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!
Lindsay writes:
When our son was born, we didn’t agree on any names. The night before I went into labor, we thought of naming him after our two living grandfathers: Patrick and George. We flipped a coin to decide which name would be first, and George Patrick suits him perfectly.
Now our second son will be here in August, and we are stuck again.
We have a long list of girl names – Olivia, Mirabelle, Juliette – that we both mostly agree on.
Family names are sort of a problem. There’s Roger, Marvin, Harold, Bill (not William, only Bill), and Scott. They’re fine, but not for us. The only possibility is William (for Bill), but we’re not royals, so can we really name George’s brother William? It seems like too much.
My favorite name is still Cooper, but my husband is convinced it will be rhymed with poop. And even if I could guarantee that would never, ever happen, maybe he doesn’t really like the name much anyway, or maybe it’s too different from George?
Can you help us with some ideas?
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your second son!
It sounds like you freely chose to use family names for your first child – no pressure from relatives, right? And it sounds like you’ve equally honored his side and yours. Which makes me think you really, truly are free to go your own way in choosing this child’s name without regard to honoring family.
Except … that means there’s no easy answer to what to name this baby!
Not that your family names offer much in the way of easy answers, right?
If you felt strongly that you wanted to honor Bill with this son’s name, then I’d suggest you laugh off the British royalty vibe. But it sounds like William is just the best option you have on a list of names that don’t really seem to thrill you.
Next let’s talk about Cooper. I don’t think there’s any reason in the world that George and Cooper couldn’t be brothers. And yet, I agree. When one partner starts saying “but it sounds like …” that’s often a signal that the name just isn’t a favorite.
Let’s start fresh.
A BROTHER FOR GEORGE PATRICK
ANDREW
Andrew was a big hit in the 1980s, though it really belongs with classics like George. Of course, there is a Prince Andrew … but the connection seems much fuzzier and less likely to come to mind.
BECKETT
A surname name in the key of Cooper. It may be that your husband isn’t crazy about surname names in general, or it might be that running through more options will lead to the right name you both love.
CARTER
Another Cooper alternative, near the top of the popularity charts. That might help it feel like a solid choice for a son, rather than a trendy one.
JONATHAN
A little more sound than just John or Jack, but every bit as classic.
JULIAN
If you love Juliette for a daughter, why not Julian for a son?
OLIVER
By that same logic, I think Oliver makes a perfect brother name for George – and you already have Olivia on your girls’ list. Plus, Oliver feels like the middle ground between William and Cooper.
STEPHEN
An overlooked classic, you might spell it Steven … or stick with the ‘ph’ but pronounce it more like Stefan. My favorite for you is Stephen with the ‘v’ sound, though.
THOMAS
Another classic choice, a logical brother for George, but with no royal ties.
You might consider a family middle name to round things out.
Oliver Scott, maybe? Carter William? Thomas Marvin?
I think there are plenty of options that feel traditional and well-matched to George Patrick, but don’t necessarily need to be straight-up family names, either.
Maybe you could honor your grandmothers this time? I don’t know tge names, but you could try to use a masculine name that’s close to one of your grandmothers’ name.
From the grandfathers’ names, I love Scott and I would definitely use it.
Other ideas: Benjamin, Magnus, Emmett, Edmund, Conrad, Alexander.
George Patrick and (drum roll, please) …
William Cooper
The only child George I know IRL has a brother named Thomas so I definitely like that pair. But I was coming here to say – Will! George and Will feel right together to my ear and it could still be a nod to Bill.
My first though was Julian, since you like Juliette for a girl. I like the not-the-same-letter alliteration of George and Julian together. Oliver also seems like a logical choice since you like Olivia. And I think the previous suggestion of Theodore is spot-on.
Since you like Cooper (and your husband doesn’t) have you considered other names which end in -er? These strike me as a bit more classic and closer to George’s style than Cooper: Walter, Alexander, Xavier, Jasper, Archer, Peter, Spencer, Fletcher, Chester, Asher
There’s also Connor, Victor, Trevor, Alistair, Oscar, Omar, and Edgar.
Peter
Clark
Xavier
Isaac
Basil
Nicholas
Adam
Philip
The names Henry and Thomas always seem to be in the same sphere as George to me. Henry could be a stretch honor name for Harold (via mutual nn Harry). Perhaps you could do Henry William for Harold and Bill. Or Robert Mark for Roger and Marvin? Oliver does seem like a good compromise between Cooper and George. Maybe Theo/Theodore would too? I kind of like the eo repetition of George and Theodore. Ooh, what about Grant instead of Cooper too?
Henry William – George and Henry
Robert Mark – George and Robert
Theodore Cooper – George and Theo
Grant Oliver – George and Grant
Thomas Scott – George and Thomas
I think Thomas is a great fit! Tommy and George sound so cute to me. Also Max, Henry, Cole, Sam/Samuel, and Wesley. I also thought if you don’t like William, you could stretch the honor name out to Liam (popular, but very cute).
Thomas Rhett was the first name that popped into my head when I saw George’s name.
People will probably think you named your child after the country star.