Dear Swistle,
Our name preferences have been ALL over the place since we started looking. We have gone from wanting a very floral/pretty name, to a very masculine name, to a VERY unique name, and now we’re back to family names. The problem is, we don’t really like any family names, and most names we say we like we really mean we don’t hate them. Its becoming stressful as the pregnancy draws to a close. I feel that we will have discharge delayed due to lack of name OR we will just name her “Baby”.
Here is where we are at. I really want to love the name Esther. It was my grandmother’s name and she was an amazing woman who lived a very hard yet joyous life and I really want to honor her. However when I say the name outloud it just sounds harsh. Also I struggle with a NN, Would Essie work? Es? Este?
If we do go with Esther I feel like we would need a really feminine middle name. I also wanted to use the RaeAnn for a middle since it is the mother’s name and the middle name of the godmother.
Esther RaeAnn. Is that pretty?
Other family names we have are pretty boring. Husband’s side has a lot of Betty’s/Elizabeth’s. I had a greatgrandmother who went by the name Birdie, but I feel that is only NN worthy. Her real name was Leopoldina. Yikes!
Non family names we don’t hate are:
Faye
Rose
Clara
Ada
Alice
AdrianI’m worried that they are all becoming very popular this year.
Any guidance you can give us we appreciate!
—
Mary Davis
As the first step, I’d recommend looking into what the time limit is for choosing a baby’s name. I do doubt an insurance company would consider “no name yet” a reason to authorize a delayed departure, but the rules will affect how much hassle you’ll have to deal with once you get home. It appears to vary by state: I did a quick and casual online search and found, for example, that in one state the birth certificate must be filed within 5 days of the birth; if the parents have not chosen a name by then, the certificate is filed as “Baby Girl/Boy Surname” and there is a fee to change the name when the parents do choose one. Another state didn’t mention a time limit for filing, but did mention that making changes to the baby’s name during the first year was a whole different kettle of fish than making changes after that. Several states emphasized how much easier it is to let the hospital file the paperwork, but they could mean it’s easier for THEM.
If your state has nice lenient rules, it would be nice to be prepared with something light and cheerful and competent to tell any disapproving hospital staff who tried to apply pressure; something like, “Oh, it’s all right: we called City Hall beforehand and they said we have three weeks to file the paperwork.” Or, depending on your state’s rules, nice to know that you DON’T have three weeks, and that if you don’t choose something before you leave you’ll need to do a bunch of tiresome paperwork while postpartum and exhausted.
On to the names. For a first baby, I DO think it’s a good idea to discuss broad style preferences. We get many letters here from parents who inadvertently chose something outside their usual style for their first child’s name, and then felt stuck: if you name your first daughter Andrew, but the other girl names on your list are Emma and Isabella, and the only name you like for a boy is Andrew—well, it’s a tricky situation and nice to avoid it to the extent possible.
In your case, however, it sounds like trying to choose the style first is what’s tripping you up. Right now, for example, you’ve decided on family names—but you don’t like any family names. Look again at this excerpt from your letter: “Now we’re back to family names. The problem is, we don’t really like any family names.” Yes, I think you have put your finger on it.
I love the name Esther, and I think it fits beautifully with many of the other current vintage revival names, and I love the idea of you using it in honor of a family member you greatly love and admire—but not if it throws you into the conflicted position of trying to force yourself to like a name you don’t like. When a couple wants to use family names but doesn’t like any of the available names, I think one of the best solutions is to use family names as middle names. Certainly I’d recommend not setting up a policy of using family names for both first and middle, when it’s already this difficult to find family names for the first baby.
On the other hand, if you seriously can’t find ANY names you love from ANY category, then I think using a family name can be a very satisfying solution: even if you never grew to love the name itself, I think it’s likely you would find significant happiness in having used it. And I do think there are very good odds on growing to love the name and later wondering how you could ever have disliked it. These things can happen when a name is attached to a baby we love.
Furthermore, I disagree with the current cultural feeling that parents must choose a name they LOVE: I think sometimes parents have to choose a name they’re fine with, and that that works out just great too.
I wouldn’t worry at this point about a nickname, unless a good nickname is one of your dealbreaking requirements. Esther is only two syllables, and so maybe you will use something like Essie, or maybe something else will evolve naturally, or maybe you will find you always call her Esther.
If you use Esther for the first name, would it help to choose a non-family middle name, so you can get the exact balancing sound you’re looking for? It really does sound to me as if you’re backing yourselves needlessly into a corner here, and that you might find significant relief just by lifting the family-name requirement. Perhaps there’s a pretty name you like very much but it seemed too common to be the first name.
You don’t mention any non-family names you like; is that because you’ve run into this same issue with every category, and there are no names at all that you really like? If you haven’t already tried this, I would suggest having each of you leaf through a baby name book and make a list of names you like without trying to first choose the category (feminine, masculine, unique, family). Pretend that names don’t belong to style categories, and that they’re all equally common; which ones are you drawn to? It may emerge that all the names you love are in a category you were trying to avoid: popular names, for example, or names you think other people will think are boring, or names you think other people will think are weird. This can be a stressful adjustment, but one I think is worth making.
Or maybe you will find you really don’t have strong positive feelings about ANY names. In that case, I love your idea of using the name of a PERSON you have strong positive feelings for, and I think your chances of being happy with such a name in the long haul are much greater than if you chose a name you liked equally but had no strong positive association with.
Name update!
You helped me so much with this question I posted!!
I would like to thank everyone who also helped by commenting. We settled on Esther Elizabeth (after our grandmas) and we LOVE the name. Everyone loves the name, so many people have an Esther in their life that they love. We have had a lot of positive feedback and I can’t think of any other name that would suit.
I love Esther! It’s a lovely name. Among Jews, Esti is the traditional nickname for Esther, which I think is really cute.
Ha, yeah, I was going to say this– I work in an Orthodox school with at least 2 Esthers in every class, and Estie/Estee/Esti/ST is the common nickname. I LOVE this name– great historical weight (awesome heroine) and derivation (at least related to “Morning Star”), and it fits anyone of any age. Esther Earl is a lovely contemporary association. Go for it, OP!
I like Esther, too, but if you’ve tried to love it and just don’t, I think using it as a middle is a good solution. Looking at your don’t-hate list, I think Rose Esther is very pretty. Or if you like Esther as well as anything on the don’t-hate list, I’d use it as the first given that it has good meaning for you.
Some friends of ours had a similar situation. He loved the name Esther, she really didn’t love it. He was so set on it, she gave in and they went with it. Esther was a few years old when the nickname “Tess” evolved. I thought it was a great compromise.
I used to not like the name Esther, but it has grown on me and especially considering the Esther of the Old Testament I now find it very beautiful.
Nicknames for Esther are: Essie, Esta, Estee. I think the Esta/Estee goes along well with other babies being name Estelle/Estella.
If you went with a middle name like Mae, Esther Mae could give you something like “Esmae” for a nickname?
It’s hard to give other suggestions since you don’t say names that you DO actually like. but, hopefully this helps!
I’m wondering if having more time to name your daughter after she’s born will be helpful or only cause more stress. Now you have only the name to figure out; after baby is born, you’ll also have all the adjustments every parent makes when they have their first infant to care for. I would suggest that you choose some name(s) now and be prepared to select one of them after you meet your new daughter.
I would also suggest that you not worry about popularity of any name at all. As Swistle has shown in several name responses, name popularity isn’t what it used as more names are being used these days so that the number and percent of girls given the top names in any one year has greatly diminished.
I would also not be concerned about category/style or absolutely “loving” the name. What seems most important is that you and your husband find a name that you “like a lot” and that it’s a name you feel your daughter will like and one that will serve her well throughout her life.
If baby name books have grown stale for you because you’ve looked through them so many times (as was the case for friends of mine), you could turn to the Internet and look at baby name websites that report what other parents are choosing for their baby girls. I sometimes look at the London Telegraph birth announcements – http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/births – or other newspaper birth announcements (unlike baby name blogs which tend to report only the most unusual names). [Does anyone have URLs for an American big city newspaper’s birth announcements?]
I just looked up Esther in the Telegraph announcements to see what other parents are using as the middle name: Isabella, Rebecca, Hope, Annie, Amy, Juliet, Mary, May or Rae. There’s an idea for you: Esther Rae, if you think it’s prettier than Esther RaeAnn; it would still be after your mom.
You might also consider Elizabeth from your husband’s side: there are a lot of nicknames besides Betty: Libby, Lilibet (Queen Elizabeth’s childhood nickname), Lilly, Ellie, Betsy, Liz, and more. Elizabeth Esther would be a pretty and substantial name. Elizabeth Ann is classic; Elizabeth Rae or Elizabeth RaeAnn would be pretty too.
I would encourage you to work hard (and I know this can feel like “work” when you can’t find your “right” name) on finding a name for your baby before she’s born — or two or three possibilities to choose from when you meet her. Then you can relax and fully enjoy your little daughter when she’s born without further naming stress.
Best wishes!
I think Esther RaeAnn is very pretty.
One left field option, if you like nicknames, is that the alternate name of the biblical Esther was Hadassah. Since you seem to like the name Birdie, and kind of like Essie but aren’t sure it works, I would think Haddie might be your style.
Or maybe Leona or Leonie could be a more short and spare version of Leopoldina? One thing I notice about your names that you don’t hate is that they’re all have a simple/elegant feel to them.
I like the suggestion of Esme. It’s pretty and unusual and could be used as a contraction of Esther Mae or on it’s own to honor an Esther (similar enough). I have a darling 3-year-old niece named Esme Jeannette (middle name is a family name), and I’ve loved the name Esme every since our Esme was named. If you’re finding Esther a bit harsh, sweet Esme would give you a softer way to honor Grandma Esther.
For a middle name, Esme RaeAnn or Esme Elizabeth if you want to use another family name or many other names would work as well.
Based on your letter, it seems that the names you keep coming back to are family names although there may be small issues that keep you from fully liking the names. In the case of Esther, I suggest using a more feminine variation of the name, such as Estelle or Estella. This lessens the harshness of the name, while allowing you to still honor your grandmother. It also gives you a great nn option – Stella. You should also consider variations of Rae, Ann, and other family names. Personally, I rather like the sound of Esther Davis.
We named our daughter (now 16 months) Esther, after my beloved grandmother. It was on our list as a middle name, but we never found a first name that we liked better so it slid into the first name slot. I am so happy with our choice, and every time I see our daughter’s name or call to her I think of my grandmother and am so happy that they share that connection. If our son had been a girl his name would have likely been Mabel (it was off the list for my daughter for various reasons), so we definitely lean toward vintage names in general. We also found the name Esther to be very beautiful after deciding to move it to the first name slot. Good luck with your choice!
I love Stacy’s story of a little Esther nicknamed Tess – such a great compromise and both great names.
I am also a big fan of Rose, so Rose Esther or Esther Rose are both high on my list.
A friend of mine named her daughter Essie Olive. Although at first glance it seemed a bit old, I must admit it’s pretty adorable!
“Our name preferences have been ALL over the place since we started looking. We have gone from wanting a very floral/pretty name, to a very masculine name, to a VERY unique name, and now we’re back to family names. The problem is, we don’t really like any family names, and most names we say we like we really mean we don’t hate them. ”
It sounds like you are having trouble committing to name style. However, it seems silly to make your style family names if the best you can say about the names is that you don’t hate them. Even the names you list that you are afraid may be too popular are described as “don’t hate.”
If you really can’t find any names that you can described with more positive terms than “don’t hate” then I would select a name that have many options. For example, Elizabeth RaeAnn can be Elizabeth, Eliza, Liz, Liza, Lila, Libby, Beth, Betty, or even Rae.
Also the most positive then in your post is the description of Grandma Esther which makes me think that with her name or something that evokes her memory is included the baby’s name. I am not a big fan of Esther as a first name but something like Anna Esther, Annika Esther, Annabel Ester or Annette Esther pul in the Ann from RaeAnn as well as Esther. If you really like any of the names on your “don’t hate” list Clara Esther and Ada Esther are lovely.
Another option would be to use the name Joy as you describe Grandma Esther’s life as joyous. Joy Elizabeth or Joy RaeAnn are both lovely. I kind of swoon over the name Ada Joy – sweet, simple, and lovely
You could also use a variation of Leopoldina – Leona come to mind. Leona Esther, Leona RaeAnn, Leona Joy.
What about Anna Rae? A twist on RaeAnn. I think Anna as a first name is an underused classic. A friend of mine recently named her daughter Anna, and it’s surprisingly fresh without having spelling/pronunciation/weird/harsh issues. That being said, I think Esther is a lovely name too.
I LOVE Esther.
Also, I have three children who are all girls. Their names blend together well, but we have one Classical, one Old Testament, and one Modern.
The first has two family names. (My husband wanted to honor his grandma in the middle name spot, so I pushed for a favorite name that happened to be my grandma)
The second has ZERO family names, but two names that are sort of honor names. (When I thought of her first name, I had a moment of “didnt I have a great aunt with that name?” but no, it was sort of close and isn’t it nice if it sparks a memory? Middle name to match was hard, we went with Julia and my sister’s name is Julie which didn’t sound right)
The third base a first name that honors nobody, and middle name that is a family name.
At no point did anyone other than my mother have an opinion about using or not using a family name.
My oldest girl is 10 and my youngest girl is 2, so in my samples of classrooms in a large midwestern city, I would tell you that it seems likely you will meet other girls named Rose Clara and Alice. I have never met an Esther, and I truly find it delightful! I would also suggest Edith, with the NN Edie which I also love but with the sense that it is also used occasionally by the types of families that would consider names like Rose, Clara, and Alice.
The many Esthers in my family are nn’d Estie, Stella, and EBee.
I’m an Elizabeth and, while I don’t like most of the nns for it, there are loads, and many of them are extremely feminine and flowery, while others are masculine (Eli, Abe, Za)
What about Esther-Rose? Or Esther-Claire?
I had this exact same experience with “Esther!” Esther was always going to be a part of our daughter’s name, but I thought it was too harsh for the first name spot. We played with the idea of Estherlyn for the first name spot, but could NEVER settle on anything. She was just too spunky in my belly for all the names we liked before and had been throwing around so many names it got to the point I couldn’t tell what I liked anymore. When she was born, I asked my husband what he thought about a name and said, “Esther Marie.” (Marie is a family middle name.) That moment it sounded less harsh and more spunky – just the right amount of personality to fit. We so far have only used Esther, but my son’s name doesn’t lend to a nn either so we’re ok with that. Though, I do love the idea of “Esti”.
Here are some suggestions based on the names you listed:
Esther:
Estelle
Estella
Stella
Esme
Etta
Tessa
Tess
Hettie
Elizabeth:
Eliza (I like the sound of Eliza Davis)
Liza
Lisbeth/Lizbeth
Lillian
Lily
Lila
Lilith
Elliot
Elisa/Alisa
Elisha/Alisha/Alicia
Elissa/Alissa/Alyssa
Eleanor
Ella
Elsa
Elle (Elle Davis sounds classic and glamorous)
Isabelle/Isabel/Isobel
Faye:
Faith/Faythe
Freya
Phaedra
Rose:
Rosa
Rosalie
Rosemary
Rose Marie
Rosanna
Roseanne
Rosina
Clara:
Claire
Clarissa
Carissa/Carisa
Caressa/Karessa
Cara/Kara
Ada:
Ida
Ava
Adele
Adeline
Adrian:
Adriana/Adrianna
Adrienne/Adrianne
Audrey
Dorian
Ariane/Arianne
Ariana/Arianna
Ariadne
Marian
Mariana
Leopoldina/Birdie:
Leah/Lea/Lia
Leanne
Leanna
Liana
Leona
Dina/Dena
Polly
Bridget
I could have written this myself! My grandmother is truly one of my best friends and her name is Esther. I want to use it and I want to love it, but I’m not there yet. Please let us know what you pick! I do love Tess as a nickname, and I’ve heard Essa too.
Yes! Tess! That’s my suggestion.
I agree you should find out what the state law is in your state for filing a baby name. My oldest was born in a state that had a 72 hour rule. My youngest was born in a state that required the birth certificate to be complete before he could be discharged from the hospital (and no, insurance wouldn’t cover a longer stay because a baby didn’t have name. Parents would be expected to pick up that part of the hospital bill). A quick call to the hospital or to the state dept. in charge of filing birth certificates should answer this question for you.
I like Esther and find it a bit odd that you don’t see it as feminine. It feels very feminine to me, even if it isn’t frilly. Personally, I don’t think it needs a nickname. But if you want one, Essie seems nice.
Most of the names on your list seem to lean a little vintage to me. Another way to group names is by sound. I know people who don’t care for a particular style, but are very drawn to certain sounds. For example, ask yourself if names such May, Maeve or Faith appeal to you as much as Faye.
Adrian doesn’t seem as vintage as the other names, but it does seem similar in sound to Ada. I’ll suggest Adelaide, Audrey, Adele, Addison, Adair, Adeline & Adira.
Finally, I’ll suggest using a variation of a family name. I know Swistle isn’t a fan & this doesn’t work in some families (it’s actually preferred over exact namesakes in my family). Tweaking a family name can be a nice way to still honor someone you love, while using a name you actually like. Instead of Esther, perhaps Esme? Instead of RaeAnn you could use any of the Ann names; Annabelle, Anya, Annika, Anna, Anne, Suzanne, Maryann, etc. Or perhaps you’d rather work with the Rae part of the name, Rachel, Raine, Reagan, etc.
I like Esther – moreso after doing a study on the book of the Bible with the same name and person. It does read as a ‘religious’ name because of that. Is that important to you or not? I’d recommend reading the book of Esther if you haven’t already – it might make you like the name more. Or even steer you away from the name.
I have a 9 year old Rose. It’s very popular as a middle name, but not so much as a first name. We have met 3 others locally, but none of them have been in my daughter’s grade. I do recommend it as a first name. Rose Esther doesn’t have the greatest flow – I had a hard time finding a middle name for Rose – but since the family connection is significant, I’d go for that over flow.
I also like the suggestion above of Anna Rae.
If you’re not sold on Esther, perhaps you could use Estelle/Estella. Both names sound similar to Esther, have the same meaning (“star”), and have the option of Stella as a nickname in addition to Essie/Estie. It wouldn’t have as much connection to your grandmother, but I think the names sound similar enough that you could still call it an honor name.
On a similar note, if you’d consider using Birdie but you don’t like Leopoldina, could you try using a different name with the nickname Birdie? Bridget, Beatrice, and Bernadette are all options for that. I’ve also heard that it can be used as a nickname for Elizabeth. (I think the logic is that it sounds sort of like Betty.) That might be a good choice since it would be like using names from both sides of the family at the same time. I know you said you’re not crazy about the the name Elizabeth, but would you like it better if it had a more unique nickname?
I happen to really like the name Esther. It grew on me after meeting two women with the name (about my age, so they’d be in their mid or early thirties) in law school and they were both just wonderful people. I think if *you* don’t love the name, then you should go back to the drawing board. (Although I will say I kind of love Esther Elizabeth).
You don’t need to use a family name! Would it be easier to just agree that one of the names will be a family name, and then you guys can make a list of all the names you like, family and not, and then go from there in deciding the first and middle? And take the pressure off of yourself with names being too popular as well. I have yet to meet an Alice under the age of 10 – but I have three Amelias in my immediate circle. I think you can do a name search by state and that might be more helpful to you.
Good luck and congratulations!
You’ve got some great choices among your “non-family names that we don’t hate”. Your worry that they are all becoming very popular is somewhat misguided. Yes, most of those are increasing in popularity. But whether that is equal to “very popular” is debatable. None of the ones you listed are in the top 100 in the US lists for 2013; Faye and Adrian aren’t even in the top 500 (though Adrian comes in at #60 for boys– I suggest spelling it Adrienne, which still isn’t in the top 500). If you’re really worried about popularity, I don’t think Rose, Adrian/Adrienne, or Faye are in any danger of shooting to the top 10 during your daughter’s childhood. Esther and Rose are at almost the same popularity levels– both around #225. Clara, Alice, and Ada are all more likely to continue rising– but not necessarily that far. Clara in particular has a nice mid-level popularity thing going on.
I do like Esther though. I think it’s really underused outside of Orthodox/Hasidic circles, and ripe for revival. I’m also of the mindset that Birdie can be a nickname for just about anything, and I’d be tempted to use it as a pet form.
Other names that came to mind:
Miriam
Susannah
Leonie
Harriet (Hattie)
Letitia (Lettie)
Jessamine
Bryony
Luna
Calla
Can I put in a word for Elizabeth, too? It’s a great name. I wouldn’t use Betty as a nickname with the last name Davis, but there’s Betsy, Bette, Ellie, Libby, Ebeth…
Also forgot one more Elizabeth nickname– my favorite!– Lily. I had a great-grandmother and several great-aunts who were Elizabeth with the nickname Lily. It’s really cute.
Good luck!
I love the suggestion to use the Hebrew name, and suggest Dassie (rhymes with saucy) as a nickname for Hadas/Hadassah or as a standalone name. Etta and Star are other possible variations.
Esther nicknamed Essie is both distinguished, cute, and beautiful. I would go for Esther Rae.
What about combining your name and Esther and then creating a nickname? Usually I’m not into mash-up nicknames, but with the name Mary I think it works really well. (I have a baby named Mary!) Mary Esther or Esther Mary, nicknamed Emmie (M-E)?
There’s an Australian actress who goes by Essie Davis, and only just now reading your letter did it occur to me that her given name might be Esther (and apparently it is). Anyway I have always thought that Essie was an awesome name.
I started reading the comments and saw that I agree with most and that most agree!! So I stopped reading…
I also agree that if you absolutely can’t find a name that you guys love then I think it’s a great idea to choose a name after someone that gives you a positive feeling, even if you just “like” it, you will likely come to love it and your child grows into it. In my opinion, Esther seems young and fresh and spunky with a lot of great nn (see above).
If you like the nn Birdie, then what about Bridget or Brigette. The first time I hear this name I wasn’t too keen on it, then our close friends named their little girl Brigette and I am sooo jealous (in best way possible!!) as I love that name and wish that we could use it!! You can use Birdie for a nn this way and still keep that connection to family.
Other names that I like:
Juliet/Juliette. Our daughter is Juliet. Love love love her name.
Ada or Etta – would, without a doubt use these names if they worked with our last name.
What about Thea??? I love it. It’s an old classic but feels young and fresh and is quite uncommon.
Violet nn Lettie
Eve – nn Evie is super cute
Lucy
Giada
Veronica
Pearl
Adele
Emmaline or Emmeline
Adeline
Belle
Isadora
Noella
Fiona or Theona
Vienne /Vienna
Margo
Ruby
Otelia or Ottilia or Othelia
Willa
Faye
Norah/Nora
Ivy
Willa
Prudence (although not sure how I feel about Prude for nn)
Good luck. Keep us posted
Ah, totally forgot to mention that I LOVE Rose. If we have another girl it’s one of our top contenders. Rose is so sweet and classic and love Rosie or Rosa as nn.
What about Audra? Not quite Audrey or Aubrey but a newer take on it.
I agree with the idea that if there really isn’t a name you truly LOVE, picking a name that you like will work out fine. I’m due with a boy in about a month, and my husband and I had chosen a boy name we liked seven years ago but never had the opportunity to use it because we had girls. When we found out this one was a boy, I wanted to re-open the name discussion because I wasn’t sure I was that crazy about our name choice anymore. But I couldn’t find any other names I was crazy about either, so in the end we decided to stick with our old choice and I have to say that I’ve grown to love it again because it’s our baby’s name.
That being said, it does seem silly to make yourself use Esther (or another family name) if you think it sounds “harsh” and aren’t sure whether it sounds “pretty.” I do like the nickname suggestions of Essie and Tess, though!
As for being stuck on style, although I do think it’s nicer when sibling names flow, I don’t think it’s a disaster if they don’t. If you find a name that you love and seems perfect for your baby, I think that’s more important than whether it “matches” their older or future siblings names.
My friend Esther went by Estee sometimes as a nickname. I’m not sure how she spelled it since it was a verbal, not written, nickname, but it sounded like “Est-ee.” It was really cute, actually.
You mentioned at one point liking masculine names – would you consider Aster? It’s less old-fashioned, but has a similar meaning (if you go with “star” as the origin) and sound. It comes off a touch more masculine to me and is of course very unusual. “Aster Rose” is pretty (although it gets you two flower names), or maybe “Aster Claire,” since you mention not hating Clara.
If you really like RaeAnn as a middle name, I think it goes fine with Esther, although the styles are quite different. But there’s a little girl in my daughter’s preschool named Raya. I think “Raya Ann” for the first and middle is quite lovely – it blends together a bit, which I normally wouldn’t like, but since you like RaeAnn, maybe it would work for you, and you could use Rae as a nickname. Except for being unusual, I don’t think Raya falls too strongly into any one category, so you wouldn’t be hamstrung when naming future children. And if you end up having another girl, you can still have Esther in the mix for another honor/family name.
Ultimately, if you go with Esther, Tess is my favorite nickname suggested, by far.
I’ve always thought of ‘Birdie’ as a nickname for Elizabeth – does that appeal at all?
I love Esther, but more importantly, I think the fact that so many commenters are chiming in to say they love it, too, is a good sign. It means the sound is appealing to a broad group of people, even if the name itself is not racing to the top of the charts. Considering that most parents want a name that’s pleasing to the ear but not in the top 10, I think you’ve unwittingly stumbled onto a real winner.
I know an Esther who goes by Estie (she’s Israeli), but I think Essie is even cuter. The association with the nail polish makes this a little more familiar. Esther Davis is gorgeous and retro. It sounds like an old Hollywood star — very glamorous!
This is the most therapeutic thing I’ve done my entire pregnancy! Thank you EVERYONE for your input. My husband and I enjoyed reading every response and it has really helped us think more about our name choices. We both decided that having a name that is meaningful and are pretty set on Esther as the first name. For nicknames we love Essie, AND tess is such a wonderful suggestion. My mom had even suggested the name Tess. I also LOVE the idea of Birdie for a nickname for Elizabeth. We are going to wait until we finally can meet Miss baby to make a final decision (hopefully sooner rather than later) and I will be sure to let you all know what we decide. thanks again for the comments, it really helped me focus on what is important for me in the name arena.
I am so glad to read this update. Esther Elizabeth is such a beautiful name! We named our daughter Ruth, after my beloved gran, and I have never regretted it. I never loved the name Ruth, but I loved my grandmother, and I now adore my daughter’s full name– Ruth Pe@rl.