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Name Help: Strong Boy Names for a Fourth Baby

July 26, 2019 By appellationmountain 23 Comments

Name Help: Brother for Charlotte, Penleope & WalkerName 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!

Lauren writes:

We have three children: Charlotte Amelia, Walker Navy, and Penelope River. Now we’re expecting another son. We definitely want a two+ syllable name because our last name is short.

I love Wilder, but it might be too similar to Walker.

My husband loves Legend, but I don’t think it matches our kids’ names.

Boy names are the hardest for us. My husband wants an epic, strong name, and we both don’t like classic boy names. But I don’t like anything from his list. Besides Legend, he’s suggested Major, General, and Rocco.

We really wanted an L name, except we’re not liking any. Suggestions?

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

Dear Lauren –

Congratulations on your new son!

Here’s the thing: epic boy names are trending. Maverick ranks in the current US Top 100. And Legend is in the Top 250. So it’s not a wild, bananas kind of choice.

It just doesn’t sound like a name you’re into. And it would be a little out-there with sisters named Charlotte and Penelope. Walker feels a little more modern, true – but it’s still firmly in the familiar names with history category. There’s photographer Walker Evans and novelist Walker Percy, to name two twentieth century notables.

Legend seems like the outlier.

But there are great, bold boy names that have some of Legend’s bravado, but feel a little closer to Walker in terms of familiarity.

Barrett – Maybe the most obvious direction is another surname name. Barrett can shorten to Bear, which is every bit as fierce and energetic as Legend.

Calder – There’s something outdoorsy about Calder. It shares the -r ending of Walker, and the same first initial as Charlotte, but I think it’s still different enough to work.

Everett – Names with the ‘v’ sound have an extra edge. One hesitation Barrett and Everett – they share the same ending as Charlotte.

Knox – There’s a whole category of boy names I call Americana: Knox, Boone, Ford, Twain. They’re short, strong choices with big sounds and appealing images. I like Knox best with your older kids’ names, but most of them could work.

Lawson – Okay, you’re loving the idea of L names, but Legend isn’t it. So how about Lawson? It’s another surname, true. But it has a different ending than any of your older kids’ names. And Lawson sounds like a lawman, an Old West sheriff, a little bit of a tough guy. But I think it’s far more buttoned-down than Legend, so it works with Charlotte, Penelope, and Walker.

Nash – If Knox is close, but not quite, maybe Nash would appeal?

Ridge – Nature names are a wildly popular category these days, but some – like River or Rowan – feel a little more gentle. Ridge strikes me as rugged, an outdoorsy name in the key of Wilder, one that conjures up mountains and trails in wilderness.

Weston – Lawson always makes me think of Weston – the Wild West, and the promise of heading to California to make one’s fortune in an earlier age. Like Wilder, it repeats an initial. But instead of sharing the -r ending, it’s an -n, which seems just different enough.

I’m stuck on Lawson. It starts with L, has that cool, home-on-the-range vibe, and still fits with Charlotte and Penelope and Walker.

Readers, what would you suggest? Or should they go with Legend instead?

Strong Boy Names

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Comments

  1. Deb says

    July 29, 2019 at 3:00 PM

    Atlas or Declan

    Reply
  2. Shaina says

    July 29, 2019 at 10:58 AM

    Lance!
    Or Lane!
    How about Leo?

    Reply
  3. Jean C. says

    July 28, 2019 at 3:38 PM

    There’s a lot of great suggestions already, but I wanted to add Lane to the pile. I think it sometimes seems like it’s only considered for girls, but it is the name of the late famous rodeo star, Lane Frost, and i think it sounds like a brother for Walker, less intense than Legend, but starts with an ‘L’ and has a cool factor.

    Reply
  4. Emmeline says

    July 28, 2019 at 3:21 AM

    I really like Bridger, Ledger (does make me think of Heath), Archer (Archie is such a cute nickname!), and Blaise (one syllable, I know, but a long one) for you.
    Good luck deciding!

    Reply
  5. The Mrs. says

    July 27, 2019 at 12:07 PM

    Abby sometimes suggests Bridger, and I think he’d make an excellent younger brother for Walker!

    He’s Americana, strong, underused, straight-forward, and COOL.

    Reply
  6. Jaime says

    July 27, 2019 at 10:24 AM

    I think Barrett is pretty perfect for you. Or Everett. I also think Lincoln, Langston and Lachlan do as well.

    I’d def avoid a name ending in -er or starting with W, P or C.

    A few others:
    Tobin
    Boden
    Bauer
    Broderick (nn Brody)
    Grady
    Ryder
    Remington (nn Remy)
    Trevor
    Beckett
    Holden
    Bowie

    I love Burke for you but it’s probably too short.

    Reply
  7. Marisa says

    July 27, 2019 at 1:58 AM

    Lachlan, Leroy, or Langston seem like good fits to me.

    Reply
  8. Whales_and_Anchors says

    July 26, 2019 at 10:27 PM

    L Names:
    Lincoln
    Loyal
    Lucas
    Larson
    Linus
    Lucian
    Larkin
    Laramie – Has that Americana feel of Walker and Wilder, but starts with L and sounds familiar because of Jeremy.
    Lawrence
    Landry
    Linden / Lyndon
    Ledger – it’s a twist on Legend, and it repeats Walker’s ending, which might be a nice tie between the names. A smoosh of Legend and Wilder, and a name on its own.
    Lachlan

    Non-L Names:
    I like Abby’s suggestion of Ridge.
    Also Bridger.
    Silas (shares the IL sound of Wilder, and has a different ending sound from the other siblings’ names.)
    Remington
    Stellar (a husband favorite, sounds familiar because of Stellan)
    Paxton
    Ellis
    Indigo
    Hudson
    Harrison
    Jasper
    Felix
    Mathias
    Dakota or Lakota
    Justice
    Gentry (so underused! And definitely a boy name, despite increased usage by those thieves the girls. 😉 )
    Bravery (familiar because of Avery, yet so meaningful)
    Rocket (too close to Walker?)

    Names with a strong IL sound
    Skylar
    Tyler
    Ryland
    Miles and Kyle (one syllable, I know)

    Reply
    • appellationmountain says

      July 27, 2019 at 10:02 AM

      Ledger is BRILLIANT!

      Reply
  9. rebecca says

    July 26, 2019 at 9:16 PM

    Love love love Lawson for an “L” name. I also like what others suggested: Lincoln and Lachlan. I’d add Luca. Good luck!

    Reply
  10. Keats says

    July 26, 2019 at 2:45 PM

    What about Archer? It has an adventurous last-name vibe to compliment Walker.

    Or what about Thornton, nickname Thor? Hard to get more epic than Thor. Thornton Wilder is quite dashing.

    Best of luck!

    Reply
  11. Megan says

    July 26, 2019 at 12:30 PM

    I think the names mentioned so far that sound best with are Calder, Lawson, Lincoln, and Remmington. I think the best of these are Calder, which like Walker doesn’t really shorten, and Remmington which shortens to the still long-ish Remy. Lawson and Lincoln intuitively shorten to Law and Link respectively.

    I would like to add Ulysses to the list as the most Epic, which doesn’t shorten, and has an Americana vibe.

    Alexander is also kind of epic, and only shortens to two syllables. I do feel it misses the Americana vibe of the other names, in spite of Hamilton.

    Marshall sounds epic to me, and there’s the Supreme Court Justice and civil rights champion Thurgood Marshall.

    Calder Lawson
    Lawson Marshall
    Lawson Alexander
    Lincoln Marshall
    Remmington Alexander
    Remmington Marshall
    Ulysses Calder
    Ulysses Alexander
    Ulysses Marshall
    Alexander Lawson
    Alexander Lincoln
    Alexander Marshall
    Marshall Calder
    Marshall Remmington
    Marshall Alexander

    Reply
    • Liz says

      July 26, 2019 at 9:50 PM

      Looove the suggestion of Marshall!

      Reply
  12. Another Emily says

    July 26, 2019 at 12:09 PM

    My first thought was Reevis (Rev-is). I like the sound of it particularly with Walker.

    Reply
  13. emily says

    July 26, 2019 at 12:05 PM

    How about Larkin?

    Reply
    • Liz says

      July 26, 2019 at 9:55 PM

      I really love the suggestion of Larkin, especially with its strong meaning.
      I’ll add Micah and Sawyer.

      Reply
  14. Zena Eve says

    July 26, 2019 at 11:05 AM

    Clark
    Ike
    Levi
    Gavin
    Nolan
    Peregrine

    Reply
  15. Ainsley says

    July 26, 2019 at 10:27 AM

    I think Lawson is a great choice and a good middle ground. It fits nicely within the sibling set, starts with an L, and sounds pretty badass without being too over the top. It’s like if Legend and Wilder had a baby haha

    My second choice from the suggestions would be Nash.

    Other names that might work
    Zane
    Hayes
    Blaise
    Jacoby (not really *epic* but it is unexpected)
    Xavier (X-Men comics anyone?)
    Bram
    Jace
    Vance
    Bear
    Rylan
    Dashiell/Dash
    Braxton
    Briggs
    Brooks
    Trace
    Cade/Kade
    Harvey
    Zeke
    Cash
    Slate/Slade
    Lex
    Lucian
    Remington
    Reeve/Reeves

    Reply
  16. Julia says

    July 26, 2019 at 10:23 AM

    I’ll add Ryder to the mix. 🙂

    Reply
  17. Erin Beth says

    July 26, 2019 at 8:40 AM

    My favorite suggestions for you so far Lawson and Lachlan. I would add:
    Lincoln
    Hawthorne
    Forrest

    Reply
    • Erin Beth says

      July 26, 2019 at 8:42 AM

      And Sterling!

      Reply
    • Janine says

      July 26, 2019 at 10:45 AM

      Lincoln’s a great suggestion! The nickname Link/Linc is such a selling point.

      Reply
  18. Lettucehead says

    July 26, 2019 at 8:01 AM

    I do think Wilder is too close to Walker.
    I would suggest Lachlan, Livingston, or Hudson.

    Reply

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