Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Help Me Choose Names For My Son.

Rate this topic


Recommended Posts

My wife and I just found out today that our second child will be a boy. So now the debate over names begins in earnest. We are looking for something that reflects our interests, which include canoeing, the arctic/subarctic, astronomy, biology, Subarus, and, of course Objectivism. The first name must be fairly normal, but the middle name can be a little far out. For example, our first son's middle name is Solstice because he was born on June 21, and if we were having a girl the middle name would probably be Aurora. My wife wanted to name our first son Maxwell after her late grandfather, so I get to name this one, subject to her veto. So far I have suggested Ragnar, Orion, and Aristotle, all of which have been vetoed except maybe Aristotle or Orion as a middle name.

All ideas greatfully appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first daughter's name, Kira, was decided the moment I read We the Living back in 1985/86. I was still years from considering myself an "Objectivist", but the name stuck immediately.

When we were to have our 2nd, the name Alexander Edison was chosen.

However, she was a she, and so instead was Alexandria Madison.

Consider Edison. Ed for short.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We named our son Matthew because we liked the sound of the name and of the nickname Matt. It has positive connotations, but not any particular associations (with Ayn Rand characters or otherwise) so Matt is free to be whoever he wants to be.

A note of caution: creative or unusual names are fine for a girl, but not for a boy because of the "Boy Named 'Sue'" effect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are the criteria I used for my son (and he used for his son):

1. Short.

2. Easy to say.

3. Easy to remember.

4. Free of associations that impose expectations or burdens.

Of the four criteria, the fourth is the most important. Imposing expectations or burdens on a child through a name chosen by the parent could adversely affect the child. Let the child have a "neutral" name and let him become who he wants to be without having to contend with a label loaded with meaning to adults.

My son's name is Erik. His son's name is Cody.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife and I just found out today that our second child will be a boy. So now the debate over names begins in earnest. We are looking for something that reflects our interests, which include canoeing, the arctic/subarctic, astronomy, biology, Subarus, and, of course Objectivism. The first name must be fairly normal, but the middle name can be a little far out.

All ideas greatfully appreciated!

You sound kind of like my husband. He wanted to give our daughter a middle name of Demosthenes(?) or Thunder. We had to consider how the names work with our last name since it is so unusual and 3 syllables. So we ended up agreeing on traditional names for both children - Rachel and Nicholas, their middle names are family names.

Try to picture your son as a little boy learning how to write his name, a teen, then a man.

Congratulations to you and your family!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congratulations!

Our son is Henry. Not only because of AS, but also because we just loved the name. Our daughter is Scout. She would have been William Roark had she been a boy. They both have family names for their middle names. We had intended to call Henry "Hank" but it never took.

Obviously I see nothing wrong with naming your child after a person or character who portrays values you admire. Just because my daughter's name is Scout doesn't mean I expect her to have an awkward haircut and play a dancing ham in a school play, for example. Leonard Peikoff's daughter is Kira; another prominent Objectivist - I can't think of who right now - has a son named Francisco.

Why not check out the book Cool Names for some ideas?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, all!

What's the "Boy Named 'Sue'" effect? Why does it only affect boys?

It was a song. I cannot thing of the name of the singer right now, though. Its about this guy whose dad left him early on in his life, but named him "Sue". It made his life very hard because he was the subject of ridicule, and he hated his dad for it. When he finally met his dad, the dad said it made the kid tougher and by being singled out the kid learned how to take care of himself. At the end Sue says When I have a kid, I'll name it... Bob or Bill or Joe, etc.

Anyway, girls don't really care out their names: they can be feminine or masculine; but boys want a masculine name.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have any children yet, but in the event I do, I like the idea of having my future children select their own names. My spouse and I would create a list of about ten male and ten female names which we prefer and then come up with a method by which the infant would "choose" a name from the list him or herself.

(maybe by grasping a crayon and the first name he/she touches on the sheet of paper is theirs). Should they then become dissatisfied later in life with their name, you can tell them whose really to blame. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

As it happens, my wife's sister already named her son Ethan. Having cousins with the same name would be too confusing!

Alexander is at the top of the list right now. No big symbolism except that Alexander Mackenzie was a famous northern Canadian explorer.

Thanks again, all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...
As it happens, my wife's sister already named her son Ethan. Having cousins with the same name would be too confusing!

Alexander is at the top of the list right now. No big symbolism except that Alexander Mackenzie was a famous northern Canadian explorer.

Thanks again, all.

Alexander also spread Hellenic culture to the far reaches of the known world B)

But if you want to go with the famous northern Canadian explorer bit, that's alright too:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't give you a specific name, but perhaps another serious criterion: don't give your son a name that everyone else has.

I was born in 1974, and apparently the early 70s was a popular time for the name 'Jason'. Every neighborhood, every school class, every job I've ever had: there's always been at least one other Jason.

In the 4th grade there were 2 of us, and the teacher thought it cute to call us Number 1 and Number 2. Guess who was No.2. My 5th grade class actually had 4 Jasons, so we were all referred to by our last names ... not "Mr.", just simply "Stanfield".

I've always liked my name but hated the fact that everyone else was also Jason.

Go to this website to track popular names throughout the past century.

Edited by synthlord
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the sound of Julian for a male, depending on the last name of course. An additional criteria to consider is the language origins of the names. For example, I've always found baseball great Vladimir Guerrero's name quite strange. My first and middle names are Matthew Adrian, which I like. However, I don't like Adrian with my last name Stein.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...