Which of these names would you choose?

Yes, sometimes I am just this obvious. However, Matthew does mean "gift from God."

Hmm - these are good choices I actually like most of them. I really dislike Cameron and Finn though and am not too keen on Connor or Benjamin.

I like Alfred (but only if he was known as Freddie/Fred/Alfie - Alf is terrible). Aaron depends on the pronunciation - I like "a-ran" but not "air-un". Arthur is pretty cute and will work as well for a little boy as an adult. Joseph is a nice name but it's my little brother's name so it wouldn't be something I would choose for my own child! Joshua is a lovely name, especially shortened to Josh. I like Matthew (shortened to Matty, although I lprefer that for a girl). Seth is a good name, but it just doesn't seem to suit a very little boy very well.

So, good choices. The way I would narrow it down would be to look at lists of the most popular babies' names in the UK. Rule out anything that appears in the top 20 or so as they'll likely still be super-common.

Here's the list for England and Wales in 2003:

Boys' Names

Jack
Joshua
Thomas
James
Daniel
Oliver
Benjamin
Samuel
William
Joseph
Harry
Matthew
Lewis
Luke
Ethan
George
Adam
Alfie
Callum
Alexander
Ryan
Mohammed
Cameron
Connor
Charlie
Ben

So I think that Arthur would be my pick

Matthew, Benjamin, Arthur; I wouldn't use Connor or Finn because they are both popular and trendy names at the moment and Alfred is just yucky.

Of the ones listed I like or Joshua.

I wonder how closesly that matches with the top 20 in Scotland though?

What's the last name; I'd like to see how the combination sounds.

Aaron - means high mountain or exalted. I associate this name with Judaism too much, so unless the baby's going to be Jewish I'd be surprised if anyone picked this name. Nonetheless, I like it.
Alfred - elf council. Sounds like a butler's name..
Arthur - bear man. A nice name. I tend not to be able to pronounce it in any other way except with that fake British accent.
Benjamin - son of the right hand. Now, you're naming youd kid Benjamin but Ben. So you might as well choose Ben bcs nobody will call him Benjamin.
Cameron - crooked nose. One of my favourite names.
Connor - dog/wolf lover. Nice meaning. My other favourite.
Finn - either white or a person from Finland. Too ineffective.
Joseph - he will add. Makes me think of Stalin..
Matthew - gift of yahwey. Matt. Period. Boring.
Seth - placed. pillar. It came from Egyptian Set, which is, according to some people where the word Satan came from..

My number one choice is Connor, then Cameron. What is the last name if I may inquire?

Connor

The Scottish list was only the top 10, but it still had Cameron, Ben, Connor and some of the others.

I prefer Matthew, in fact it was one of the names I was considering for my son.

I think I like Cameron the best of these. It does partly depend on what sounds good with the last name.

I like Seth and Finn - those are both great!!......I hate all the other ones...

I'm sorry but Conner just makes me think of Lacy Peterson's baby that was killed

Dammit!

The baby's surname will be Whyte.

I like Connor and Seth.

I thought the same thing, but I still like the name Connor. I doubt I'd name my child that, though, as I'd probably think of the Lacy Peterson thing everytime I said the kid's name. However, since Cain is in Scotland, I'm sure that wouldn't create a problem.

I used to go out with a guy called Finn.

Its a great name for a kid and an adult.

Will it fit with your surname - have you checked all of them for that?

Then I definitely like Cameron.

My personal favorite of these names is Joshua. Of course, it depends on your last name, what you and your partner prefer, and other things.

Since the baby is going to have a tame last name, may I suggest a name that I find beautiful, but is not common nor weird? It's Theodore. I am in love with it. It's unique enough to be special, but common enough not to be weird.

Joshua, my Godson who lives with me is called Josh and my son is called Matthew....... and if I might add Benjamin is pretty cool too IMHO the rest are awful especially the "American" ones which I feel should be discarded along with Sherman and Brad....... No offense

Weird selection of names. I think the only way to choose is also by knowing the last name. To make a proper name you need to evaluate the whole package.
For sure, never Alfred or Joseph. You want an "Al" or "Joe" in your family? These names conjure up pictures of old fat men to me. Joshua was a fad name, forget it. Finn? Never heard of that.
Main object is not to be cute or novel, and #1 priority - never name a kid something he'll hate you for the rest of his life, or until he has a name change.

Ha. I live very close to there. Last weekend the police had to be called because Scott's mother and Laci's mother got into a heated argument on the front lawn. Laci's mom didn't appreciate the other side taking things out of the house.

benjamin or seth

Theodore is lovely, but its taken months of wrangling between my partner and I to come with the existing list - I can't introduce any new names now!

That is so sad. Scott's mother seems to be about as "in denial" as a person could be. And this siding-off continues to tear at these two families.... Scott is a classic sociopath.

I don't like any of them, not even a little bit.

True. Supposedly there had been an agreement when Scott's mother could go to the house to move out stuff, but she apparently decided to just do it when she felt like it. She and Scott's brother showed up in a big U-Haul type truck and were moving out things. I guess I'd say Laci's mother had a valid reason to be angry. The neighbors called the cops before it got out of hand. In the end Laci's mother left but she had someone stay behind and take photographs of what was being taken out of the house.

Whyte?

In that case, Arthur Whyte *definitely* has the best ring to it, to my ear at least!

Joshua, Connor or Finn.

Arthur was one of my partner's suggestions - he REALLY likes it too!

Seth

I like Connor, I think Connor Whyte sounds nice, and I didnt think of the name of the baby in the Peterson case until I read the comments, since the case is over here, I dont think people in Scotland would think of it. The other names are nice too though

Mathew, or better yet just plain Matt. Dont use anything fancy.

Definitely Seth- that's a wicked name, and Finn comes a close second. It's hard to make fun of or shorten, it's not unheard of but its unusual,and its easy to spell.

They're my two favourites!

Great minds ... Let me know which one you pick. What are you leaning towards?

I like Benjamin and Joshua.

It really depends on what your surname is. I feel it is most important to have flow from the christian name to the surname. For example, a short christian name generally flows with a longer surname. It is very important that children are not humiliated by their names, that is really what is most important. Some children have to fight for their lives in the school playground thanks to their parents silly ideas about names.

Finn, but only if he is born in Finland.

Depends on Dad - he's not keen on either of those two and I'm not keen his choices.
It'll be so much easier if its a girl!

There was a slim chance it was going to be born in Sweden for a while, but certainly won't be in Finland!

Not when its a teenager, it won't!! What girl's name are you gonna pick?
What do you think of the name Ishmael? (pronounced Ish-male)

That's one of my favourite names (since reading "Snow Falling on Cedars") but I don't know that I cold actually inflict it on a kid and it has no obvious shortened form but "Ish" wwhich is awful. "Mae" perhaps?

Oh my god, I read that too, for 'A' level, that's where I got the name from!! Lovely, lovely Ishmael. That's going to be the name of my first son, regardless. I toyed with Hatsue for a girl but I'm not Japanese so I'm thinking maybe not... my partner not happy about either name though!

I just wanted to mother him, so that's probably why I'd like the name for a son...That book was one of the best I have ever read, and that character!! Have you read anything else he's written (David Guterson)? "East of the Mountains" was pretty good, but "Our Lady of the Forest" was so mediochre that it hurt. The more of his work I read, the more I realise that he is completely sex-obsessed - it's the motivation for every single character he writes in some way. Which is fine for the first book of his you read, but as you go on, it gets more and more irritating. Take a cold shower before you write for goodness sake!!!

But Ishmael was lovely. And I do love the name so, so much. It would be very tempting, but it is rather unusual.

Yeah, same as!
I remember the sex parts really well, because our class erupted laughing at some bits... I haven't read anything else that he's written (at the moment I don't have time to read anything that isn't on my course) but Guterson's description is bad in some places- like when he says about "Ishmael's balls slapping on Hatsue's thigh"... so I can believe that all his books are not that great.
Still, some bits were beautiful... when they're in the strawberry fields, and he spies Hatsue between the canes... and when their on the beach and he tastes the salt on her skin... it's on the verge of Mills & Boon, I admit, but I just love it!!
Yeah, good old Ish... I want to be a journalist partly just cos I'd love to be a reporter like him I think

In that case, I prefer "Bogdar the Magnificent".

Ishmael made it into my initial list but was weeded out. If it's a girl, it's going to be Neva.

Pronounced like Nee-vah or Nev-er?
It's a nice name, unusual for sure... where did you come across it?

Nee-vah.
I know a lady with that name, who has always been very kind to me. But I also like it because its uncommon and traditional sounding.

It's nice to name your kid after someone, I think. My mum was named after my Gran's best friend, which I think is really sweet (though she hates her name with a passion so maybe not)
Yeah, Neva, I like it.... sounds Irish.

And it goes with Whyte!!

Definitely NOT: Aaron, Alfred, Cameron, Benjamin, or Seth.
I would have to choose Seth, but I guess you also have to look at the initials.

Joseph or Joshua. I checked Joseph because it's the name I picked for my son's middle name.

I like Connor, but especially with a boy, how the name fits with your last name is important. The first and last name should sound good together. And, I said with a boy especially, since a lot of gals still take their husband's last name whereas men keep theirs for life.

Joseph and Matthew are the only names I like.

i ge5t recently lo5t my baby~i wa5 6 week5~but i would cho5e matthew becau5e it5 a well known name~and it i5 ea5y for the baby to 5pell later on~plu5 i ge5t love the name~congrat5