Olivia writes:
I am due on April 11 (in 4 days!) with our first baby, a girl.
We have narrowed it down to 4 names but I’d love to know which you and your
readers prefer.I’m also open to other names if you feel like there is something out there
that would suit better.The middle name will be Amira and I know it’s tricky to decide on the middle
name first but it was the name of my beloved Grandmother and we both love it
because it’s unusual and pretty. Also, the baby will have my husbands last
name so this way she gets a name from my side of the family as well.Our names are:
Francesca Amira Dawson (nn Frankie initials FAD)
Margaret Amira Dawson (nn Maisie or Mae initials MAD)
Louisa Amira Dawson (nn Loulou initials LAD)
Eliza Amira Dawson (initials EAD)
The initial thing is also tricky as the _AD creates a lot of words and I
know you aren’t crazy about initials that spell words. My thought is that
mostly she would just be using her first and last name and that if she ever
had anything monogrammed the last initial would be put in the middle so it
won’t spell anything for example FAD becomes FDA.I’d love to know what you think of these names and if there are any others
that might work with our middle and last names.
I like all four! Let’s have a poll!
Name update! Olivia writes:
Thanks for posting my letter. Your readers gave tons of great feedback on
all 4 names.In the end we went to the hospital having eliminated Eliza and Margaret
because even though we liked Margaret (and so did your readers!), we
couldn’t get on board with the initials MAD and we didn’t feel the same love
for Eliza that we once did.Our little girl was born late in the evening on April 18 and we were
waffling between Francesca and Louisa. By the next day it was clear that our
little girl is a warrior so we ended up going with Louisa Amira Dawson which
suits her perfectly!Thanks for all your help.
Took me a long time to vote because I was torn between the top 3 on the list, but I went with Louisa.
I voted undecided so hard to choose!
If i were to vote based on first name standing alone then Eliza is my favourite followed by Louisa.
If I was to vote considering nicknames then Frankie is my most favourite of all the names. Quickly followed by Maggie( not sure if you are happy to use Maggie or not)
If I consider the last name Dawson and the nickname of Maggie Dawson then I absolutely love this! Maggie Dawson sounds so cute! I also like Frankie Dawson.
All the best all great names
Maggie Dawson does sound cute. Unfortunately, we have a dog named Magnus who is usually called Mags so Maggie and Mags would get very confusing!
I also love Frankie Dawson. I think Frankie might be my favorite nickname of the bunch.
Ok so Maisie Dawson is also very cute as suggested below
My favorite is Margaret, nn Maisie. I like the sound of the full name Margaret Amira Dawson best because Margaret doesn’t repeat the 3-syllable-end-in-a rhythm of Amira, as Francesca, Louisa and Eliza do. I also love the nn Maisie. Loulou or Frankie may be cute on a young girl, but I don’t think either works well for an adult, and a Frankie could easily end up being called “Frank” some of the time, even if inadvertently.
Margaret Amira Dawson sounds amazing together and Maisie (Scottish nn for Margaret) is darling. Maisie is currently very popular as a given name in the UK –ranking 22 as Maisie, 102 spelled Maisy, and 204 as Maisey — but hasn’t yet made the SSA top 1000 baby girl names.
I couldn’t have said this any better. My thoughts exactly!
I am going to just go ahead and concur with Patricia and Gail.
Ditto.
They are all lovely. I liked Margaret the best, only because I like how the percussive sounds balance out the softer Amira. Just remember this about the monograms- when the center letter is larger than the others, the center is the surname. But if they are all the same size, they are in order. You will just have to remember to chose a monogram with an enlarged center letter. But I don’t think any of these are that terrible, anyway.
Excellent point! I will keep that in mind.
Francesca is just such a sweet, bright name. It sounds good said with a quick, upbeat rhythm, it sounds good murmured softly, it sounds good said in the “I am tearing my hair out” voice. I can imagine a thousand different personalities of Francescas who fit their name.
There are quite a few nicknames: Frankie, Fran, Franny, Francie, Chessa, Francie, Fanny, Franca, Cece, even Effie.
Margaret and Louisa are also both so lovely, both solo and with Amira. I was especially torn between Francesca and Louisa.
Margaret has buckets of charming nicknames too. Meg, Daisy, Peggy, Greta, Maggie, Mara, Margie, Maisie, Margo, Mamie, Madge, Molly, Rita….
While I adore the name Eliza, I’m less a fan of the matching syllables in Eliza Amira. Elizabeth Amira (nn Eliza) might be an option.
Good point about Elizabeth (nn Eliza). We did discuss that but even though I know that Eliza is a traditional nickname for Elizabeth, they have different sounds to me and I feel like it’s a stretch. I do like Elizabeth Amira Dawson though.
I voted Francesca both because I loved it the most of the names and nicknames you outlined, and because (to me) it goes best with your name, Olivia.
I choose Margret because I think out of all of your wonderful names, it flows best with your middle name choice without the repeating “a” at the end.
Other names I would consider: Elise, similar to Eliza without the a at the end, Everly, although it doesn’t exactly fit with the other choices I think Everly Amira Dawson sounds great, Abigail…hmmm can’t think of any others right now.
Francesca, Margaret, and Louisa are three of my favorite names! I love the sound of Margaret Amira, but the initials do bother me a little, and I personally would prefer to stay away from a first and middle name both ending with “a.” (Although not a dealbreaker, really, because the names are beautiful!)
Have you considered what another commenter has already suggested – using the name Elizabeth (my name which I love!) and calling her Eliza? Elizabeth Amira Dawson is quite lovely.
So true, the ‘a’ at the end of the first name gets tricky with Amira. But we decided that at the end of the day we would rather have a first name last name combo that we love than worry about the middle because 99% of the time she will be referred to as just her first name and last name.
It’s also funny because my name is Olivia Amira so I have the double ‘a’ too!
Elizabeth Amira Dawson does sound nice…
Then disregarding the “a” sounds I would have to vote for Louisa. Such a sweet name! Good luck :)
I also like the nickname Mamie from Margaret AMira to tie into the middle a bit more.
FWIW I voted for Margaret because I prefer to vary the endings (and it’s a beautiful name), but I think Frances Amira would be fantastic.
This isn’t helpful, but I would be looking for “R” names just so her initials would be “RAD”. I think I would specifically avoid the “MAD” initials. It shouldn’t matter, but it would bother me a lot.
I wanted to add that if you went with Eloise rather than Louisa, you could still use the nickname you prefer but you’d avoid the “first name ends in a, middle name begins with a” syndrome. If you say these double a names aloud, it quickly becomes clear how awkward they are to pronounce.
That being said, after the initial birth announcements, most children’s names are rarely delivered aloud with the middle name included.
I love Eloise, but it’s a very close friends baby’s name so I can’t use it. I also forgot to add that Louise is my sister’s middle name so part of the idea of naming our baby Louisa came from that.
Have you thought of using Amira as her first name? It’s so unusual and lovely. We ended up doing this with an honor name that was pegged my entire pregnancy as my daughter’s middle name (also less common than our intended first name choices like Amira). We’re so grateful we did!
It’s funny you mention that because we have talked about that and multiple family members and friends have suggested it. I’m just not sure because although it was my Grandmother’s name, it’s also my middle name so I feel like maybe it’s too close and I don’t really want to name her after myself.
For what its worth, both of my Grandmothers were Bridget, my middle name is Bridget, and I named my first daughter Bridget. I did not think of it as naming her after myself, but rather as giving her a lovely name with great family roots.
I totally agree about using the middle name as her first name … Amira Margaret sounds so pretty! The repeated “mmm” sounds have a lovely flow to them, and it avoids the “MAD” …
also, random thought, “dawson” will make such a great family name for your grandchildren–boys or girls! ;)
I love all the names on their own, but with Amira as a middle I strongly prefer Margaret for the first name. I don’t love the flow of a first name ending in “a” and the middle starting with the “a” sound. I also love the nickname Maisie! Although with Francesca, this issue would be avoided if she went by Frankie so that’s a sweet option.
I voted for Margaret Amira. I’m not crazy about the double A endings of the other combinations. This is really a minor problem though, so I really don’t think you could go wrong. Despite voting for Margaret, the MAD initials were the ones I liked the least.
Amira is lovely, I wonder if you’d consider it in the first name position? Amira Margaret, Amira Eliza, etc. The honor names feels more important in the first position & it would eliminate the problem of –AD spelling anything.
I voted for Margaret too, for flow alone. All your choices are lovely and any one of them would make a great name for your daughter. I agree with other posters that Amira is a gorgeous first name and solves a lot of problem with initials spelling things. It also fixes the awkwardness of having the doubled up a’s. Louisa Amira is a little awkward, but Amira Louisa? Lilting and lovely. She could still go by Loulou. My husband has never gone by his actual first name but rather a nickname combo of his first and middle and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
I voted for Margaret because the -a at the end of the others kinda runs into the a- at the begining of Amira, makine it sound like Francesca Mira, Louise Amira, and Eliza Mira. Love all the names though! I would also suggust Eloise Amira. Sort of a combo of Eliza and Louisa but with out the -a issue. Elizabeth is my other suggustion if you really love Eliza becuase you can use Eliza as a nn but the full name won’t run together, Elizabeth Amira.
I find it really interesting that Margaret is currently the most popular choice – I struck it off the list first as MAD are initials I would want to avoid. Initials do come up in life from time to time (e.g. children discussing their names in the playground, use of initials to identify a person in paperwork) and I know I wouldn’t want the initials MAD.
I next struck off Eliza as although I think it is pretty there is something about the name I find a little severe (just a personal preference when forced to choose between 4 lovely names!). I like the other posters suggestion of Elizabeth.
I think the comments about the two consecutive -a ending names not flowing as well as Margaret is a good point. However, I also think that most people don’t say their first and middle names out loud very often – and for me I would prefer two ‘a’ endings over the MAD initials.
Of Louise and Francesca I chose Francesca as I felt Francesca Amira flowed better than Louisa Amira. I love the nickname Frankie too!
I think all four names are lovely – I love your taste! Good luck with deciding – perhaps when you meet her it will become clear!
I also agree with a few of the above comments, I personally love Amira as the first name. Amira Dawson would be a unique name that would suite both a child and an adult. However, if you prefer it as a second name, my preference for a first name is Margaret. I love the many nicknames that can be pulled out of Margaret. Good luck and keep us posted!
Amira is a gorgeous name and I urge you to use it as the first name. Amira Louise nn Amy, Amy-Lou or Mia is very pretty.
If not, I think my favorite is Francesca Amira nn Frankie or Francie. The suggestion of Elizabeth Amira is great too.
I’d also like to suggest Elise or Annelise. Annelise has always been one of my favorite names and Annelise Amira nn Annie, Nellie or Ellie is quite the name!
All the best!
Annelise Amira Dawson is pretty!
Ohh.. I second Kim. I love Annelise Amira Dawson. Once again, multiple fabulous nn to come out of it and keeps with the classic/elegant feel that you are going for. :)
I like the flow or Margaret, but “MAD” would be a deal breaker for me, so I went with Louisa
I voted for Margaret because of flow but had to pop into the comments, hoping that someone would suggest Amira as a first, which is my suggestion, too! It’s a lovely name. However, it does hold me back that it doesn’t seem to go with the other girl names that you like… so if you were to have another daughter in the future it might seem a little off to have a sibling set of Amira and Margaret, for example.
That’s a very good point about the sibling set. Our taste in names doesn’t really fit with Amira.
We definitely want to have more kids and we actually have another middle name that we would use for a second girl (Eirlys- my mother-in-law’s middle name) so that both kids would have an unusual family middle name.
I think you should pick a name that starts with a ‘B’, so her initials will be BAD. I like Beatrice Amira Dawson. That way her theme song can be Michael Jackson’s, ‘I’m Bad’, and that would be awesome.
If Beatrice isn’t an option, then I like Louisa and Francesca the best. I agree that it doesn’t matter so much about the ‘a’ at the end of both her first and middle name since she will likely rarely use her full name. I am also a huge fan of using ‘Amira’ as her first name as I think that Amira Dawson sounds lovely and also, it is uncommon.
P.S. I may or may not be married to your brother. :)
Thanks for your input Auntie K!
I still do love Beatrice but sadly it’s a no go for Tim. And I do love the image of her being born to Michael Jackson’s “Bad”!
Am I too late? Have you had the baby yet?
This was a tricky one for me to vote on. I also don’t particularly love it when the endings are matchy – but the only name not ending in ‘a’ is Margaret, and those initials spell MAD! It’s a quandary! I decided I’d be upset if my initials spelled MAD. So in the end I decided initials take a priority to name endings (I’d steer clear of MAD, BAD, etc.) and that would cross off Margaret. I was torn on the other choices but voted for Louisa. Such a sweet name, and I love the nick some of Lou Lou or Lulu! Francesca was a close second.
I also agree the Amira makes a great first name. My friend named her daughter Amira, and it means Princess in Arabic – I believe that’s what she said? And I actually don’t think Amira would clash with some of your names. Amira and Francesca would make a nice multi-cultural sibset! Please do update us on what you choose!
You’re not too late, no baby yet!
Thanks for your input. I think Louisa and Francesca are my top two at this point but Margaret is my husband’s aunts name (she goes by Meg) and still a strong contender. Hopefully when we meet the baby we’ll be able to decide.
I’ll definitely send an update when she’s born :)
I just want to point out that FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration. So, it doesn’t not spell anything.
Yay, thanks for the update! I voted for Louisa so of course I love your name choice! And I actually think the flow of Louisa Amira is quite nice – now I rather like the same ‘a’ endings! :) Great job, beautiful name and congratulations!