The Name Conundrum

Aaaahhhh, the name conundrum. Scott and I do not agree on names very easily. So while everyone I know who's pregnant already has their baby's name picked out and has probably gotten a big jump start on all the cute monogramming, Scott and I are stuck.

There are two names we both love, but he likes one better and I like the other better. Figures. Then there's one particular "A" name that I loved when I was pregnant with Mister and Pumpkin that Scott always vetoed, but has agreed to leave on the table this time. I just don't know if I love it enough to have 3 boys with "A" names. That'll be SUPER confusing, especially since it's already sort of similar to the ones we have. Plus, (surprise, surprise) it's Scott's least favorite of the 3 so I doubt that I'd even be able to use it even if it was the one I loved the most.

The names we agree on so far aren't super common, but they aren't too out-there either. But lately I've been dreading it when people ask if we've come up with a name yet. I know it's all well-meaning, but I can always tell by their reactions that one name in particular is not one that most people like very much, so I've gotten to the point where most of the time I just prefer to say "no, we haven't decided on anything yet." Because no pregnant lady likes to hear a name she obviously loves enough to name her child (and has put quite a lot of thought into) get the dreaded, "Oh, hmm, that's different...." or "Ok, interesting...." So don't be offended if I am not thrilled to share our name choices with you, it's just that I'm a little sensitive about the names we have spent so much time thinking about that people don't seem to love.

But, all that being said, we are still open to suggestions. We just haven't found anything we like better than the 3 already on the table, but that doesn't mean they are the only ones up for consideration. So, if you'd like to help us in our search, here are a couple of guidelines that the names should meet:

1) Nothing on the "Top 50 Boys Names" - too popular/trendy
2) Not another "A" name unless it's spectacular and not over-done
3) We like traditional-sounding names that are less commonly used than the usual suspects.
4) We tend to like names that are also last names.
5) We prefer names that can't be shortened to nicknames too easily (think something like Ben for Benjamin or similar).
6) Nothing that sounds made up. Or from such a crazy culture that nobody would ever be able to pronounce it.
7) International-sounding names are welcome.

I know, that's a long list, but they're more like guidelines instead of fast rules we're following. If it meets most of them but maybe not all of them, that's fine. We're open to suggestions so please, suggest away! :)