Eliza writes:
We are having the toughest time figuring out a name for our second daughter. Our first daughter was easy. We were deciding between Norah and Jayne (my two favorite names) and when she got here there was no doubt in my mind that her name should be Norah. We both agreed on this… with ease… and even agreed to use Jayne (a big family name as well as my middle name) as her middle name. So there inlies our first problem, I used both of my favorite girl names on my first daughter… oops. Our last name is Bradshaw and we live in the USA. So now we have another girl on the way, in 3 weeks in fact, and the only name we WERE both in love with was Lucy, until I realized how popluar it was. I work as a nurse on a post-partum unit and there has been one too many Lucy’s born in the last few months for me to feel comfortable naming my second girl that name. Which is too bad b/c my husband and I both love it so much (but so does everyone else). Is the popularity of name something we should really be concerned about? Or does the love of a name trump popularity? We really love the nick name Lu or Lulu but my husband is opposed to just naming her Lulu even though I think its adorable, he says it sounds silly. So here is a list of some of the other names we are considering:
Lucy – was the top contender
Maggie (not Margaret) – top contender – is Maggie to juvenile sounding when she grows up? Could Margo be the name with Maggie being the official nickname?
Josie (not Josephine)
Phoebe – my husband is concerned about the spelling and how random it is.
Eve (would go by Evey)Middle name is also a concern. Because our first daughter has a family name/my middle name as her middle name do we need to do a family name for daughter number 2? I don’t want her to feel her name is any less meaninful. The problem is I don’t love any of the family names with the first names we like. They don’t flow like Norah Jayne does to me. Ideas are Lou (not a family name), Clair (not a family name), Rebecca (I have a cousin with the name so its a stretch), Laree (family name), Lucille (family name), Gwen (family name), Lee (family name, although with all our name options it sounds like too many “ee” sounds), Catherine (fam name).
I guess I’m having some mommy guilt, like I used my two favorite names and not to mention a middle name with a lot of meaning on my first daughter and I’m not having the same luck or feelings with Girl number two’s names. Any insight or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. And just for additional feedback, do the names we’ve picked sound good with Norah? Any help would be greatly appreciated as we are getting so close to the due date. Thank you!
Unless we deliberately do otherwise for some reason (as when there is a naming tradition or some other consideration), ALL of us use our favorite name on the first child and a less-favored name on each subsequent child. The only way to avoid that is to give all your children the same name, which was perhaps George Foreman’s motivation when he gave all five of his sons the name George.
And there’s always a gamble with names when you have more than one favorite: if you DON’T use them up on the first child, maybe you’ll lose your chance to use them at all. It’s impossible to know what’s best, though in your case I’d say it was pretty clear you should go for it and get that family name in there. If you’d had only one daughter, you would have kicked yourself for using a name you liked less just to save a name for later.
And finally, once the names belong to your child, you’re bound to love them even more than when you chose them. Comparing other names to the way you feel about the name Norah Jayne now, when the name Norah Jayne has been worn for some time by one of your favorite people in the world, is not fair to all the other names in the world.
So! All of this means, I think, that there is no need for guilt (you have not done anything wrong), and that the goal is not to find a name you like as much as you liked/like the name Norah Jayne. The goal is instead to find the name you like best of all the names that remain. And we are working on a tight deadline, so let’s get on with it.
You both love the name Lucy. Once you’d decided on it, you were attuned to it: every Lucy stood out to you as if in neon lights. But the name itself is not particularly popular: it was #66 in 2012, according to the Social Security Administration—though of course it’s hard to figure out how many girls named Lucia, Lucille, Luciana are also going by Lucy. Nationally, the name Lucy was given to less than one-fifth of one percent of new baby girls. The name Nora/Norah is similar: Nora was #107 last year and Norah was #210, and together those two spellings were given to between one-fifth and one-fourth of one percent of new baby girls; but we don’t know how many girls named Eleanor are also going by Nora(h).
Only you will be able to decide whether your love of a name trumps its popularity. It’s a matter of weighing personal importance: “Would we rather choose this other name that we love less, in exchange for there being fewer girls with this name?” But it doesn’t seem to me that the popularity of the name Lucy is any more of an issue than the popularity of the name Norah. And speaking of gambles, we don’t know what names will do in the future: it would be very frustrating to choose a less-liked name for its lower popularity, and then have it later become more popular than the name Lucy.
You don’t need to do a family name for every child if you don’t want to, or if you run out of names you want to use. Some families have fewer honor names available, and it’s very typical to use those names on a first-come-first-serve basis so that earlier children are more likely to have them than later children. It doesn’t seem like it makes a name more meaningful to force a connection to someone you didn’t want to honor and whose name you don’t particularly like. The real meaning of the name can be that you loved it and wanted to give it to her.
Because your first daughter has your middle name, one option would be to give your second daughter your first name (or a variation of your first name) as her middle name.
It could also be fun to give all your daughters the middle name Jayne: some families do matching middle names like this, and I think it’s a very appealing idea. Of course, then they could complain that they didn’t get their own names. Really, it’s impossible to please these imaginary future children!
Since Lucille is a family name, you could use it as the first name with the nickname Lucy and get two birds with one stone: it gives her a family name, and the family connection can make popularity matter less. Or depending on how your family views such things, you could use Lucy and say it’s in honor of Lucille.
The name Maggie does seem like a nickname to me, but 1,296 sets of parents disagreed with me in 2012 alone. And since Nora(h) and Lucy could also both be called nickname names (though I see them as stand-alone names at this point), those names should all be compatible. For myself, I would want a more formal version—but we don’t know how your daughter will feel about it. I don’t think of Maggie as a natural nickname for Margo. It’s similar to using Ally as a nickname for Adelaide: the letters allow for it, but it’s not traditional the way Maggie for Margaret is. I also find I don’t like the way “Norah and Margo” sounds when I say it aloud, though I do like the sound of “Norah and Maggie.”
Proofreading this, the name Sadie sprang to my mind. That would be pretty: Sadie Bradshaw; Norah and Sadie.
Josie, too, seems nickname-y to me and I would want a longer form. And almost exactly the same number of parents officially disagree with me on that as disagree with me on Maggie: 1,265 new baby girls were named Josie in 2012. “Nicknaminess” of names can be quite subjective (see also: Sadie).
I would not be particularly concerned about the spelling of Phoebe. The names Chloe and Sophie and Penelope have paved the way for it, I think.
Eve is one of my favorites from your list. I think Eve Bradshaw is a gorgeous name. The name Eva was #86 in 2012, but Eve is much less common at #558.
So if I were narrowing this list, this would be my new version:
Lucy (maybe short for Lucille)
Phoebe
Eve
And here’s how I might put them together with middles (ever since someone pointed out that names that end in an -ee sound make the word “eclair” when paired with the middle name Clare/Claire/Clair, I’ve felt wary of that combination, which is too bad because Clair is very nicely coordinated with Jayne):
Lucy Eliza Bradshaw
Lucy Elizabeth Bradshaw
Lucy Jayne Bradshaw
Lucy Lee Bradshaw
Phoebe Elizabeth Bradshaw
Phoebe Jayne Bradshaw
Phoebe Lucille Bradshaw
Eve Catherine Bradshaw
Eve Elizabeth Bradshaw
Eve Lucille Bradshaw
Because you like Lucy and Lulu and Lou, I wonder if you might like other lu-sound names such as Eloise, Louisa, and Louise. Perhaps those would be a little tongue-tangling with your own name, or perhaps not.
My first choice for you is Lucy. I’m very influenced by this part from your letter: “my husband and I both love it so much.” I like Lucy Eliza. Norah Jayne and Lucy Eliza.
Name update! Eliza writes:
I don’t think I knew naming a baby could be so much fun. Writing into your blog was so fantastic, I’m so glad I decided to do it last minute, it gave me the confidence I needed this time around. I loved everything you took the time to analyze and write up for us and the comments and opinions people gave me, it stimulated a whole bunch of conversation with my family and friends. I feel like it took a village to name our baby but we finally decided on a name! Our name choosing was expedited when I went into labor a week and a half early but heck, something had to kick me into decision making mode. The name we chose was Lucy Gwen Bradshaw. It actually is a little bit of a twist on Tyler’s mother’s name Gwen Lucille. It was fun to tell her she has an “almost reverse namesake”. Now both girls carry a special family name within their name. I also get to use the nickname Lulu which I am super excited about. My husband is very happy with the end result, he’s been rooting for Lucy the whole time, even when I panicked about how many times I had heard it in the last month. Thank you for helping us name our baby girl and for the encouragement you and your readers gave us to just go with our gut and name her Lucy. We love the name and it seems to suit her perfectly so far.
In my opinion, Lucy is the clear choice here. You like it, your husband likes it, and it’s adorable with Norah. I agree with Swistle that it’s likely that you just became very conscious of the name Lucy once you started thinking about it as a frontrunner for your baby. I don’t think of Lucy as a “popular” name at all, at least not in the realm of Sophia/Olivia/Amelia, although it’s possible that it’s locally popular where you live.
For a middle name, I don’t think it’s necessary for every child to have an honor name. It’s customary in the US for only the first son to be “junior,” so it doesn’t seem strange for the first daughter to get the female family middle name. If you would like an honor name, have you considered honoring an important non-relative female (family friend, mentor, etc.) whose name you like? It seems like it might be a bit awkward to “honor” a relative with whom you aren’t particularly close just to have an honor name.
We have three generations of women in my family who all share the same middle name (my grandma, mom, my sister, and myself). And we all very much like sharing the same middle name. Oh and my MIL and SIL share the same middle name too. So based on my experience, if you don’t have a name you love in the second place, Jayne would be great. I really like Lucy Jayne. If you don’t want to use Jayne again but really do want a family name, could you look to any male relatives for inspiration? I’m thinking if we had used my middle name for a first girl and then had another girl, I might have looked to my husband’s name Nick and used Nicole. That type of thing?
I’ve known two “standalone” Maggies – one in her 20s and one in her 40s, so the name works for me. I absolutely LOVE the name Margo but don’t get the ‘perfect match’ feeling when I say it with Norah.
I do really love Lucy as a name for Norah’s sister. I don’t think it’s too popular/common (I don’t hear it at all where I live in the US), and as someone who gave their child a less-common name, I can assure you there’s no preventing someone else from having the same idea, so you might as well just go for the name you love. I absolutely LOVE my daughter’s ‘uncommon’ name and will always love it no matter where it falls on the charts, but I still had a brief “are you kidding me?” moment when I looked at one of her class rosters and saw she was in a class with a girl who not only shares her first name but has the same last initial as well! But then I just had to laugh – what are the odds? :) The mom of the younger girl seems less enthused (she told me they chose the name because they thought it was unusual), but the kids think it’s fun.
Lastly, I’m one of three children and I’m the only one who doesn’t have a family name. I can’t predict how your daughter will react, but I felt extra special that my name was chosen just because my parents loved it. My siblings’ names had been planned long before they were even conceived out of a (loving) duty to honor my mom’s parents who died young, so that’s special in its own way, but I liked that my name was picked purely from what they loved and felt would suit me.
Best wishes to you and your family! Let us know what you end up choosing.
Go with Lucy. I really don’t see how it is more popular than Norah. Besides, I think loving a name trumps popularity. I do think it could work as a namesake for Lucille, or use it as a nickname for Lucille. Please don’t use just Lulu though, just doesn’t work on an adult for me.
Maggie seems too nicknamey & Margot isn’t quite right. If you really don’t like Margaret maybe Magdalena or Magnolia? Josie also seems too nicknamey to me. If you don’t like Josephine, maybe Jocelyn?
Phoebe is fine. It’s familiar enough people should be used to the spelling. Not sure what your husband means by “random”. I do like it with Norah.
Eve is honestly my least favorite. I like it, but it does seem a bit blah next to the other names on your list. I also get the impression that it is more popular than Lucy. Perhaps because there are more names that lead to Eve as a nickname?
For middle names, I like Lucy Gwen quite a bit. Since your daughter has your middle name, maybe this baby could get a feminine version of dad’s name or middle name as her middle? I’ve always been a fan of cross-gender namesakes.
Lucy is adorable and not quite as popular as you’re thinking. Works nicely with Norah too .
If that’s a no-go, maybe Clara instead of Claire? Making it two syllables matches up well with Norah, it’s classic and maybe not as well-used in your part of the world =)
Clara Gwen would be sweet with Norah Jayne
Go with Lucy! You love the name so much, and I think what Swistle points out is true– you are only hearing so many little girls named Lucy because you are focusing on the name. It’s not even top twenty, nor do I think it’s very likely it will get there. It’s been lingering in the 60-100 range for several years now without any Isabella or Sophia or Charlotte-like signs of spiking.
Even if it did go top ten or twenty…it is the name you love. That’s all that matters.
But if you do indeed decide Lucy is not it, I encourage you to consider longer forms of Maggie and Josie. I’m a Kaela who has always wished my mother went with her initial idea of putting Michaela on the actual birth certificate. It’s nice to have more formal options. Margo or Margot is a great full name for a Maggie, and Josephine is elegant and beautiful and versatile for a Josie.
I also agree with Swistle– Eve Bradshaw is a beautiful name. Glamorous yet serious. Eve is a seriously underused classic. Eve Lucy Bradshaw would be stunning. I think that’s my favorite if you decide against Lucy as a first name.
Good luck! Please update us!
Oh also, on the middle name front– I think in your case, with no clear front runner from the honor name side, I’d just use Jayne again as a middle name since you like it so much. Lucy Jayne is adorable, and I know several families who used the same middle for all their kids. Or, what about your maiden name? Eve Jayne is a little short, so in that case, maybe Eve Lucy or Eve Lucille.
Or, if not your maiden name in the middle spot, what about your first name? Lucy Eliza would be cute, and Eve Eliza has a certain rhythm to it also.
Besides Lucille, Louisa is another way to get to Lulu as a nickname, and it is so rare right now– not even in the top 1,000. It feels like it should be more common, no? But it’s not. Louisa Bradshaw is such a great name. It reminds me of a character from Little Women somehow. (I guess because of the Louisa May Alcott connection…)
Rereading your letter again I see you don’t like Josephine– in that case, I think I would strike Josie from the list. As Swistle points out, plenty of parents (more 1,000 a year!) think Josie stands well enough on its own, but I tend to think it needs something more substantial. I suppose Joanna could stretch to Josie, though. (I personally really like Joanna too and think it is underused.)
We almost used the name Lucy for all three of our kids. Our 2nd and 3rd turned out to be boys, so it was a no-go there.
I really love the name Lucinda, with the nickname Lucy or Lulu. Would that work? Tallulah with the nickname Lulu? Louise would be another great and much less popular option too.
I understand not wanting to use a super popular name. My husband and I both liked Lily in 2005 but I was put off by the fact that it was rising and quite popular. So we didn’t use the name and I’m very happy with the name we did pick: Rose. We also have a Henry, which I knew was in the top 100 when we picked it and that it was rising. This past summer we met so many other Henrys, which somewhat annoyed me! At a recent soccer game there were 3 Henrys on the field at one point. Since you work with new families, it does give you a good insight as to what is popular in your area. Did you check the social security stats for your state too? Because my son’s name is much more popular in our state – now top 10 – compared to the national list.
Oh and as for middle names, our 2nd child has a family name but our 1st and 3rd don’t. You could kind of twist the 3rds middle name into being parts of other family members names, but it’s not really an honor name. So I’m ok with not all kids having family names if there are none that work. I have a ‘random’ middle name (just 1) but my brother has 2 family middle names and I’m fine with that too.
I also agree you should go with Lucy since you love it. Lucy Eliza and Lucy Jayne are lovely.
Of your other choices, I like Josie as a full name because, like with Lucy and Lu, she could always use Jo later on if desired. Josie Eliza and Josie jayne work.
Another vote for Lucy!! Lucy Gwen being my favourite combination :) I had a name picked out for a future girl that doesn’t even chart in the US for the past hundred years and I STILL managed to run into one. Goes to show it can happen to the rarest of names. Pick the name you would love calling your daughter by even if it did hit the top 10. It’s true what they say about “lasering in” on the name you like. You start hearing it and seeing it everywhere. But the important thing is loving it despite the perceived popularity. If it kills the name for you then I would keep looking, but if you think “OH if only……” then I would just go for it. Good luck!
Another vote for Lucy! If you guys love it, then you should choose it. As a few others have said, I wonder if it is like when you buy a new car…. you don’t notice all the blue honda fits until you buy a blue honda fit and then you see them everywhere! Do you notice all the little Lucy’s being born on your unit because it is your top contender just like that blue honda fit? I personally think Lucy and Norah are a good sibling set, they are both older classic names that have the same feeling (If you had a Norah and wanted a Tiffany, I would say no because they feel like they belong to different generations). They are both feminine with a little spunk and I think they fit well for children, teenagers and adults.
My second choice would be Eve. As for a middle name, I like the idea of using Jayne. The sisters would have a special connection with each other. I like it! I also like using your name, Lucy Eliza Bradshaw sounds good!
Good luck! Go with what you love!
I love the car analogy! So true … I always notice the cars that match the three I’ve driven in my lifetime but don’t take much note of the millions of others on the road.
I also vote for Lucy, it’s so perfect with Norah! Another thought too – if it’s the nickname Lulu you’re really after, perhaps Luella is an option? I don’t think anyone has suggested that.
Personally I’m not a fan of using the same middle name for multiple siblings, so I wouldn’t go with Jayne for that reason, but that’s just preference. My favourite name from your list of contenders is Lucy Gwen/Luella Gwen. Lucy Rebecca is also very sweet!
I’m a little biased, but I vote for Lucy! I have loved my name! Also, I have not noticed any little Lucy’s being born around me, and I think I would be very aware of them! If both you and your husband it, I say do it! What if you use Lucille as her first name and call her Lucy, then you would have both girls with family names, only one has it as a first name and one has it as a middle name. I sometimes think it would be fun to have a longer name to use occasionally. Just a thought!
Why not go with Jayne as a first name since you still love it so much? I think it could create a bond between the sisters, sharing part of their name. You could even spell it Jane to make it a little bit different.
Name her Lucy! I know that I notice my own children’s names so often that it feels like they are very common, and don’t even notice how many children I meet with more popular names. I think that Norah and Lucy are perfect together, Lucy is great with your last name, and if you and your husband both love the name, you won’t regret it.
I think Lucy’s the name. You both like and it’s popular but not super popular. Also, I think Lucy Clair(e) is darling. Lucy Jayne, too. But you could also use Lucille with Lucy or Lulu as the nickname, for the family name bonus. Louisa also yields Lulu.
I also like Margo, Phoebe, and Eve.
For middles I also like Catherine. Goes with almost anything.
I would go for Lucille Eve, nn Lucy, Lulu, Lucy Eve, etc.
Lucille Eve and Norah Jayne – beautiful!
3 months ago I gave birth to my daughter, whom we named Lucy. Like you and your husband, we just both loved the name and knew it was right. It sounds like you have already made your decision! We were a bit concerned about the possible rise in popularity, but I have to tell you, every nurse in our hospital commented on how “sweet” and “wonderful” her name is. I was told they had not seen that name and it was nice to see something other than Emma, Ava, Sophia, etc…
Also, as I’ve been out in public, everyone that stops to “see the baby”, remarks on how lovely her name is and I often hear, “well, that’s not a name you hear often!”
I think Norah and Lucy make an adorable sib set and you should definitely go with the name you love!
I wouldn’t worry about the first child getting all of the honour names. I’m the oldest in my family and I have two middle names- both honour great grandmothers. My sister has one middle name which my parents picked because they liked it. It’s never been an issue and I don’t think anyone really noticed.
Norah and Lucille nn Lucy are adorable together. Love the suggestion of Lucy Eliza too. If you love Lucy just go for it.
I absolutely love Clara with Norah too. Clara May is so pretty.
I’d also like to suggest Frances, Molly, Elsie and Mary.
All the best!
I think Lucy Margo or Lucy Cate would make an adorable sibling name for Norah Jayne.
If you love the name, it shouldn’t matter that much how many other people are out there with the same first name – she will be *your* Lucy.
If you both like Lucy, I think you should use it! It’s really sweet and goes so well with Norah. Lucy Bradshaw is a great name for a young girl and for a grown woman. I’m an Elizabeth born when Elizabeth was in the top 10 names (which I think it still is today) and honestly, it doesn’t bother me in the least. I actually get compliments on my name all the time.
Of your other names, I love Phoebe. Norah and Phoebe has a very timeless sound to it. I think Phoebe is familiar enough as a classic name that the spelling wouldn’t be a huge issue. In that case I would have to encourage Phoebe Catherine. So pretty!
I love Norah Jayne! How beautiful.
As far as the second girl…Congrats!
I immediately thought EVE LAREE BRADSHAW
I think it is a beautiful name with a similar feel to the first baby’s name. Plus, how cute is Evey! And when she’s older, Eve has such a classic feel. Definitely a good choice!!
I have several Josies in my family, but they’re short for the Italian form of Josephine, Giuseppina. When thinking of using Josie for a future daughter of my own, I don’t think I could use the Italian form and the English version isn’t quite right either. My thought was to use a name like Joanna or Johanna and call her Josie for short.
Lucy seems like the clear winner to me! I love Lucy – seriously! : )
(Going off to add it to my own list. . . .)
I also think Phoebe and Eve make excellent choices. All the names on your list sound great with Norah.
Your daughters name is beautiful have always loved the name Norah! When we were expecting our last child (who turned out to be a boy) I had Norah and Clara on my list, I think Clara goes well with Norah!! Best of luck!
I’d go with Lucy if you love it. My son has a top 10 name and is yet to share a classroom with the same name, names are much more diluted now than when we were kids.
You don’t say which family names are which – are any of these names from you husband’s side? I would say that if Jayne is your middle then this baby should have a name from dad’s side. My daughter has the feminisation of her dad’s name as he mn, other options are his mums/sisters/grandmothers first middle or maiden name.
FWIW my personal favourite from your list is Eve Catherine.