Welcome back to ASK AMANDA. Today I’m answering a question for a soon-to-be mom (for the third time) in Canada!

 

Ask Amanda

Q:    I am pregnant with a boy and due in 4-5 weeks…….HELP PLEASE!! I already have two kids and have named them Marcus and Marina. My husband is Italian and we are not agreeing on any names.  Our daughter was born and nameless for days because we didn’t agree!!  I do not want to repeat this.  Our name choice does not have to be an Italian or start with the letter “M,” but I do want it to sound OK when mentioning my other kids names.  I tend to prefer short names that are not tongue twisters.  I like Darius, Xavier, Jordon, Sidney, Daniel.  My husband says NO to all of them.  His list is Leonardo (over my dead body!), Alexis, Roman.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. BONNIE, Montreal, Canada

 

A:    Thanks for writing, Bonnie. I understand why you don’t want a repeat of the “nameless baby” saga you went through with your daughter. Sounds stressful!

 

Since you and your husband aren’t agreeing on any of the names either of you have come up with so far, I think going back to the drawing board is a good idea. It’s important that you both love the name you choose.

 

So what’s my advice? Stop looking for baby names and start looking for common ground. I studied the names you told me you both liked and the names you picked for your first two children. Here’s the common ground I see so far:

 

1.       You chose names with Latin origins for your first two children — Marcus and Marina. Maybe you can agree to choose a name with a Latin origin for this baby, too. This is nice because it creates a connection between all their names without being too matchy-matchy.

 

2.       For your first two children you chose a masculine name for your son and a feminine name for your daughter. Maybe you can agree to cross unisex names off your list. That way all your children’s names will have the same “style,” which you said is important to you.

 

3.       You told me that you like short names and all your picks have six letters. Two of your husband’s three choices have six or fewer letters, too. It looks like you can also agree to cross names with more than six letters off your list.

 

Once you agree on some parameters, then you can make a list of names that match your agreed terms.

 

Here’s a list of names that meet the three criteria above — they have Latin roots, they’re masculine (you said you’re having a boy) and they’re six letters or less:

 

 

BARNEY

CASH

DRAKE

FELIX

GUS

JUSTIN

LUCAS

LUCIUS

MILES

MILO

OLIVER

REX

SILAS

TYRONE

VICTOR

VITO

 

 

This isn’t an exhaustive list, so if none of these work for you, you can find other names that fall within these three parameters.

 

If you still can’t find a name, start looking for other things you agree on. For example, the meaning of the name or the letter the name will start with. Any place you have common ground is an opportunity to gather new ideas and cross others off the list.

 

 

I hope this helps! Thanks for writing me. I’m sure you’ll find a name you both love. It says a lot that you’re working so hard to choose a name you both agree on — your son will appreciate that someday.

 

Let me know what you pick. J

 

 

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

 

Follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

For more information on baby names and their meanings check out

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES