Girls middle name for a little boy??!

[Emlyric]

So, our third little boy is due in 8 weeks and I have a middle-name dilema! I am very close to my mum and keen to use her name as a second middle name for one of our children - she is the most amazing lady - however, given we are blessed with boys it makes it a bit more tricky! Her name is Carol, which traditionally is a male name, and also has a dutch spelling Karel which is still used for boys over there - my husband is dutch so we have a tenous claim to use it 'legitimately' but I wanted to know thoughts! Am I condemning this wee one to a lifetime of friends sniggering at his passport?! Should we amend it to Karel or brazen it out with Carol?! xx

[lilolilmanchester]

couldn't you use Carl? Obviously up to you but I wouldn't use a girl's name as a middle name for a boy.

[raisah]

Use Karel or Charles as an alternative.
Lovely idea to name your son after your mum.

[raisah]

Or Carl I forgot about that name as you dont hear of many new babies called Carl nowadays. Time for a change.

[GeordieCherry]

Cathel is the Gaelic version, what about that?

[Jenijena]

Could you use her surname (or maiden name)?

[OhTinky]

Carlo?

[BNmum]

Jenijena got there first but I was going to suggest using your mums maiden name

[cheekbyjowl]

I think you can get away with karel. Its unusual enough that I wouldnt think of carol. But, you need a macho first name and strong surname ...i.e if your surname is lily and your chosen first name is Vivian...then perhaps re think it.

[katkoala]

I would suggest Carl or Karl...my uncles have the name Maria as a mn (my grandparents used the name Mary in some form for their 3 dd and twin sons)...we still take the pi$$ 55 years later!

[HongkongDreamer]

What about carlos

[EssieW]

I think using carol would be fine. I've heard it as male name before

[Purplehulk]

I know a man with the mn Carroll. He uses it in his email addy so it has obviously never caused him embarrassment.

[almapudden]

Carol is a boys' name. Pope John Paul II's real name was Carol; he was Polish.

It's just an alternative to Charles.

[ClaraOswald]

I would go with the Dutch link and use Karel.

[Bowlersarm]

Don't do it.

I have a boys name as my middle name (an old family surname which happens to be a boys name as well). I hate it, and just don't use it at all. I'm baffled as to why my parents thought i would like having it as part of my name.

[ShipwreckedAndComatose]

Another vote for the surname here...you are setting him up as bullying fodder

[TheHerringScreams]

I would go with Karel. It's a handsome name and isn't a girl's name either.

[KateBeckett]

Karel is fine :) reminds me of Karel Abram the moto gp rider!

[JacqueslePeacock]

I know a man called Carol. Never considered it odd, really - it is a man's name in several languages.

[lastnightidreamt]

I would go with Karel - lovely.

[ryanboy]

Is using her maiden name a possibility?

[KittenofDoom]

Even in English, Carol can also be a man's name. (eg film director Sir Carol Reed).

However I think you're on dodgy ground naming a boy Carol after a woman. Different if it was after your father or uncle, say.

I'd go for one of the indisputably masculine variants. Save Carol in case you have a girl some day.

[YouDontWinFriendsWithSalad]

I don't think there's anything wrong with using Carol, I've heard it as a boys' name before.

[rambososcar]

I had an Uncle Carol so I never think of it as anything other than a man's name but kids with a tendency to bully might not see it that way. I'd be wary of using it and would prefer to use a maiden surname or the name of my maternal grandfather or uncle instead.