Alright, Loungers, you win. I can't name my future son Alastair. So:

[BlueIris]

Poll question: Alright, Loungers, you win. I can't name my future son Alastair. So:

From among the most "normal" names I can stand, should he be...

[Katherine Brengle]

1. I love the name Dominic--

it is my friend Mathew's twin brother's name--I always tell Mat he got the shitty end of that deal, lol.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

2. I always liked the name "Ian" ... but it's usually for British guys

I also like Sebastian. Andrew is one of my favorites (and less exotic).

[BlueIris]

3. Okay, thank you? Seriously, Sebastian is NOT THAT WEIRD A NAME.

Yesterday, someone posted that the meaning of Sebastian was, "take my lunch money and push my face in the mud." Which was very mean, but I also couldn't get it out of my head all night. Not the only reason why I decided to scrap Alastair, but it was among the top three reasons.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

4. Wow, is that the impression of that name?

Well, if they don't like Sebastian, I imagine Ian gets his ass kicked too.

Having daughters, my husband and I never had to fight it out over the name issue. Now, if we had a son I bet we would have had some serious discussions over what is "acceptable" and "manly" for boy's names.

[Lex]

30. I know a guy whose nickname is "Bash" and his name is "Sebastian"

so I think it's kind of a macho name.

[greatauntoftriplets]

31. Brideshead Revisited.

Sebastian always makes me think of Lord Sebastian Flyte.

[spindrifter]

36. But the nickname Seb is not the greatest--

or Bass.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

41. My da's name is Ian

And no, he didn't get his ass kicked. Was the top Science student in Northern Ireland. (Hans P. Sloane medal and all). Became a doctor.

But urgh... one of his patients was Billy Graham. I'd rather someone cooler, but Graham is actually quite nice in person.

I like Irish names myself.

[tjwmason]

76. Ian (also spelt Iain) is the Scottish form of John.

Though now common throughout Britain.

[Deep13]

5. Let the father name the son.

Isaac is a good one. Always liked Pierre, but not Peter for some reason.

Fathers usually pick "normal" (whatever that means) sounding, basic, masculine names. Mothers usually want something cute or distinctive which ultimately does not look good on a resume, sound good on the playground or impress the girlfriend's parents.

Simon, Ian and Sebastian are decent names and do well in Britian, but they sound a bit effeminate on this side of the pond.

Good names to consider: Frank (Francis or Franklin), Al (Albert), Harry (Henry), Gus (August or Angus), Bill, Bob, Wally (Walter), Jim, George, Mark, Paul, Tom, Ed

[BlueIris]

11. Oh. My. God. You listed Angus. I LOVE that name!!!

It was mocked here once before when I suggested it to some other soon-to-be-parents trolling for name suggestions in the Lounge.

I was about to post something resentful about your assumption that my kid will have another parent. Or that the other parent will be male. Or that my putative son will have girlfriends as opposed to boyfriends, or both. But all is forgiven. Because you love the names Angus and Gus.

[Deep13]

15. "assumption that my kid will have another parent"

Ain't that how it usually works? Sure there are homosexuals and many post on this website, but that is a pretty small minority percentage-wise. I don't think I need forgiveness for assuming the overwhelmingly typical versus the unlikely.

Angus is a good, basic name.

[BlueIris]

18. Lots of people go it alone.

Nothing wrong with that approach. And assumptions irritate me a lot, so I bristle whenever I encounter them.

[bloom]

6. I voted - but

it's difficult without knowing the last name.

[nutsnberries]

7. you spelled Isaac wrong - or did you create a new name?

a lot of people spell it wrong.

I have a nephew named Isaac. I don't really like it.

I think I'll vote for Eli.

[BlueIris]

12. Fixed it.

[Deep13]

17. Izaak, Isaak, Izak. The name predates standard spelling.

[texas1928]

49. Well can you spell this?

TAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nutsnberries]

73. oh yeah, i can spell it...

but can you avoid it? ;)

[progmom]

8. are you pregnant?

[BlueIris]

13. No, no. Just trying to get this settled. For the (unlikely) future.

[miss_american_pie]

9. Simon, Oliver, or Eli

They were all on my list for baby #2.

[Redstone]

10. You did mean Isaac, not "Issac," right?

How about Bill or Bob or Mike or Jim?

And no "Oliver," please. For his sake.

Redstone

[BlueIris]

14. I fixed it. No Oliver, eh?

I didn't know Oliver was one of the "may get him beat up" names.

[Redstone]

19. Well, it's just that you want a name that CAN have a nickname.

People really like to be able to shorten their name into a nickname. "Oliver" can only be shortened to "Olly," and I don't think your kid would want that.

I have a first name that can't be shortened, and I never liked it in the first place. That's why, in my business dealings and among friends, I just use my first initial and last name. Or, for people who are very close, Redstone works just fine. As an Indian, I'm comfortable with just one name.

Just curious...is the having-a-son-stuff imminent?

Redstone

[Der Blaue Engel]

42. Cousin Oliver

Brady Bunch. Need I say more? (Okay, maybe the youngins don't watch TVLand.)

Simon is good...makes me think of Simon Templar ("The Saint"). Lest this reference also date me, may I point out the 1997 movie with Val Kilmer. :D (Hey, how 'bout Val? That's a cool one, too.)

[supernova]

16. I like Eli

It's a short, strong name that will also sound good when he's an adult.

I also like Aaron, Adam, and Joshua

[SOteric]

20. Javier? Etienne? Hiroyoshi?

[MidwestMomma]

21. I voted for Isaac

But don't think you can really name a baby until they are born. I think you have to look at them and then decide what their name should be.

When I was pregnant, I didn't know if I was having a boy or girl but I just knew it was a girl and couldn't decide between Katie and Miranda. Then when she was born, I just looked at her and knew she was a Katie. :)

But maybe I'm just weird...

[BlueIris]

22. Oh, no, you're not weird at all!

I'm sure I'll be able to tell if my child really wants to be given a specific name. If he doesn't look like the name I've selected, well, he'll be getting a different one.

[fudge stripe cookays]

23. My favorites:

Miles and Julian.

Both sort of artsy and creative-sounding guy names.

fsc

[kedrys]

60. I'd hazard a guess

(but maybe it's because I've been watching too much Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

As in Miles Edward O'Brien and Julian Bashir?

I like both names, btw. :)

[fudge stripe cookays]

69. Nope.

Not a trekkie.

I loved the actor Julian Sands back in the 80s, and always thought it was a interesting name. And embarrassed to admit it, but listened to April Wine back in the late 70s/early 80s, and liked Myles Goodwyn's name too.

Could never name a kid Miles cuz it rhymes with my last name, but always thought it was out of the norm. And seemed cool enough to not induce beatings after homeroom.

[stellanoir]

24. Well firstly, consider stop calling it an unlikely future

if some being is hovering around.

Secondly, native americans believed that a child's name was whispered to the mom, but not until she saw the whites of their eyes.

Chill hon, it'll come to you.

I heard my kid's name when I was 5 months pregnant loud and clear but didn't tell a soul till shortly after he was born.

Then he was nicknamed by his paternal grandmom in his second day of life with a slight abbreviation of his birthname. It suits him totally though and he is now on a first name basis with the world. So go figure.

[BlueIris]

34. Aw. That is an excellent point.

About the idea that the "right" name will arrive for me and my putative kid at the right time.

[no name no slogan]

25. What the hell is wrong with Thorvald?

[Blue-Jay]

26. How many "imaginary child" threads does this make?

I've lost count.

[Random_Australian]

27. Zeruel n/t

[greatauntoftriplets]

28. Obadiah? Hezekiah?

Uriah? Leopold? Bob?

[BlueIris]

40. You may be kidding, but I've considered all of those (except 'Bob').

Yes, even Hezekiah. Because: it's great.

[MrScorpio]

29. Sean

Everybody likes Sean

[Reciprocity]

32. I vote for Fergus.

[LuckyLib]

33. It all depends on your last name. Those of us with an interest

in languages are astounded by the number of people who don't do the first name/last name match very well. Too much alliteration -- Kelly Keller. Unbelievably complicated first names with 7 syllable Polish surnames. Or names that just don't sound right or fit right. "Alastair Schmidlap" for example -- hope your last isn't Schmidlap!!! ;-)

[6000eliot]

35. What's wrong with Alastair?

I think it's a cool name.

[BlueIris]

37. It was Alastair Crowley's first name.

When I suddenly remembered that last night, um...I couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't get it out of my head. That was bad enough, thinking that I would never be able to ditch the association if I named my possible son that, but then...I fell asleep and had horrible nightmares about that son getting beaten up a lot in school by kids who a) thought his name sounded "geeky," and b) by those who had been told by scary, fundamentalist parents that it was the name of a "famous wizard." Bad dreams. Baaaad. Especially because in the dream, my son came to hate his name and resent me for giving it to him.

[Der Blaue Engel]

43. How about Aldous?

I like uncommon male names; my son has one. :)

[BlueIris]

44. Hey, now that's one I hadn't encountered before.

Nice.

[u4ic]

38. I love the name Sebastian

How about Anton?

[Benfea]

39. What's wrong with calling him "Murgatroid"?n/t

[FunkyLeprechaun]

45. Alistair's a nice name

He was my first crush (first kiss even though he was asleep). But the one thing about Alistair that's forever imbedded in my mind: the love of kilts. Alistair was from Glasgow and would wear a kilt every New Year's.

Scotsmen are nice but Welshmen are better... my fiance is Dai (pronounced Die), the Welsh version of David. Not many Dais around here in the US.

I much prefer Irish names. I'm sorry but English names seem so... commom (apologies).

I'm leaning towards Eoin Ruadh (Owen Roe), Brendan, Darmaid, Declan and others.

English names.. piffle. Irish names, if one calls that out, they know who's callin'.

[dweller]

46. Alexar

you can call him Al. :)

dp

[Robeson]

47. How about Clarke?....

...in honor of Arthur C. Clarke?

[dorktv]

48. how about Wellstone?

[northofdenali]

50. I was torn between Aaron and Eli -

but I knew an Eli 'way back when' and he was a GOD.

[Ladyhawk]

51. I like Allistair. *shrug* n/t

[BlueIris]

56. Awwwww. Thanks.

Just today, I've been reconsidering scrapping it. Because...such a great name.

[kedrys]

61. One of my students spells it "Alisdair"

and he's like 60 and veddy British. :) But I'd never seen the alternative spelling before. I thought it was very cool.

[Liberalynn]

63. Me too.

I think Allistair is a great name. I am even a fan of Allistair Appleton who was the former host of BBC America's "Cash in the Attic." He's still on the repeat. A seemingly very nice and handsome young man.

If I had ever had a son his name was going to be Zack. The girl was going to be Miranda or Amanda. Of course the right guy never came along and now I am 44, and don't want to risk passing on the anxiety-depression stuff anyway, so that dream is over. But hey I will have my cousin's kids to fuss over, when he gets married and has them, so that's okay, and maybe I can even convince him to name one Zack.

On your poll list I picked Aaron.

[Random_Australian]

52. Alastair n/t

[Random_Australian]

53. Alastair....n/t

[Random_Australian]

54. Alastair.................no text

[BlueIris]

57. Thanks, Random_Australian.

Good to know that in non-American countries, especially ones as outright cool as Australia and other places in the UK, my kid would not be beaten up.

[Stockholm]

55. Just to widen your options

Here are the top ten male names in Sweden 2005.

1 Oscar
2 William
3 Lucas
4 Filip
5 Isak
6 Elias
7 Alexander
8 Emil
9 Hugo
10 Viktor

[BlueIris]

59. Thanks!!!

My grandfather's people were Swedish, so a Swedish name would be slightly more unusual for an American kid, as well as having ascestral significance.

[Stockholm]

62. Well well

Knock yourself out:

http://www.namnen.se/pojkar.htm

[WritingIsMyReligion]

58. Whyever not Alastair?

:P :P :P

[flvegan]

64. How about Vlad? Or Wolfgang?

Pretty cool to share a name with Dracula. Wolfgang just plain sounds cool.

Yeah, I know...the sons I don't have are lucky to be as such.

[BlueIris]

66. Wolfgang. Hmmm. One name I considered, then discarded,

is Phelan, a Celtic name which means, "wolf." I really love that name.

[bigwillq]

65. Of those, Andre (nt)

[Callalily]

67. Sorry I don't particularly

care for your choices, so I'm suggesting Leo! Good strong, no nonsense guy name!

[BlueIris]

68. Leopold, Leonardo, Leonard?

[Callalily]

72. Nope just

plain Leo! Well, he won't be plain, I'm sure he'll be special.

[hobo_baggins]

70. Beelzebub...it has a nice ring to it

or cthulu...

[Warren DeMontague]

71. I'm partial to "Al" and "Russ", these days. nt

[UrbScotty]

74. HOWARD!!! YEARGH!!!

}(

[MissMillie]

75. One of the nicest, kindest, men I've ever known is named Howard

and he's a Democrat too.