Kristen writes:
Hello! Been reading your blog since the beginning, and am something of a name-enthusiast myself. My situation I feel is a bit unique in that our last name is a noun, a season– Winter. With our first two, Joel Robert and Charlotte Marie, we agreed- no nouns or other word-like names. I didn’t want their names to sound like a joke– we originally loved Cole but didn’t want “Cold Winter” jokes . However, we are planning number 3 now and planning ahead on names. My husband is loving his great great grandmother’s name: Ruby Rose Winter. My question is, when you hear the name, do you think “Oh, red, red, and a season?” Or does it sound like an ok combo because it is a family name? I’ve run this around in my brain too many times at this point to come to any type of logical solution.
When I hear the name, I think it sounds like a girl in a fairy tale—like Snow White, or Briar Rose. This is not to say I’d rule it out, especially if you don’t think you’ll call her by her first and middle names together: Ruby Winter is significantly less of an issue than Ruby Rose Winter.
It does help that it’s a family name. It would help even more if it were a family member your husband had known and been close to; since it’s someone he presumably never met, it’s harder to play up the family connection—but it would still help.
If it were me, I think I would prefer to stick to the original policy of no word-like names. On the other hand, I don’t think it would be wrong to change that policy if you both really want to.
This might be a good place for the “Would I want that as MY name?” exercise. I THINK I would grow weary of having a whimsical name—but I can also imagine really enjoying it.
Name update!
Hello there Swistle,
Reading the tale of the three Sylvies reminded me that I never did send an update on Ruby Rose Winter. The long and short of it was I wrote that when my third baby was merely a twinkle in my eye. Once I became pregnant last April, we were excited to use the name and felt good about Ruby Rose Winter, but two months later a cousin on my husband’s side named HER baby Ruby Rose W****. So we gave it up and struggled coming up with a name for our baby girl, only to find out it didn’t matter because the ultrasounds were misread. (We were sure the baby was a girl. We were very wrong.) Surprise, I delivered a baby boy, who had no name for awhile but is now Noah. So we have a Joel, Charlotte, and Noah. Thanks for all your readers’ encouragement, I felt very relieved at how many thought the name Ruby Rose was charming and enchanting and not ridiculous!-Kristen
I’m with you on the “no names that are things” – I vehemently dislike words as names. Name your daughter Blythe Allison and then *call* her Apple, but why, Gwyneth Paltrow, did you NAME your daughter Apple Blythe Allison Martin? (also, why do you not let her eat actual food? but that’s a question for another day.
However, I personally love names with meaning, like names after an important person. My daughter has the same first and middle name as my great-grandmother. I never met her, so that part of the connection isn’t there. My mom has the same middle name as her own grandmother and therefore as my daughter, so my mom LOVES that she’s the grandMOTHER and grandDAUGHTER of Jane Eleanor.
Personally, I think it’s a fabulous name. If you were thinking about something really unusual (like the above commenter’s example of Apple), or if your last name was a really uncommon one, then I might have more of a problem with it. But both Ruby and Rose are pretty well established as names in addition to being “things”, and the same with the last name of Winter. So while people might at very first introduction to the name think fairy tale or whimsical, I don’t think that impression would last very long when presented with an actual child to whom the name belongs.
Plus I think Charlotte and Ruby are great sister names.
Ruby Winter is a beautiful name….it’s whimsical, but honestly so is Charlotte Winter. Unless you purposefully give your daughter an ugly clunky name, or at least a very modern unisex one, with your last name she’s going to sound like a heroine in a story book. But that’s not a bad thing at all.
Oh my, I think Ruby Rose Winter is an EXQUISITE name! Like, breathtaking. You MUST use it! It is divine!
I think it’s gorgeous! But I’m a total sucker for storybook names. Nonetheless, while Ruby Rose Winter all together might be rather whimsical, I think just Ruby Winter is perfectly respectable (and, as mentioned above, a nice complement to Charlotte Winter). If you and your husband love it, use it! The family connection makes it even better.
Oh, I absolutely LOVE Ruby Rose Winter. Not too whimsical, but really beautiful! I wish that was my name.
For me, the storybook/fairy tale association is too much. I remember a fairy tale where the characters names were actually Snow White and Rose Red, and winter was heavily referenced too! However, if you just chose Rose or Ruby plus a different middle name, you could have the honor name and lessen the distracting element. Good luck!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow-White_and_Rose-Red
I agree Ruby Rose Winter sounds very whimsical, but not so much so that it wouldn’t be usable. If the red, red, winter bothers you then I’d suggest switching out the middle name. Just Ruby Winter doesn’t strike me as problematic at all. Yes, Ruby is a noun, but it has such a long history of use as a name that it just doesn’t scream “noun as name” to me (like the above mentioned Apple or something like Sky for example). I say go for it!
I think the name is breath taking as well. It’s magical. It sounds like a name of a famous actress. I would LOVE to have that name. I also love your last name. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of it.
I love this post- because I have thought this over and over and over as my boyfriend’s last name is Winter. I know, jumping the gun, but I love names so of course I have thought about it! I find that it’s actually a hard last name to work with, so congrats on finding great names for your first two! If you think about it, Charlotte is a “thing” too- it’s a place. I have worried that a-place-name Winter sounds like you are talking about the season in that place. Like a “Georgia winter is mild”, or something, and that a color sounds like you are describing the season… a Violet Winter is purple, etc… lol. I know that may be silly… but all that being said, I don’t think it matters that much! Charlotte Winter is beyond lovely and I think that Ruby Winter is, too :) Joel, Charlotte and Ruby… love!!
I think you’re in good shape. If you want a little Ruby, go for it.
I can easily imagine a Dr. Ruby Winter or a best-selling author Ruby Rose Winter or a kindergarten teacher Ms Ruby or Supreme Court Justice Ruby Winter…no problem. It’s a perfectly dignified name.
If you intend to use Ruby Rose as a double first name, be aware that she may drop half when she gets a bit older. But even a Dr. Ruby Rose Winter isn’t hard for me to imagine. “Hey, Ruby Rose, how are you doing?”
I like it.,
I love Ruby Rose Winter!!
I think it’s a bit over the top. Ruby Winter works, but I would use a different middle name. Ruby Rosalie Winter even works, I think. Or change up the first name, use ___ Rose Winter. Stella Rose Winter? Our last name is Huff, so I understand the toughness of picking out a name that works!
I think it sounds really sweet. Beautiful really. But that in itself may be a problem. Can you count on your daughter appreciating an overly precious, fairytale name? I think if you consider that she’ll be called Ruby Winter 90% of the time it becomes less of an issue. It’s the Rose that takes it to that next level. I really love Ruby Rose but I have difficult picturing it on an athlete say, or a real tomboy. I feel like it needs a grounded middle like your first daughter’s. As much as it pains me to deny Ruby Rose Winter, who seems like a little girl in a red cape tripping lightly through a snow covered wood, I think something like Ruby Jean or Ruby Claire might be the safer bet. It will come down to you guys and your personal taste I think. You have the family-name ammo backing it up, and that can be huge in justifying an interesting name.
First-time commenter here. I thought it was worth giving my input since my name is Ruby Rose!
I love my name and I get compliemted on it all the time. I really like that my first name and middle name go together; in fact, many people in my family call me by my full name (though most people just call me Ruby). It’s almost like having two names instead of one. It’s whimsical and fun, but it since Ruby and Rose are often used as names it sounds like a real name as well…it wouldn’t be like naming your baby “Flower” or “Rainbow” or something like that. My last name isn’t anything like Winter, so of course I don’t have the issues associated with that. However, my last name is a word for a color in a foreign language and I’ve always kind of liked having such a “colorful” name, so based on my experience I think it’s possible your child would appreciate having a name with so much imagery in it.
So there you have it. If you’re not 100% happy with the name I would definitely say don’t use it…but if you’re worried about whether or not your child would like it or if it’s too wierd I would say that those things will likely not be issues.
I too thought of Rose Red and fairytales when I read the name Ruby Rose. Paired with your surname, Ruby Rose becomes even more of a caricature. Three nouns in a name — Ruby, Rose and Winter — seems at least one too many. If you’re set on using Ruby Rose (and I can see the appeal), you could hyphenate the names and use them as a middle name: Ruby-Rose, with a non-noun first name. Some examples:
Catherine Ruby-Rose Winter
Eleanor Ruby-Rose Winter
Jane Ruby-Rose Winter
Esme Ruby-Rose
Hyphenated names are fairly popular in the UK now, and 30 baby girls were given the first name Ruby-Rose in 2011 (last stats).
Your husband’s great, great-grandmother’s name fits with the alliterative style of naming that was popular in the early years of the 20th century.
I also like the suggestion of Ruby Rosalie Winter to remove one noun from the name.
I love Ruby Winter! It is rather romantic, but I am totally OK with that. Ruby Rose Winter does not flow great for me, but if it is sentimental, that does not matter so much.
I love the sound of Ruby Rose Winter! It is whimsical but not over the top princessy :)
I think it works because the three objects involved don’t really associate (outside of rubies and roses being red, the two are fairly unrelated). I mean, I love how Virginia Wrenn sounds, but that would sound too much like a species of bird, I could never bring myself to use it. I don’t think you have to hold yourself to rules you made for your first childrens’ names. You are allowed to change your taste and there are plenty of names that compliment each other across style categories. Here, the common ground is that all three will have rather classic/nostalgic names.
I KNOW a little girl named Ruby Rose (well, actually I knew her father, years ago) but i have always remembered that name and just LOVED it. I think it is a sweet name and i am definitely not a fairy tale fan. I don’t think of fairy tales at all. to me, it just sounds beautiful. and i think Ruby Winter is such a perfect blend–she almost sounds like a movie star!
I like Ruby Rose, it was actually the first name I chose for anything (a pet rat but it’s not a ratty name or anything) I think it sounds nice with Winter, she’d be named after grandma which is nice and she would be just Ruby most of the time , right?
Yes, I only see us using Ruby Rose if she is in trouble….
Hm, I think the fact that this babe would be the namesake of her GREAT GREAT GREAT grandmother is significant. It doesn’t sound like it would be necessarily “sentimental” since there might not even be anyone in your family who was alive when this relative was living. Maybe if she was a significant figure in your husband’s family, like the first one to come to this country, the one who started the _____ tradition that we still carry on today, etc, but otherwise it just seems like a whimsical name plucked from the family tree.
I immediately thought of Snow White and Rose Red and I agree with other commenters – you can’t guarantee that your daughter will appreciate that association or the general whimsy of the name. I think you have such a fantastic last name to work with, it almost seems like “pushing it” with the double R, double color, extra dose of fairy tale-ness would be a shame.
And, for what it’s worth, I’d love to see her get more syllables, since your other children’s names are longer.
That being said, the name is pretty and the course of your daughter’s life will likely not be altered one way or the other!
I like Ruby Rose Winter, especially when it’s a family name too. I know a Ruby Rose and her parents sometimes do use her first and middle name together. I also know a family with the last name Rose and they have two daughters with flower/tree names. I think the names work. :)
I really like the name Ruby Winter. I think it’s sweet but it’s also professional and adult (i.e. Dr. Ruby Winter). It’s a versatile name.
When I first heard Ruby Rose I thought it sounded too whimsical- like Ruby Tuesday. However, I think it’s a cute name and I don’t think it would be too bothersome. Not many people are called by the whole legal name , most of the time she would be Ruby Winter or Ruby R. Winter and she could use the Rose part as a fun nick name if it stuck.
For what it’s worth, I just named my daughter after my great great grandmother and my husband’s great grandmother, neither of which either of us have ever met. Yes, part of it was because the names are pretty…but it also felt significant to pass on names from female ancestors, whose names generally don’t get passed on. From my side, I used the name of the maternal grandmother of my maternal grandmother…who of course I don’t remember, but my grandma describes her as “the warmest, most grandmotherly person.” It might not be as obviously sentimental as using a living relative’s name, but it’s a way of letting my grandmother know that I’ve listened to her stories about her family, and that her side of the family is remembered and a part of my little girl’s history.
I agree with another commenter about changing the middle name.
That is a beautiful name. I adore it, especially how it seems like she could play up or down the musicality of it by saying or withholding the middle name. I also think it fits well with Joel and Charlotte, which is good :)
There is a celebrity named Ruby Rose here in Australia. I have always thought the name to be quite pretty and it’s very pleasant to say. It helps that she’s gorgeous of course!!
Winter has also always been a favorite name of mine too so I think Ruby Rose Winter, as a complete name, is just so lovely. I say go for it!
Good Luck!
My cousin named her nine month old daughter Ruby Elise, which I think is very pretty, if you are worried about the whimsical or word name side of things.
Charlotte Marie and Ruby Elise do sound great together.
All the best!
I also LOVE Ruby Rose Winter! What a beautiful name. I wouldn’t mind if it was my name as well.
If you decide 3 nouns is too much, I would replace Rose (Rosalie is a great suggestion). But Ruby Winter is too sweet!
Original Poster here, with a few follow ups:
This relative was my husband’s grandpa’s mother, and was known for being an extremely hard working, kind woman. Her actual name is Ruby Rosequist Winter, so there’s a possibility of using that as well. I suppose the name is sentimental in that it is his grandfather’s mother, and he was extremely close to this grandfather (we lived with him as caretakers when we were first married). Hope that helps, I did a little squeal of glee when I found my question had been posted :)
Oh why on earth isn’t my last name Winter so that I could give that name to my daughter?! Ruby Rose Winter is exquisite! I would never ever get tired of that name!
I must admit to being less than enamores with the double Rs for the first and middle names. It is not so with either of your other children. To my ear, combinations like Juliana Rose or Ruby Camille – so you get a few mor syllables, too – are closer in tone to your older children’s names. I do love the family name aspect of your choices. All of this is just my humble opinion.
I do love the name Ruby Rose Winter. It has charm, friendliness, and character.
However, Ruby Rosequist Winter is also spectacular!
Love it, use it, don’t look back! You’ve go great taste.
I personally love ruby rose winter. Especially if she will be going by Ruby, rather than Ruby Rose. I might be biased though, because I love noun names and Winter is our #1 middle name choice for our future daughter. We’re only 8 weeks along so we don’t know the gender yet. Our decided boy first name is my maiden surname–and because it’s an -er surname, it ends up being a comparison adjective. :-) I think that because its a namesake name, that makes it even more special.
I would be less worried about how everything goes with Winter and think of how the first and middle go together. When we’ve been coming up with girl names, I go in with the attitude of she’s probably going to change her last name when she gets married (yes, I realize how old fashioned that may make me sound, but whatever, it’s my opinion, right?). :) If it’s how it sounds with Winter that bugs you the most, but you’re still mostly ok with it, then I say good name! If it is the way the first and middle go together, there have been some great options previously listed, particularly the hypenated middle name. I never would have thought to do that.
I personally like Ruby Rose, and Ruby Rosequist. They both sound nicely Southern. At least y’all have a better set of great grandparent names to choose from. My great (great?) grandmother had the nickname of Dickie and the last name of Dick……
In the meantime, just leave the names alone for a bit. When you revisit it, you might have a different opinion!
I love Rosequist, what a lovely Swedish name. If for whatever reason you end up not going with Ruby, I hope you will still use Rosequist as a middle name!
I think Ruby Rose Winter is WONDERFUL! A little alliteration, a little whimsical, AND honoring a family member…but still Ruby Winter is a nice normal sounding name if she wants it. It’s lovely and I hope you go with it!
I think it’s a really beautiful name. I don’t think it’s too much. Middle names really only get used by close family and on forms, unless you’re planning on calling her by both, and Ruby Winter isn’t as fairy tale-like as the full name. I say go for it! It’s gorgeous!
Hmm, I really like the sound of it, but I wouldn’t use it. For one, if it were my name I think I wouldn’t like it, because I’m just not girly enough for it. For another, I actually know a Scarlett Winter, and every time I hear her name I think of blood in the snow. I don’t get that with Ruby Winter, but its such a visual name I’m worried that someone else might. . .
Personally, I go: precious gem, fragrant flower, season. Then in combo, I think deep red rose in the middle of winter. Then I would wonder if perhaps this baby was a special little girl born in the midst of some hard times for the parents, and she was the bright spot that reminded them that spring was coming.
I personally wouldn’t, but more because of the alliteration than anything else. My husband on the other hand is anti-“noun” names, so I couldn’t if I wanted to.