Need honest feedback on names...

[Tigerchild]

Call it almost-there jitters, but now I'm having doubts about the names we picked for our boys.

They'll be Thomas Gerald and Dylan Reece (all family names, except for Dylan). We liked them because Tom and Dylan go together rather well BUT they are fine stand alone names that aren't very unusual at all. And they go well with our last name.

However...is that too cutesy? I guess I am feeling paranoid after all the ranting I see on 'matching' twin names on other sites. But most people don't catch the Tom and Dylan thing. So...I dunno.

*I* like them, but I don't want to saddle the boys with something that either one will hate.

[oncewerewise]

Would you be kind enough to explain the Dylan/Tom connection? It's driving me crazy cause I can't think what it is.

LOL

Thanks

[1Plus2]

I like them!!

I had the same problem when we were trying to pick boys names (before we found out the babies were both girls). I liked Samuel and Jackson because I thought Sam and Jack sounded so well together. But Samuel (L.) Jackson is an actor and (I think) a beer. As much as I loved the names it was hard to get past that...thankfully we had girls so I didn't have to worry about it.

But I still had my doubts right up until the very end about my girls' names. They are Lillie Mae and Faith Katherine. I had a hard time deciding who got which middle name. We used my mother's and grandmother's middle name (Mae) and my husband's mother's and grandmother's name (Katherine) for middle names. I couldn't pair Mae with Faith because they are both one syllabol names. But some people said Lillie Mae sounded too "country" even though it did flow really well. I ended up following my heart and putting Lillie and Mae together. Once the decision was made I was happy and at rest with it.

I say follow your gut! You love the names and I bet no one notices the connection. You could always introduce them as Dylan and Tom instead of Tom and Dylan and eliminate the connection all together.

Good luck!

[Jane]

Dylan Thomas is a poet. A favorite one of many people.

Personally, I'm a little out of touch with child naming trends, but Thomas feels like a traditional name and Dylan feels like a trendy name. It's almost like they don't match, to be silly: like Elizabeth and Kandi or Mary and Brittany.
Is Dylan one of those that is shifting to a girl's name or am I confusing it with Hunter and Dakota? I'm extra sensitive to that one since my husband has a name that is rapidly shifting genders. It wouldn't be fair to give one a obviously boy name and the other an ambiguous one, like John and Leslie.
Just personal opinion, they are nice names.

[Tigerchild]

I *think* Dylan is becoming more popular in the US, like a lot of Welsh/Irish/Scottish names. It's not a new name per se. I have noticed a lot of people naming boys Dylan though. I've never met a girl Dylan, though I have met a girl named Tom!

I wonder if all the somewhat celtic/isles names will become 'new classics' over here?

My husband's family is very Scottish, so they like to tease us about the Welsh part of the name. ;> But most of them also love Dylan Thomas' poetry, so they don't mind so much.

My husband was teasing me that we should name them Robert and Dylan (Bob Dylan) and get them both guitar lessons. :P

[Cakes]

Tigerchild
I like the names. I like the Dylan Thomas thing as well. I too think you should go with what you like. After all, your going to be saying them alot over the next 99 years.
Off Topic slightly......we have a Fiona (4.5) Philip and Nora (19 mos). I like celtic names. I think they are one of a kind ........at this point. Due to be the next popular group.
Julianne

[mom3]

We didn't really consider what the names sounded like together when picking out Ansil (husband's grandfather's name) and Forrest (just really like it). When we found out they were both boys we weren't sure we cound come up with names period. It took us months to come up with a name for our first son . I wanted Forrest's middle name to be William (my father's middle name) but my husband had an uncle by that name that nobody could stand, especially my MIL, so we went with Lachlan instead. Now I swear Forrest looks like my father reincarnated (especially creepy since he was a fraternal twin himself). Go with what you like and ignore anything negative people say.

[sugarmoon]

I like it. Funny, too, b/c I agree about Thomas and Dylan being in sort of different categories (trendy/new vs. traditional), but I think the association of Dylan Thomas makes them go together nicely. I think most people won't think of the poet (sadly, most people don't "do" poetry), but will have some subconcious knowledge left over from highschool english class that will make them think the names sound nice together.

Or, I think thats how it is for me:

[laralou]

I like them both. Ultimately I don't think it matters if they match or not. Most people won't make the connection and when they are grown, no one will even figure it out.

I wanted to name the girls Tabitha and Sabrina (both tv witches), but dh vetoed. We only had one girl name (Tabitha) and 2 boy names (Tristan and Connor), so when it was 2 girls we had to improvise.

[seanjoshmom]

my kids' names don't match!

Our twins are named Sean Trevor and Joshua Edward. We wanted something reflecting 1) our belief in the G-d of the Judeo-Christian faiths--hence Joshua "G-d is salvation" and Sean "G-d is gracious"--but Josh is a Jewish name and Sean is an Irish one, 2) our love of our fathers--Trevor is my father-in-law, adn Edward is my father--both Anglo names. The funny thing is that Sean's initials are STS--which is the abbreviation for the blood test for syphilis. I figured that few people would know that, so I didn't nix it. And I hate the name Trevor, but had to acquiesce something to my DH. I like both the names you have chosen, don't worry.