Another request for help w/ boy names

Ok, well obviously I didn't get the advice about not asking for people's opinions before the boys come and I wish I had....I'm so totally confused now and I'm really getting discouraged with this whole naming process b/c I just don't LOVE any combination like I LOVED my daughter's name....


The thing is that we've kinda narrowed down the list to

Nathaniel and Nicholas (Nate/Nathan and Colin- b/c Nick doesn't sound good with our last name)

Ryan and Colin

William and Nathaniel (Will & Nate)

However at other times we have had the names Alexander, Lucas (mostly me), William and Evan...

I really like the idea of a longer formal name and use of nickname, but everytime I tell people we are thinking about nicknaming Nicholas Colin...they look at me like I'm crazy. So then we started thinking about Ryan/Colin...which I like, but again I like the idea of longer first name and my husband thinks it sounds a little Irish (which neither of us are

The other issue is that we can't come up with middle names that we love.
So, I was thinking
Nathaniel Joseph and Nicholas Ryan
Colin Alexander and Ryan Nathaniel

Can anyone offer any other suggestions b/c I am finding that Nicholas is really difficult to find middle names to work with it...at least with our last name.

I would be more than grateful for any help b/c at this point I think it's going to be a miracle if they even get names b/c the combos seem to change every other day

 

I don't get where Colin would be a nickname for Nicholas, so maybe that's why people look at you funny? And I think with Nicholas, it is inevitable that people will call him Nick at some point.

Anyway...

I like Colin and Ryan(and those do sound Irish, which I have done with my kids names), Connor and Ryan, William and Nathaniel or Joseph or Jonathan or Michael or Andrew.....

 

I really like the Colin Alexander and Ryan Nathaniel combo. That is really pretty. Plus, if they want to use the "big" name, it's there in the middle. In exchange, they also have the short first name to learn to spell in pre-K! I was nearly held back because my name was so darn long that it took me FOREVER to learn.

Hugs,
Dominique

 

I do think Colin is confusing as a "nickname" for Nicholas. I think if you want to call him Colin, go ahead and name him that. And Irish names like Colin and Ryan are popular/widespread enough in the US that I don't think it's strange at all to use them if you're not Irish. (Now if you went with Seamus or Siobhan, that would be a different story. )

My favorite combo is probably William and Nathaniel/Will and Nate, but I also like Ryan and Colin, and I like Evan in combination with any of the others.

Good luck in your pick! I know how hard boy names can be.

 

My friend named her som Nicholas and uses the nickname "Cole".

I like all your choices, but I'll add my two cents, if you don't like the nickname "Nick" then don't go with Nicholas. It will definitely be shortened by his friends, it's too easy to do.

 

I love all your names. I actually had all of them on my list also, but unfortunately my husband vetoed most of them! I agree that you shouldn't name them a formal name that has a nickname you don't like. People will call him that anyway. My brother's name is Daniel and my mom hates danny and I grew up seeing her get so mad every time someone called him that! Personally, I like Ryan Nicholas because that is my son's name! Ryan is my favorite boy name. We are having issues with sounding too Irish also. We are thinking Sean and Liam, which I think is even more Irish sounding than Ryan and Colin. How about Ryan Nicholas and Nathaniel Joseph. I think Ryan and Nate sounds cute.

 

I like nathaniel and william although i am somewhat biased we call our nathaniel 'nay nay' so dont feel limited to just nate and william was on the short list for our twins . good luck .

 

Will and Nate sounds like Will and Grace to me - just an immediate association you should be aware of
My friend named her boys William and Lewis.
Colin Alexander and Ryan Nathaniel is my favorite. We used famil.y names for middle names. Some of our favoreite boy names - just to muddy the waters- which we didnt get to use (yet??) -
Phinaeus (Finn for short)
Cole
Elias
Ezekiel (Zeke)
Zane
Jude (Judah) (we used as a middle name)
I know alot of people want thir twins names to sound good together - but I think it just adds more complication to the naming process