Boy Names

[Angierae]

I never thought I'd have to pick one!
Any of these names stand out as TOTALLY YEAH or NO WAY?:

Riley (Grandpa's name. Also know a lot of pets with this name.)
Felix (Book character. And like the feline sound and nickname Lex)
Julian (Similar to DH, he's Adrian, and EDD is DH's B-day)
Wren (Pops up in the family tree. Too much little bird association? Good romance novel hero)
Rhys (In the welsh family tree. We do have a girl cousin named Reese. But I like it with no vowels)
Paul (Grandpa's name)
Caleb (Had a crush on one in 4th grade. And on James Dean as "Cal" in East of Eden
Leif (Mostly Scandinavian heritage. And good nature associations.)

Weird list, I know...

[mama_nym]

Just saying them with your girls' names, I like Rhys.

[Angierae]

I added the reasons they are on the list.

[StrawberryFields]

I looooove Julian.

[mosesface]

i like them in combos:

caleb riley
paul rhys
rhys julian


wren is a girl's name to me (our best friends' dd is wren).

[day-by-day]

Wren does have a lot of little bird associations for me. I can more picture a petite little girl named Wren than I can a boy.

[OldFashionedGirl]

I didn't read any one else's thoughts, yet. These are strictly my knee-jerk reactions to each one.

Riley -- I know too many girls by this name.
Felix -- Makes me think of the cat and conjures up visions of those cat clocks, with the pendulum tails.
Julian -- Eh, it's okay.
Wren -- Just sounds like a girl to me.
Rhys -- Not feeling this at all. Way too out there for me.
Paul -- By far, my favorite. It's always been my favorite boys name, and is on our short list.
Caleb -- This is a close second. Not something I would name my kid, but I do like the name in general. If I heard you named your kid that, I wouldn't think, "WTH was she thinking?!?"
Leif -- I think I'm okay with this one. I'll make it third.

[smokeylo]

Rhys, Caleb, or Paul. I know what you mean about picking one -- I've been keeping baby name lists for my whole life but picking just the one is totally nuts!!

[eilonwy]

**** Warning! These are my absolute first thoughts! I don't want to offend, these are only opinions; feel free to toss them in the bin, should you so desire. ****

Riley --Way too common; It needs a really deeply meaningful story behind it or he'll just be a face in a crowd of boys and girls.
Felix --I also think of Felix the Cat. :
Julian --Really like this name, despite my general aversion to names which begin with "J." It sounds at once old-fashioned and current, without being painfully popular like Jordan or Aiden.
Wren --Girl. I could hear it as a middle name for a boy with a good story, but as a first name... not so much.
Rhys --I always think of John Rhys Davies (the actor). Then I think, "Poor kid, he's going to be spelling his name all his life."
Paul --A boring old man or an introspective, reincarnated-old-man type of child.
Caleb --This is a very popular name and it bothers me because it comes from the Hebrew "kelev" meaning "dog." Whenever I meet (another!) Caleb, I marvel that more people don't google their babies' names before the give them to the kids. :
Leif --I know a kid named Leif, and while he's kind of odd I still really like the name. Of this list, it'd probably be 2 for me, after Julian (the clear winner for me).

: (Dons tomato-proof suit and flees).

[Angierae]

I would never be offended! I'm just glad people bother to respond at all! I'm not big fan of the name threads anyway, but I am floored over having the pressure of a boys name. ALL of the names come from somewhere in our family, so some carry more weight...but we'll see. I never pick anything until I see the babe. DD2, Mia, was 100% going to be named Juliette. She was born and I looked at her and thought, "no way."

I love that people think of Wren as a girls name, its is an all man name in my family. But My side is strongly welsh and a lot of the boy names sound girly over here. I tried to talk DH into Llewellyn and he almost inhaled his coffee up his nose. I think of a hulking blond welsh warrior king when I say it, but all he can think is "a boy named Ellen."

Its also hard to keep perspective after hanging out on MDC, everyone here has such interesting names for their kids. I have to go to the local playground and remember what boring names th people around here actually choose!

[CalebsMama05]

Originally Posted by eilonwy

**** Warning! These are my absolute first thoughts! I don't want to offend, these are only opinions; feel free to toss them in the bin, should you so desire. ****

Riley --Way too common; It needs a really deeply meaningful story behind it or he'll just be a face in a crowd of boys and girls.
Felix --I also think of Felix the Cat. :
Julian --Really like this name, despite my general aversion to names which begin with "J." It sounds at once old-fashioned and current, without being painfully popular like Jordan or Aiden.
Wren --Girl. I could hear it as a middle name for a boy with a good story, but as a first name... not so much.
Rhys --I always think of John Rhys Davies (the actor). Then I think, "Poor kid, he's going to be spelling his name all his life."
Paul --A boring old man or an introspective, reincarnated-old-man type of child.
Caleb --This is a very popular name and it bothers me because it comes from the Hebrew "kelev" meaning "dog." Whenever I meet (another!) Caleb, I marvel that more people don't google their babies' names before the give them to the kids. :
Leif --I know a kid named Leif, and while he's kind of odd I still really like the name. Of this list, it'd probably be 2 for me, after Julian (the clear winner for me).

: (Dons tomato-proof suit and flees).

Caleb is a bible name...just so you know...

[CalebsMama05]

Riley-this really is a very popular GIRL name...it is unisex but so many girls are named it that knee jerk, I would think its a girl. Just me.
Felix-this is a nice name I think...Probably wouldn't use it for my son though.
Julian-LOVE this name! Considered it with my oldest. Great nn Jory too
Wren-girly. IMO
Rhys-I like it but hard to pronounce. Rice or Reece?
Paul-I like this name...but it is very old sounding.
Caleb-great name!
Leif-I like it but I would always think of Leif Garrett. who my mom had a crush on as a teen lol

[shelbean91]

Riley - I know many girls with this name.

Felix - I think of the Odd Couple with this, but if you like Lex as a nickname, Alexander works well (also gives alex or xander as nn's)

Julian - i like this, was in the running for me, but dh didn't like it.

Wren too much like a bird

Rhys - Don't care for it, but it's probably b/c i'm not famililar with it.
Paul - more common name, but nice enough
Caleb - I love this name as well,but it's becoming more common- not sure if that's a factor for you or not.
Leif - like this one, too

[eilonwy]

My son's name is Hebrew, and while it's a VERY common Hebrew name (as in, even in a tiny Jewish community, there will be several ) the most common nickname sounds just like a fairly common girl's name. When I hear it, I always think of a boy.. but most people hear it and think of a girl.

[melibee]

I really like Wren and Leif. They sound both strong and gentle at the same time.

[eilonwy]

Oh-- and I know that Caleb is a bible name, but so is "Mahlon," and that's not a name i'd want to give my kid either (again, it's the meaning). They're still derived from Hebrew/Aramaic, and they do have meanings other than "That guy who did that thing in the bible." But yes... I'm tense and weird. :

[Mindi22]

Her are my gut reactions to the names:

Riley - I like it for a boy or a girl, but the first thing that comes to mind is Buffy's boyfriend in the later seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (yep, I'm a Buffy fan!) I think this is number 2 for me.
Felix - ITA with all those that said cat. I, too, see the cat clock on the wall with this one! This one is at the bottom of the list for me.
Julian - I like it, quite a bit, actually. This tops my list.
Wren - The first thing that comes to mind for me is Footloose....
Rhys - I like it, but I think you might be setting him up for a lifetime of 'how do you pronounce your name???' Once I get past the pronunciation thing, this one is #3 for me.
Paul - I'm okay with this one, but I grew up with a lot of Pauls, so it sounds kind of common to me.
Caleb - I like this one as well. Not as much as Julian, but it's not bad.
Leif - I like the family connections you have to this name, but it's not my favorite name, truth be told.


HTH!

[Angierae]

I really like hearing all the knee-jerk reactions. In the long run, I think that may have more impact on my child than all the great reasons I have for liking it. Thanks Ladies!

[flapjack]

Of that lot, the only one I'm liking is Rhys- especially as you do have some Welsh heritage. I like Llewellyn too (it's sort of on our list, in a non-committal, at the bottom kind of way) especially for our babies, born in February, conceived around Beltane. What about Hugh?

[mothragirl]

not in your DDC, but leif was my top choice for a boy's name. i think it is really cool and you never hear it.