Update: He’s here! Welcome to the world, Leo Arthur. Congrats to the family.
Channelle writes:
Just found out we are having our second boy, our third child. We have a Rose and a Henry. A girl would have been Lucy or Alice. Easy to choose-classic and unexpected I feel. But we are having the worst time coming up with a boy’s name!
We want something non-Biblical, which cuts out so many names, particularly Ezra, Jonah, Asa, and Gideon, all of which I love.
I want a short name because Rose and Henry are short.
I want a name that doesn’t stand out as totally different (like Yuri or Idris), but don’t want something that feels super expected or boring (like Jack or George). Somewhere in the middle.
Last name is McC- so no hard C sound or Mc- names.
There feels like there is no name out there that feels like a natural brother to Henry (which was my favorite boy name ever). Oh and we are due soon – in early December!
Please read on for my response, and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Dear Channelle –
Congratulations on your third! At first, I thought this would be such an easy question to answer. And then I realized … non-Biblical, not-too weird, not-too popular, short? That rules out nearly every name that came to mind!
Let’s start with a question: how serious are you about the non-Biblical part? A great many classic boys’ names do have roots in the Bible. But there’s a world of difference between a name like Andrew and something like Jonah. Both could be brothers for Henry, but one makes me think about the Biblical story. The other? I know the name appears in the New Testament, but I don’t put it in the same category as, say, Ezra and Gideon.
For now, though, let’s find names that meet all of your criteria.
Alex – The average Alex is really Alexander. And a handful of Alexanders answer to some other nickname. But there’s no reason you couldn’t use just Alex. It ranks #151 as an independent given name. There’s Alec, too, which might feel less like a shortened form of a longer name. Or it might just cause confusion. Alex’s roots are ancient and Greek.
Clark – Clark brings to mind Superman, but it’s actually a surname with Old English roots, originally an occupational name for a scribe – or clerk. It sounds classic and complete, but not quite as common as Jack.
Dean – Like Clark, Dean has occupational origins. Or it might come from a word meaning valley. Either way, it’s not quite as traditional as Henry, but might make a great brother name.
Hugh, Hugo – From an old Germanic element meaning spirit or heart, Hugh has plenty of history. But it’s short and complete. I like Hugo even better; it’s the Latinized form of the name.
Leo – If the o-ending of Hugo appeals, but it’s not quite the name for you, how about Leo? From the Latin word for lion, it’s fierce in meaning, but gentle in style.
Patrick – I know, I know – the nickname Pat belongs to another generation. But Patrick, both syllables, feels handsome and traditional.
Theo – Theo shares the same challenge as Alex; most of the time, it’s short for a longer name. And you could use Theodore! But Theo stands alone, too, currently ranked #289 in the US.
William – Okay, William ought to be perfect, right? I mean, how great do William and Henry sound together? So great, of course, that they’ve already been used – think Will & Kate and Harry & Meghan. I’m not convinced this is a dealbreaker for everyone. After all, you never call your Henry Harry, right? And Rose isn’t straight off the royal family tree. Still, I wonder if it might feel a little too similar?
Overall, I’m tempted to push for Patrick, but is that hard C- sound in your surname too much with Patrick? Or exactly enough?
Instead, I’m going to suggest Hugh if you don’t care for -o ending names, and Hugo or Leo if you do.
But I can’t wait to hear what readers will suggest, so let’s open it up to the community: What would you name a brother for Rose and Henry?
Miles seems like a great option for you. I like the suggestion of Owen, but I also love Theo from Abby’s list.. 🙂
Miles
Owen
Theo
Congrats on baby number 3!!
I think there’s a difference between “names that appear in the Bible” and “names with strong biblical/religious connections”. Peter and Simon are great brothers for Henry that definitely don’t immeidately make me think Bible. I think Peter Pan and Simon and Garfunkel first. Especially when paired with non religious classics like Henry and Rose. If Peter had siblings named Mary, John, and Gideon, i might notice a theme (but honestly, maybe not even then).
That said, my favorite is Graham/Graeme and Pierce to follow the initial rules 🙂 Henry, Rose, and Graham.
Excellent point, Jordan P! There’s a big difference between, say, Nehemiah and John.
I don’t know which of these are biblical, so sorry, I’m sure some are!
Angus
Alfred
Albert
Amos
Archie
Clyde
Casper
Calvin
Chester
Conrad
Dashiell
Edmund
Edward
Edgar
Edwin
Frederick
Freddie
Ford
Finn
Flynn
Garrett
Gus
Jem
Kenneth
Kit
Lucian
Lawrence
Maxwell
Marcus
Otis
Percy
Phillip
Roland
Robin
Ralph
Rupert
Remy
Rory
Seamus
Stanley
Tobias
Vincent
Wilfred
Wilford
Wallace
Hugo is the first name that popped into my mind. I love the repeated H (as with Henry) and O (as with Rose). Seems to tie your three together.
I also think Linus, Jude, or Owen would be lovely. 🙂
Oh also what about
Rose, Henry, and Lewis
Rose, Henry, and Thomas
Both names are absolutely gorgeous!
forgive me if I suggest any biblical names, I’m not very familiar with the stories
Rose, Henry, and Nolan
Rose, Henry, and Elliott
Rose, Henry, and Miles
Rose, Henry, and Graham
Rose, Henry, and Grant
Rose, Henry, and Jasper
Rose, Henry, and Jude
Rose, Henry, and Callum (same meaning as Jonah)
Rose, Henry, and Cole
Rose, Henry, and Lucas
Rose, Henry, and Nate
Rose, Henry, and Trevor
Rose, Henry, and Gavin
Rose, Henry, and Emmett
Rose, Henry, and Blake
I especially like Nolan, Elliott, and Callum
My favorites of Abby’s suggestions are Hugh and Dean — both sound lovely with Henry and Rose. The first name that came to mind for me was Simon, although that breaks your non-biblical rule.
If Simon is a non-starter, I also like Duncan or Arthur for your sibset. Congratulations and good luck!
Henry and Rose are very classy names that are familiar but with a ‘posh’ sound, so I tried to think along those lines without shading into pretentious ;-).
* I noticed the shared r, so how about Richard, Robert or Roger? Too boring?
* Or play up the British upper class sound with Piers or Jasper or Miles.
* If Oscar is too popular, more unusual could be Dale or Niall (I pronounce it ‘nile’ which makes it sound classier than Neil to me!).
* I also wondered if it’s length on paper that matters or number of syllables? I like Lawrence with Henry and Rose, but it does have a lot of letters…
* Martin is another underused classic, but you might not like the alliteration with your surname.
* Speaking of the Mc- surname, you could nod to the Celtic with Stuart or Alan.
Hope this gives you some new thoughts!
Love Hugo and Leo! If not Jonah, how about Jonas? We have a Jonas in my family. Very special little boy with a wonderful name!
Hugo and Theo are great suggestions!
Rose, Henry & Felix
Rose, Henry & Oscar
Rose, Henry & Arlo
Rose, Henry & Luca
Rose, Henry & Bennett
Rose, Henry & Arthur
Rose, Henry & Ciaran / Kieran
Rose, Henry & Walter
Rose, Henry & Fergus
Rose, Henry & Otto
Rose, Henry & August (Gus?)
Limited it to two syllables but some may be too long for you still.
I like Neil, Vaughn, Leo, Miles, Spencer, Harris, Penn, Carl