Swistle,
I would love it if you would give your input on my naming situation! We have a son, Carson John, and a daughter, Lilah Michelle. Carson shares a middle name with my husband, and Lilah shares one with me. We are expecting our third (and final) child in April 2015.
My concern is finding a name that blends well with the modern feel of Carson with the vintage type feel of Lilah. Carson is quite common where we live-Lilah is not. We did not find out the sex of the child, but for a boy we like have many more options than for a girl, so I really need help with girl names! For a boy, we like Reid, Owen, Blake, And Gavin.
For a girl, every name we consider seems to “fit” with either Carson or Lilah-not both. We considered Ava when Lilah was born, and would consider it again but I’m not sure I love it in the sibset. Others we have considered are:
Hallie/Halle
Sienna
Mia
BrielleThe middle name will likely be Elise to honor a family member, although we have considered Elise as a first name.
Our last name sounds like Mall-z-bee. We have to be careful about names that end in the ee sound, although mine does and it doesn’t bother me. I’m not sure it’s the ideal sound though.
I hope you can help us find a name to round out our sibset!
In general, I like the brother names to go together and the sister names to go together—even if there is a style gap between the two sets of names. So if you have one boy and one girl, and all your girl names seem to go either with your boy name or with your girl name, and all else is equal, my own preference would be to choose one of the ones that goes with your girl name.
Looking at your list, I think Ava goes very well with both Lilah and Carson. Hallie, too, seems to me to go well with both, but the combination of Lilah and Hallie is so L-heavy, especially with the L sound in your surname; it’s not enough for me to want to cross it off the list, but it’s enough for me to make a mark in the Con column. Sienna feels to me like a good fit with Carson but a mismatch with Lilah. I think Mia goes fine with both. Brielle seems like a good fit with Carson but quite modern next to Lilah. So if I were cutting down your list to meet my own preferences, I’d end up with:
Ava
Hallie
Mia
To add to the list, I might look at the time period when the name Lila/Lilah last peaked, which was the 1920s. Sifting through names such as Mildred, Betty, and Doris, this is the sort of thing I’m thinking of:
Audrey
Charlotte/Lottie
Clara
Eleanor
Emma
Eva
Evelyn
Grace
Hazel
Josephine/Josie
June
Louise
Mae
Rose
Ruby
Silvia
Vivian
I agree that in your case, a name that matches Lilah would work better than one that matches Carson. However, I think you should be able to find something that is a decent match with both.
Madilyn/Madeline could work. It’s technically vintage like Lilah, but has been fairly popular in modern times, so it doesn’t seem out of place with Carson.
Avery is vintage like Lilah, but it’s use for girls is modern, making it work with Carson.
From your list, I think Ava is a great fit with both. Mia also works nicely.
I think Elise would be a great first name. It feels very complimentary to Lilah to me….a more classic twist on currently popular sounds, but not retro in a way that would make Carson seem out of place. (Although I think Carson is pretty classic too, as surname names go).
From Swistle’s list, I like Rose best…although it does give you a bit of a flowers theme.
For boys, my picks would be Reid or Owen.
I like Mia and Elise from your list best.
How about Elizabeth, Margaret (Maggie), or Ruby?
I agree with Swistle that finding a girl name that complements Lilah is more important than one that matches both Carson and Lilah. That said, Carson doesn’t feel strikingly modern to me– it’s not quite the same as Jayden/Jace/Jaxon/Cayden etc. I can picture a homespun 1920s farmer from the Midwest named Carson, with a similar-era sister named Lila(h).
I agree with Swistle on eliminating Sienna and Brielle; Hallie is also a clear elimination for me as I don’t think it flows well with your surname. I also think it is a bit past its peak, whereas Carson and Lilah are both on the upswing. If I heard the sibling group, I would assume Hallie was the oldest by a few years (late 90s-mid 2000s birth).
Though I think Mia works well stylistically with the others, Mia Mall-z-bee is pretty sing-songy. It could be cute and memorable though.
That leaves Ava! Which is fine, but significantly more popular than Lilah or Carson.
Some other possibilities that come to mind:
Eva
Evelyn
Eve (seriously underused!)
Amelia (Mia can be a nickname)
Gemma
Georgia
Fiona
Vivian
Jane
Anna
Calla/Callie
Rose
Nora
Ella
Thea
Thalia/Talia
Stella
Ruby
Scarlett
For a boy, I immediately thought of Leland and Nolan.
Good luck!
Ah, wait, no, not Leland! Duh, too close to Lilah.
Also wanted to add that of the suggestions I listed, I think Stella is the most stunning with your surname. It has a pleasing flow, and goes nicely with Carson and Lilah. Just my own opinion!
Stella Elise is so pretty!
Eden comes to mind as a good fit with Carson and Lilah. Eden Elise Mallz-bee. I love it.
BTW, I think Reid and Blake are both really good bridge names from your boys list.
Did you notice that Hallie and Lilah are almost anagrams of each other? That could be either good or bad (or neither), but probably worth being aware of.
Personally, Ava and Mia are way too popular to match Lilah. Not to mention, Mia and Lilah are the exact same vowel sounds and cadence.
I know people who use the mom’s middle name for all their girls. It was their way of giving their daughters a tie to their family when they got married.
I love Elise Michelle for you.
As others have said, Carson and Lilah don’t feel too strikingly different in style to me. I think of Carson as a pretty classic surname name — maybe it’s because I associate it with Carson Drew, Nancy Drew’s father. :)
The style of Elise fits nicely with both, but for me Lilah and Elise together are a little tongue-twisty — lots of L sounds.
Other ideas:
Bridget
Amelia
Daphne
Melinda
Camille
My absolute favourites are June, Thea, and Ruby. IMO, all these names are fabulous and I think they fit nicely in with the trendy/traditional styles of your other two kiddos. Ruby probably fits slightly better but I think that June and Thea both matches nicely with Lilah.
What about Blythe? It gives off the same feel as Ruby… trendy-vintage.
Good luck!!
PS. Reid and Gavin are my favourite for the boys!!
Darlene… lilah, Carson and Darlene.
Or Shirlee. Though you’d have a double ee with last name
Or Lonnie. I like Lonnie Elise.
Instead of ava how about Alana?
First to start with your boys options, I think Owen, Reid, and Gavin are great with your last name and sibset. I fact, I really like all three so much it is hard for me to pick a favorite. I don’t care for the flow of Blake with your last name.
As for your girl name dilemma, I really do not like Hallie with your last name or as a sister for Lilah. I do like Ava and Mia with Carson and Lilah but both of them are far more popular than Lilah. Just looking at the names you have listed I think I would go with Ava Elise. Carson, Lilah, and Ava sound fine together.
However, I think I would look for something as vintage as Lilah that is less popular. With Carson and Lilah, I really like Veda Elise, Maeve Elise, Rose Elise, and Freya Elise.
One way, I think, to bridge the names is to choose something that doesn’t really match either. I think June is a good example. Even though it’s from the same time period as Lilah, the sound and feeling are very different. Carson, Lilah and June all sound nice together because no 2 are overly similar.
Mia and Ava, while nice names, sound too similar to Lilah to me (especially with the -a ending). Hallie is better, but still a little too similar for my taste.
Some of the other girl options from Swistle’s list that I like with your first 2 are: Hazel, Ruby, Vivian
A few more options: Sadie, Rachel, Phoebe, Maren, Holly, Imogen, Esther, Jade, Bernadette, Elizabeth, Beatrice, Brynn, Joy
For boys, you have a great list! My favorite is Owen with your set, but all are lovely.
Ooh, I love Phoebe in that sibling set! Great suggestion.
My cousin has daughteraised named Lilah and Ava. I’ve always thought they matched well.
The first name that came to my mind was Adele.
Carson, Lilah and Adele. Such a pretty underused, yet familiar, name.
Adelaide, Mabel, Isabel, Hazel and Jocelyn are my other suggestions.
All the best!
I’m going to throw Grace into the mix. I think it sounds nice with both Lilah and Carson and seems to match the retro yet modern feel you’re going for.
Even though Ava is quite popular, I really like it with Carson and Lilah. Maeve and Mavis offer a similar sound, but then there is alliteration with your surname, which you might not like. I think something like Willow could also work with Carson and Lilah…..
Of the names suggested, my favorites are Stella, Hazel, and June. These names are vintage names that also read as modern. Or Juliet! Or Tess……
I’m also tempted to suggest something more offbeat, such as Gwyneth, or Gwendolyn–names that are hard to pin down, yet straddle eras, styles, and moods.
I actually absolutely LOVE the name Brielle! That one popped out at me on your list. Brielle Elise sounds so pretty and feminine…a mixture of modern and classic which is perfect for your needs. My sister’s name led to her nickname of Bri (pronounced Bree), which I love. :)
I also love the name Charlotte (Charlie/Charley or Lottie for a nickname, perhaps). Mia and Ava are so beautiful, but both are so popular now and that turns me off (probably because my own name is very common/popular). :) My friend recently named her new daughter Eva (they initially wanted to name her Mia)…Eva seems like such a strong, gorgeous name! Vivian is also beautiful (Vivi/Vivie for a nickname). Have you thought of Evelyn? (Evie/Evey…pronounced Eh-vee) Hallie/Halle always throws me off because it can be pronounced 2 ways (Hal-ee or Hay-lee)…it is a nice name though!
From your boy name list, I love Reid/Reed and Owen. Have you thought about the name Griffin? Or Grant? I would suggest Harrison, but it matches Carson very closely.
Hallie is my favorite of these choices. It makes such a cute sib set and it’s a name I love.
I love the name Hallie!
If you did want to use Elise as a first name you could keep carrying down your middle names by using Janelle, part John part Michelle.