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!
FRESH CHOICES FOR A SECOND SON
Stephanie writes:
We are having our second child in the next few weeks and coming up with a name has us stumped.
Our son is named Felix Harper. Our last name sounds like Richard-plus-son. Harper is a family surname from my side.
Felix was my favorite name from before I met my husband. He was lukewarm about it at first, but by the time we knew we were having a boy, he’d gotten on board with it.
Other names on our list from then included Max/Maxwell, Henry, and Ezra. Now we know at least one kid with each of those names so it feels like we’re kind of past them.
If it’s a girl, my favorite name has always been Mabel, and my husband is good with that.
Family middle names we could use include Davis, Hanson, Marshall, Lewis, and Scott.
But this baby is a boy, we’re really not sure. I’d like to avoid repeating initials so no Ms in case we do have a third. (Though who knows? Maybe that’s just making it harder than it needs to be.)
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
LET’S TALK OFFBEAT CLASSICS
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your second son!
With parenting, experience makes most things easier.
Naming actually gets harder as we raise our children!
Knowing more children means that we feel like more names are taken – or at least not quite as special as when we first considered them for a child of our own.
We’re looking for boys names with strength and substance, that have stood the test of time. And because so many of your favorites are popular, we’ll look for names that are a little less common for a brother for Felix.
Before we go any further, one note: I’m not going to suggest a name like Oliver and Theodore because they rank in the current Top Ten. But, but, but … if it just so happens that you don’t know a little Oliver or Theo? It could be the perfect name for your son. I wouldn’t avoid a name because it happens to be very popular on paper.
But because I can’t guess which kids’ names are taken? I’m shifting my suggestions a bit higher up the list. Let’s call them Offbeat Classics – traditional names that remain undiscovered, at least for now … just like Oliver and Theodore were not so long ago!
A BROTHER for FELIX
ARTHUR
The name of a legendary king, old school Arthur sounds a lot like stylish names for our sons now – we love almost anything starting with A, plus names ending in R have become favorites. That makes Arthur feel like an obvious vintage name to revive – and sure enough, it’s gained in use steadily in recent years.
CONRAD
There’s something cool about Conrad, and now it’s the name of a character in YA novel turned Prime series The Summer I Turned Pretty. If teenagers are declaring themselves “Team Conrad” on t-shirts? The name is back.
DEXTER
This might set a pattern … but I love the way Felix and Dexter share an X without duplicating too many sounds.
ELLIOTT
Elliott is one of those previously undiscovered names, in the same category as Maxwell.
HUGO
Cuddly and traditional, Hugo fits with O enders like Leo without being nearly as common.
OTIS
Bright, traditional, and definitely unexpected.
SIMON
This name just plain sounds smart and capable.
WESLEY
A name with a little bit of swagger, Wesley feels like a name with a good balance of substance and style.
Overall, I’m loving the sound of Felix and Conrad. Felix Harper and Conrad Scott, maybe? Or Otis … Felix Harper and Otis Marshall?
Jasper
Garrett
Edmund
Oliver
Magnus
The two Felixes we know are Felix and Hugo or Felix and Oscar! So it seems those name hang together nicely to me!
I like Arthur from Abby’s list and Issac and Asher from comments. I was wondering about Orrin. Orrin Scott Richard-plus-son. Perhaps Orson is more wearable? But I am hung up on that O sound!
Let’s look at your middle options for a moment. Davis, Hanson, Marshall, Lewis, and Scott. Any of those would make a good sib name to go with Felix. I particularly like Marshall with Felix. Other suggestions: Victor, Melvin, Roy, Quincy, Edmund, Franklin, Terrence, Magnus, Josiah, Arlo, Jethro.
I have a Felix and we found it hard to choose his brother’s name too. We went with Hector Scott!
I seriously considered Felix when I had a baby this summer, but ended up with Arthur — so I am a big fan of the Arthur & Felix combination. I also really like Calvin or Orson with Felix. Ezra definitely would be on my list too if it didn’t become so popular!
Armand
Nelson
Otto
Graham
Ranulph
Love the name Felix! It has a wonderful sense of history while also sounding very fresh and stylish.
Felix and Mabel were both popular in the early decades of the 20th century, so I would look in that same direction for a potential brother’s name.
My first thought was Oscar, which seems like a perfect match, style-wise… but then I realized that Oscar and Felix would be like a tribute to The Odd Couple. Maybe that’s a dated reference these days, but for me, the pairing would be a no-go.
Here are some options I especially like:
Amos – Features long vowel sounds like Felix and Mabel
Amos R-ch-rds-n
Felix & Amos
Clarence – Makes me think of black-and-white films like It’s a Wonderful Life
Clarence Richardson
Felix & Clarence
Harvey – Classic and cheerful; gaining in popularity, like Felix
Harvey R-ch-rds-n
Felix & Harvey
Leonard – Literary and gentle
Leonard R-ch-rds-n
Felix & Leonard
Vincent – Shares its Latin origins with Felix and Mabel
Vincent R-ch-rd-s-n
Felix & Vincent
And some other possibilities:
Ambrose
Arlo
Derek
Douglas
Elias
Eric
Gilbert
Graham
Harold
Howard
Kenneth
Laurence
Luca
Otto
Stuart
Tobias “Toby”