A reader named Tamela wrote to me yesterday. She has one son named Hudson and is expecting her second son in a couple of months. She’d like some name suggestions for baby boy #2.
Hudson comes from a surname, so the first place I’d look is other surnames. Here are a few ideas:
| Archer Baxter Bennett Blake Carlisle Carter Everett Fletcher | Marlow Mitchell Maxwell Norris Parker Ramsey Reeve Ridley | Roscoe Sawyer Spencer Tate Tanner Thatcher Travis Westley |
(At first I was only going to omit names ending with -son. Then I decided to cut all names with n-endings, just to get a good range of sounds in there.)
Do you like any of the above with Hudson? What other names would you suggest to Tamela?
Update (3/14): Tamela has to get some adoption paperwork squared away, so she needs to select a name within the next few days.
Here are a few more facts:
- The baby’s surname will be a Spanish name that starts with an S. Think Silva, or Santos. (Neither of these is the actual surname.)
- Because the baby is coming from Russia, Tamela would really like something that’s “at least a little Russian.”
- Current favorites include Maxwell, Luis (nn Louie) and George (Tamela’s father’s name). She also mentioned Matteo in this comment.
I really like both George and Maxwell with Hudson. I think either one would sound great as a first name.
Matteo doesn’t strike me as being a great match to Hudson, in terms of style. (Fits perfectly with the surname, though.)
I’m undecided on Luis. I don’t think it’s a terrible match, but I don’t think it would fit as well with Hudson as Maxwell or George would.
As for Russian names, let’s see…Maksim or Maksimilian are both similar to Maxwell. Yuri is a version of George. (Also a cosmonaut!)
Or perhaps one of these Russian names would work as a middle:
| Aleksandr Benedikt | Eduard Filipp | Isaak Luka | Nikolai Viktor |
(I picked these because they’re so close to their English equivalents. Almost like they’re just English names with a Russian twist.)
As far as combinations go, I’m partial to George Maksim and George Maksimilian. Both are similar to George Maxwell, which Tamela mentioned in her comment, but they look and sound a bit more Russian.
What other thoughts/ideas do you have for Tamela?
Update (12/1): The baby’s name has been chosen! Scroll down to the last comment to see what it is.
I would also add the name Thomas/Tom to your list. It can be a surname as well as a first name (I’ve met quite a few people with Thomas as a surname, and quite a few with it as a first name).
The first name that came to my head was Michael, although it’s not really a surname.
From the list, I love Carlisle…and I think Fletcher, Marlow and Tanner could work well too
A friend of mine has one son named Hudson and another named Chase. I think the names go nicely together.
Blake is lovely (it’s my maiden name…a last name but not common). What about other English or anglo-Irish surnames? Carmichael, Donnelly, Raleigh, Flannery, Hale, Bentley, Percy–just taken from random books on my shelf (the authors last names…). The list could go on.
HOw about Matteo? Would that work..or George Maxwell?? I should have mentioned we are adopting this child from Russia..A little Russian would be nice in the name somehow?
I think Reid goes with almost everything. Okay, not almost everything but lots and lots of names.
How about George Victor (or Viktor if you’d like a more Russian spelling).
Ivan, Felix, Nikolai and Gregory are all Russian, too.
Thank you Nancy and others! I like George Maksim too…My husband’s dad’s name is George too. I’m not sure about having the exact name as my father-in-law..Does Maksim George sound right? Any thoughts on that??
I think Maksim George sounds great. (And I also like the nickname Maks/Max.)
The only drawback I can see to putting Maksim first is that the s-sound of the nickname will blend with the s of the surname. That could be irritating, but I don’t think it’s a deal breaker.
Maksim George sounds like a great name :)!
Just heard from Tamela. Here’s what she says:
Congrats!
HI, I just had my second son and named him hudson. My first son’s name is Nolan, i think they sound great together, and Nolan isnt very popular, so you wont have the issue of more than one nolan. and if you are looking for middle name….my son is Nolan Reid.