What do you think of these (odd, I know) place names for boys?

[mckittre]

My husband and I named our son after a place that is special to us, and plan to do the same for our next kid, but are having trouble deciding on a boy's name (we aren't finding out sex, but agreed on a girl name right away). So, since I suspect you folks generally won't know the places, I want to know what you think of these as names. We need opinions, but don't want to ask folks we know, because there's bound to be some friend/relative who dislikes whatever we end up using.

Akwe (pronounced Ahk-way, with the A as in All)
Kamishak (pronounced Cam-ih-shack, with the cam like camera, i like is)
Aialik (pronounced Eye-al-ik)

Thanks!

[lotusma]

i think they're pretty cool. don't care too much for #2, tho. (the "shak" ending is a bit odd for a name)

[Anastasiya]

I know where Aialik Bay is, and I really like Aialik as a name. It sounds the most like a name to me.

The second I just keep seeing Caddyshack.

The first....don't like it. To me it sounds like you'd be naming him Agua.

ETA: I wanted to find out what Akwe was so I Googled it. The pronunciation there is Uh-gway. If that's the same name as you're using, then I for sure don't like it....too gutteral or something for me; too much a combination of agua and ugly. sorry....just saying what comes to mind!

[Qbear'smama]

I agree with Lotusma.

[new york momma]

Sounds like you got hot and heavy in Alaska
My vote--
1. Kamishak
2. Akwe
3. Aialik

I like the sound of Kamishak, but I read once that kids with names that start with A do better in school because teachers often place students in alphabetical order. I teach and have always memorized my students in alpha order by first name. Their seating chart doesn't go in alpha order, nor does they way they take turns. But whenever I prepare materials after work, I start with the A name and go on down the line.

[WifeofAnt]

I'd be afraid no one would know how to pronounce them...

[paintedfire]

I really like Aialik, but don't really care for either of the other two. I agree with the PP who said that it sounds the most like a name to them - it does to me as well. But a pretty name!

[4Blessings]

Maybe for a middle name but not for a first name. I think it's hard on kids when they have to present a pronounciation guide for their name to be said correctly.

But...

If these are local places and those around you would be familiar with the pronounciation than I'd go with #3

[mckittre]

Thanks for the thoughts so far. More are always useful!

To answer the pronunciation question - I'm not too worried about it for the childhood years. These are fairly local places to us, so many will know them. And I live in a small enough town that most of the community will know the kid's name from birth. Of course, as an adult, he could go anywhere. But by then, he could certainly choose to go by whatever nickname he prefers.

To those who like Aialik: Does it "sound like a name" because it sounds similar to "Alex" and "Alec"? I find that's one of my hesitations about it, I don't want it to be too much like something that's super popular, and am not sure if it's too similar or not.

[honeybee]

My first thought with Aialak was that everyone would think you were saying "Alec" with some kind of accent.

And, my mind went to the song "Love Shack" with the K name.

[Mommal]

What do they mean? Sometimes place names have meanings that you don't want to saddle your kid with. I saw the name "Teton" suggested as a boy's name, by someone unaware that "teton" is French for "breast."

[mckittre]

As far as meaning, they pretty much are just the place names for those places, probably somewhat bastardized by the original transcription from the native name by Russians or Americans. There is some indication that Aialik might be derived from a word for dangerous, but others disagree. Basically everyone will either not recognize the names at all, or will associate the names with the places.

Thanks again for everyone's input. Keep it coming!

[TnMsMama]

I'm big on nicknames, since my name has only 1 nickname and it's ugly (I'm Evin, and people try to call me Ev and I hate it)

I like Kamishak, even though it sounds like Caddyshack, but Kam is a great nickname, and if he plays basketball he can go by Shak!

[Dahlea]

I like akwe and aialik.

[Raen]

Of the three, I like the last one best, and really pretty strongly don't care for the first two. I don't actually think Aialik sounds a lot like Alec, but even if it does, I don't think that's a bad thing, and I don't think Alec is particularly popular rihgt now, anyway.

[philomom]

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt

I'd be afraid no one would know how to pronounce them...

I agree. Not only are they very odd to the average American ear/eye ... they haven't a chance of being spelled or pronounced correctly.


Maybe choose a more normal name for a first name and give the cool place names as a middle name? That might make your kid happier down the road.

[zinemama]

My first thought is that I have no clue of how to pronounce them, and you'd be setting him up for a lifetime of explanations if he ever leaves Alaska.

Second thought: Kamishak immediately makes me think Caddyshack, which has vulgar, buffoonish mental associations for me.

Overall thought: these are very obviously native American names. The whole thing really smacks of cultural appropriation. Maybe that's not a rational criticism, seeing that so many names come from other cultures. But these seem overt. (Unless you are members of the cultures they're from, of course!)

If I had to choose, Aialik sounds most plausible as a first name.

I agree with the pp that these would be great as middle names.

[Banana731]

aialik. I like that the best. I like the way my mouth feels when I say it! And it's wonderful to be named after a body of water. There are so many wonderful and terrible things about the sea, just like people.

[HeatherB]

I do like Aialik. I don't find it difficult to decipher or pronounce, but I also do reasonably well with dinosaur names and chemicals. Some people will definitely mispronounce it (ok, maybe a lot), but I like it, anyway. I immediately thought of Alaska with the list of names, so if that's your leaning, then I say go for it.

Oh, and at first Kamishak sounded good in part because "Kam" is easily recognizable as a boy's name, etc. But I do agree that the whole name could come up with some poor associations.

[WifeofAnt]

I dunno. I think with any name its good to imagine the most rushed, annoyed nurse ever and horribly mispronounce the name and see if its still recognizeable. My last name is pretty simple (6 letters and looks exacly how it sounds) but people still eff it up beyond belief because they're too lazy to look hard enough.