The name Howard

[MrsSlocombe]

I am thinking of naming my baby Howard (if he's a boy), after one of my favorite people, Howard Zinn.  What do you think of this name, and would it be unreasonable to hope that no one call him "Howie"?  I know I can tell grandparents, aunts, etc., what to call him, but I don't intend to be nickname police with the rest of his social circle as he begins to make friends.

Or is even "Howie" not that bad...?

[DaisyO]

Do it...great name, and what's wrong with Howie?  I think that is really nice. 

[MrsSlocombe]

Oh, I don't know.  It just seems goofy and reminds me of Howie Mandel.  Of course, Ramona Quimby had a friend name Howie, and he was pretty good.  :-)

[MrsSlocombe]

P.S.  It's better than Galileo, right?  That's my other hero.  :-)  Or, my husband likes Sebastian - not after anyone in particular.

[zinemama]

It has connotations of dull, respectable solidity. But before they were revived, so did Max and Sam. I say go for it. It's about time for the mantle of retro-chic to fall on Howard. Why not?

Galileo is a great name, but I think it's a little much to burden a kid with. Great middle name choice, though!

[Kindermama]

I think it's pretty sweet....Howie! I like the sound of it! It's definitely old-school but old-school is coming back. Go for it! 

[BubbleMa]

I like it.  I think that people will call him whatever you call him.  I love old fashioned names.  My favorite boys names are Walter, Harold, and Nelson.  None of which SO will agree too.  I'm going to keep working on him though.  No other boys' names really appeal to me so far.

[philomom]

Love it.

My favorite boy names are all very 50's sounding. ...... Dale, Glenn, Carl, Vale,

[MrsSlocombe]

Thanks, guys.  I have been really frustrated by my search for a boy's name.  In fact, I'd really like to have a boy, so it's not that I was more focused on a girl's name;  I just like more of those names.  It's getting scary because, even though I have almost seven months, I have already been looking for two years (the time during which we were trying to achieve a successful pregnancy), and I am very sure that I have read every name that has ever been used in the United States or Britain.  I could start looking at other cultures, but to me, that would seem a little odd since the baby won't have any, say, Japanese heritage, so it's almost like stealing or being intentionally odd.

I'm waning on Howard, because I am realizing that I like the guy (HZ) more than the name.  Agh.

Bubblema, I like that type of name, too.  The trouble is that there is no individual name that I like quite enough to settle on it.  The old census records are good sources of old-fashioned names, as, of course, is your own family tree.  Arthur is another name I've considered that is like the ones you mention.

[hildare]

naming your kid after howard zinn kicks ass.

would the name zinn be too out there for your family?  rather than howard?  personally i really like it, and i think people would follow calling him what you do, rather than a nickname. 

[MrsSlocombe]

Hildare, thanks for the idea (and for the compliment), but there is an "enn" sound in our real last name, so Zinn wouldn't go well with it.  I'm back on Howard for the moment, and even liking "Howie" slightly.  It helped that I remembered the Ramona books.

[Mummoth]

I don't have an opinion on the name, but people will call him whatever you do, because HE will correct people when they call him any different. My son is named Roland and the ONLY time anyone called him Rolly was when he was a baby.... I just repeated his name correctly to people who were rude enough to think they had the right to rename him. Maybe it helps that he's kind of a bean pole now, I haven't heard it in a while. But when I have seen someone use it, he either didn't realize they were trying to get his attention or whatever, or he said "My name is Roland."