A Classic Name for Baby Six

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, we discuss reader’s name questions, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! To have your question considered, email appmtn (at) gmail. Looking for your own private #namehelp post? Order one here.

THEIR STYLE IS PRETTY CLEAR

Tricia writes:

We are expecting our 6th this August (gender surprise). I’d appreciate your thoughts and ideas. 

We never chose a name until we meet baby, but usually I have more of an idea of what it could be. Our children all have classic, easy to pronounce/spell, and Biblical names. We didn’t plan to give them all Biblical names it just kinda happened. I don’t think this baby has to have a Biblical name, but I wouldn’t mind if they did either. 

Our children’s names are Noah, Maria, Martha, Adam, and Joseph. None of them go by a nickname. Our last name is a long German name, starting with Sch. So the shorter the name the better in my mind!

Names we can’t use because they are middles of our kids or cousins include Samuel, James, Michael, Miles, and William for boys, and Juliette, Cecilia, Aubrey, Lilly, and Joy for girls.

Our current lists are as follows.

First, for a girl:

• Anna – I have always loved and always thought I’d have one, but is it too close to Adam? 
• Emily – My favorite this time around. I think it’s perfect but my husband isn’t totally onboard. He prefers Emilia, which I like, just not as much and very popular. 
• Catharine – It’s always been on our list, makes sense for us. I like the nickname Kate, but they would the only kid with a nickname.
• Clara – also always a contender, but it’s losing steam for me. I can’t decide if I like Clare or Clara better.
• Violet – see below
• Vivian– we both Violet and Vivian; they’re not either of our first choices but good compromises. 
• Margo – see below
• Monica – we like Margo and Monica but then all our girls would have M names and I don’t want to start a thing, as this may not be our last baby. 

Our boys’ list:

• John – a family name, always been on our list. Probably the front runner because we both like it, but maybe it feels a little boring?
• Athanasius – randomly my husbands favorite! We would definitely use the nickname Nate. I don’t mind Nate, my hesitation is that it is so different from other names. And I don’t even know how to spell it without double checking. 
• Roy – My husbands name. I can tell he would really appreciate it if we chose it. He loves his name. I would consider it if I could come up with a good double name to pair with it so they aren’t Roy and Roy, but Roy and Roy Patrick. 
• Jacob – We both like Jacob, but one of our sons middle names is James. Does that matter? 
• Thomas – we would want him to be Thomas not Tom or Tommy 
• Boaz, Judah – he likes I don’t 
• Andrew, Jonathan – I like he doesn’t 

Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.

FINDING THE RIGHT CLASSIC NAME FOR BABY SIX

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new baby!

Naming a child almost always involves a certain amount of compromising – which you already know, of course! The challenge is to compromise on the pieces that don’t matter as much, while focusing in on the priorities that do.

I’m going to answer the questions that leap out at me from your list, before moving on to talk about specific names.

If we choose another M name, all of our girls will have the same first initial.

If you were currently expecting your third child, and your two older children were Maria and Martha, then yes – I’d say that Margo and Monica were both great choices, but choices that risked locking your family into a pattern. But with three other siblings in the mix, this feels like less of an issue. If it bothers you? Then I’d drop Margo and Monica from your list. But if it’s just something that you’ve noticed? I’d shrug it off. The future is uncertain. Margo and Monica are great names, and if they feel like the right fit for this child? I think it’s the kind of pattern that’s easy to overlook.

Are the names Adam and Anna too similar?

I think I’m going to say almost the same thing as with Maria/Martha/more M names. Adam and Anna are very close if they’re your only two children. In a bigger family, it’s less noticeable. Something else that really helps: Adam and Anna are both solid, classic names. I expect to hear them in use. If son was Rylan and you were considering naming a sister Reyna, I’d hesitate – because those names are less common and I have to think about them.

Nicknames: can we avoid them for this name? What if we choose to use a nickname for only this child?

You already know that our children love to surprise us. There’s no guarantee that your Thomas won’t come from summer camp calling himself Tommy, or that your Kate won’t get to high school and announce she’d rather use Catharine in full. But in general, if you call your son Thomas, most people will comply – possibly with the occasional correction. And Catharine-called-Kate is such a classic choice, it doesn’t feel like a huge departure for your family.

Can we use Jacob and James?

Plenty of families name brothers Jacob and James – as first names. I think James in the middle spot with Jacob as a younger brothers’ first is absolutely fine. Yes, if you know you know … but a great many people aren’t aware of the shared root of Jacob and James. (Very short version: the Hebrew Ya’akov became the Latin Iacobus in later translations of the Bible. The B later shifted to an M, becoming Iacomus. The former led to Jacob; the latter, to James.)

We need to talk about Athanasius.

I’ve heard of this name in the wild before, and whoa – it’s a BIG choice. One of my favorites if our daughter had been a boy was Ignatius, so I feel like I’m inclined to like such names … but still. I find myself putting Athanasius in the middle name category. Not because your son (or family) couldn’t pull it off, but because you’re immediately defaulting to Nate. That makes me think you like the idea of this name, and all of the meaning it carries, but sense that it’s a level of complexity that outweighs the name’s appeal.

Would it be confusing to have two Roys under one roof?

Sometimes, yes. Absolutely! Anyone who has lived with a senior/junior situation knows that there will be moments. That said, families continue to name their sons for their fathers, so it’s navigable.

Now, on to the names …

CLASSIC GIRL NAMES FOR BABY SIX

From your current list, I’m going to drop Margo, Monica, Violet, and Vivian. All great names, but there are challenges with all four. I think Clara should probably go, too. It’s lovely, but it sounds like it’s lower on your list.

That leaves Anna, Emily, and Catharine.

ANNA

If the only potential drawback is similarity to Adam, I’d move forward. It’s a long-time favorite and an impeccable classic that is just lovely and sounds great with your older kids’ names.

EMILY

Sweetly antique, but with plenty of strength, there’s a reason Emily stayed in the top spot in the US for years. Today it has fallen in use, but remains a solid, traditional choice. Emilia is a lovely, too, but easily confused with Amelia. (Imagine saying, “It’s Emilia. With an E. Let me spell it for you” again and again. Worth doing if you love the name or want to shorten it to Emmy. Not ideal in your circumstances.) Emily doesn’t have this challenge.

CATHARINE

As it happens, Catharine is my favorite spelling of this name, too! But … it’s vanishingly rare. Katherine is the most popular in the US right now. Kathryn and Catherine have both had a good run, and figures like Katharine Hepburn make the two-A version familiar. But Catharine? Especially with the nickname Kate? That’s a bit of a lift. Using the nickname Kate would sidestep this issue most of the time, but it gives me pause.

Would you be open to new names?

JULIA

I was all set to suggest Cecilia as the perfect compromise when I saw it on your can’t-use list. I’ll nominate Julia instead. It’s a traditional name used in the New Testament, and it’s typically used in full.

ANNA CATHARINE/ANNA KATE

Would you consider using a double name: Anna Kate? It’s a departure from your older kids’ names, but it gives you both your long-time favorite first and a way to make Adam and Anna slightly more distinct. Because you considered a double name with Roy, I suspect this might be worth considering for a daughter, too.

CAROLINE

While I love Catharine, would Caroline be a more straightforward alternative? (While the name Caroline does not appear in the Bible, there are plenty of notable namesakes. One I’ve heard recently is Karol Wojtyła, the given name of Saint John Paul II.)

EMMA

The best of Anna and Emily in a single name. Is it popular? Yes. But it’s also classic, literary, and strong, so if Emma isn’t already in use amongst your family/close friends, it’s worth a look.

A TRADITIONAL BOY NAME TO GO WITH NOAH, ADAM, AND JOSEPH

As with the girls’ list, I’ll start out by dropping the names that feel like they’re not really contenders: Boaz, Judah, Andrew, and Jonathan.

That leaves John, Athanasius, Roy, Jacob, and Thomas. I’m going to put Athanasius in the middle name category; we’ll come back to that in a minute.

THOMAS

One of the names I would’ve suggested if it weren’t already on your list. We know lots of boys named Thomas, and it’s a mix of Thomas-in-full and Thomas-called-Tommy.

JACOB

Another name that feels like a logical fit.

ROY

There’s a compelling case to use this name, and since it’s so short, there might be a great double name option. That said, I’m not sure what it would be … maybe because I tend to think Roy works better as a middle.

JOHN

A rock solid classic. It’s impossible to argue with naming a son John, right?

I have just a few more suggestions:

ROYCE

Maybe this is a stretch, but there is a Saint Roys. Or Rufus or Roy. But I wonder if Royce would appeal as an honor name for Roy that puts just a little bit of space between the two names? It’s slightly different, style-wise, from Adam, Joseph, and Noah, but that’s also true for Roy. I think it works, style-wise.

JUDE

Somewhere between John, Judah, and Jacob is Jude. Biblical like your older kids’ names, but with a distinct sound.

JOHN ROY

I wonder if putting Roy in the middle spot would fix your double name challenge? Looking through this list of double names, there are several options use Roy. I thought Johnroy might be the most compelling, and I like John Roy even better.

Overall, my top choice for a boy feels easy – it’s Jacob. Maybe Jacob Roy or Jacob Athanasius. Though I love the idea of Royce as a Roy Junior compromise. Royce Jacob is handsome.

For a girl, I’m torn. From your list, I’d put Emily at the top. But I do love the idea of Anna Catharine called Anna Kate, and Julia.

Readers, over to you! What would you name a sibling for Noah, Maria, Martha, Adam, and Joseph?