Sarah and David are expecting their eighth baby, a little boy. Sarah describes them as “your typical Catholic family and like traditional (preferably French or Irish) names.” They have seven children already, named:
Zoe Olivia
Brady Patrick
Michael Joseph
Katherine Mary-Claire
Margaret Rose
George Thomas
Matthew David
They have some names they’re considering, but they don’t want to share them as they really want a fresh perspective. In trying to come up with suggestions, I was struck by what seems to be a difference in style between Zoe’s and Brady’s first names and the names of the rest of the kids. So I relied heavily on the style of Zoe and Brady when musing on names for #8, while also keeping in mind that their younger children have very traditional names.
I used both Nymbler and Name MatchMaker for ideas, and I usually shoot for three suggestions, as I’ve done for others. So my ideas for this little baby are:
(1) Henry
It was the first name that came to my mind, even before checking out the name matching sites, and it was one of the first names they suggested. Brady, Michael, George, Matthew, and Henry sound like a great set of brothers, and I love it with the girls’ names as well.
(2) Myles
As soon as I saw Myles I thought it was a great fit. I think it’s a little more offbeat than Michael, George, and Matthew, which makes me think it’s a great bridge between their names and Brady’s. It does make for a lot of M’s, but with so many kids I don’t think that matters much, and besides — one of my favorite things about Myles is that it can be considered a Marian name! One of my name books, Oxford Dictionary of First Names, says that Maolra is a “[m]odern spelling, common particularly in the west of Ireland, of earlier Maoil-Mhuire ‘devotee of Mary.’ It has been anglicized as Myles.” It’s Irish, it’s Marian, it seems more stylistically consistent with Brady than your other boys’ names, I love this idea! (Do note though that the spelling of Miles is unrelated.)
(3) William
I love William for you. Its traditional-ness is a great style match for your younger boys, and its current popularity, as well as both nicknames Will and Liam (though I know Liam can stand on its own), seem well suited as Brady’s brother. I wouldn’t mind if you chose just Liam as the first name, but William seems just that much more a better match in my opinion.
Oliver was a heavy contender for me until I remembered that Zoe’s middle name is Olivia, and Charles and Jude also struck me as possibles, but in the end I settled on Henry, Myles, and William. If I had to choose a middle name, not knowing anything about how you choose them (family names?), I’d guess Francis.
What do you all think? What names would you suggest for Sarah and David’s baby boy?
Sancta Nomina 
What a great line-up of names in that family!! We have a Ronan, and I think that name would definitely fit in with your other boy names! It’s an Irish name and there are a lot of great (though largely unknown) St. Ronans. We chose Ronan of Locronan (a bishop) as our son’s patron.
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Ooh yeah, Ronan’s great! I’ve never heard of St. Ronan of Locronan, I’ll have to look him up! Thanks for the feedback (love your name btw 🙂 )
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A friend has two little boys named Reagan & Myles – I love both of these names
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Spencer James
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I know a sibling set of brothers that are Michael, Christopher, Peter, George, and Henry, which I think are a great set. It caught my eye that you already have a Michael and George, and Henry was one of the suggestions here, so I thought I’d toss in the other suggestions of Christopher and Peter.
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I will suggest Hugh, Felix, Gabriel, Matthias, Jacob, or Malachy.
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These are all EXCELLENT suggestions for their set! I wish I’d thought of Hugh!
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We have ALL girls and have run out of girl names and I am pregnant with baby girl number four, haha. But I have plenty of boy name ideas!! I love Martin, Sebastian, Jerome, James, John, Anthony, and Gabriel.
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I have two sons named James and John, and would consider Sebastian or Antony if we had another! We are on a similar naming wavelength!
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Great names you have chosen, Sarah and David! Since I love our “sancta nomina”, naturally Henry, Myles, and William sound like sure shots to me! Reading all the wonderful comments has inspired me to get more cozy with reflecting on the existing flow of the names already chosen by Sarah and David. It seems apparent that most of you are already old hands at doing that. My own children’s names, I have come to believe, are quite simply the names that each of them were ordained to have; thus heavier on the Grace side of the working together of nature and grace. However, learning so much from you all regarding the serious thought and research concerning saints, ethnicities, and sweet sounds that go together, I humbly submit the following to Sarah and David…
Going with the preference for French and Irish names, and the strong, solid names already chosen, I thought perhaps Laurence John, Louis Owen, or Gregory Finnian. As a matter of fact, John Laurence, Owen Louis, or Finnian Gregory sounded good to me, too.
Some fun facts are that the great St. Laurence O’Toole had connections to France during his lifetime, and a channel between two of the Aran Islands on Ireland’s west coast was named after Pope Gregory the Great.
Sorry if I am talking too much here, but I just have to put a plug in for a name I love the sound of. I have heard in Irish families that often the first and middle name are used in everyday life (and not just when one is in trouble for something!). So, a dear friend of mine always refers to her grandson as Sean Liam…just love the sound of that name.
Also, the Irish spellings I love, but did not indulge in choices of that sort simply because Sarah and David’s far from wild choices of Brady and Patrick did not encourage me in that kind of thinking. I apparently weakened somewhat in that regard by sneaking Finnian in there!
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This is Sarah! My number one choice is Louis (Raymond) and my second choice is Seamus (the Irish spelling of Sean)! You are right on target with my choices.
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I’m impressed with the Louis recommendation! And I think you meant Seamus is Irish for James … Sean is Irish for John … both great “green” names!!
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I think I wrote way too much. Mea culpa!
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Not at all Irish Nannie! You have some great suggestions here, and very cool stories about St. Laurence O’Toole and the Gregory the Great channel!
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Godluvya!
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ohhh, Sarah Collins! I love Seamus and would definitely have gone for that but for your lack of Irish spellings in the names of your already here lovely named children. I would cheer for Seamus, too!
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I love Louis. Totally on my list too. 🙂 (I have one ever-evolving /revolving, though like Irish Nannie I think it comes down to the nudge of grace towards the name they’re supposed to have, as I ended up giving my first daughter a name I hadn’t considered till mere weeks before her birth, and it’s just HER.)
We also know a small Caidoc. That’s a Celtic saint’s name that has always struck me as best of both worlds–a saintly namesake and that trendy Caid/Aid sound. Congrats, Sarah and David–you’ll have to let us know what his name ends up being!
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I really like Colin for this family. It has a nice Irish feel without being heavy handed. I agree that Francis would be a great middle name choice—it seems to go with just about any first name!
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[…] consultation was one of the first I posted, way back in January, when she was seeking help naming their eighth baby, a boy. Yesterday she let […]
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