Posted on 12/17/2006 10:51:38 PM PST by Hetty_Fauxvert
My husband and I are expecting fraternal twin boys in March, and we have reached the stage of discussing names. My husband is a small-L libertarian, while I am more conservative, but we agree that we would like to give our sons names to live up to. (For instance, we are seriously looking at Washington, Jefferson and Franklin as middle names, since we like the idea of giving the boys the names of some of our most important and admirable founding fathers.) We are also fans of history, particularly the Roman era, and would be interested in considering names of some of the more admirable and moral "great men" through history. We are of English and Irish extraction, so we are also interested in names appropriate to those histories.
This is all tempered by the fact that we don't want to give them names that will get them teased mercilessly; for instance, when my husband suggested the names Dwight (for Eisenhower), and Hector, I vetoed both of them on the grounds that they were just plain ugly names, no matter who wore them first. Also, we are not Christian, so while we understand the importance of Christianity to our Western tradition, we are not particularly looking for a religious-themed name.
So this is your chance to give us a suggestion! Please give us the name, and if it is a name we might not be immediately familiar with, give us some background and also why you think this name is a good candidate.
Thank you!
Try generals.......Zackary, Sheridan, Taylor, Ghenghis......
My Dad's middle name was Franklin- named after the car my grandmother's doctor drove her to the hospital in.
If you are looking for Irish names Aidan and Ardal, could work. Different yet manly.
So is Ronald and Wilson out???
Yeah, but what kind of car does Hetty drive? Naming the twins Toyota and Tercel would be kinda weird. P.T. and Cruiser might work though. ;~)
The English colonists often used maiden names as first and or middle names, especially for boys. The two JFK's were named with that standard, Fitzgerald & Forbes.
The middle names of some of my G+ Uncles were Smith, Cunningham, Payton, Pickering & Treat. IOW, many of us commoners had ancestors who used the standard.
Here's a novel idea. How about giving them a contemperary name you like and let them make their own way.
I'm sure you feel they will react positively to the implied pressure to "live up to" their given names, but perhaps you should let them live up to what it is their gifts are.
I think perhaps I was not clear as to what I hope they will "live up to." I don't care what professions or occupations they follow, as long as they do it with integrity. I do, however, want them to grow up to be principled men who are willing to stand up for the things they believe in. Their father and I will try hard to instill good principles and encourage them to have the guts to carry them through, but I think it can't hurt to also have a "name" to carry to remind them of those principles.
On a less lofty plain, I will also admit that I find most "modern" names to be aesthetically unpleasing. I won't enumerate some of the modern names that particularly make me shudder, but I'm sure your imagination can fill the gap. Romantic that I am, I just like old names (well, many of them) better.
John (Adams), Thomas (Jefferson), Benjamin, Samuel, Josiah, Carter, Abraham, George, William, Eldridge, Button, Lyman, Joseph, Stephen, Francis, Richard, Philip, Arthur, Lewis, Robert, Caesar, Edward, Matthew, Oliver
yitbos
I'm thinking Seven and Cosmo.
Any other suggestions?
I hope William is not a first name your considering. ;-D
If you must pick from those three, go with Washington or Franklin. Any similarities to x42 can be depressing.
We have a liberal friend from HS who named her 3 children
Madison Lincoln and Carter ( first names)
I feel very bad for poor Carter.
We have a Samuel Adam. One day we may have a Patrick Henry.
Mulva?
Orangello and Lemongello...
Romulus and Remus.
Upton and Charles. When you call them you can just shout, "Upchuck!"
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