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 wisdom!
Emily writes:
We named our almost 4 year old son Beckett Alexander H—z (like the ketchup) after weeks of going through a very long list of maybes. I wasn’t sure about Beckett when we chose it, but now I can’t imagine his name being anything else.
Now we’re expecting again, yay! And it’s TWIN BOYS.
I dusted off our list from before, and we’ve added a few new names. We also crossed off ones that seem too much like Beckett (Everett, Elliott, Emmett, Bennett), plus ones that close friends have used over the past few years (Nolan, Landon, Parker, Lane, Royce). Though I don’t think we’d use Royce anyway because anything ending with the s/z sound isn’t great with our last name. We don’t want an H first name.
That leaves Carter, Sullivan, Spencer, Easton, Grayson, Camden, Blake, and Walker. It’s not that we only like last names for names, but they are the ones that we tend to agree on. My husband also likes Brendan and Jonathan, but I don’t. He really likes Brady, but I don’t like the idea that people would think we was named after the quarterback. Also, I don’t want to repeat initials unless we’re really stuck.
Popularity doesn’t really matter, except we probably don’t want to use the most popular names, so no Liam or Noah. Oh, and my husband shoots down any name ending with a, except for Dakota, but that’s another football thing that I want to avoid.
I think we could find one name from this list – maybe? But I’m not sure how to find two that make sense as brothers for Beckett.
For middle names, we’re pretty set on Joseph and Matthew.
Help!
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Abby replies:
First, congratulations on your new sons!
There is something about finding twin names that seems a little more challenging, isn’t there? But I’ve always appreciated the approach of naming your next two children … and then checking that they sound like brother names after you’ve picked your favorites.
Happily, this is the path you’re already on, so let’s keep going!
We’re ruling out a few things:
- Names starting with B (probably)
- Names starting with H (definitely)
- Names ending with -tt/-t
- Names ending with -s or a similar sound
That leaves names starting with 24 letters of the alphabet and (probably) ending with -n, -r, or -y. Or maybe something like Blake – but there’s that repeating B again!
Looking at your current list, that suggests that you might consider:
- Carter and Sullivan
- Carter and Easton
- Carter and Grayson
- Spencer and Easton
- Spencer and Grayson
- Walker and Sullivan
- Walker and Easton
- Walker and Camden
That’s not a long list, but I think it might be plenty of choices for your purposes.
The thing is, well … they all sound like brothers for Beckett, right? And they all sound like twin names, too.
Maybe that’s the problem:
You’ve already eliminated all of the logical nope-won’t-work choices.
I’m going to suggest dropping Sullivan, only because it’s a little longer than your other names. Camden, too, because I can imagine Camden being Cam, and you seem to favor nickname-proof names. And while Spencer fits in many ways, it’s a 90s favorite that’s falling in popularity in recent years.
Are these arbitrary reasons? Yup, absolutely! But let’s test out how they work. If you’re feeling a pang right now – if the idea of letting Camden go is downright painful – then that’s a good sign that Camden should stay on the list, and maybe even be part of the final choice!
For now, we’re working with Carter or Walker, Easton, or Grayson.
I could almost flip a coin!
But I think I’m going to vote for Walker Matthew and Easton Joseph. My reason isn’t a terribly strong one: they’re slightly less popular than Carter and Grayson, which brings them closer to Beckett on the popularity charts.
That always feels like part of what makes siblings names feel right together. Though it’s not necessarily a great guideline. After all, name popularity can shift dramatically over time – and by 2025, Walker might be #25 and Beckett tumbling into the 400s.
Yet, as with dropping Spencer, Sullivan, and Camden, it’s more about testing out what works and seeing if it feels right.
And I think Beckett Alexander, Walker Matthew, and Easton Joseph are absolute perfection together.
We have an older brother Beckett and twins siblings, too! Only ours are boy/girl twins: Nolan and Adeline. Had we had twin boys, their names were going to be Grady and Griffin! Perhaps a combination of those names? Nolan and Grady? Nolan and Griffin?
Your list is wonderful, and Abby’s suggestions are spot on. I was sad to see Camden eliminated from the short list… Grady seems to take the best from Grayson. How about Campbell? Walker is spot, a solid, strong name. Borrowing from the excellent Preppy Hellraiser list, what about Crosby? Wilder? Lawson? Colter?
Beckett, Walker and Lawson
Beckett, Walker and Crosby
Beckett, Walker and Camden
Beckett, Walker and Campbell
Beckett, Wilder and Campbell
Beckett, Wilder and Lawson
Beckett, Wilder and Crosby
Beckett, Colter and Grady
Hope this helps, and huge congrats!
Beckett and….
Dashiell
Xavier
Callum
Roman
My favourite would be Beckett, Dashiell and Xavier.
I know a Beckett with twin siblings named Tucker and Reece. But if the -s ending is out, perhaps Remington/Remi?
It has the same number of syllables as Sullivan, but can’t be shortened to Sully (This may be a personal association problem. Reminds me of “My mittens are sullied.”).
Beckett, Tucker and Remington
But your existing list is great, too. I don’t think you can go wrong. Having all different ending sounds is a fun distinguishing characteristic for each boy.
Sawyer and Ryder. Cooper and Darwin.
Quincy
Zane
Morgan
Pierce
Ike
Peregrine
Levi
Watson
Clark
Sinclair
Ooh I love the suggestion of Grady! Grady & Walker would be lovely. Also Keaton and Fletcher feel spot on.
To my ear, Beckett is still quite fresh. Where I am Grayson, Carter, Easton, Camden aren’t as fresh. And Spencer veers unisex. So of your original list I love Walker & Sullivan together.
So fun naming twin boys! Good luck!
My first thought was Emory. Emory or Colby Matthew and Walton or Winston Joseph.
My first thought when I saw Beckett was: Keaton and Spencer (I think I’m drawn to the surnamey/literary vibe of Beckett).
I love so many of your options! Good luck choosing and congratulations!
I like Keaton too! I think it would work perfectly with Abby’s suggestions instead of Easton.
Beckett Alexander
Walker Matthew
Keaton Joseph
I love that each boy has their own initial and ending yet are subtly tied together with the K.
Congratulations on the twins!
Abby mentioned Easton Joseph and I almost yelped, what a fantastic name! Say it together with your last name, perfection. Please let us know what you go with, best of luck to you!
You have some great options there! What about Grady as an alternative to Brady with some of the style of Grayson?
Not a surname, but I think Colin works well with your favorites — Colin Matthew?
From your list i love Camden and Walker together.
I like the idea of sib sets that go together in meaning
Archer Matthew and Fletcher Joseph
Chase Matthew and Archer Joseph or Faulkner Joseph
Carver Matthew and Sawyer Joseph
Warden Matthew and Marshal Joseph (I think these meanings go really well with Beckett Alexander)
Wesley Matthew and Aston (variant of Easton) Joseph or Camden Joseph
Garrison Matthew and Kingsley Joseph
If you don’t mind the twins having the same first initial
Fletcher Matthew and Farran Joseph are great
I would vote for Spencer and Easton off your list! Spencer Joseph and Easton Matthew sound perfect to me!!
I love Sullivan and Spencer. Sullivan Matthew and Spencer Joseph. Same initial, but very different nanes.
Or even Brady and Blake. Brady Joseph and Blake Matthew. They seem to love B names!
Maybe Elliott and Sullivan (I like how this repeats the “LLI” sound and I prefer 3 syllables names with that last name).
Elliott Joseph and Sullivan Matthew.