Hi Duana!

I had written to you months ago about baby #3 due in May (not knowing what the baby’s gender would be) and stressing about what to name the babe if it was a boy. We loved the name Isaiah but it is way to similar to our daughter’s name Eliza, which is why I reached out to you! 

Well...we weren’t going to find out, but a couple weeks ago we had the big ultrasound and caved because my hubs and I were still struggling for boy names. Turns out...it’s a boy!  On the drive home from the ultrasound, I was spitting out names I liked besides Isaiah- Malcolm was my new favorite but the hubs had a basketball coach of that name that he claims “was the worst coach of my entire (academic) career.” So Malcolm is a flat no.  But then he (finally!) came out a suggestion- Trey. We both instantly said yes to the name because of its fresh vibe, this baby is the third (yes I keep thinking about Lainey’s references to Prince Louis as baby trey and I jokingly called my baby “baby trey” but never considered it as a name), and we are both basketball fans and my husband was/is known in our town as the kid with the three-pointers (feel free to eyeroll!).

So now my original question has completely been voided and I’m left wondering if Trey works with our Eliza (Elo) and Kevin (Kevy). For the reasons listed above- it’s not TOO cheesy of a choice is it?  The middle name will be Cecil after a family member, and our last name is a short, one syllable last name.

 

___

Welcome to having your cake and eating it too! You’re actually in a great situation here, because as you well know, Trey originated as a nickname for being ‘the third’ – not as in the third child, but as in ‘III’ – so, technically, if you want to, you get to give him two names. 

I mean, you don’t have to. Eliza and Kevin and Trey work together, and plenty of people use ‘Trey’ as a standalone first name… including Will Smith if that holds water for you. BUT because it’s a nickname, and because you specifically included your other kids’ nicknames that you obviously use on the regular, you could freely use Trey as the all-the-time nickname and give him a fuller name if you want to. In case you feel like he wants something more formal and birth-certificate-only ish, you fully have that option. Not that everyone else doesn’t, but you’re uniquely placed to do that. 

I should stress that this isn’t because I think Trey isn’t a full name on it’s own. There are other nicknames that feel foreshortened and cutesy, but whether it’s because of the strong consonants at the beginning or the popularity of single-syllable names, Trey stands on it’s own. The only caveat being that you should say it out loud with your short one-syllable last name a lot, to see if it feels too quick and blunt to you. If so, I have no problem with you choosing to call him Isaiah ‘Trey’ Cecil Smith, if that’s what you want to do. Or going with something like Tremaine (this is Trey Songz full name). There are also modern ‘lengthenings’ like Treyton, but I don’t think you need to go that far. Trey is the gift that gives you the option of going with almost any first name. 

Oh, and as a final thread here, I assumed that you meant he was a third because he was your third child, not because you’re intending to name him after his father and grandfather,  but guess what? That doesn’t matter. If you like the name, you get to use it however you want to, regardless of what tradition says. You’re the boss, and this name is a secret gift! 

Let us know!