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!
Alice writes:
I want to name my son after two of my grandparents. Their names are Gerald and Stephan. I don’t exactly like either name, but I want him to carry both their names. Is there anyway you can help me reinvent it?
I don’t actually know if this baby will be a boy, but I already have my girl name picked out to name after my sister: Lindora Samantia.
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your baby-on-the-way!
Reinventing family names can be the best of both worlds. You honor your loved ones, but your child has a name of their very own, too.
Of course, everyone has their own personal sense of what qualifies as a reinvention, and what strays way too far from the original name to really count. Only you can decide what makes a satisfying honor name.
Just in case none of these work, you can always consider honoring a loved one without directly handing down their name.
Let’s try refreshing each name individually, and then putting them together in combinations.
REINVENTING GERALD
ADLER
Re-arrange the letters of Gerald, and Adler is one possibility, assuming you don’t mind dropping the G. It means “eagle” in German.
ALDER
Alder also uses every letter, again except for the G. (I suppose it could be Aldger, but that’s a different sound.) There’s an alder tree, which puts this name in the same category as Rowan.
ALDO
It’s possible to imagine Aldo as a Gerald nickname, borrowing the last syllable. But Aldo is far more current, an o-ending choice with Germanic roots. That might be perfect … or maybe a little too brief.
GARRETT
Gerald and Garrett sound pretty different, but Garrett started out as a surname derived from Gerald.
GEIR
A Scandi name meaning “spear,” Geir comes from the same roots as Gerald. (The Germanic ger also means spear.) The one snag? Geir is pronounced with two syllables in modern Scandinavian languages, more like Guy-er. I’d be tempted to rhyme it with spear in American English.
GERVASE
One more ger name, this time a little easier to pronounce. The G sounds like a J, and –vase sounds like, well, vase. Comedian Ricky Gervais comes to mind. While Gervase was used in English, it softened into Jarvis over the years.
JARRETT
A variation of Garrett, but with a J instead of a G.
REINVENTING STEPHAN
ESTEVAN
Hands down, my favorite way to reinvent any of these names is with Estevan. Esteban is the more common Spanish form, but Estevan is occasionally heard, too. It’s clearly linked to all of the Steve names, and yet it’s just a little different.
ETIENNE
The French form of the name, and another intriguing possibility.
FINN
It depends, I suppose, on how you pronounce Stephan. But if you say it with a soft PH in the middle, then the second syllable almost sounds like Finn.
HAN
The letters are waiting, right there in StepHAN. Han brings to mind iconic Star Wars character Han Solo, but Hans is also a common form of John.
STEFAN
Would just respelling Stephan to Stefan make a difference? Visually, it looks a little bit updated.
VAN
If you accept that Estevan can be a Stephan honor name, then maybe just Van works, too?
COMBINATIONS
ALDER ESTEVAN
I love the way that Alder uses nearly every letter of Gerald. And Estevan is such a sparky refresh for Stephan.
ALDO ETIENNE
Maybe this strays a little too far from Gerald and Stephan, but I think it’s sleek and stylish.
GARRETT ESTEVAN
Garrett might be my favorite update for Gerald, again paired with the longer middle name option.
STEFAN JARRETT
Maybe just opting for Stefan works? If so, Stefan Jarrett seems like a good blend of the modern and the traditional.
My favorite is probably Alder Estevan. I think it’s just daring enough, a good mix of your grandfathers’ names and twenty-first century naming style.
I like Gerald Stevenson nicknamed Jed.
Just thought of one more!
What about Stevenson? That’s a nice nod to your grandfather!
Rhett Stevenson
I’ve actually known someone name “Jevin” (you can draw the “jeh” from “Gerald” & “ven/fen” sound from “Steven/Stephan”. So “Jevin” sounds like a merging of the 2 honor names to me!
I haven’t read the other comments yet, so please excuse any repeats!
Garrett easily shortens to Rhett.
Stephen means crown… so maybe Royal? Or King? Even Rex or Kingston might work. Ryan means ‘little prince’, but that may be too far of a stretch.
Taj means crown, too. Alaric means ruler… perhaps that fits better as a sibling with your girl name? Or Basil! It means ‘royal’ or ‘kingly’. Fitzroy is derived from ‘son of the king’.
Griffith is Welsh for ‘lord’ or ‘ruler’.
Rhett Griffith
Rhett Fitzroy
Basil Rhett
Congratulations and best wishes!
What about Gavin or Gaven as a Steven/Gerald smoosh. It’s a bit a of a stretch, but may feel more modern. It’s an honor name if you say honor is your intention.
Gerald could become Ged – or Jed – which could lead to Jedediah or Jared or even Jayden. Which could lead to Grayden or Grady.
Or it could be Gerry – or Jerry – so perhaps Jeremy or Jerome or Jeremiah.
Ewald might be a bit much but could work.
I like the idea of Stellan for Stephan.
I’m assuming Stephan is pronounced like Steven or Stefan, but I first read it as “Stevvan” which made me think of Evan.
How about Stan – or Stanley? It preserves the grandpa style, but I’ve met a few young Stanleys and it wears surprisingly well.
For something different: Stephan = Steven = Seven? Or Severin!
Maybe rearranging Gerald to Edgar could work? Ed, Eddie/Eddy, Edgy are possible nicknames. Dagger would be a bold nickname and an even bolder first name.
Would you like Gerard more than Gerald?
Gerrit or Gerritt, variations of Garrett, keep the Ger beginning of Gerald.
Hearld or Harold are interesting rhyming options with Harry as a nickname.
Reginald has a similar vibe as Gerald and Reggie is a great nickname.
I think Hans is a good middle name (It’s my grandchild’s first name).
Edgar Hans / Gerard Hans / Gerrit Hans / Reginald Hans — Harold Hans might be too alliterative.
I’m laughing a bunch over this post, because my husband is a St3ph3n and his alter ego is Estevan, and we have a good Quebecois friend called Etienne who has been known to tell people his name is ATN if they mispronounce it a few times. (Easiest way to explain the pronunciation that I’ve seen.)
Given the name you’ve chosen to honour your sister – you’re into smooshes? I wonder if you’d tweak that honour your sister if it was a boy? I mean, why not? And Leander Samantio is lovely (I believe Lindor is related to Leander?) Tiago Lindor? Or go complete letter mixup with Gerald and Stephan for a boy – Sterling Phadden!
Then you’d have your grandfathers next (for a potential future child?) and girl names might be easier there? Gemma Sterling? Phaedra Glennis would be beautiful and just skips the T? Daphne Sterling captures it all! Ooh.
What about Gerard and Stellan?
I’ve probably been watching too much of the Witcher, but Geralt seems pretty wearable. Both Stephen and, apparently, Taj mean “crown”. So Geralt Taj or Taj Geralt?