I recently found out that I am pregnant with our first child. As we both have first names that include an "AR" sound - like in Sarah- we were thinking it would be fun to have children's names that included that sound as well, like Carrie or Mary.  I do think it's a little cheesy but it's just something that we're playing around with.  We have a very common last name and I'm looking for some more unusual names to to spice it up.  Do you have any suggestions for names, especially boys' names?  It could be the "real" name or a nick name.  Any suggestions would be helpful!
Thank you!

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I’m not going to lie. This is super-cheesy, and I think you know it. However, depending on what you choose, you may be able to get away with it being a private joke for your family and an acceptable actual name for your kid.

But some rules – you can’t unearth a name that’s so over just for the sake of making this work. Specifically, I’m thinking about Eric, a name that fits your criteria and is fine for all the 30-somethings of today, but is a completely and totally outdated name for babies. Sadly, this goes double for Gary.

However, I was a little bit pleased with myself when I thought about Gerald. It feels just old enough that it could be kind of sparky on someone young. Similarly, Darren or Darien, if they’re of your style, are shaking off the shackles of Bewitched and are almost – almost? – old enough to be new again.  There is also Garrett, which seems to be one of those names that’s universally liked and yet rarely chosen (the last one I remember in pop culture was the hot boy love-interest on Swan’s Crossing – go google the theme song and enjoy the five minutes of wasted time) so maybe that’s your bag?   

What about Aaron? It’s a stretch – it’s not supposed to rhyme with Sarah, but is sometimes pronounced the same way as the girls’ name, Erin that is (I know) but that might actually make the association more subtle and easier to stomach. Terrence? 

You could, of course, also go with “Bear”. This should bother me immensely but actually doesn’t. Or Taran. You’d be “those people” in a whole different way. 

One last thing:  Whatever you do, please don’t make up a two-syllable last name name ending with –ton or –den because it suits the purpose. I don’t want you to be insulted by that statement. I don’t actually think you ever would. You’re a smart person and you obviously have great taste because you wouldn’t read this column (ha!) but sometimes when I hear some of those names, like Brixton or Canyen or inexplicably, Kaswynn, which I found while researching this column, it sounds like they were trying to get a name that rhymed with something else and just made random syllables into a name. It’s not right.   

Standing by for updates here.