Fiona and Dennis are expecting their third child imminently -- a brother for Marianne Isabella and Kassandra Mathilde (you may remember this post about Kassandra's name).
Fiona writes:
"Marianne's name was picked out way before we considered seriously having children (not a Jane Austen reference, but rather heard on a TV presenter!). Kassandra's name was decided by a happy combination of our individual name lists. I had names such as Alexandra, Cecily, Christina, Helena, Astrid plus leftover runners up from Marianne of Susannah and Marissa ... my husband's list included Kassandra, and it became an instant decision when we shared lists. Both middle names were picked from our family trees, and we will likely do the same for our son.
For our son, we cannot find common ground!
My husband's shortlist (alphabetical): Alto, Sebastian, Benedikt, Christoph, Dieter, Edgar, Frederick, Henrik, Jasper, Josef, Magnus, Remko, Stefan, Torsten, Wolfgang.
My shortlist (order of preference): Rafferty, Valentin, Lionel, Bertram/and, Gabriel, Anthony, Edmund. Had it been a girl, I would be championing Verity, Romily or Bryony.
From these lists we struggle to see overlap - picking one from each other's list leaves us with Edgar and Anthony, but really neither of us is happy.
We do have a mutually liked name, but it's an outlier, a name we came across through Formula 1 racing - Valtteri. This is the Finnish version of Walter. Finnish friends advise it is a "fairly popular, middle class name" and have confirmed pronunciation similar to Valerie - VALtteRI - that is, a similar rhythm to Emily. I think you can probably see why I like it, with the rhythms of Rafferty and Anthony and the Val of Valentin. My husband is also liking it. We have been sitting on the name for over 6 weeks and although it is becoming familiar to us and feeling really usable, it is such a wildcard!!
We live in Germany in the tri-border, multi-lingual region of Germany/France/Switzerland. Our children will grow up bilingual English/German. We are British Australian by language, culture and citizenship but are attempting to integrate ourselves into the local culture and language. International names are not a stumbling block, and well accepted in this part of the world."
※ ※ ※ ※
It sounds like Valtteri might be the name for you. When it comes to names, I'm very much a believer in Vive la difference, and would never discourage anyone from using name that they love. Were you living in Britain, I would be weighing up the potential issues that unusual names can present to give you a balanced view [as I said, I still would be in favour overall], but given the multi-lingual cultural melting pot that you live in, you seem perfectly placed to use Valtteri without pitfalls.
The world is getting smaller all the time, so I say, go for it! But, if Valtteri just isn't quite "the one," here are some other suggestions:
Variations on your lists:
Constantin – Like Valentin, Constantin is a suave and smooth name with a Roman pedigree. Constantin is a French spelling; Konstantin is German.
Wolfram – Between Wolfgang and Bertram is valiant Wolfram (which can also be spelled Wulfram). Wolfram von Eschenbach (c.1160-c.1220) was a German knight who is regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature.
Thurstan – Torsten is the modern Danish form of the Old Norse name Þórstæinn. The cognate English form is Thurstan; widely used in the Middle Ages, it later survived among the nobility in North England, giving it a refined and dapper quality. Another similar alternative from Norse legend is Thorben.
Carsten – Another similar sounding name to Torsten is Carsten, a Low German and Danish form of Christian, with a smooth style and sound.
Linus – Part Lionel, part Magnus. Linus is a quirky and friendly name from Greek mythology. It's loosing its Peanuts association these days, making way for a new image to form. With Rufus, Magnus, Fergus and Jonas all in the quirky-cool category, Linus has great credentials for joining them.
Bastian – Slim down Sebastian and keep the B from Benedikt and Bertram/Bertrand, and German short-form Bastian looks like it could be a winner.
Emmerich – The same sounds found in Frederick and Henrik combined with the knightly courtesy of Lionel and Edmund. This German name can also be found in French as Émeric.
Dominik/c – The same medieval Continental charm and solidity that Frederick and Benedikt have can also be found in Dominik/Dominic. The name is neither very common or rare, but its homeliness can sometimes make it overlooked despite its distinguished qualities.
Gregor – A genial and dashing German and Scottish form of Gregory which is in the same vein as Edgar, Jasper and Gabriel.
Oskari – Like Valtteri, Oskari is a Finnish name (from the Gaelic name Oscar) which shares the same rhythm -- OS-ka-ree -- but doesn't feel like such an outlier for English speakers.
Akseli – Another Valtteri-inspired choice is this Finnish form of Axel, itself a Scandinavian and Germanic form of the Biblical Absalom which frequents the top 100 of several European countries including France, Sweden and Belgium.
Other ideas:
Alban – A pan-European name with a distinguished and stylish quality, Roman heritage and numerous ancient namesakes. Uncommon but widely accessible.
Casimir – An ancient and kingly Slavic name, hailing from Poland, which was imported across Europe into German royalty (as Kasimir).
Quentin – A refined French form of the Roman Quintanus, which is not uncommon in Switzerland, Belgium and France, and also well known to English-speakers. Variant Quinton is also worth considering.
Rayner / Rainer – Rayner and Rainer/Reiner are Germanic heritage names which were brought to Britain by the Normans. Rainer is still used in Germany today.
Dunstan – An interesting, ancient-yet-modern sounding Old English name which is most famous for being borne by a 10th-century saint who was an archbishop of Canterbury.
Anselm – A polished German name which was brought to England in the late 11th century by Italian-born Saint Anselm, who was also an archbishop of Canterbury and a Doctor of the Church.
Henning – A German and Scandinavian diminutive form of Henrik which has a wide appeal and accessibility. Most Brits are familiar with the name either because of German comedian Henning Wehn or Swedish author Henning Mankell who created "Wallander."
Fabian – Another cultivated and refined pan-European name with great Roman heritage.
Anders – The Scandinavian form of Andrew which has universal appeal and a cool and effortlessly urbane style.
Willem – The Dutch form of William which feels just as solid and historic but with a more continental twist.
I hope this has been of use. Best wishes for finding the perfect name for your son.
