One minute, you think naming your son Shane is going to give him a chaps-wearing leg up in life by bestowing him with all the quiet coolness of a 1950’s movie cowboy. The next, you’re sure naming him Shane will make him the poopy-pants, wheezy outcast who sits out gym class because he forgot his inhaler.
It’s a big job, naming a human being.
I ran my current short list of baby names by a name expert, Pamela Redmond Satran (developer of addictive site Nameberry.com and coauthor of the new book, “Beyond Ava & Aiden.”) As far as I can tell, she is the baby name maven. And man, she despises one of my beloved names.
I’ve also included some of your comments and suggestions, which I must say I have loved receiving, especially after discussing the topic with Adam Carolla and Bald Bryan on a recent podcast. Thank you so much for your feedback. Me and Baby No Name adore hearing from you.
Here’s what I got so far:
James
Prototypical "Jim"
Me: You know the trouble with this one: the nickname Jim. Jims seem like nice guys, I just don’t want one. I am told by many who have written to me that Jim is an old school nickname, and that James can remain James. Can this be true? Also, how common is James? And have girls overtaken the name James? Those greedy little girl parents are taking everything.
The Name Expert: For me, James is really good. And doesn’t have to be Jim (though I actually like Jim). I have a Joe who has never, ever been called Joey, at least by anyone who lived to tell about it. There are lots of Jameses – but not in your neighborhood. Unless they’re girls. I really don’t think the girls are taking it over, though, not en masse outside the hipster ghetto.
What you say: I counted 18 pro-James comments.
Jaime says: “My best friend is named Jim, and has 99% of the time successfully avoided being called Jim.”
Michela says: “If you like James, what about Jay? There is literally no nicknaming possible!”
Catherine says: “The Jim fear shows the generational gap. I don’t know any Jims younger than 40, every other James I’ve ever met has gone by “James” or “Jamie” so I think you should put James back on the table. I think Jim and Jimmy came from families back in the day when everyone was named after an older family member, so you’d end up with seven men named James and you had to differentiate.
To sum up, my vote: JAMES”
James says: “I was always fascinated by strangers that no sooner did I introduce myself as James, they jump right into calling me Jimbo. Really? Jimbo is where you started? Know a lot of Jimbos do you? But I didn’t get annoyed by it too much because it was often a good way to weed out the douche bags.
I just had a son on Saturday but opted for Jack. I am the third James in the family (and the only one actually called James) but the name will end on three. I wish you all the luck in choosing your son’s name.”
Mickey
Mickey Goldmill. Definitely a Jew.
Me: One word: Rocky. You know, “Cut me, Mick.” Burgess Meredith, who played Rocky’s grizzled old trainer, was iconic as Mickey. I also love Denis Leary’s sponsor/cousin, Mickey, from “Rescue Me.” Mickey loans you money. Mickey will drive your sister home when she’s drunk and not even consider feeling her up. Mickey plays pool but won’t shark you. However, does it sound too much like Nicky? And does one have to start with the name Michael to get to Mickey?
The Name Expert: You want to know what I really think? You can’t name a kid Mickey. Yes, there’s the mouse, Mickey Rourke, and I dunno, do you really want a son who’s the movie sidekick, too good for his own good? Plus, what if he wants to be a bond trader (you’re a writer, this could be a good thing), except they won’t let him into business school because he’s got such an infantile name? I repeat: You can’t name a kid Mickey.
You say: Mickey was suggested by one person. Oddly enough, Micah was the king of the “M” names from you guys, which also included favorites Max, Miles, Milo and Mitchell.
Finnegan
Me: This is the only really quirky name on my short list. I like juxtaposing ethnicities, an in-your-face Irish first name with a crazy Polish last name. And the book “Finnegan’s Wake” took, like, 17 years to write, and I like the idea of someone slaving over a book most people can neither read nor understand. And I love the nickname Finn. Is this getting too Aiden/Jaden/Caden? Is Finn trying too hard? Are girls co-opting this one, too?
Finn McCool. Definitely not a Jew.
The Name Expert: I actually think Finn is really the better name. Finn McCool is the greatest hero of Irish mythology. Why does everyone think they have to pick Finnegan or Finnian or Finlay and then call their kid Finn? It’s not like Jim. That rant over: Yes, it is getting too common. It is very easy to like, and that’s its problem. Ah, alternatives to Finnegan: You mean Irish surname’y names? Are you Irish? Do you have any in your family? I do kind of like the Maguire/O’Brien thing, but I think the name’s got to be real to pull it off. Here’s an Irish name that’s totally undiscovered: Piran. Patron saint of miners.
You say: Finn was suggested, as were Finbar, Felix and Fred. As far as unusual names go, you guys were not at a loss. Some of my favorites include: Hoagy, Balthazar, Cabot, Miller, Lazare, Kyd, Spider, Stosh, Zeno, Jaspar and Taytum.
You sent some great Irish-sounding names, too, including Declan, Gavin, Ian, Liam, Colm, Caleb (very popular), Logan, Dylan, Lachlan, Rowan, Rylan and Seamus.
Shane
Shane: Nameberry hates you.
Me: My husband has all but closed the swinging saloon door on this one, but I still like it because Shanes are always hot. And the Polish cowboy thing still calls to me. The Mr. thinks it’s too cute and maybe too precious and trying too hard. He has started giving me the stink eye every time I mention it.
The Name Expert: Absolutely no. You’re birthing him, not dating him.
You say: Lots of love for the name Shane, but some disdain, too.
Dignan says: “Teresa, I love you, and I hate to crap on your waffle, but my parents named me Shane and I hated it. I remember being two years old and hating my name. I’ve never stopped hating it. Also, I’m sad to report that not all boys named Shane are attractive.”
Shanesmommy says: “My husband hates trendy names and also loved Shane because it was different without being trendy or as TACS says, “F’ed Out”.”
Edward
Me: This is racing toward the top for me. Eddie and Ed are cute nicknames. Edward was my grandfather. Sure, he was manic-depressive, but he always had a freezer full of rocky road ice cream and he once made me feel like a genius for getting the word “mauve” in a game of Boggle when I was eight.
Is Edward too boring? Will there be too many Edwards in his world? Sometimes my husband test drives this one by saying “Edward” very sternly to my belly. It feels right.
The Name Expert: This is what we wanted to name our second son (now 16). We were going to call him Ned. We loved it, and I still do. But our older kids, aged 10 and 4, said it was a nerd name and they would hate him if we called him Ned, so we didn’t do it. And now he thanks us. But I still have regrets and think the “Twilight” Edward has substantially increased the hotness factor. I love this name and definitely think it’s the best on your list.
You Say: Several of you wrote in to suggest Edward. Other “E” names you sent my way include Eamon, Eli, Elijah (very popular), Elliot, Enzo, Eric, Ethan, Evan, Ewan and Ezra.
The baby is already sucking my blood, right?
My grandpa, Edward
Tags: baby names, Pregnancy
I just seen your segment about baby names and the one name that I havent heard was the name that I have for my son. DOMINICK I picked that name cause of a show I have seen years ago called, “AirWolf”, Ernest Borgnine (sorry for spelling) was the machanic working on the plane. He put into that character ‘Dominck Santinee’ that so appealed to me I wanted my son to have it. Now I picked it more then 10 years before my son was born. I have never heard that name so I don’t think its as common and it can be shorten to be, ‘Dom’ or ‘Nick’. But with my son he is what I gave him, Dominick he also don’t want it to be shortten in any way. Here is the meaning of the name;
“Derived from the Latin Dominicus (belonging to a lord), which is from dominus (a lord, a master). Var: Domenic, Dominick, Dominyck, Dominyk, Domonic, Domonick.”
Hope this helps.
Did you know that there are over 4 million people in this country with the name Jim? It just seems to me that there’s enough of them already.
I agree with the Edward name. But please call him Edward. That “w” ads wonderful and weird to an otherwise boring and sometimes lacking in compassion Ed. Just my two cents!
Marly
Teresa…I like Edward Wachinski. He could slide easily into the role of author, film director or prince on a private island somewhere…definitely NOT the name of a dishwasher or hair stylist (not that there’s anything wrong with that)
I must share my “James” story with you. In my mid twenties, I met a way out of my league man who introduced himself as Jim. After buying me my 3rd dirty martini, Jim asked me if I would like to go to a Steelers game with him the next day. This would be the beginning of a all to good to be true relationship. Since I traveled alot for my job, I did not meet his parents for quite a few months later. Oh, but I will never forget when I did!! It was Christmas eve and Jim was adamant about me stopping by to partake in his massive Italian family’s Christmas eve festivities. A few minutes after my arrival I was being led by Jim to a “safe place” in the crowd where I would be greeted and judged as the non-italian I was. Jim left me on my own to get me a glass of wine when a cousin came up and introduced himself. He asked me if he could get me a drink and I politely stated that Jim was already taking care of that. All of a sudden, from across the room, I hear “Oh no you don’t darling…. He was James when he came out of me 31 years ago, and God Dammit he is James now” ” I didn’t go through 32 hours of labor for a little missy to come in an rename my boy”!!!!! I have no idea to this day how she could have heard my say Jim, over the noise. We have since laughed off the incident as her being “tipsy” and annoyed at James’s taste for “airheads”. Although she credited me with being “one” of her favorite lady friends of James’s , we did not last past Valentines Day!!!! So there you have it, take it from Rosalie of Pittsburgh, Pa, proud mama of James not Jim!
I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned it to you, but what about Adam? Its a nice strong name, a very passionate name. Or at-least a good middle name, which would be ironic because of Adams lack of middle name. I know about the struggles of naming a little one, my son is 5, his name is Daniel. Which can be shortened to Dan, which isn’t a bad name either. On the bad side though we have allot of old people wanting to call him Danny, which I hate. With the five names that you do have I would vote for none of the above, sorry but Buster even sounds better. Good luck and don’t forget the kid will probably just want to change it when their a teenager anyways.
Listening to you on Adam as I write this-love you as always. Looked up the Gilligan porn info with Mary Ann’s name:This Ain’t Gilligan’s Island XXX features an all-star cast, including Anthony Rosano as Gilligan, Ryder Skye as Ginger, Sindee Jennings as Mary Ann, Jack Lawrence as the Professor, Rod Fontana as the Skipper, Darryl Hannah as Mrs. Howell and Dick Nasty as Thurston Howell III, along with performances by Voodoo, Evan Stone, Regan Reese and Jason Silver.
Keep up the wonderful work and Happy Baby!
I feel qualified as an expert on names due to my past occupations, Insurance help desk (over the phone), subsitute teacher (in three different Engish speaking countries), full time teacher (in two different countries) and now full time basketball coach. I deal with different names on mass all the time.
The Three Major No’s No’s
PLEASE do not go with a name that is “common” and then for some added spice spell it different. No more Emmelee(s) or Airyon(s) or Andruw(s) they are spelt Emily, Aaron and Andrew
PLEASE do not go with a “common” name and just try to say it different.
and if you go with a name of a city, state, country, plant or anything else that is already a noun, PLEASE make sure you spell it the same way.
Thank you
How about Roch? It could work well with a long Polish last name. It is actually a Polish name too, although rather uncommon. I think a shorter name works better with a long last name. Fabian is interesting too.
Instead of asking for people’s input on the names, maybe you should ask for a word-association game with the names. I read somewhere that like and dislike of certain names can be genetic, and we’ve all met people we’ve loved and hated, so all you’re going to get are biased responses. With word association, you’ll get to experience what your kid may experience.
Finnegan: Chinegan
Shane: COME BACK!!
Edward: Scissorhands
Mickey: Finn, weirdly, the combination of two of your names is a drug, subconscious much?; M-I-C-K-E-Y, why not go all out and name him Oscar Mayer?
James: [blank]
Please consider a name that is easy to spell and pronounce. I was named after my grandmother. The only people who ever pronounce or spell my name correctly are family members. All through school and employment or meeting someone for the first time, it is a struggle for people to say my name. It can be awkward. I always wanted a simple name.
I work in early childhood at an elementary school. Some of the names children have are difficult to spell with complicated letter combinations. It may seem “cute” to the parents, but it is not practical for the child.