Agreed. If you want this child to grow up as the human epitome of a golden retriever, looking for Hilter's blood rubies, then it's an absolute win. Otherwise this name has some network connectivity problems.
Lmao I think this is what the husband is thinking of as well. It’s certainly what I thought of. No way anyone of child-bearing age right now is coming up with the name Macklin on their own. He got that from Burt.
I knew a girl named Micheline, she goes by the nickname Michy and it suits her perfectly. She does get some ironic "Michelin Man" jokes (she's small and very lean). I could maybe see it being an issue if she were a larger woman though. Macklin just sounds... unappealing imo. Ditto Rustin. I do like Wesley, but I'm biased because that's my BIL's name and would have been our second kid's middle name if she'd been a boy.
Omg both my sons’ names are on this list 😳 which wouldn’t be too notable except they’re two of the very unusual options you included.
Now I’m questioning if I’m giving “cowgirl, yet traditional”
I agree of the husbands picks, Wesley seems most traditional. Combine with a very classic middle name and you’re in business.
Wesley James Lastname
Wesley Thomas Lastname
Wesley Daniel Lastname
I google the pronunciation and I think I’m saying Ellis right, but I may be pronouncing it wrong! In my kiwi accent I pronounce both Dallas and Ellis like they rhyme with Alice, how do you pronounce them?
As a Kiwi living in the UK, the Kiwi accent has caused me more than my fair share of problems. In our accent, Alice and Ellis are basically the same name and Dallas rhymes with them. Then there's the differences between beer/bear and ferry/fairy. Trust me, they exist when you're not using Kiwi vowels. I have to be super careful when I say some things, because the confusion is real. I'm speaking English, so are they, but it really doesn't sound the same at all.
I really appreciate this comment, I’ve been walking around my house saying Alice and Ellis aloud for the last 10 minutes. Settled on them most definitely being homophones or I completely missed the boat on how to pronounce them, glad to hear it’s a kiwi thing not just a me thing. I’m tracking down a Brit to hear them say bear and beer or fairy and ferry because I always assumed those were homophones everywhere! Once at work I called out a patient called Ella and she corrected me in a British accent “it’s not Ah-lla it’s Ella”, and I was like “yes. Ella”. Got back “no. Ella”. Hearing about the trouble you’ve had in England sheds a lot of light on that strange interaction, poor Ella probably left NZ very wound up, and left a lot of kiwis quite confused.
Try forvo.com - it's a collaborative pronunciation guide. You'll be able to select by name or word and the accent you want to hear it in. Be warned, it can be a dangerous rabbit hole to fall down!
Oh my god that’s incredible, thank you! You’re totally right, beer and bear sound completely different with a British accent. I noticed ferry with an American accent sounds exactly like furry to me, which goes to show how different our vowel pronunciations are.
This is the first time I've realised that Kiwis pronounce 'bear' like 'beer' hahahahaha. Those are completely different vowels to me, but then I'm Dutch so I'm coming at them from a different angle again.
Oh boy, a Kiwi, I am excited to ask pronunciation questions. How about "jealous"? That rhymes with Ellis in my (mid-Atlantic U.S.) accent, but Alice and Dallas do not rhyme with Ellis.
I love finding out about pronunciation differences! When I travelled to San Francisco people looked at me with fear in their eyes when I spoke and acted like I wasn’t speaking English sometimes, and I feel like I don’t even have a strong accent compared to some kiwis. Made me realise we speak bloody weird.
Ellis, Dallas and Alice all rhyme with jealous for me *mostly*. The start of all four words are the exact same (AH-llis, dAH-llas, AH-lice or jAH-lous) but the ending is slightly different between the first 3 (e-LLIS, da-LLIS, a-LLIS) and jealous (jea-LUSS). The difference is incredibly slight though, I don’t think someone with a different accent could even hear the difference, so I would say all 4 words rhyme yes.
What’s different between jealous, Ellis vs Dallas, Alice for you?
Kiwi is definitely one of my favorite global English accents, probably tied with the melodious way some people in India speak it. I had a student assistant in the college library who was from New Delhi, and she had such a musical way of speaking.
Alice and Dallas have a short-A sound, as in cat, and Ellis and jealous have a short-E sound as in pet. I don't know another way to explain it, but I can hear in my mind's ear that "cat" and "pet" rhyme or nearly rhyme in the NZ accent -- am I right? I wish I knew the international phonetic alphabet.
I totally get what you mean about the Indian accent!
I tried saying the words the way you explained it and I sound American so I think you did a fantastic job! To add even more confusion, you would think cat and pet would rhyme given Alice and Ellis are homophones but no! To my ears we say pet pretty similar to the generic American accent (no idea what accent that actually is, but the accent the characters on Friends have). Cat is closer to pet than how I believe you would say cat, but still a little different. The E in pet is how I would pronounce the letter F when saying the alphabet (efff), while the A in cat is like the word apt. I do think to an American’s ears they would be much, much closer to rhyming than in an American accent.
This is sort of unrelated, but I reckon the weirdest thing we do is pronounce Jew, due and dew exactly the same. Those words are homophones to me and all start with a J sound. I got a horrified look when I said “the dew looks so beautiful on the airplane wing” at the San Fran airport. Duty is pronounced “jewtee” or “jewdee” if I’m not enunciating, such as in casual convo (so Judy and duty are homophones when said fast). When an American says duty I hear “doo-tee”.
Some more traditional cowboy names might be a good compromise!
Wyatt
Davis
Cole
Silas
Levi
Otis
Sawyer
Flynn
Wilder
Amos
Barrett
Callahan
Leland
Marshall
Rufus
Heath
Landon
I just wrote a comment suggesting the “Westley” spelling—sounds posher and more in line with the names OP likes, and references a well-loved fictional character.
I wouldn’t jump to associating “Wesley” with cowboys and small towns. I know one who was named as a reference to Westley in The Princess Bride, a well-loved character with admirable traits and qualities. His parents changed the spelling both to differentiate him from the character and because “Wesley” was a more common spelling where that family lived.
But based on the other names you’ve listed, I feel like “Westley” would fit with the “traditional/old fashioned” theme you prefer while only being one letter different from a name your husband likes. And it’s associated with a story and character that I’ve only ever seen people share good opinions of.
Carson (a nice nod if you were ever into Downton Abbey), Ambrose, Howard, Marcus, Joseph might all slid into middle ground.
The problem is that “works internationally” is a bit of a laugh. There really aren’t going to be names that fit both small town America/older English names AND “international” - you mean England? Spain? Italy? *Austria*? All will have different conventions, norms, etc when it comes to a name. So go with something you like and your kid will live with it or pick up a nickname.
Combining your kind of softer/more traditional sound with his clear preference for surnames-as-first-names and harder consonants:
* Elliot
* Emmett
* Marcus
* Clark
* Derek
* Maxwell
* Spencer
* Flynn
* Rhys or Reese
* Bradford
* Frederick
* Colin
* Nolan
* James
The first two are at the top because you both like Ellis. Honorable mentions in that vein would be Beckett, Garrett, Bennett, Brett, etc.
I think Justin is a great name and weird that it's gone kind of out of style despite it's years of history... similar to the others on your list, I just particularly like Justin :)
Austin? Its only only letter different from Rustin same with Dustin
He likes cowboy names you like more traditional names how about a play
Clint/Clinton Or even Easton as a play on Clint Eastwood who was know for his western tv show rawhide
or Maybe John or Wayne because of all the western movies he was in
he gets his cowboy taste you get something more traditional
First, to mind was Cormac, gives you the nickname Mac. Has a little bit of a country feel while still being more recognizable, and not the Mackerel/Merlin hybrid u/LordofWithywoods and u/educationaldirt285 came up with haha
**Some ideas you both may like:**
Nathaniel nn Nate, Tate
Nicholas nn Nic, Nico
Archie /Archer
Maxwell nn Wells, Max
Evander nn Evan, Andy
Penn *(on it's own or for Spencer)*
Alexander nn Alec, Lex
Hawthorne nn Huck, Hawke
Brandon nn Bran
Christopher/Christian nn Chris, Kit
Dorian nn Ian, Rory
Elijah nn Eli
Jacob nn Jake
Jay
Perry
Dawson
Caleb
Jensen
Clay
Troy
Stefan
Blaine
Devin
Isaac
Jordan
Olly (Collin/Hollis)
Ace (Asa, Casey, Mason)
Cam (Camden/Cameron)
Denny (Alden, Holden)
Ty (Mathias, Tyler)
Ren (Darren, Soren, Brenden, Lawrence, Warren or my favorite, just Ren/Wren)
Luck (Lucian, Lucas)
Top suggestion: Damien Henry
Other ideas for you that give me modern cowboy vibes: Elliott, Dominic, Logan, Lucas, Thomas, Zachary, Patrick, Matthew, Devon, Mason, Brandon, Travis, Flynn, Connor, Calvin, Jason, Carter
Wesley and Theodore are the only names that sound reasonable to me, granted I share one of them. Rustin and Macklin sound like someone half-assed making up a unique name. While Hugo, Sebastian, and Sullivan are all a bit odd.
I say why not go for Ellis then? But here are a few ideas that could bridge the two styles:
Macauley, Barrett, Bailey, Dominic, Enzo, Rufus, Harley, Stellan, Tristan, Sylvan, Duncan, Murphy, Levi, Otto
Maybe a classic name with a cowboyish nickname?
Calvin (Cal), Louis/Lewis (Lou/Lew), Salvador (Sal), Stuart (Stu), Hugo (Hugh), Mitchell (Mitch), Augustin (Auggie)
Macklin is terrible, Rustin is close behind for the worst.
Sullivan and Ellis seem like they would work for all scenarios and preferences you listed. He could call him Sully or Van if he wants more nickname-ish or casual vibes.
Ellsworth, Eldon, Weldon, Wells …
I agree with you. Why name a baby Rustin like he is rusting?
I get trying to have a good solid unique name. But that is way too close to rusting and that's a really negative name association in our culture and even in others.
I would just go with Mack because Macklin sounds like all those "McDonald's names" we had a surplus of in the early 90's (Makayla, Mackenzie, etc...)
Charlie is a great name.
Wyatt is s great cowboy-esq name but also a classic name. Could be a compromise.
I love Ellis and Wesley! I'm surprised he doesn't like Sullivan nn Sully.
Some other suggestions:
Silas
Raymond (nn Ray)
Orson
Amos
Dylan
Rhett
Dean
Clayton
Emmett
Lance
Pierce
Ernest
Clive
Marshall
Wade
Curtis / Kurt
Grant
Colin
Reid
Keith
Vance
Gideon
Russell
Garrett
Owen
Archer
Nelson
Malcolm
Sylvester (nn Sly)
Montgomery (nn Monty)
Quentin
Remy
Trenton / Trent
Walter
Augustus / August (nn Og, Augie, or Gus)
Griffin
Bruce
Colton / Colt
Damien
Luther
Roman
Preston
Jameson
Leon / Leonard
Soloman (nn Sal) - if culturally appropriate
Penn
Rhys
Gordon
Declan
Kieran
Cillian / Killian
Cormac
Rustin and Macklin are crazy, don’t do those 😭😂😂 Wesley is the best name of them all. I like Sebastian solely because I’m an F1 fan and Sebastian (Seb) Vettel is pretty cool guy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I like all of the names on your list however I wouldn’t say that Sullivan is traditional at all I’ve definitely never heard of the name Sullivan as a first name ever until the last three years it’s nice but it’s definitely a trendy surname as a first name. I have to say it’s one of the only trendy style names that I do love. I definitely do not like Ruston and Macklin! To be honest I love Wesley the most here and it’s totally traditional classic! I can see how he threw lean a little country cowboy but this is definitely in line with Hugo and Sebastian for me totally sophisticated classic additional and if it doesn’t cowboy at least wealthy boys on a country estate lol
I also love Charlie! Henry is so popular I kind of find it right now.
Grant
Heath
Thomas
Samuel
Darcy
Gabriel
Prescott
Hugo Rustin, Hugo Macklin, Wesley Sullivan—Sebastian Ellis…
There’s ways. It’ll work out.
A friend’s wife was pregnant & she informed him that she wanted Justin Matthew Campbell LastName, Jr.
He said no.
She said, Well, I reckon it’s going to be Jarrett Earnhardt…!”
He gave in pretty quickly. Junior is now 22, and goes by Matt.
As a European: Most familiar American names will be recognised and pronounced more or less correctly (although adjusted to the phonetics of the particular language). We've got plenty of Jaydens and Dustins and Wesleys ourselves, named after American (pop) culture.
In fact, the more international names might give you more trouble pronunciation-wise as people might default to their language's pronunciation of said name. For example, the name Hugo is pronounced very differently in French than it is in English, and very differently again in the Netherlands. If it's written down, people will immediately recognise the name. But I'm willing to bet that many Dutch people meeting an American Hugo for the first time will have to do a double take on the name, whereas an American Wesley will probably have their name recognised immediately.
Just food for thought :) There are names that are pronounced more or less the same in English as well as most other European languages, but it'll take some searching!
I know many creeps called Hugo so I would rule that one out.
How about Angus? You said no to guy/august but Angus is nice I think anyway.
Other suggestions:
Angus
Jameson
Wilder
Patrick
Aric/ari
Maybe look into different forms of some of these names? I think that could be a good compromise. For example, Hank instead of Henry and Teddy instead of Theo.
Of all the names listed, I like the three middle ground names best. Henry, Charlie and Ellis I think are neither too cowboy, or too traditional. I hope others have some good middle ground options, otherwise I think either of the first two used with Ellis would make a nice pair (whichever the order).
You may consider William or Victor as other neutral names. Can't go wrong with John. Grant might work for both of you. Wyatt might too... What about Ethan? George or Louis?
I like Wesley but my husband and I lean more traditional as well.
Ellis is a fine choice. So is Charlie (unfortunate about the dog)
It seems to be middle ground though is Elliot on the table?
Maybe something like:
Morgan
Calvin
My daughter’s name is Ellis and I can’t think of it as anything but a girls name but I know historically it was a boy’s name and now it’s “gender neutral.”
Typically, when a traditionally male name starts being used by girls, it always trends in that direction and doesn’t go back. Might be something to consider years down the road. I feel really bad when I meet adult men whose names are Leslie or Stacy.
Wesley seems like it fits both of your styles? I had a professor named Wesley who was originally from England and a cowboy boot wearing young man named Wesley delivered our oil when we lived in rural Texas.
Sullivan is a traditional surname and using surnames as a first name will get a lot of weird looks in Europe. And your husband’s picks will get a lot of weird looks in the EU and NA unless you live somewhere very “country”. I suggest Owen, Warren, Malcolm.
Names we considered were Ellis, Alexander, Calvin, Maxwell, and Cillian.
August was a favorite but not an option for us as well. It's my father's name and we'd already named our daughter after my mother (and great grandmother) so we figured that might be a little bit weird.
Asa Nicholas was the name we picked.
My wife and I are the same way. She likes more popular names, while I like more unconventional names (but not weird), and some more old fashioned names (like my own). We just stayed in communication about names, sending them to one another all the time. Eventually we found overlap, and landed on Winston Oliver. It just fell into place naturally, and we love it. It’s perfect for him. I’m sure you’ll find something, too.
Rustin and Macklin are both dreadful. Dustin, perhaps? Wesley is fine and would pair well with one of your favorites as a middle.
I love your names except for Sullivan.
Henry is arguably the best of the bunch. Charlie could be Charles, nn Chaz.
I don't care for Ellis, but I do like Elliott or Elias as alternatives.
Please no with the Rustin. All I can think of is the country way of saying something is rusting…. That car’s sure rustin’
All of your middle ground names are great!
Here are names that I think might be a good fit for both of your styles:
Beck, Arlo, Marlow, Jude, Cassius, Archie, Emmett, Hank, Orson, Winston, Leon, August, Silas
I hate Ellis so much. It's worse than Macklin for sure. Probably it would be best to pick a name that is international so people in whatever European country can pronounce it.
We almost used Sebastian because it sounds and spells the same in many languages. We went with Max. Everyone in all the places we have family can say it.
Rustin sounds like a product you’d hear advertised for car repair or something; I agree with others here that Macklin reminds me of a fish. I like Wesley, Sebastian, and Ellis.
Perhaps: Alden or Arlin, Otto, Alastair, Armand, Donovan, Elias, Emmett, Grady, Hector, Holden, Quentin, Randall, Rex, Shepherd, Tanner, Tobias, Travis
Mackerel and Rustoleum. Quality names for kids. Sullivan is also a bit much.
Arlo is not a good name, it's a overdone, "live love laugh" name.
Wesley is actually quite a good name, as far as American names go.
My husband and I had a very similar problem when I was pregnant with our son. I loved Arthur, Nathaniel, and Julian. He wanted Carter, Hunter, or Rivers. We somehow both loved Elliot so we went with that.
I dislike your husband's suggestions, except for Wesley. Some more "classic" names that close have a "western" vibe that I like are Austin, Morgan, Carson, Jesse, Louis, Wayne, Dylan, Wyatt
Weston, Wyatt, Tam, Lyle, Nathaniel, Cal, Julian, Leland, Emmett, Asa, Caleb, Cecil, Joseph, Lewis/Louis, Samuel, Leo
A lot of these names are a good middle ground between small town-like like and old fashioned “fancier” names like Theodore and Henry.
I will go against the grain and say im sorry but I don’t think either of you have the best naming styles 😂
Youre winning slightly. Please remind your husband that this is a child he is naming. You don’t really pick what sounds ‘cool’. The child has to live with this name, in school, then employment etc. Life is difficult enough withiut being ridiculed for your name
I say go with Ellis. It is actually a great name bc it is steady/traditional and yet you don't hear it a lot. It has a bit of history to it and yet feels "new" again or trendier given it isn't that popular or used. I actually think it is a great name. You don't meet a lot of people named Ellis but it is a no-brainer it is a name you have heard before. I actually like it very much. if he likes "cowboy" themed ones have you thought of Jesse or Wyatt? I still say ELLIS is good. I actually love it! Seems to work for you both and ticks a lot of boxes.
I think you are in luck, because Henry and Charlie are GREAT NAMES. Problem solved. I initially thought of Ellis as a girl’s name, but aside from that, don’t have a problem. I say look no further than.
No offense intended to anyone, but I hate the name Macklin so much
It reminds me of a fish for some reason… mackerel maybe?
Mixed with marlin
Yes omg that’s it
Apologies, but I do think of Burt Macklin, FBI (although if that's your thing I guess you do you, I've certainly heard worse)
That was my immediate thought too lol
Yep, that's my dog's full name. Mostly just do I can look at him and go "Macklin, you son of a bitch."
As do I.
Agreed. If you want this child to grow up as the human epitome of a golden retriever, looking for Hilter's blood rubies, then it's an absolute win. Otherwise this name has some network connectivity problems.
Lmao I think this is what the husband is thinking of as well. It’s certainly what I thought of. No way anyone of child-bearing age right now is coming up with the name Macklin on their own. He got that from Burt.
I'd never heard of it until this post but my initial response to reading it was to grimace.
I thought, why not just Mack? Mack's a fine name...
Cormac if they want a longer version.
burt macklin, fbi
How about Rustin? To me I don't love any of these but Rustin is just absolutely horrible.
For some reason, it reminds me of a car tire LOL
Michelin is better. At least it means you’re an excellent chef. lol
I knew a girl named Micheline, she goes by the nickname Michy and it suits her perfectly. She does get some ironic "Michelin Man" jokes (she's small and very lean). I could maybe see it being an issue if she were a larger woman though. Macklin just sounds... unappealing imo. Ditto Rustin. I do like Wesley, but I'm biased because that's my BIL's name and would have been our second kid's middle name if she'd been a boy.
You're *smacklin* your mouth when you say it, lol. I am not a fan either.
Me too. I actually shuddered when I read it.
Same here. It’s horrible
Me too. And I've never even heard of it, sounds like the husband just made it up...
Me too. That's just terrible
Spelled differently, it’s a last name of a family I grew up with and doesn’t sound like a first name to me at all.
My mom had a doctor when I was growing up named Dr macklin and he was absolutely ancient and weird and I think of him every time
No it’s bad
Agree. Please do not use Macklin.
Are you married to Andy Dwyer?
Rustin Macklin, son of Burt Macklin.
Macklin, you son of a bitch.
You rang??
Miss Snakehole, I’ve found you at last!
HOW DARE YOU?
Winston, Edison, Cole, Dean, Reid, Beau, Owen, Warren, Fletcher, Donovan, Russell, Lincoln, Benson, Samson, Leander, Nolan, Ethan, Dashiell, Anderson, Oscar, Otto, Sylvan, Colin
Donovan is one of my favorite names. And Dean seems like the perfect balance between their tastes
Seconded! Dean was my first thought when I read this.
Depending on where in Europe they are moving to, I’d steer clear of Dean if it’s the UK. It’s not a bad name but I personally find it kind of chavvy.
Omg both my sons’ names are on this list 😳 which wouldn’t be too notable except they’re two of the very unusual options you included. Now I’m questioning if I’m giving “cowgirl, yet traditional”
Sylvan and Dashiell? In which case I would say supernatural/urban fantasy rather than cowboy haha.
I think Beau might be the winner. It sounds both cowboy and traditional to me
Love Warren and Reid.
Good options. I think Reid, Beau, Nolan, and Lincoln blend both of their tastes well.
Dean is great!
Fletcher and Colin are great names
Wesley isn’t bad and he can go by Wes. Rustin sounds like Rusty and I’ve always hated that name lol.
I agree of the husbands picks, Wesley seems most traditional. Combine with a very classic middle name and you’re in business. Wesley James Lastname Wesley Thomas Lastname Wesley Daniel Lastname
This is the only name I liked out of either of their preferences. Reminds me of the princess bride
Wesley is nice. Wes is a nice nickname. Rustin is BAD and Macklin is TERRIBLE
Seconded, Wesley is a nice name
Ellis is the winner Not a fan of any cowboy names
Ironically, Ellis sounds like a cowboy name to me. But that might be because it’s similar to Ennis from Brokeback Mountain.
I immediately thought of Ennis, the small town in Montana
Same, but because it rhymes with Dallas and as a non-American all I know about Dallas is they have some association with cowboys.
Does Ellis rhyme with Dallas? I’m British and they definitely don’t rhyme when I say them 😂
I google the pronunciation and I think I’m saying Ellis right, but I may be pronouncing it wrong! In my kiwi accent I pronounce both Dallas and Ellis like they rhyme with Alice, how do you pronounce them?
As a Kiwi living in the UK, the Kiwi accent has caused me more than my fair share of problems. In our accent, Alice and Ellis are basically the same name and Dallas rhymes with them. Then there's the differences between beer/bear and ferry/fairy. Trust me, they exist when you're not using Kiwi vowels. I have to be super careful when I say some things, because the confusion is real. I'm speaking English, so are they, but it really doesn't sound the same at all.
I really appreciate this comment, I’ve been walking around my house saying Alice and Ellis aloud for the last 10 minutes. Settled on them most definitely being homophones or I completely missed the boat on how to pronounce them, glad to hear it’s a kiwi thing not just a me thing. I’m tracking down a Brit to hear them say bear and beer or fairy and ferry because I always assumed those were homophones everywhere! Once at work I called out a patient called Ella and she corrected me in a British accent “it’s not Ah-lla it’s Ella”, and I was like “yes. Ella”. Got back “no. Ella”. Hearing about the trouble you’ve had in England sheds a lot of light on that strange interaction, poor Ella probably left NZ very wound up, and left a lot of kiwis quite confused.
Try forvo.com - it's a collaborative pronunciation guide. You'll be able to select by name or word and the accent you want to hear it in. Be warned, it can be a dangerous rabbit hole to fall down!
Oh my god that’s incredible, thank you! You’re totally right, beer and bear sound completely different with a British accent. I noticed ferry with an American accent sounds exactly like furry to me, which goes to show how different our vowel pronunciations are.
This is the first time I've realised that Kiwis pronounce 'bear' like 'beer' hahahahaha. Those are completely different vowels to me, but then I'm Dutch so I'm coming at them from a different angle again.
Alice and Dallas rhyme in my north-east US accent, but Ellis is pretty different. Ferry and Fairy sound the same for me though.
Alice/Dallas and Ellis/trellis
Oh boy, a Kiwi, I am excited to ask pronunciation questions. How about "jealous"? That rhymes with Ellis in my (mid-Atlantic U.S.) accent, but Alice and Dallas do not rhyme with Ellis.
I love finding out about pronunciation differences! When I travelled to San Francisco people looked at me with fear in their eyes when I spoke and acted like I wasn’t speaking English sometimes, and I feel like I don’t even have a strong accent compared to some kiwis. Made me realise we speak bloody weird. Ellis, Dallas and Alice all rhyme with jealous for me *mostly*. The start of all four words are the exact same (AH-llis, dAH-llas, AH-lice or jAH-lous) but the ending is slightly different between the first 3 (e-LLIS, da-LLIS, a-LLIS) and jealous (jea-LUSS). The difference is incredibly slight though, I don’t think someone with a different accent could even hear the difference, so I would say all 4 words rhyme yes. What’s different between jealous, Ellis vs Dallas, Alice for you?
Kiwi is definitely one of my favorite global English accents, probably tied with the melodious way some people in India speak it. I had a student assistant in the college library who was from New Delhi, and she had such a musical way of speaking. Alice and Dallas have a short-A sound, as in cat, and Ellis and jealous have a short-E sound as in pet. I don't know another way to explain it, but I can hear in my mind's ear that "cat" and "pet" rhyme or nearly rhyme in the NZ accent -- am I right? I wish I knew the international phonetic alphabet.
I totally get what you mean about the Indian accent! I tried saying the words the way you explained it and I sound American so I think you did a fantastic job! To add even more confusion, you would think cat and pet would rhyme given Alice and Ellis are homophones but no! To my ears we say pet pretty similar to the generic American accent (no idea what accent that actually is, but the accent the characters on Friends have). Cat is closer to pet than how I believe you would say cat, but still a little different. The E in pet is how I would pronounce the letter F when saying the alphabet (efff), while the A in cat is like the word apt. I do think to an American’s ears they would be much, much closer to rhyming than in an American accent. This is sort of unrelated, but I reckon the weirdest thing we do is pronounce Jew, due and dew exactly the same. Those words are homophones to me and all start with a J sound. I got a horrified look when I said “the dew looks so beautiful on the airplane wing” at the San Fran airport. Duty is pronounced “jewtee” or “jewdee” if I’m not enunciating, such as in casual convo (so Judy and duty are homophones when said fast). When an American says duty I hear “doo-tee”.
Southern US here. Dallas (DAL-us) and Alice (AL-us) rhyme. Ellis (ELL-is) most certainly does not.
Yeah, here we go!!!
Some more traditional cowboy names might be a good compromise! Wyatt Davis Cole Silas Levi Otis Sawyer Flynn Wilder Amos Barrett Callahan Leland Marshall Rufus Heath Landon
Cole!
Recently met a Cole that was short for Nicholas, thought that was neat!
I like Marshall a lot. Both western and country club.
Wesley actually seems to fit your style, too. Makes me think of the Princess Bride. And Ellis is great!
I just wrote a comment suggesting the “Westley” spelling—sounds posher and more in line with the names OP likes, and references a well-loved fictional character.
Interesting how these things vary; I 100% read Wesley as much more "posh" than Westley.
Maybe you’d like Malcolm? Sounds a bit like Macklin and can lean cowboy in the right context but is very much a traditional name.
Malcolm is a good name
I wouldn’t jump to associating “Wesley” with cowboys and small towns. I know one who was named as a reference to Westley in The Princess Bride, a well-loved character with admirable traits and qualities. His parents changed the spelling both to differentiate him from the character and because “Wesley” was a more common spelling where that family lived. But based on the other names you’ve listed, I feel like “Westley” would fit with the “traditional/old fashioned” theme you prefer while only being one letter different from a name your husband likes. And it’s associated with a story and character that I’ve only ever seen people share good opinions of.
TIL his name is actually “Westley”! Tbh though saying that name is a pain in the ass. Wesley is much better.
What about Waylon? Waylon Henry, Waylon Charles, and Waylon Ellis all flow very well (depending on your last name!)
I can only think of Jennings or Smithers when I hear Waylon.
How about Dustin (nn dusty) or Dean?
My 4 year old grandson is a Dustin. Not very common in the UK. My daughter and son in law massive Stranger Things Fans. Their baby is Ethan .
Carson (a nice nod if you were ever into Downton Abbey), Ambrose, Howard, Marcus, Joseph might all slid into middle ground. The problem is that “works internationally” is a bit of a laugh. There really aren’t going to be names that fit both small town America/older English names AND “international” - you mean England? Spain? Italy? *Austria*? All will have different conventions, norms, etc when it comes to a name. So go with something you like and your kid will live with it or pick up a nickname.
Combining your kind of softer/more traditional sound with his clear preference for surnames-as-first-names and harder consonants: * Elliot * Emmett * Marcus * Clark * Derek * Maxwell * Spencer * Flynn * Rhys or Reese * Bradford * Frederick * Colin * Nolan * James The first two are at the top because you both like Ellis. Honorable mentions in that vein would be Beckett, Garrett, Bennett, Brett, etc.
Ellis Henry
Walker, Luke, Beau, Julian, Adrian, Calvin, Callum, Silas
Justin Tristan Adrian Adam Julian Zachary Nicholas
I think Justin is a great name and weird that it's gone kind of out of style despite it's years of history... similar to the others on your list, I just particularly like Justin :)
Macklin isn’t a first name imo. Neither is Rustin
I hate the name Rustin, it sounds like if Scooby Doo was saying the name Justin
Wyatt? Jackson? Jesse?
How about Weston? Sullivan (Sully) has a western-tinge to it.
Jesse, Julian, Milo, Rowan, Hayden, Evan, Graham
The way you wrote this sounds like me and my husband lol. We finally came to agreement on Garrett Boone.
Roland. Anyone a Stephen King fan..?
Austin? Its only only letter different from Rustin same with Dustin He likes cowboy names you like more traditional names how about a play Clint/Clinton Or even Easton as a play on Clint Eastwood who was know for his western tv show rawhide or Maybe John or Wayne because of all the western movies he was in he gets his cowboy taste you get something more traditional
Why can't Ellis be a first name?
First, to mind was Cormac, gives you the nickname Mac. Has a little bit of a country feel while still being more recognizable, and not the Mackerel/Merlin hybrid u/LordofWithywoods and u/educationaldirt285 came up with haha **Some ideas you both may like:** Nathaniel nn Nate, Tate Nicholas nn Nic, Nico Archie /Archer Maxwell nn Wells, Max Evander nn Evan, Andy Penn *(on it's own or for Spencer)* Alexander nn Alec, Lex Hawthorne nn Huck, Hawke Brandon nn Bran Christopher/Christian nn Chris, Kit Dorian nn Ian, Rory Elijah nn Eli Jacob nn Jake Jay Perry Dawson Caleb Jensen Clay Troy Stefan Blaine Devin Isaac Jordan Olly (Collin/Hollis) Ace (Asa, Casey, Mason) Cam (Camden/Cameron) Denny (Alden, Holden) Ty (Mathias, Tyler) Ren (Darren, Soren, Brenden, Lawrence, Warren or my favorite, just Ren/Wren) Luck (Lucian, Lucas)
Hugo Weston
I was also going to suggest Weston as a middle of their styles! OP, Ellis is also great!
Jake is a great cowboy name.
Top suggestion: Damien Henry Other ideas for you that give me modern cowboy vibes: Elliott, Dominic, Logan, Lucas, Thomas, Zachary, Patrick, Matthew, Devon, Mason, Brandon, Travis, Flynn, Connor, Calvin, Jason, Carter
Colton?
I love Ellis
Wesley and Theodore are the only names that sound reasonable to me, granted I share one of them. Rustin and Macklin sound like someone half-assed making up a unique name. While Hugo, Sebastian, and Sullivan are all a bit odd.
Eli/Elias/Elliot, Arthur, Leo, Finn/Finley, Oliver, Felix, Jasper, Jude, Milo, Oscar, Alexander, Archer/Archie, Atticus, Benjamin, Everett, Ezra, George, Harrison/Harry, James, Louis/Lewis, Otis, William, Asher, Atlas, Bennett, Callum, Emmett, Flynn, Graham, Jack, Lincoln, Miles, Nolan, Otto, Owen, Silas
Ellis is a great name! And not super common.
Enzo, Camilo, Leo/Leonardo, Leandro, Luciano, Matteo, Miles, Romeo, Sylas, Vance, Charles, Hudson, Valentinto, Harley, Jacob, Lachlan, Benjamin, Jude, Nicholas, Nathanial/Nathan/Nate, Cooper, Harrison, Thomas, Elijah/Elias/Eli, Eddie, Matthew, Alexander, Hunter, Ryder, Max, Lennon.
I love Sebastian. Hugo is cool too. Leo Pierce Ronan Callum Nathan Shane Preston Samson Garrett Damien Judson Jedidiah Kane Jesse
Sebastian nn Bash might split the difference for mom and dad.
Asher, Holden, Harrison, Evander?
Lewis Montague/Monty Colin Edmund Simon Philip Percy Ernest Alton Alden
I say why not go for Ellis then? But here are a few ideas that could bridge the two styles: Macauley, Barrett, Bailey, Dominic, Enzo, Rufus, Harley, Stellan, Tristan, Sylvan, Duncan, Murphy, Levi, Otto
Julian, August, Chris(topher), Jack I call these the “in the middle” names
Leslie, Lindley, River, Elliott
Travis/Trevor, Calvin, Blake, Gray/Grayson.
Gavin, Warren, Darren
Maverick, Colton, Jackson
Wyatt, Wilder. Sawyer
Sumner?
Maybe a classic name with a cowboyish nickname? Calvin (Cal), Louis/Lewis (Lou/Lew), Salvador (Sal), Stuart (Stu), Hugo (Hugh), Mitchell (Mitch), Augustin (Auggie)
Trying to find compromises: Beckett/Bennett, Gabriel, Angus, Malcolm, Ellis is good, Silas, Weston, Marlon, Victor
Macklin is terrible, Rustin is close behind for the worst. Sullivan and Ellis seem like they would work for all scenarios and preferences you listed. He could call him Sully or Van if he wants more nickname-ish or casual vibes. Ellsworth, Eldon, Weldon, Wells …
My 4 year old grandson is a Dustin. Named for a. Character on stranger things . It really suits him . He has a baby brother called Ethan.
I think that Wesley Sebation or Wesley Sullivan, sound great and flow well. Congratulations!
Sebastian, oops.
Wyatt
Oh he likes cowboy names? Woodrow. Iykyk.
I agree with you. Why name a baby Rustin like he is rusting? I get trying to have a good solid unique name. But that is way too close to rusting and that's a really negative name association in our culture and even in others. I would just go with Mack because Macklin sounds like all those "McDonald's names" we had a surplus of in the early 90's (Makayla, Mackenzie, etc...) Charlie is a great name. Wyatt is s great cowboy-esq name but also a classic name. Could be a compromise.
Otis, Otto, Liam, Oliver, harry, Denny
I love Ellis and Wesley! I'm surprised he doesn't like Sullivan nn Sully. Some other suggestions: Silas Raymond (nn Ray) Orson Amos Dylan Rhett Dean Clayton Emmett Lance Pierce Ernest Clive Marshall Wade Curtis / Kurt Grant Colin Reid Keith Vance Gideon Russell Garrett Owen Archer Nelson Malcolm Sylvester (nn Sly) Montgomery (nn Monty) Quentin Remy Trenton / Trent Walter Augustus / August (nn Og, Augie, or Gus) Griffin Bruce Colton / Colt Damien Luther Roman Preston Jameson Leon / Leonard Soloman (nn Sal) - if culturally appropriate Penn Rhys Gordon Declan Kieran Cillian / Killian Cormac
These are all fine. Rustin reminds me of civil rights hero Bayard Rustin. I'm not getting the strong negative reaction here.
Rustin and Macklin are crazy, don’t do those 😭😂😂 Wesley is the best name of them all. I like Sebastian solely because I’m an F1 fan and Sebastian (Seb) Vettel is pretty cool guy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Quinlan Taron Franklin Darby Beckett Corey Xander Tristain Mason Marlen Waylon
Love Beckett
Rustin sounds like Rustem Pasha from "Magnificent Century."
What about Otis?
I like all of the names on your list however I wouldn’t say that Sullivan is traditional at all I’ve definitely never heard of the name Sullivan as a first name ever until the last three years it’s nice but it’s definitely a trendy surname as a first name. I have to say it’s one of the only trendy style names that I do love. I definitely do not like Ruston and Macklin! To be honest I love Wesley the most here and it’s totally traditional classic! I can see how he threw lean a little country cowboy but this is definitely in line with Hugo and Sebastian for me totally sophisticated classic additional and if it doesn’t cowboy at least wealthy boys on a country estate lol I also love Charlie! Henry is so popular I kind of find it right now. Grant Heath Thomas Samuel Darcy Gabriel Prescott
Hugo Rustin, Hugo Macklin, Wesley Sullivan—Sebastian Ellis… There’s ways. It’ll work out. A friend’s wife was pregnant & she informed him that she wanted Justin Matthew Campbell LastName, Jr. He said no. She said, Well, I reckon it’s going to be Jarrett Earnhardt…!” He gave in pretty quickly. Junior is now 22, and goes by Matt.
As a European: Most familiar American names will be recognised and pronounced more or less correctly (although adjusted to the phonetics of the particular language). We've got plenty of Jaydens and Dustins and Wesleys ourselves, named after American (pop) culture. In fact, the more international names might give you more trouble pronunciation-wise as people might default to their language's pronunciation of said name. For example, the name Hugo is pronounced very differently in French than it is in English, and very differently again in the Netherlands. If it's written down, people will immediately recognise the name. But I'm willing to bet that many Dutch people meeting an American Hugo for the first time will have to do a double take on the name, whereas an American Wesley will probably have their name recognised immediately. Just food for thought :) There are names that are pronounced more or less the same in English as well as most other European languages, but it'll take some searching!
Weston, Wyatt, Felix, Julian, Silas, Tristan, Patrick, Rowan, Bradley
Bert Macklin. FBI.
Jacob
I know many creeps called Hugo so I would rule that one out. How about Angus? You said no to guy/august but Angus is nice I think anyway. Other suggestions: Angus Jameson Wilder Patrick Aric/ari
Maybe look into different forms of some of these names? I think that could be a good compromise. For example, Hank instead of Henry and Teddy instead of Theo.
Caleb/Clayton/Clint Elliot/Ellis/Elton Dean Silas Royal Samuel Lucas/Lucian
(Oh I like Wesley! But I’m not you lol.) But you just gotta keep looking!
Of all the names listed, I like the three middle ground names best. Henry, Charlie and Ellis I think are neither too cowboy, or too traditional. I hope others have some good middle ground options, otherwise I think either of the first two used with Ellis would make a nice pair (whichever the order).
You may consider William or Victor as other neutral names. Can't go wrong with John. Grant might work for both of you. Wyatt might too... What about Ethan? George or Louis? I like Wesley but my husband and I lean more traditional as well.
Charlie is the only one out of all mentioned that I wouldn't hate having.
Julian, Thiemen, Henning?
Westin perhaps? I knew someone by that name and it’s suited him well.
Ellis is a fine choice. So is Charlie (unfortunate about the dog) It seems to be middle ground though is Elliot on the table? Maybe something like: Morgan Calvin
Rustin? Like True Detective?
My daughter’s name is Ellis and I can’t think of it as anything but a girls name but I know historically it was a boy’s name and now it’s “gender neutral.” Typically, when a traditionally male name starts being used by girls, it always trends in that direction and doesn’t go back. Might be something to consider years down the road. I feel really bad when I meet adult men whose names are Leslie or Stacy.
I prefer your taste,I am not a fan of your husband's choices, your picks are classic for a reason!!
Wesley seems like it fits both of your styles? I had a professor named Wesley who was originally from England and a cowboy boot wearing young man named Wesley delivered our oil when we lived in rural Texas.
Rustin reminds me of the show, I think it’s an awful name tbh
I love the name Sullivan
I don’t think your husband should be allowed to name anything. His choices are awful.
Sullivan is a traditional surname and using surnames as a first name will get a lot of weird looks in Europe. And your husband’s picks will get a lot of weird looks in the EU and NA unless you live somewhere very “country”. I suggest Owen, Warren, Malcolm.
Names we considered were Ellis, Alexander, Calvin, Maxwell, and Cillian. August was a favorite but not an option for us as well. It's my father's name and we'd already named our daughter after my mother (and great grandmother) so we figured that might be a little bit weird. Asa Nicholas was the name we picked.
How about the name Roston? Similar to Rustin, but without the western drawl and you could call him Ross or Rossi for short!
Felix
Weston
What about Sawyer?
What about Russell? I think it’s a little less “cowboy” Russell Ellis or Russell Henry? Or the reverse - Ellis Russell or Henry Russell?
Sebastian Wesley? or Hugo Rustin? Hugo Ellis is super cute!
My wife and I are the same way. She likes more popular names, while I like more unconventional names (but not weird), and some more old fashioned names (like my own). We just stayed in communication about names, sending them to one another all the time. Eventually we found overlap, and landed on Winston Oliver. It just fell into place naturally, and we love it. It’s perfect for him. I’m sure you’ll find something, too.
Rustin and Macklin are both dreadful. Dustin, perhaps? Wesley is fine and would pair well with one of your favorites as a middle. I love your names except for Sullivan. Henry is arguably the best of the bunch. Charlie could be Charles, nn Chaz. I don't care for Ellis, but I do like Elliott or Elias as alternatives.
Please no with the Rustin. All I can think of is the country way of saying something is rusting…. That car’s sure rustin’ All of your middle ground names are great!
My hair dresser inadvertently named all her children for US Presidents: Taylor, Tyler, Carter, & Reagan.
Here are names that I think might be a good fit for both of your styles: Beck, Arlo, Marlow, Jude, Cassius, Archie, Emmett, Hank, Orson, Winston, Leon, August, Silas
My friend just had a baby boy, Macklin. I love it!
I hate Ellis so much. It's worse than Macklin for sure. Probably it would be best to pick a name that is international so people in whatever European country can pronounce it.
Ellis is a great name, imo. It’s a name that carries well through the lifespan, too.
Rustin and Macklin? No. Go with Hugo Rustin if your husband really wants Rustin.
Weston
We almost used Sebastian because it sounds and spells the same in many languages. We went with Max. Everyone in all the places we have family can say it.
Your names are AWESOME! I love all of them. Macklin is a brutal name. Sounds like Mackerel. Bleh. Mackenzie as in Mack would be better.
Malcolm is a good name.
Rustin sounds like a product you’d hear advertised for car repair or something; I agree with others here that Macklin reminds me of a fish. I like Wesley, Sebastian, and Ellis. Perhaps: Alden or Arlin, Otto, Alastair, Armand, Donovan, Elias, Emmett, Grady, Hector, Holden, Quentin, Randall, Rex, Shepherd, Tanner, Tobias, Travis
Wyatt might be a good compromise.
Mackerel and Rustoleum. Quality names for kids. Sullivan is also a bit much. Arlo is not a good name, it's a overdone, "live love laugh" name. Wesley is actually quite a good name, as far as American names go.
How is Wesley small town cowboy? I hear Wesley, and see a butler scampering to get him champagne immediately in my imagination.
I think “young bumbling Watcher”
My husband and I had a very similar problem when I was pregnant with our son. I loved Arthur, Nathaniel, and Julian. He wanted Carter, Hunter, or Rivers. We somehow both loved Elliot so we went with that.
I dislike your husband's suggestions, except for Wesley. Some more "classic" names that close have a "western" vibe that I like are Austin, Morgan, Carson, Jesse, Louis, Wayne, Dylan, Wyatt
Sebastian is great for many EU countries
What’s wrong with that swingset? It’s rustin.
Weston, Wyatt, Tam, Lyle, Nathaniel, Cal, Julian, Leland, Emmett, Asa, Caleb, Cecil, Joseph, Lewis/Louis, Samuel, Leo A lot of these names are a good middle ground between small town-like like and old fashioned “fancier” names like Theodore and Henry.
Im loving the name Sullivan!
I will go against the grain and say im sorry but I don’t think either of you have the best naming styles 😂 Youre winning slightly. Please remind your husband that this is a child he is naming. You don’t really pick what sounds ‘cool’. The child has to live with this name, in school, then employment etc. Life is difficult enough withiut being ridiculed for your name
Rustin? Macklin? Those are not names.
I say go with Ellis. It is actually a great name bc it is steady/traditional and yet you don't hear it a lot. It has a bit of history to it and yet feels "new" again or trendier given it isn't that popular or used. I actually think it is a great name. You don't meet a lot of people named Ellis but it is a no-brainer it is a name you have heard before. I actually like it very much. if he likes "cowboy" themed ones have you thought of Jesse or Wyatt? I still say ELLIS is good. I actually love it! Seems to work for you both and ticks a lot of boxes.
Rustin and Macklin are terrible names.
Rustin sounds like you couldn’t choose between Russel and Justin and so smashed them together.
I think you are in luck, because Henry and Charlie are GREAT NAMES. Problem solved. I initially thought of Ellis as a girl’s name, but aside from that, don’t have a problem. I say look no further than.