagine that he will love his name when he grows up.
Harper Grace is fine. I see the appeal of Harper, and I don’t think of someone harping, if anything I think of the instrument. But, it is quite ordinary, particulary for an actor considering how popular it is in Hollywood.. And paired with Grace I think it falls flat. It’s one of the celebrity baby names I wouldn’t even make a note of in my head if it weren’t for her brother. But yeah, not bad at all, just not interesting.
The mismatched style doesn’t bother me at all. They’re both current choices, spelled properly, and to the average (non name nerd) person, they’re both unique and interesting.
I actually like the sound of Harper too, I have no idea why – and I never equated it with the idea of a nagger. I don’t like Gideon, but I agree that the two names look/ sound decent together.
The -er ending names that have been trendy can go either way for me. I have neighbors with a kid named Fletcher. I just can’t wrap my head around that choice at all.
Not loving Harper over here…
Harper is too common for me to get behind. It’s also unisex, which I don’t like much in a name.
I happen to think Gideon and Harper sound decent together though. A lot of people go for biblical male name and (to be) dated female name in sibsets. Any fifty-year-old JOhn or David is likely to have sisters named Janice or Deborah or Louise, you know what I mean?
Congratulations to them.
I can see the appeal of Harper, especially for girls. I see long haired angels playing a harp. Its a GP. Not a name I’d use myself but something which I like on others.
I love the name Gideon, I just found out I’m pregnant and if it’s a boy we’re definatly naming him Gideon, don’t know exactly which middle name to choose though…
Harper…meh….not my kind of name!! I’m a sucker for biblical names! If we have a girl her name will be Hannah Lea.
Thanks so much for the blog.Much thanks again. Will read on…