Finding a Strong, Classic Name for Mary’s Brother

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THEY LOVE CLASSIC NAMES

Stephanie writes:

We are expecting a son in August and it is turning out to be so much harder to come up with a name for him than it was for our daughter.

Our daughter is Mary Charlotte. She was going to be Charlotte but then a few weeks before she was born, good friends named their daughter Charlotte. We’d never talked about names, it was just a coincidence. I don’t think they would’ve been upset in any way if we’d still used the name, but it just made me want to re-think our choice, and I’m so glad it turned out this way.

Mary just kind of jumped off a list of classic girl names for me, and my husband liked it immediately, too.

We get so many smiles when we share her name, and so far we haven’t met another girl her age named Mary. People are always saying that you never hear the name anymore. My mom calls her Lady Mary, like on Downton Abbey and it’s so sweet and strong and all sorts of good things.

Ideally, I’d love to find a boy’s name that has that same classic status and maybe a little bit of the same reaction. I’m not sure that we’ve found it yet.

So far, this is our list:

• Henry was always our boy name, but I worry it’s a lot like Charlotte. We’re hearing it a lot.
• Theodore is a name I’ve liked more recently, but I like Theo much more than the full name. Still, this is probably what we’d name him if we had to choose today.
• Andrew, but I don’t like Andy and my husband has a negative association with Drew. Would we always call him Andrew? Feels kind of heavy.
• Calvin, I like but my husband isn’t on board.
• Malcolm, I like but my husband isn’t on board and maybe another M name isn’t the best idea.
• Cedric, we wouldn’t really use it, but I wish we were brave enough!

Our last name sounds like Tom-a-check.

As you can probably tell, we need some new ideas!

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

A BROTHER FOR MARY

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new son!

Mary is such a great choice for a daughter. It’s a rock solid, time-tested classic, and yet it’s not terribly common for children now.

A good match would be:

• Traditional, with a long history of use
• Compact and complete
• If not compact, then with a short, strong nickname that appeals

From your current list, I love the idea of Theo – just Theo. Mary and Theo. Maybe Theo Malcolm? I’d love to say Theo Cedric, but I’m not clear how it really sounds with your surname, since they both end with a hard C/K sound, right?

Let’s dive into more classic names that could be the perfect brother for Mary.

TIMELESS NAMES TO CONSIDER

ANTHONY

Use it in full, and it’s a dashing, Bridgerton-leading man kind of name. Given the number of boys who are Oliver-not-Ollie and Sebastian-not-Seb, I think avoiding Tony is an absolute possibility.

DAVID

If you watched Schitt’s Creek, it might take you a minute to not hear Catherine O’Hara as Moira Rose saying this name. Then again, that takes little away from David’s appeal. As with Anthony, use it in full for maximum impact.

EDWARD/NED

Edward is undeniably traditional. Shorten it to Ned and it has that same vintage appeal, a perfect brother for Mary. They could be siblings from the 1920s or 50s or even a hundred years earlier – or more!

GEORGE

Maybe this leans a little royal family – the current British King’s grandparents were George and Mary. Given the popularity of The Crown and other period dramas, that’s probably familiar(ish). But I think it works nicely, especially because George has that same freshness, a traditional name that still catches us by surprise.

JAMES

Yes, it’s still near the popularity charts – which is different from Mary. But James checks all the same boxes. Bonus? While some classic names are automatically associated with Mary, like William and Mary, I don’t have that same reaction to James.

LEO

I wonder if Theo feels incomplete to you, even though it sounds like you prefer it to Theodore? If so, Leo might be the answer. It’s a summery, strong name with classic credibility.

PETER

From Peter Pan to Peter and the Wolf, it’s a name that feels gently old-fashioned. But it’s a world-changing kind of name, too, from musicians (Frampton, Townshend, Seeger) to actors (Capaldi, Dinklage) and more. History gives us Saint Peter and Peter the Great, and Tchaikovsky – though he was a Pyotr. Absolutely an underused classic.

SIMON

While Simon has never reached Mary’s level of popularity (few names have!), it’s a steady go-to for boys, with the same smart, unexpected vibe.

Overall, it’s really hard for me to choose a single name from this list. There are so many great options!

But for avoiding nicknames, sidestepping British royal family vibes, and sticking with established classics, I’m going to put David and Peter at the top of my list. Maybe David Malcolm or Peter Henry?

Readers, over to you! What classic names would you suggest for a brother for Mary Charlotte?