I am pumped to write you as we expect the arrival of our third baby. We were on the unenviable infertility journey for years before we welcomed our first son, and even know as we prepare to welcome our third, it feels like a crazy miracle.
Henry Clarke is our imaginative, wild child five-year-old and Jane Mary is our sassy and pink-loving (much to this mama's chagrin) two-year-old. We don't know the sex of baby #3, but we clearly are drawn to the classics. We have a short one syllable German last name starting with W.
Last week, Henry suggested the name Remma out of the blue if it is a girl, and Firefighter if it is a boy. My husband likes the names Mira, Wren, and Elle.
For boys, he likes Milo and Ico (Ike for short).
I'm not in love with any of the above. I could maybe live with something like Frederick or John or James for a boy (all family names), but I don't love them. For girl names, I've got nothing besides maybe Ramona. I feel the pressure more than ever the name we choose has to "go" with Henry and Jane.
Please help!!
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I hope you will all forgive me the title, but in truth I’m not sorry. How could I not highlight what is clearly the best name suggestion this column has received, possibly ever? Firefighter. Does your kid want a job as my intern, by any chance?
Otherwise, this is a crisp, clean letter with crisp, clean names. No surprise there, and I have to say I’m impressed that your list of potential names is what it is – coming from someone else they might be ‘Emma or John or Ayden’, with no further debate. Shout-out to your son Henry with ‘Remma’, by the way.
You are, of course, beginning with a precedent of very classic names. Royal names, even. I love them, but I’ll be interested to see where your third choice goes. The only name you’ve mentioned that really feels like a ‘wrong’ choice to me is Elle—it is trendy and too modern relative to your other beautiful classics, so I’d eliminate it if you can. Actually, Wren also falls into this category. Ico, too, marks a movement to a different style – did you guys hold back a lot on creativity and now feel like you can unleash?
I love your suggestion of Ramona, but I’ve been known to love it, so you can account for some bias there. Still, though, I think it’s great – especially since you’ve got a shorter surname. Other longer names that might fit into your world are Harriet or Emmeline; if those are too fancy, there’s Clara or Lena or… wait, am I conscripting you to a style you don’t want? I’m not trying to suppress creativity, honestly… I just think you’re going to want something that does, indeed, ‘go’ with Henry and Jane, but also something that doesn’t make you wonder if you made the right choice.
Still, that doesn’t mean you’re limited to Anglo-Saxon names that have been used by British royalty. I love Milo but also think you could go with Barnabas or Enoch or Micah, Enid (come on! Henry and Jane and Enid) or Estelle or Nadine. Giselle, as a nod to your husband’s Elle? Ivan? Rhys? What about Colm or Jerome, Vada or Anthea? Jeremy? Elke?
Let us know who comes to make the set, but let it be known I’m rooting for Firefighter.