Might finally have our baby name, opinions please.

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

Well, with possibly only 3 weeks to go, we weren't any closer last week to having a name for him than we were 6 months ago. For a while we were pretty close to deciding on Noah, but then it just didn't feel like the right one.

My hubby hasn't had any names that he has liked all along. That has been the hard part. But yesterday we took a road trip to see some family and I tried to steer the conversation toward various boy names that I consider half way decent. Finally, I brought up Grayson, which he had liked as a middle name possibility when we were considering Noah. He grabbed onto it and has been talking about it ever since. I am still not a hundred percent on it, but it is a nice name. It also happens to be my husband's hometown.
Our other children are Micah and Allison (Allie). I don't know how well it goes with those, but it is ok I guess. I always had my heart set on another Bible boy name, but there just hasn't been one that my hubby and I can agree on. I really feel like Grayson is a totally different style than either of the other two, does it seem like that to you?

Then there is the question of the middle name. We have two ideas, one is sort of mine and one is my husbands'.
Mine is...
Grayson Lewis
his is...
Grayson Zane
Now, I love the name Zane, I think it sounds good too, but it is a little more out there. Also, there is something about it that I find really funny when paired wit Grayson, I wonder if any of you can guess what that is.
As for Lewis, that is my grandfather's name and I just think it sounds nice and our other two have family names as middles too.
Sorry this is so long, but I would really like to hear your opinions and we aren't sharing our name ideas with family and friends till he is here and the name is set, so I can't talk about it with anyone else right now.

ps. Do any of you have or know a Grayson? Does it seem super trendy to you? Or more classic sounding than some of the other popular names now? What do you think of Gray as a nickname? What do you think of Gray as a name on it's own?
Thanks for your input!

Comments

[hollis1975.livejournal.com]

i like grayson. and i like zane.

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

I think Noah is nicer than Grayson. It's more of a classic name to me, and it sounds better with the other names.

Grayson Zane sounds like insane.

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

LOL! HAHA I didn't notice that, great. Made my husband like it even more. LOL! thanks.

[wistfuljen.livejournal.com]

Also, there is something about it that I find really funny when paired wit Grayson, I wonder if any of you can guess what that is.

I can think of two possibilities, but only because you mentioned it.

1. The initials G.Z. sounding like "geez"
2. When you say the name out loud, unless you REALLY enunciate each name, it sounds like "Gray's insane"

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the G.Z thing is even funnier when you add our last initial M... then it is like Geezum, which is an explicative a friend of ours used to say alot.

Also, laughing about the Insane thing, that is hilarious, I totally didn't catch it and now my husband likes it even more. lol

No, the odd thing to me about Grayson Zane, especially if shortened as a nick name to Gray is that there is that famous Western book author- Zane Grey. Maybe nobody else will even think of it, or care.

[bettybites.livejournal.com]

I like Grayson way more than Noah! It sounds classic to me and not at all trendy. I think Gray as a nickname is cute too.

I like Zane as the middle name, but family middle names are always nice. Both of my kids have middle names that are after family members. :)

PS: Totally feel you on not agreeing with hubs on baby names. I'm 28 weeks and hubs and I have been disagreeing the whole time. He really likes trendy names like Chloe and Isabelle and I do not want my kid to be named the same thing as ten other kids in her school.

[lustdumpster.livejournal.com]

my friend has a niece named grayson, they planned to call her gracie as a nickname.

i liked it at the time when i was 18, but now that i'm a little bit older i think it sounds really trendy, something a teenager might name their kid.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

I like Grayson a lot. My boss just named her baby Greysen (yuck, I don't like that spelling) but I do like the name. I think Grayson Zane is an overload in my opinion... and while I think Micah and Allison don't totally match Grayson, I still think it isn't like way out of the ballpark type of crazy sib-set. I really love Grayson Lewis (Louis/Lewis is one of my favorite names ever).

I like Noah too, and it definitely goes with your style more. I don't see why Noah Grayson wouldn't work? It's a name you love and a name your husband likes.

[hoochiehoops.livejournal.com]

Not a fan of Grayson.

The same thing happened where my boyfriend loved Caleb and I liked it but I didn't love it, it didn't feel right for me and it didn't click. We ended up going in a different direction, and I'm glad we did.

[grasshulaskirt.livejournal.com]

I just put my friends nine year old to bed, they ALMOST named him Grayson, it's a fam name but didn't. I love it.

Favorite boys name of the bible is Asher.

[gipro2003.livejournal.com]

I think Noah Grayson is lovely. But if you decide to go with Grayson as a first name, I'd say go for Lewis over Zane. (As much as I prefer the name Zane, it just doesn't fit.)

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i dont understand all these people who are saying grayson sounds classic. it sounds completely made up to me.

my mothers last name was gray, so i plan on using it as a middle name, but i hate hate hate grayson. sorry.

i do love the name noah, and our plan right now is to name our first son noah gray.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

Grayson is an older name that sound completely modern to me; I don't get classic vibes from it at all. Gray/Grey is better, IMO, and I think having to children with names with the same ending is a bit much in your case.

Grayson Lewis sounds much better than Grayson Zane, for reasons already stated. It flows better, too, and steers it away from being completely trendy (and therefore soon-to-be dated).

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

I really feel like Grayson is a totally different style than either of the other two


Yes, yes it is different. And it doesn't "match". And you know what? IT SHOULDN'T HAVE TO. You're not having this baby to create a "set", you're having him to create a life, right? And why should something as important to his entire life as his very name be based on what "goes well" with his brother and sister?

I originally named my children Seth (which has been changed to Stephanie, and I'm leaving it at that) and Christopher (we call him Topher or Tate), both of which are very classic names. Then when I had the baby, we decided on Annika, which here in the north eastern US is most certainly NOT popular at all, and I've only ever met one other (child) Annika, and she wasn't American! I didn't care that Annika didn't "match" her siblings in classic-ness, because she doesn't have to "match" at all! She has to be her itty bitty little self all on her own no matter who her siblings are.


:D


/rant

Sorry, I take issue with people who are all OH MY GOD ITS A HORRIBLE SIBSET NAME!!!! Kids are individuals, not sets!!! Grrrr! LOL

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

Personally, my concern with not having sibling names "match" is not in order to create a matched set, but to prevent any of the kids from feeling singled out and weird. In a family with, say, children named John, Mary, and Florentina, don't you think Florentina is going to feel a little weird about herself? And aren't John and Mary going to wonder why they're not as special as Florentina? I don't think the matching sibset thing is as important as some people think--but it does matter a little.

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

[winninghearts.livejournal.com]

Honestly? No, I don't think they will feel that way.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

Well, I would, and I know plenty of other people that would. I guess that's all I can say.

[frost.livejournal.com]

I like Noah. Grayson... I'm not a big fan, but I don't find it horrible either. As far as "classic" sounding, I don't think Grayson is at all- to me, it sounds more trendy.

Grayson Zane just makes me think "Gray's insane," lol! ;P

[cairtirnin.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of Grayson, I'm not really sure why. It just rubs me the wrong way. Grayson Lewis seems like the better choice to me though, Grayson Zane screams trendy to me.

[penguiny7.livejournal.com]

Grayson is right on the border of terribly trendy and classicly suave. It would really depend on what you paired it with. Grayson Lewis, for example, is a wonderful combo and makes it sound much more classic. Grayson Zane is not good and makes it sound modern, plus the s and z sounds are a bit much that close together.

I don't know any Graysons. Gray is alright. I'm not sure if I hate it or don't mind it. It's really too surnamey for me.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

My thoughts exactly.

[my-little-voice.livejournal.com]

i think noah goes better with the other names. Grayson's not bad, it just stands out from Micah and Allison. Although, if you had an Allie and a Noah, I'm sure you'd get asked if it was because of The Notebook.

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

Really? I am not familiar with that story. Guess I should check it out. Thanks.

[my-little-voice.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notebook_%28film%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notebook

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

Do you think people will think of that movie/book when they hear the names? How prominent would the reference be? I don't like people thinking I am promoting some work of fiction. Especially one I don't even know. It doesn't sound like the kind of story I would like either.

[my-little-voice.livejournal.com]

I think the people familiar with Nicholas Sparks would. The other thing I thought of is that Nicholas Sparks' brother is named Micah, so to people familiar with him it might come off as a whole Nicholas Sparks theme.

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

LOL this gets better and better. Thanks for the heads up. It may not effect my decision, but I am glad you told me anyway, so at least I am aware of the connection and possible conotations.
I have never read one of his books or seen any of the movies, but I happen to know that about every girl in my class at church has read all of the books. Oh well! At least I didn't accidentally end up with an Edward, Bella and Jake huh? lol

[ifancylust.livejournal.com]

huh. i've never seen the notebook, so i didn't know this. my brother's name is noah and his girlfriend's name is allison though. haha. i don't think anyone has ever said anything.

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

I agree that Micah and Grayson seem like pretty different styles, but I don't think it makes a bad sibset. I think Grayson Lewis sounds great, and flows much better than Grayson Zane. Grayson seems like it might be a little on the trendy side, although I don't know any children with that name, so maybe I'm wrong about that. It's not a bad name, although I prefer Gray by itself, and spelled Grey.

[intheshadows13.livejournal.com]

I love Grayson. I spent a while with it being my top boy name however now that I am married and the child's last name would be Shay I can't use it (Gray Shay). :(
I actually know a girl named Gray and another girl whose middle name is Gray. I love it.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

I know a Grayson with a sister Allison! Honestly, I've always thought it was weird that they both end in 'son,' it's not what I would do. But they seem to have survived with their psyches intact, they're both very nice kids. The Grayson I know is about 14.

I don't think there's a stylistic problem with Grayson, Allison, and Micah. Micah stands out a little bit, but it stands out from Allison, too. It doesn't stand out in a huge way.

I like Grayson Zane better than Grayson Lewis, but... yeah... Zane Grey the Westerns author. Still, I would think that's obscure enough that not everyone is going to see Grayson Zane and think, "Wow, they must be huge Zane Grey fans." But on the other hand, there's nothing wrong with Lewis and it's a family name, that counts for something.

Grayson does seem trendy to me, but in a way that's going to hold up better than the made-up atrocities some kids are getting saddled with. After all, Gary was once trendy, but it's aged pretty well. Gray is a great nickname, I love it. It would also be okay as a name on its own, and you might want to go that route to keep it from rhyming with Allison. But then, it does also seem a little one-note on its own, doesn't it? Adding the -son seems to anchor it, give it more possibilities than just the color. And of course Gray could definitely not be paired with Zane.

I think if I had to pick something right this second I'd say GRayson Lewis.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

What about Graydon/Grayden, to keep it from rhyming with Allison?

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

Thank you for all the input. I wasn't so worried about the -son ending because Allison actually goes by Allie, at least for now. I guess I should consider that when she is older she may want to go by Allison, but right now it is hard to picture.
I am beginning to think that Grayson Lewis would be the best bet, but also that maybe Noah Grayson is better. When I said that Grayson sounds more classic to me than other trendy stuff, I meant at least it is a known surname, not a made up name like all that Caden,Brayden,Jayden stuff...yuck.
Also, since Grayson is my hubbies home-town, (and not too far from where we live, but very very small and mostly unheard of around here) It is very familiar sounding to me and I know that makes it difficult for me to know if it sounds odd to other people.
Just for the record, I actually like other names that go better with Micah. But I can't get my husband to agree with me at all. He doesn't seem worried at all about their names being in a certain style. It does bug me though!

[kort-ni.livejournal.com]

My cousins just had a Grayson (nn Gray). I think it's pretty trendy but nicer than most trendy names.

We had to rule out one name because the sibset would be silly (the girl's nn we have picked out is Eve, so we've ruled out Adam) but as long as it isn't something like that, I think that you're fine with naming siblings what you like.

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

lol, yeah, I absolutely love the name Jackson (I prefer Jack,but hubby's family is full of them) but I think when we named our first boy Micah, we sort of ruined the chances of having a Jackson... it just sounds terrible- Micah and Jackson... sounds like we are fans of Michael Jackson... yuck.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Grayson Lewis sounds way better than Grayson Zane. That said, I hate the name Grayson. Yes, it is super trendy.

[celebrate.livejournal.com]

I like Noah Grayson better. Grayson is trendy, but I think it sounds fine as a middle name for Noah. Grayson Zane does sound like "Gray's insane."

[hwar.livejournal.com]

Grayson Zane = Zane Grey?

I am not a fan of Grayson although Gray is okay as a nickname. If you are looking for a Biblical name that sounds modern, what about Asher? The nn Ash strikes me as similar to the nn Gray. Asher Zane sounds nice too.

[pollysweet.livejournal.com]

Asher is nice, but my husband doesn't like it. Also,the nickname Ash makes us laugh,we always think of a quote from a silly zombie movie/comedy where there is aguy named Ash and he has a evil twin briefly and he says "He's the good Ash, I'm the bad Ash!" making it sound like badass. lol

[hwar.livejournal.com]

Ha, that is funny. It's too bad he has nixed the Biblical boys, there are so many good ones! I'm a fan of Benjamin, Nathaniel, Caleb, Tobias, Paul, Gabriel, Aaron, Elijah, Isaac, James (though I hate Jim so probably wouldn't use it), Jonah, Jude, Reuben, and Simon, just to name a handful! Picking a name that my husband agrees with is so hard! We are still TTC our second but I keep a running list of names with favorites that we agree upon, guilty pleasures that I hope I can win him on, middle name possibilities, etc.

[ifancylust.livejournal.com]

grayson is definitely trendy in my opinion. i like gray though and think gray lewis sounds good.

as far as the combos, i think grayson lewis sounds a lot better than grayson zane. i think because with the latter, there's a double "ay" sound, which is kind of weird.

[snailrevolution.livejournal.com]

I like Grayson Zane. Zane Grayson sounds even better (and I'm guessing by a comment above you don't mind the author connotation :p).

I personally only know of one Grayson - a couple I knew in HS had a boy about about a year ago and named him this.

[starskye.livejournal.com]

I like Noah Grayson.

[toxicthoughts.livejournal.com]

Not sure if you had your baby yet, but I have a Grayson Mark. I call him Gray, his dad calls him Grayson.

If I could go back, I would pick a different name. There are way too many Graysons popping up and the majority are girls.

Our first son's name is Cannon, and I wouldn't change it for the world.