We are expecting baby girl #2 in July. Her big sister’s name was so easy for us to come up with. We both loved it immediately. She goes by Emerson, Emmy or Em. This time we are having more trouble agreeing. We want a name that isn’t too out there, but also isn’t extremely popular. Because Emerson is gender neutral I don’t want to go with anything super feminine, I don’t think they would go together. Some of the names on my short list are:
Marley
Quin
Charlie
Shelby
PaigeThose are the ones my husband and I agree on, but none of them really jump out at us as ‘the one’. He came up with one over the weekend that has me intrigued. Finley Margaret. Originally when he said it I thought it sounded a little too masculine, but it’s definitely growing on me. The middle name starts with an “M” for his mother who passed away last year. I could also use some help with girl middle names that start with an M! My favorite boy’s name has always been Finn, and since this will be our last child, I like the idea of incorporating Finn into a girls name.
Thanks for any help!
Julie
It sounds to me as if Finley is a perfect fit. Here’s how the name Emerson looked in 2013:
Emersen: 45 F, 10 M
Emerson: 1509 F, 973 M
Emersyn: 595 F, 16 M
Emmerson: 170 F, 22 M
Emmersyn: 71 F, – M
About 2,390 new baby girls and about 1,021 new baby boys: unisex, but currently used more often for girls.
Here’s how the name Finley looked in 2013:
Finlay: 18 F, 41 M
Finley: 1089 F, 562 M
Finnley: 113 F, 176 M
About 1,220 new baby girls and about 779 new baby boys: unisex, but currently used more often for girls.
Finley Margaret strikes me as a charming combination, and I like the way it lets you salvage your favorite boy name. I also like the way both girls have modern/unisex first names and traditional/feminine middle names. More M-name possibilities:
Finley Mae Burton; Emerson Grace and Finley Mae
Finley Maeve Burton; Emerson Grace and Finley Maeve
Finley Maria Burton; Emerson Grace and Finley Maria
Finley Matilda Burton; Emerson Grace and Finley Matilda
Finley Meredith Burton; Emerson Grace and Finley Meredith
Finley Michaela Burton; Emerson Grace and Finley Michaela
Finley Miranda Burton; Emerson Grace and Finley Miranda
But Finley Margaret is my favorite.
Name update!
I gave birth to Finley Margaret on July 10th. Thanks to everyone for your feedback. People seem to love her name and it really fits her. Now our family is complete!
Thanks so much!!
Julie
Margot?
I think Finley Margaret is perfect for you. But Finley Marie or Finley Mariah or Finely Maris could work. What was the grandmother’s name? Might you want to use the exact name?
A friend of mine named her daughter Finley, she is now 3 and the name suits her perfectly, they use Finn or Finny as nn!
I think Emerson Grace and Finley Margaret are perfect together.
Finley was my first thought, too! Emerson and Finley go together nicely, plus you still get Finn.
Another thought: Marley Finn. Does using the M as a first initial satisfy as an M honor name? If so, Marley Finn would be more ambiguous – as neither name is clearly gendered – but seems like a good possibility to consider, too.
Love Finley Margaret. I distantly know a little girl Finley and one straight up Finn (g) and they both are adorable and wear the name well. I like Margaret for its obvious femininity, and loads of nickname potential if Finley isn’t to her taste when she is older. Perfect!
Adding more love for Finley Margaret.
What about Avery? I like Finley too!
Ditto. Finley Margaret and Emerson Grace are a fabulous pairing. I love that this name allows you to use/incorporate your favourite boy name as well. I would personally stop here. Love it.
I think Finley is fantastic with Emerson. I like Finley Margaret but love Finley Maeve.
Finley is great, so is Margaret. For middle I love Margaret here, but if you want other choices, could you choose the actual name?
Alternately here are some names that start with M that aren’t on lists yet
Maud (Finley Maud)
Megan
Magnolia
Maisie
Marnie
Moira
Of these I like Maud and Megan the best, but if you both like Margaret, why not go that way.
I don’t mind Finley, but I have to say the only thing I dislike: Emerson is neutral, but it has a feminine nickname. Finley does not. True, you do have Margaret to fall back on (Megs, Maggie, Margie, Peg, etc), but Finn is in my head 100% a boys name, even if Finley sounds more feminine.
I’d either choose a slightly more feminine name, like Paige, Shelby, a slightly more known to be feminine name, like Marley or Quinn, or a name that shortens/lengthens feminine, like naming Charlotte and calling Charlie, or naming Charlie and knowing she could go by Carly if she wanted.
I bet with the number of little Fionas running around, Fi will be a more recognizably feminine nickname for the next generation. So I would count Fi as an option for a Finley who wants something all girl. It also wouldn’t be a huge stretch to get to Leela or something similar…if she wants to.
I definitely vote for Finley Margaret = ).
Love Finley Margaret. I think it goes PERFECT with Emerson Grace!
Finley is cute. One small drawback is that it lacks a feminine nickname like Emerson. Do you think that would bother you longterm? (It might bother me.)
My suggestion to consider:
Winslow
It is super cute, unusual, and offers Winnie as an option.
I love it!
Upon reading your choices, I loved Paige; Emerson and Paige; Paige Miranda Burton, Paige Maren Burton, Paige Margot Burton. Paige Burton sounds nicer to me than Finn Burton…
Finley Margaret is so perfect I don’t even want to add anything. It would be a shame not to use it. It’s absolutely perfect with her sisters name.
Thanks so much everyone!! I am pleasantly surprised to read all this great feedback on Finley Margaret. For those that asked, my mother in law’s name was Marjorie. I don’t love that name, plus the custom is to just use a name that starts with the same initial, not the actual name. I’m pretty sure we are going to use Finley Margaret!! I will update once she is born. Thanks again!!
I love Finley Margaret! Finley combines your favorite boy name with one of your top girl names (Marley), how cool is that? Margaret honors Marjorie so nicely too. (I will say that Abby’s suggestion of Marley Finn is fantastic as well, and Marley honors Marjorie just as beautifully).
I found your post interesting because I loved Emersyn when I was pregnant for our baby girl but our last name is Gilbertson so it didn’t go. We named our sweet baby girl Finlee, who was 10 months yesterday. We spelled it “lee” in honor of my mother in law who passed away, Patty Lee. We get so many compliments, her middle name is Georgeann after many George’s in the family. We call her Fin:) I love it more than ever!
So is Finley too feminine now to use for a boy??