Archer

Hi Jennifer,

For most of his life my husband has wanted to name a child Jack after his grandfather. However, I’ve rejected it because a) it’s incredible popularity for kids right now and the ubiquity in popular culture is annoying to me and b) there are several Jacks in his family currently living with the same last name.

So I compromised and said we could use it as a middle name. Currently our top contender for the first name is Archer, but Archer Jack sounds too cartoon-y name to me. We’ve discussed naming him Jack Archer and calling him Archer, but I wonder if it’s just a little too complicated to go by a middle name from the start. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Since Archer is an occupational name, you are right in that Archer Jack sounds like a character, as it appears to be an adjective, like “Friar Tuck.” That being said, no child is really called by his middle name unless they’re in trouble–either with their parents or before a judge.

So really, his name is going to be Archer. And if you love that name, go for it! However, I must say that if you don’t like popular names (or cartoon names), you might want to keep namestorming! Archer is in the top 50 on our Popularity Charts and holding. It’s also the name of a very popular animated series.

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.