You’re at the supermarket, in the chocolate aisle, picking out some Valentine’s Day goodies to give to your co-workers next week. You’re also chatting with a fellow shopper who’s looking for a big box of chocolates for his wife. He seems pretty excited about something. He says:
We just found out we are having a boy and would love to name him after my dad, but we don’t like the name Gary! What are good alternatives?
You congratulate him, and though you could potentially give him dozens of ideas on the spot, you decide to stay focused and stick to a total of five baby name suggestions.
But here’s the fun part: Instead of blurting out the first five names you come up with (which is what you’d be forced to do in real life) you get to press a magical “pause” button, brainstorm for a bit, and then “unpause” the scenario to offer her the best five names you can think of.
Here are some things to keep in mind as you brainstorm:
- Be independent. Decide on your five names before looking at anyone else’s five names.
- Be sincere. Would you honestly suggest these particular baby names out loud to a stranger in a supermarket?
- Five names only! All names beyond the first five in your comment will be either deleted or replaced with nonsense words.
Finally, here’s the request again:
We just found out we are having a boy and would love to name him after my dad, but we don’t like the name Gary! What are good alternatives?
Which five baby names are you going to suggest?
Oooh, this is fun! My first radio appearance was to discuss the falling popularity of the name Gary. So here are the names I would recommend:
Gar(r)et(h), Geirr, Garfield, ***, Gerard
All derivatives of the same root as Gary.
(Note: If my suggestions count as six instead of five, please delete ‘***’ from the list.)
[Edited to conform to the 5 name rule. Sorry! -Nancy]
Garrett
Garth
Garis
Garrison
Gray
Garnett
Osgar
Garner
Garvan
Gray
Grayson,
Dougray,
Gray
Garrett
Grady
Graham
Grant
Grayson
Gareth
Garrett
Gerard
Grayson
Harry
Garrett
Garrison
Gannon
Garner
Perry
[Edited to conform to the 5 name rule. -Nancy]
Garth
Garrick
Grant
Graydon
Cooper (it works best if the baby’s born at high noon)
Garron
Garrick
Gray
Grady
Garrison
Garrett
Gareth
Garrick
Garth
Garvan
Garrett
Gray
Garrison
Grayson
Harry
Gray
Garrett
Harry
Garrison
Geraint
Garroway
McGary
Calgary
Gregory
Edgar
Asger
Berengar
Gabriel
Gero
Lance
Gray
Gareth
Garrison
Garrett
Graham