Finding Unusual Boy Names to go with Linden Grace

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.

NAMING A BROTHER FOR LINDEN

Breanna writes:

We named our daughter Linden Grace because we wanted something different that wasn’t very girly but also wasn’t like naming her Charlie. Even though we sometimes get weird spellings, like Lynden, we really love her name and wouldn’t change it. At home, we call her Lindie and Linds/Linz, but everyone else uses her full name.

Our second child will be here in June. It’s a boy! It feels like naming boys is harder in general, but we’re really struggling to come up with anything we like as much as Linden’s name.

Our last name sounds like Ferrell with an H.

We have considered:

• Thatcher – don’t like the Margaret Thatcher reference, and not sure it sounds great with our last name anyway, but it’s close if that makes sense
• Wells – love the energy and image of this name, but not sure it’s the one
• Lowen – but it’s from a Colleen Hoover novel and it’s a girl’s name and I feel like people would know and it’s sort of sing-song with Linden
• Bowen, Boden – maybe? seems kind of trendy in a Harper/Hayden way that we wanted to avoid
• Bennett – my favorite so far, but we hear Ben a lot and I think we’d end up feeling like his name wasn’t as special as his sister

Okay, that’s what we’ve got. I would love some new ideas!

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

FINDING ANOTHER MODERN, POLISHED NAME

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new son!

Naming a first child is challenging because every option is, at least theoretically, open.

The second time around? It’s difficult for exactly the opposite reason. Your firstborn’s (gorgeous) name serves as a limiting factor. You want to match it, but not too closely. And with a gender-neutral name like Linden, it can feel a little harder to find the right balance for a brother.

A few other considerations:

• Linden was given to just 70 girls and 113 boys last year. That’s pretty definitively unisex and quite distinctive. But a name doesn’t have to be that unusual to feel like it belongs to your child exclusively. For example, Flynn was given to 351 boys and 17 girls last year, but I doubt you’d meet another Flynn – even it’s more than three times as common as Linden.
• It sounds like you love two-syllable names. Which can work with your surname, absolutely. But Thatcher Ferrell-with-an-H is a little heavy on the H sound. Lowen is great with Ferrell-with-an-H, but awfully close to Linden’s name. I think Wells works, but that L sound is similar to the L sound in Ferrell-with-an-H. So … I do think you’re on the right track, but some of these are a bit challenging.
• Boden, Bowen, Bennett all do feel more popular than they are, because of so many boys with Bo- and Ben- names. Let’s see if we can turn the dial in the opposite direction. That said, I agree with you – Bennett and Linden are great together. I think it’s the name to beat.

But let’s see if we can add some new possibilities first.

FINDING UNCOMMON NAMES FOR A BROTHER FOR LINDEN

CALDER

A surname associated with ice hockey and a famous 20th century artist known for his large-scale mobile sculptures, Calder carries lots of positive associations. It also could shorten to Cal – or not.

DATHAN

It sounds like Nathan with a D, but it’s actually from a Hebrew word meaning fountain. The name belongs to an Old Testament villain, but it’s obscure – and sounds great with Linden.

FLYNN

Mentioned earlier as a more mainstream choice that still checks all the right boxes.

KEATON

Accessible, friendly surname that everyone recognizes but few of us are choosing.

MACKAY

Lots of Mac- names went to the girls’ side during the 1990s, but Mackay was never particularly common as a given name. That opens the door for using it for a son now.

RAFFERTY

A slightly longer name sounds great with your last name. Rafferty shortens to Rafe or Raf, another bonus.

TRUETT

While Truett is climbing in use in recent years, it’s still an uncommon boys’ name ending with -ett. Short form Tru/True is also far less often heard than Ben.

WALTON

Walton adds surname polish to old school Walter, and sounds very much like a brother for Linden.

Overall, I think Rafferty is a great brother name for Linden. Lindie and Rafe at home, but Linden and Rafferty in the world. It’s great with your surname and both unexpected and familiar at the same time.

That is, of course, if Bennett is really out. I do agree – I hear lots of Ben names, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Bennett isn’t the perfect name for your son. Maybe something like Bennett Wells would appeal?

Readers, over to you. What would you name a brother for Linden Grace?