What's in a Name?

You would think I'd be getting better at it rather than worse.. I usually have names ready before we even conceive!  I'm strange that way.  But for some reason, or rather a multitude of reasons, every name I come up with just doesn't work.  I swear it shouldn't be this difficult!

I finally resorted to asking all my FB friends for help and I awoke to one heck of a response!  Here were my stipulations:  It has to be 2 syllables and can't start with a B, H, L or P and can't end with an N... and no obvious nicknames where it can be cut in half (ie. Mitchell becomes Mitch, etc).  Over the top?  Let me try to explain:

Quite by accident I named all four of my kids 2 syllable names.. would the new little guy feel only half as important if his name only took half the time to say?  "These are my kids, Bailey, Hunter, Landon, Peyton and Joe."  I just couldn't do it.  It has to be fare right?  Two syllables it is.  I am not  a monogrammer, but one day if I ever decide to monogram my kids' things, it would be quite confusing if two of them shared the same first initial.  Am I right or am I right?  It can't end in an "N" because my last two kids' names do and I feel like I'm getting slightly repetitive here.. time to change things up!  And for the sake of all those poor preschool and kindergartners who don't know whether to practice writing their "real" name or the name everyone calls them, I have to put an ex-nay on names that are easily cut.

My initial list looked like this:

Mason

Carter/Conner

Levi

Miles

Ryder

Jace

Sawyer

Maddox

Porter

Liam

 

After my stipulations and the ones my husband vetoed for one reason or another, I was left only with Carter or Conner.  The problem?  I LOVE the name "Collins" for a girl.  So much so that I had to get rid of the "C" names so that if we ever have another girl I can still use it.  I know.. you don't have to say it.  So, between FB suggestions and a late night find on a DVD cover last night, we now have two favorite boys' names:

 

Marshall & Channing

 

Each of my kids has a middle name given after a person.  This time we want the middle name to be after a place.  After all he will be born in Brazil!  So it's only natural that he has a Brazilian middle name right?  I like:

 

Antonio, Mattheus (not to be read with the traditional English "th" sound.. too confusing?), & Luiz 

 

The big question?  Which first name and which middle name?!  At least now I have options right??  Decisions decisions..