Baby name question

I am expecting baby #3 in September and am getting very stumped for a boy's name. We have a son Cason Nathaniel and a daughter Mira Ashlyn. If this one is a girl we are thinking either Camille or Holland, but the boy name has really left me searching and searching and coming up with nothing! Our last name is one syllable starting with M, so we are avoiding one syllable first names. After naming our son Cason I have some small regrets about how it falls in with all the trendy Caden/Aidan kids now, so I am extra leery of anything that might even turn out to be trendy later. For this baby, I have thought of Simon, Rueben, Bowen, Sullivan, etc... but nothing really thrills me. I guess, like a lot of parents, we want something uncommon but also not weird. Help!

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First of all we apologise for how long it has take to return your question. I hope that the pregnancy is going well and that name ideas are going strongly. I love Camille as a girls names. Its very feminine and gentle. I also love your children's names of Mira and Cason. There fantastic names not to off beat but not to popular that you can think of hundreds of others with the same name. I hope that this post is helpful in choosing a boys name. Make sure you let us know when you have the little angel, we also love to know what people decide in the end.

Kieran - This is an old Irish name with plenty of charm! Its meaning is black. It is only ever so slightly popular decreasing currently as people go for more off the track names.

Keaton - This has a fabulous meaning House of Hawks. Used as a last name Its is of old English Origins.

Konrad/ Conrad- Virtually an unused name this is of German and Polish origins meaning a bold advisor. Conrad is however a common Last name so may if your not to keen on popular last names this may be a miss.

Titus - This is a bit off the track from your brainstorming ideas like Simon and Reuben but I think it could work with Mira and Cason. Meaning defender it was the name of a Roman Defender. Loads of Characters and heaps of history.

Cameron: This was a popular name in the 1980s and 1990s. It means crooked nose. I tell you some name meanings are just so wacky! It is most popular in Scotland.

Beckett- A girls or boys name (though i much prefer it in masculine context) it is of English origins meaning Beehive or bee cottage. This is an unused name.

Lincoln - This is such a strong masculine name. It just oozes strength. Of old English origins it means Lake Colony. Nicknames like Link.

Seamus - Of course an Irish name, this is a cute name full of character. I can just imagine a cheeky toddler with this name! This is variant of Hebrew name James (I didn't know that).

Pierce - Quite a suave name of course everyone knows it from Pierce Brosnan. It means rock. Unused its peek in popularity in 2004.

Garrett- Or if you wanted Gareth means gentle one. It is an uncommon first name though popular last name. It is currently ranked 124.

Darion -Of Greek Origins it means Gift. Ranked 804 in American Baby names.

Atticus - I have to say i have quite a name crush on this name. Of course known through to Kill a Mockingbird. It means from the Athens. It is thought to be the name of the first publisher in the Roman Empire. It is currently ranked 683

Campbell - Of Scottish and Gaelic origins it means crooked mouth, here we go with the strange meanings again. It is not ranked in the top 1000 baby names.

Leonard - This means lion strength and is of German origins. Popular in the early 1900s it is a rare first name today.

Gregor/Gregory - Meaning watchful and vigilant this is an old name used marred by shortenings such as Greg. I prefer Gregory however for its strong sounding masculine name.

Remus- Its a charming old name this one being the Latin word for oar. Not ranked in the top 1000 its got loads of character as it off the beat from current trends.

Hamon/Hammond- Is an old German name meaning home Protector. With its quaint meaning and and fabulous sound whats not to love? It is a surname also.

From this list my favourite choices would be Atticus, Darion, Keaton and Remus. If you have any other ideas for names make sure to comment back! We would Love to know how name brainstorming is going! Good luck!

A Late Helping Hand

Many moons ago we received a question by a reader to help us name her 4th child. And I'm so sorry it has taken so long to get back to Marilyn. You see, we are renovating at the moment to make way for our new baby and it is all a bit stressful.

My first instinct when I got this question was to get my baby name books and have a flick through but this does leave me a limited supply. I think my second instinct might have been a bit more on the money. I don't like to poach ideas from other blogs for originality's sake but my fellow blogger Lola from Lola's Onomastic Fits seems to have quite similar tastes to this reader. So I requested her help to answer this question. Please welcome her as our guest blogger and please visit her blog! This will be a very long and concentrated post!
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I've been asking this question to all the great name-people I can find, so hopefully you have some ideas for me! We're expecting our fourth baby in August and not finding out the gender. I'm looking for girl and boy name ideas that fit well with our current three boys: Abraham Thomas (Abe), Sebastian Dane (Sebby or Seb), and Malachi Norris (Ky). I like names that can be dignified but I also like nicknames that allow a little flexibility/casualness.For girls names, I love nature names like Violet (Lettie)---but is that getting too popular? I also love Daisy but wish I could use it as a nickname for a longer name (Marguerite is one idea, but I think it would confuse people). I like Indigo, Juniper, Calla, and others---but don't know if they fit with my boys' names? I'm not set on a nature name; I also like Jemima and Josephine and many others.So---any ideas?? I would appreciate any feedback you or your readers have. :) Thanks!!
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Lola writes:
Marilyn,
This is indeed a challenge; your boys have fabulous names, one & all, and I'm sure we'll find something equally fabulous for their sibling!

Firstly, I'm not entirely sold on Marguerite, nickname Daisy being confusing. I mean, the French word for Daisy is Marguerite! And while it may confuse a few, I'd consider it a learning experience for those few. Hey, give them a chance to learn something new, right? :) Marguerite is elegant enough to sit well with your boys. And It is sprightly and feminine, to stand apart well. There are also plenty of other nickname options for Marguerite, if she so chose, too. Maggie, Meggie, Maya, Rita. But daisy is my favorite nickname option too.

Now, you also mentioned Violet (Lettie) and wondered if that was getting popular. I'm a Yank and Violet here is leaping up the charts. Violet now stands at 184 of 1000 and that's pretty spectacular to me. Violet didn't chart but sporadically between 1971 & 1998! Spectacular rise here. Makes me wary of it myself.

Now, you also mentioned Jemima & Josephine which completely makes me smile. Josephine is my 5 year old and Jemima is my #3 name for a potential sister. Jemima in particular would be spectacular with your boys. Biblical, naturey (Jemima means Dove) and absolutely beautifully feminine, Jemima would easily be *my* choice if I had your boys.

Indigo is a bit out of step with Abe, Seb & Ky and Indy is quite masculine a nickname to me (I think Jones & 500 right off the bat).

Juniper feels a bit off too, more naturey, not as elegant, and June is a lovely nickname option (as is Juno) but I'd rather see Juno right off with June as a possible nickname. Juno's awesome and feels far more elegant alone than Juniper or June. How awesome is the queen of heaven (according to Roman Mythology), the protectress of women & marriage and the goddess of finance too. Really, just all around strong & elegant!

Calla works too, tiny, elegant and naturey but in a line, Abraham, Sebastian, Malachi & Calla? I want to sing "One of these things is not like the other ones, one of these things just doesn't belong..." like on Sesame Street.

But some other random thoughts:
Oliver - Ol, Ollie
Gabriel - Gabe
Henry - Harry
Raphael - Rafe, Rafa, Ralph
Simeon/Simon - I have one, he goes by Sim fairly often. I still wish I'd gone with Simeon. So much snappier! He could also go by Sy.
Atticus
Dominic - Dom
Phineas - Finn, Finny
Edward - Ed
Demetrius
Jasper
Absalom
Julian/Julius - With your boys, I think Julius fits better but you may prefer the more modern feeling Julian.
Gideon
Barnabas - Barnaby
Edgar
Ephraim (ef-ram)
Moses
Linus
Adrian
Solomon - I've been thinking "Sol is pretty neat" myself.
Samson - Sam

Jemima - Jemma, Jem, Mimi, Mim
Sarai
Josephine - my daughter's name, she goes by Josie, Posy, Poppy, Fifi Effie & Jo. Talk about options!
Solange - Ange, Sol
Chaya
Lillian - Lilly
Miriam - Miri
Zipporah - means "dove" just like Jemima.
Angelina - Ange
Valentina - Val, Tina
Lucia - Lucy
Noemi
Magdalena - Maggie, Lena
Salome
Cecelia - Cecily
Audrey
Phoebe
Susannah - Susie, Sukie, Lily, Rose (Susannah means rose but earlier, meant lily)
Genevieve - Gen, Evie, Eve
Dinah
Esther
Beatrix - Bea, Bee, Trix, Trixie
Elspeth
Amira

But my top 3 for each (for you): Josephine, Jemima & Susanna/h (I prefer Susanna, most people prefer Susannah) with Marguerite a runner up. Raphael, Simeon/Simon & Solomon (with Phineas a runner up).

I hope that at least gives you a starting place, Marilyn (I LOVE your name, too!) and if you need any other thoughts, ideas or just general feedback, feel free to ask, I'd love to help some more!
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NFATE writes:
We are very sorry it as taken this long to get a reply out of us but hopefully the what we lack in punctuality we make up for in quality of our responses.

I really like the names you mentioned. Calla is 100% divine! I think as you have only had boys so far I think you could probably get away with just about anything if its a girl, especially considering the difference in styles of Sebastian, Malachi and Abraham. If I were you I would be considering something quite long though. Perhaps Calla could be used as a nickname for Calliope (Cal-Eee-Oh-Pee) or Calantha?

Violet too is wonderful. I don't think she is getting too popular either. As you might have seen I did a post on her popularity in Australia. Even if she is 'too popular' I think that if you truly love it then you should just go ahead and use her. If your a yank your more likely to run into a little Karen, Jacqueline, Jillian or Angel, and how many of those do you know?

So here are my suggestions. Instead of doing things in the way we usually do them round here (a name then a little bit of information about it) I think for consistencys sake I might just do a big list with nicknames like Lola.

The boys:
Kenneth - Ken
Wesely -Wes
Theodore - Theo, Teddy, Ted
Phillip - Philo, Phil,
Graham - Grey
Declan -Dec
Arthur - Art, Artie
Everett - Rhett
Walter - Walt
Russel - Russ
Ernest - Ernie (Oh I just adore this name! I have been dying to sugest him for ages!)
Gilbert - Gil
Augustus - Gus
Angus - Gus
Callum - Cal
Alistair/Alasdair - Ali
Clifford - Cliff (One of my favourite books of all time is Lady Chatterly's Lover)

The Girls:
Persephone (per-sef-uh-nee)
Anais (ahn-na-ees) - Annie
Matilda - Mattie, Tilly, Tilda
Rhiannon - Rhi
Constance - Connie
Viola - Vie (just incase you want an alternative to Violet)
Giselle - Elle
Aurora - Rory (Laura's beautiful little girl)
Georgia - Gia, George, Georgie
Gwendolyn - Lyn, Gwen, Wendy
Sylvia - Sylvie, Via (on my list)
Ayelet (eye-let or ah-yeh-let) so its like Violet with out the V
Seraphina - Sera, Fifi
Iolanthe - Io
Diana-Di
Ophelia-Fifi
Alice -Ali, Al