Opinions on baby name choices

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-01-2003
Opinions on baby name choices
12
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 11:01am
My husband and I are at a standstill in deciding on the name of our second little boy who will be born in a few months here. We had no trouble naming our first son (Evan Daniel - Evans is his mother's maiden name and Daniel is my father's name) and have narrowed it down to two possible choices. Hoping for opinions on these two: Henry James or Wilder James. James is my husband's father's name and we have agreed that it will be the baby's middle name. I am concerned about the "nickname" for each of these and we don't care for Hank, which is the common short of Henry. We were thinking Will or Wil (pronounced "while") for Wilder. Any suggestions or comments?? THANKS!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 11:12am

Henry James is very nice. Hank is not commonly used these days, so I think it would be easy to avoid that as a nickname.

Wilder James is not so great (Wilder than what, a wildcat?). What if he has ADD or ADHD and his name is Wilder? Not good.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-01-2003
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 11:27am
lol! I actually agree with you about the "wilder than what" thing (and so far, I'm guessing by this baby's level activity that it would be fitting) - the name is my husband's choice!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-13-2006
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 11:35am
I think they both sound really nice, and if you dont like the nn Hank, you could just call him Henry. However, Henry James is a fairly famous author. He writes classics so I wouldnt think that would be a bad connection, just thought you should know.
Meg

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-09-2005
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 12:00pm
I LOVE Wilder- it is so strong and unique! Although I love older names, Henry sounds very drab to me, its nms, although I know a lot of people on this board disagree! James is a wonderful mn- my vote goes to Wilder James nn Wil.

                             
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-23-2004
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 1:36pm

I really like Wilder James. That one gets my vote. I dislike Henry immensely. :)

Terra.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2006
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 2:21pm

Henry James is actually a long dead author who wrote around the turn of the century. He is widely viewed as one of the greatest american novelists. He wrote Portrait of a Lady and Daisy Miller among others and was a contemporary and good friend of Edith Wharton.

That said, I think it's a great association. James was a brilliant writer. On top of that I love the names Henry and James. If the one I'm pregnant with now were a boy, we would have strongly considered Henry.

Good luck,
Meredith

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 3:38pm

I like the name Wilder James because it's so different. If your son someday thinks Wilder is too, I don't know, 'wild', he could always use James (we named our son with a 'common' first name and less common middle name - Ethan Chase - for that very reason. Some like to be different, some like to fit in.

That said, your thought on having 'Wil' as a nn might work verbally, but I think anyone reading his name would think it was 'Will' and pronounce it that way. You could also use 'W' - my son is known to most as 'E'. James, Jim or Jimmy could be nns too. Good luck with your new son, whatever you choose!

Best,

Trina

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2006
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 4:47pm
I think either choice is a great match to brother Evan Daniel. I definitely like that both children have family connections within their names. I don't think Henry lends itself to automatically having a nn. I actually prefer either choice, Henry or Wilder, in full. As far as which name to use, I think it comes to down to personal choice. Both have excellent flow with James and both are excellent with Evan. I personally prefer Wilder because I love edgy names. The combo- Wilder & Evan is fantastic. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Henry. One small caution- it is not as popular as Evan, at the moment, but it IS growing in leaps and bounds. You will meet many little Henrys as your child grows. There is a reason for that, though- It is a widely-appealing name! Let us know what you decide and good luck, Ginger

Ginger

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-29-2005
Wed, 07-05-2006 - 6:32pm
Go with Henry. Wilder is a surname and boy even I want to tease him right off the bat. Henry is a great name and if somehow it just HAS to be Hank, then thats not bad either.



iVillage Member
Registered: 07-09-2006
Sun, 07-09-2006 - 9:25pm
Love the name Henry! Good luck

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