Unexpected Boy Names to Go With Ophelia

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! To have your question considered, email appmtn (at) gmail. Looking for your own private #namehelp post? Order one here.

A BROTHER FOR OPHELIA

Cassie writes:

We have a daughter named Ophelia Emerson. Ophelia was my favorite name from the beginning, and my husband was fine with it. Emerson is because we met at a mutual friend’s wedding in Concord, Massachusetts and fell in love with the idea of using names related to the many famous authors in the town’s history.

If this baby was a girl we were pretty set on Tallulah Hawthorne. But it’s a boy, and nothing feels right this time around. Names we have considered, but probably won’t use. (Unless you think there’s something we should reconsider?)

• August – Hearing this name a lot.
• Caspian, Cassian – Except I’m Cassie/Cassandra, and it feels like we’d be naming him after me.
• Julian – My husband’s favorite, but I’m not sure.
• Orson – Maybe a little too different, and using a second O name feels like we’d have to name another kid Ortensia. (I don’t really know if we’ll have another baby after this one, but still.)
• Sebastian – I think that I think I should like it more than I do.
• Wilder – A friend suggested this name, and I’m in love, but I think I like it more for someone else’s family.

We might still use Hawthorne for the middle name. I also like Thoreau or maybe Walden.

One middle name we can’t use is Alcott because our last name rhymes with Scott, but starts with an M.

We would love some new ideas!

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

FINDING UNEXPECTED BOY NAMES

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your new son!

Naming a second child can be challenging. Just when you’ve nailed down your style, it feels like none of the obvious choices in that category work. Because I can easily imagine Ophelia having a brother named Caspian or Sebastian or Wilder … but it’s not hitting right for you.

It may be that your naming style for a boy is just plain different from your preferences for girls’ names, and that’s fine.

Ophelia, Tallulah and most of the boys’ names on your list strike me as bohemian, with a hint of traditional – creative, expressive, but rooted in history.

So maybe we do just need a few fresh ideas.

Before we go there, though, I wonder if pairing Julian with the middle name Thoreau might appeal? I love the sound of Julian Thoreau Rhymes-With-Scott. And if Ophelia was your favorite name for your firstborn, I wonder if leaning in to your husband’s top pick this time might have some appeal?

I do agree that avoiding O names seems smart. Not necessary, of course, but if you’re already feeling like two O names would be a pattern, that pressure isn’t likely to lessen should you grown your family in the future.

Now, let’s brainstorm more surprising boy names to go with Ophelia.

MORE UNEXPECTED BOY NAMES

ASA

Maybe it’s because we’re talking about Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I keep thinking of 19th century Transcendentalists. Most of them had pretty conventional given names, but it’s easy to imagine old school Old Testament names in their company, too. I don’t think Hezekiah or Obadiah is your style, but how about Asa? It has a great meaning – healer – and a current, smooth, vowel forward sound.

BRYSON

I almost suggested Bronson, for Bronson Alcott. Then I considered Benson, which I still love for your family. But maybe Ophelia and Benson is a little too Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? (Many television characters are fleeting, but Olivia Benson is currently the longest running prime-time live-action character of all time.) So maybe Bryson? It’s more popular than many names on your list, but still far from chart-topping.

DORIAN

One of my first thoughts, an name that takes all the appeal of Julian and turns it up to eleven.

DYLAN

Dylan is a Top 100 staple, and the name continues to rise quietly in use. After all, A Complete Unknown put Bob Dylan back on everyone’s mind, and the name’s association with the sea keeps it in step with current nature names. But those qualities also make it a great match for Ophelia.

FLETCHER

Maybe this is more of a polished, preppy name than a indie, bohemian darling – but I really like it with your girls’ choices.

KIERAN

In one sense, Kieran is quite Irish, a brother for Liam. Except Irish names are so mainstream that most of them just read like American English names. (Think Brian, Ryan, Aiden.) Kieran shares a little bit of Orson’s sound, without the O and with a slightly more mainstream quality.

RIVER

This is one of those boho boy names that is absolutely mainstream circa 2025. You don’t need to be into kayaking or outdoorsy at all to appreciate the appeal of this name. And it’s a great sound with your surname and your daughter’s name.

ROWAN

Like River, this is a standard-bearer for mainstream boho boy names. Even though it ranks in the current US Top 100, I still think it fits with unexpected boy names, if only because it’s not anything like the names of the 1990s. It’s a bright O sound, but not too similar to Ophelia, either.

SHEPHERD

A gentle name, Shepherd can sometimes read religious, but often feels like an occupational surname in the key of Carter or Mason.

WHEELER

This name is really different – it last ranked in the US Top 1000 back in 1909! But it’s a less common alternative that shares sounds with Wilder and Fletcher. Looking at lists of Emerson’s contemporaries, I came across Charles Stearns Wheeler. He was a farmer and a Transcendentalist pioneer, considered one of Thoreau’s inspirations for Walden. I suppose this might be a name you’ve considered as a middle, but I like it as a first, too.

Overall, if I can’t talk you into Julian Thoreau, then I think Dorian Thoreau – or Dorian Wheeler? – would be my top recommendation. I think Dorian fits your overall style, but represents something just a little different, too.

Readers, over to you – can you suggest some unexpected boy names for Ophelia’s brother?