A Sweet Spot Baby Name to Match Wesley and Samantha

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. 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.

TRADITIONAL, NOT POPULAR CHOICES

Julia writes:

My husband Kyle and I are expecting our first child together, gender unknown.

Kyle has two children with his late wife: Wesley Matthew and Samantha Katherine. Wesley is usually Wes, but Samantha dislikes Sammy and Sam, and prefers Samantha.

We seem to like classic names or names that people don’t usually think of as classic. We don’t want anything overly popular though, so we prefer something not in the top 100.

For a girl, we have considered:

• Freya – Too fandom-ish? I think of Norse mythology, but there’s also the video game character.
• Adelina – Too frilly? We like some frilly names (I especially love them), but are they too much with Wesley and Samantha?
• Matilda – Does it fit well with Wesley and Samantha though? Plus, there’s the Roald Dahl book and movie character association, though she’s a great character.
• Erica/Erika
• Annika
• Amy – We love that it’s simple and easy to spell and pronounce and there won’t be a lot of other little kids with this name. We don’t like a lot of short girls’ names usually.
• Nina  
• Diana
• Georgia
• Dorothea – We just don’t like how Thea sounds with our last name and we dislike Dora and Dori.
• Tessa

We have ruled out Daisy, Juliette, Lila, Elsie, Molly, and Eva.

Names we are considering for a boy:

• August – Too trendy?
• Emmett
• Joel
• Bradley – We dislike the nickname Brad though.
• Marcus
• Morgan – Our issue with it is that it’s been stolen for girls.
• Vincent
• Nathan

We have ruled out Damian, Mark, Randall (because we don’t like Randy), Spencer, Dominic, and Gideon.

Middle names might be Elizabeth, Pearl, Sylvia, Gwendolen, or Louisa for a girl and Edmund, Henry, Roland, William, or Thomas for a boy. They’re all family names.

Our last name sounds like Keller with a Z.

We want something that fits with his or her siblings’ names without being boring or too popular.

Thanks!

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

NOT TOO COMMON, NOT TOO DIFFERENT

Abby replies:

How exciting! Congratulations on your new baby!

I think you’re on the right track. You’d like to avoid trendy names, but also anything too common. Classic names are always an option, but many of them – Elizabeth, James, Joseph – regularly appear in the US Top 100, even the Top 25. Some of them have been that popular for pretty much forever. They’re great names, clearly standing the test of time – but that’s not necessarily what you’re after.

Instead, we’re looking for a traditional name. Amy and Joel were both big in the 1970s and 80s, but they’ve also ranked in the US Top 1000 every single year since 1880. Maybe they’re not quite classics, but they’re time-tested favorites.

One challenge I can see: you’re pairing these names with Wes and Samantha. Our brains want to balance our family’s names, so I imagine anything too short or too long might seem awkward. I don’t think you need to be tied to any particular length or syllable count … but it’s good to recognize that inclination.

Let’s start by evaluating your current lists, then seeing if we can add a few options.

A BROTHER FOR WES AND SAMANTHA

If avoiding the Top 100 is important, then let’s skip August and Emmett. Much as I love them with Wes/Wesley and Samantha, they’re near that mark and could easily gain in popularity. Nathan currently ranks in the Top 100. It sounds like there are strikes against Morgan and Bradley.

That leaves Marcus, Joel, and Vincent. Any of them are great choices. I’d put Marcus at the top of the list. It feels like a traditional name that hasn’t ever quite caught on. While it ranked in the US Top 100 from the 1970s through 90s, it never made the Top 50. So while Mark is very much a dad and grandad name, Marcus still seems different. I like the way Marcus shares an M sound with Samantha and an S with Wes.

Let’s consider a few new possibilities:

ADAM

A rock solid name, associated with everything from the first man to the first man to play Batman. Always in the US Top 1000, typically in the Top 200, and occasionally even in the Top 20, Adam is impossible to link to a particular decade.

COLIN

Nicholas came to mind, but it was very popular indeed through the 1990s. Related name Colin, though, has only spent a handful of years in the Top 100. It’s polished and timeless. Actors like Colin Firth and Colin Farrell make it sound grown-up, but Colin fits with Top 100 boys’ names like Hudson, Dylan, and Cameron, too.

CURTIS

An alternative to Marcus that feels a little common, but still familiar and traditional.

GRANT

One of those names that parents who want traditional, not trendy, tend to love. Worn by everyone from a basketball star (Grant Hill) to artists (Grant Wood, of American Gothic fame), actors, musicians, and more.

RUSSELL

If you love Randall, but can’t imagine calling your son Randy? Then Russell might be the perfect choice. A surname name associated with the color red, Russell has appeared in the US Top 1000 every year, and has had several Top 100 streaks. Russ is an easy nickname, and Rusty is kind of adorable.

A SISTER FOR WES AND SAMANTHA

It’s much tougher to narrow your girls’ list. I will suggest dropped Dorothea, because it sounds like you’d be unhappy with all of the nicknames, and four syllables seems like it will inevitably be shortened. I’d drop Adelina for the same reason.

Georgia is quite a bit like Emmett and August. Another year or two, and it’s likely to be a Top 100 choice in the US, so it makes sense to drop that name, too.

Erica, Annika, Matilda, Amy, Nina, Diana, and Tessa are left, and I can argue for any of them.

Well, except I was about to make the case for Tessa when I found myself rhyming Wes and Tess. And that seems … not great. Maybe.

But I’d like to make the case for Freya.

Yes, it’s mythological. So are Luna, Aurora, and lots of stylish names for our daughters. It is a video game character, but it’s also a fictional character in a handful of popular movies and television series. Freya caught on in the UK first, where it’s presently a Top Ten name. I doubt it will reach as high in the US, but it feels like a reasonably mainstream choice for a daughter now. Freya will strike some people as very, very different – but enroll her in school or sign her up for soccer, and I’m guessing it will sound like a very appropriate name for her generation.

Pair it with a classic middle name like Elizabeth and you’re set.

If not Freya, would you consider:

ADELA, ADELE, ADELAIDE, ADELIA, DELIA

Would shortening Adelina help? All of these are surprisingly uncommon. Delia would probably be my top choice, though it’s worth noting that there’s a mournful song called “Delia’s Gone” recorded by artists like Johnny Cash back in the day. I think that’s enough of a misty memory to overlook. Adelia is gorgeous, but it might be mistaken for Amelia.

DOROTHY

While Dorothea seems to beg for a nickname, Dorothy seems like it would always be used in full. Maybe that’s because of The Wizard of Oz. Or The Golden Girls. But it’s a traditional name that feels traditional, fresh, stylish, and complete.

GEMMA

Because you like Georgia, as well as short names like Nina and Tessa, I wonder if a name like Gemma could be the best of them all? Like Freya, it rose in use in England first, but it’s a Top 200 staple in the US now, too.

NATASHA

I just wrote about Natasha, and I think it’s one of those names that was popular in the past – but never so popular that it’s tied to a particular decade. It takes the Nat- from Nathan and makes it clearly feminine. This name is a little bit on the elaborate side, like Adelina, but only a little.

PAULINA

Like Adelina, this is a long, feminine name. But it’s just a little bit briefer, and I think that syllable makes a difference. It’s been on the fringes of the US Top 1000 in recent years, but it’s the kind of name everyone immediately recognizes. And while no nickname is required, I can imagine Paulina shortened to Paulie/Polly, which reminds me of Molly from your can’t-use list.

Overall, I love Marcus and Russell. Marcus Roland Keller-with-a-Z, maybe? Or Russell Henry?

For a girl, Freya Elizabeth gets my vote. But I wonder if Paulina is worth considering? I’m not sure about the middle name options, but Paulina Louise could be great.

Readers, over to you! What would you suggest to go with Wesley and Samantha that’s not too popular, but still feels traditional?