Hi Swistle!
Just stumbled upon your website and I love it! I am hoping you can help us! My husband and I are expecting our second baby girl in August. Our first baby girl, who will be 2 years old (also in August), is named Audrey June after both of our grandmothers. Our last name is DeJean (the “de” part is pronounced like day and the “jean” part is pronounced like Jeanne – kind of rhymes with pawn). We really like traditional names. We are not into super modern names or alternative spellings. Our list of names we both like is as follows-
Everett (nickname of Evie) Louise as a middle name
Olive
Amelia
Elouise
Beatrice
Colette
Frankie (after my dad who is Frank and would have named a son Frank if he hadn’t had all girls!)We have had some very strong reactions to the name Everett for a girl- some people love it and others despise it passionately! It was/is our front runner but I am having second thoughts after learning of this! I love Everett for a girl. Something about the -ett ending makes it feminine sounding to me. Its traditional and old fashioned but using it for a girl rather than a boy gives it uniqueness. My husband loves the nickname Evie, although we have noticed how popular it is recently.
I have always loved Olive but am not sure if it’s too “out there.”
My husband is hesitant about Frankie. He thinks it might not be easy for every personality type to pull off.
I’m almost to the point of scratching Amelia off the list because of its popularity and the two A names.
If I could have seen into the future and knew we would be having another girl, I may have saved the name June to use as this baby’s first name. But it’s already been used as Audrey’s middle name so that’s that!
My husband has an interesting family name and if we ever have a boy he will pass that name on. He goes by his middle name- Darr. If we have a boy in the future, he would go by Darr as well. We are planning on having 3 children in total but we will see how number 2 goes first!
Hoping you can help! Let me know if you need any more information! Thank you :)
If this were your first girl and most of the names on your list were names traditionally used for boys, I would say Everett was a great option: the feminine nickname Evie makes it flexible, and the -et ending is familiar in names currently used for girls (Charlotte, Scarlet, Violet). Because this is your second girl, and because your first girl has a traditional girls-only name, and because almost every other girl name on your list is a girls-only name, I’d say Everett is an outlier for your style: you both like it, but it doesn’t fit with everything else you like.
In cases where parents have an outlier name they’d like to use, I generally suggest using it as a middle name, or finding a name that is similar to the outlier name but falls within the parents’ usual style. For the name Everett, this would mean names such as Harriet, Margaret, Evelyn, Scarlett, Violet, Charlotte, Vera, Everly, Vivian, Genevieve, Greta, Ivy, Veronica, etc.
From your list, Eloise (spelled the usual way, even if you are honoring a Louise) is my favorite option, with Beatrice and Colette tied for a very close second.
Because you would like to use the name June, I might look for names that seemed similar to it. “Similar” is very subjective, but to me that means names such as May, Ruth, Lucy, Juliet, Julia, Ruby, Rose. (Normally I would also say Jane and Jean and Joan, but those don’t seem ideal with the surname.)
I share your husband’s hesitations about the name Frankie. I would use Francesca with the nickname Frankie; this gives her options is she turns out not to be the Frankie type. [Ooo, commenter Liz mentioned Frances, and I like that even better.]
Name update:
Thank you all for your thoughtful input! Colette Louise made her debut a few weeks ago and we couldn’t be more in love with both her and her name. Thank you, again!
I’m with Swistle on this, Everett is not a good fit for you. You have Colette. I love Violet for you.
Francesca (or Frances!)
I love Beatrice with Audrey. Audrey June and Beatrice Louise. Audrey and Beatrice DeJeanne.
Eloise is also lovely with Audrey.
I also have a friend named Emelia (pronounced Amelia), in case you love the sound but don’t want the A. However, she has to spell it for everyone and correct their pronunciation if they only see it written.
I feel like people will automatically assume Audrey is a girl with a brother named Everett if you use the name. But I do like it. How about Evelyn nn Evie instead? I would also use Frankie as a nn, with France’s or something longer as the given name. I wonder if you might like Eliza, Etta, or Camilla? Good luck!
It seems as Elliott is becoming more popular as a girls name so spelling it Eliotte could give you the more feminine (ett) sound that you would get from Everett. However, I don’t think even with that spelling that it really goes with your naming style. There’s Scarlett, Juliette (which I happen to love with Audrey!), Cosette, Yvette.
I do personally know someone who named their daughter Olive and I find it refreshing but it has the same sound as Audrey.
I was going to suggest Cosette too, I know a little Cosette and it’s such an adorable name! Audrey and Cosette!
I am here all day long for a Frances nicknamed Frankie. We briefly considered Francesca with the nn Frankie as well and Francesca I like better with your last name than mine. Cute, cute.
I like Everett, but with your daughter’s name and the other names on your list, I wouldn’t use it. I like Evelyn nn Evie as an alternative.
Out of your list my personal favorites are Beatrice and Olive. I like them both with Audrey. Along the same lines as June, I like Mae, Pearl, and Iris. Oh, Faye maybe? even if just as a middle.
What about Dar(r) for a girl? Unusual, but with family meaning, and known enough c/o singer Dar Williams. It’s pretty cute actually!
My though too! “Dara/Darra” could be an option too… All from the ‘use it don’t lose it’ camp of babynaming :)
What about Yvette? It sounds very much like Everett to me, you could definitely still use Evie, and it’s traditionally a girl’s name which avoids some of the concerns Swistle and others have mentioned.
Great idea!
Yes! Or spell it Evette if you like the “e”.
Also, Yvette DeJean is an amazing, classy name!
A million times this!
I love Yvette; it sounds beautiful, it looks beautiful, and I think it would be perfect with her sister.
I love your names! And I think we have a similar naming style as well, we have an Audrey Rose, Everly Madison, and a Grace May. Some of the names on our list of girls were:
June
May/Mae
Olive
Hazel
Rosalie/Rosie
Violet (very very close to using this for Audrey)
Amelia
Nora/Norah
Just to throw out a few! I know some are already on your list.
I do think I might assume Audrey and Everett were a sister and brother but I love the name and see the appeal!
Everly or Ever would be my preference over Everett for a girl. My sister had a roommate in college from Poland named Ewa (pronounced Eva with a short e as in Everett). That spelling wouldn’t fly in the states, but I really like the name Eva with a short e. Could be confusing at times, but maybe worth it.
Olive Louise is pretty too! I have an Olive, and haven’t gotten any vibes of it being too “out there.”
People have strong feelings about “boy” names on girls, but I’m not one of those people! The opinions that should count the most are yours and your husband’s, so if Everett nn Evie is really your top choice, I say go for it!
If you’re swayed by the argument that it’s an “outlier” of your naming style, I like the rest of your list too. I don’t think Olive is “out there” at all.
My only concern with switching up styles like that relates to how the children involved might be impacted. Two daughters named Everett and Frankie would not be an issue for me as they are same style. The problem with Audrey and Everett is that Audrey may feel like she has to be the “girly girl” regardless if that fits her personality and Everett may feel like she has to be the “tomboy.” If Everett is a very feminine little girl she may resent assumptions that she is a boy based on the name on the paper and long for a name more like her sisters.
Or it could all work out and Audrey and Everett will both be thrilled with the names they were given. It is hard to know at this point.
Amelia and Beatrice are my favorites from your list, maybe leaning to Beatrice since you are hesitant to repeat an initial (though it doesn’t bother me to do so).
I’m not a big fan of Everett for a girl, but there are so many names that yield the nickname Evie– Eve (most simply), Evelyn (my favorite for you), Evangeline, etc. If the -et ending appeals more than the nickname, though, I like Juliet or Violet, as has already been suggested. I also prefer Frankie as a nickname for Frances or Francesca. That way if it doesn’t end up fitting her she can use her full name.
I know a pair of sisters named Audrey and Daphne. I always liked that combination.
If you love Everett a whole lot, use it! She’d spend most of her life introducing herself separately from her sister Audrey, and in situations in which she could clarify her gender in other ways (appearance, nickname, etc.), if she wanted. As I think Swistle has covered here (though I might be misremembering), Everett is a name that seems like it could “go girl” eventually, as Elliott is doing, so in 20 years this discussion might seem entirely silly anyway.
But I don’t think you should use Everett if you care (1) that many people will (at least temporarily) “despite it passionately,” or (2) that most people who don’t know you have two girls will assume “Audrey and Everett” are a sister and brother. The effect feels more pronounced to me here because Audrey and Everett are comparable in style, but for opposite genders. There would be less of a girl/boy feeling if you had daughters named, for example, Madison and Everett–Madison is firmly a girl name right now, but an Everett paired with a Madison could be a second trendy girl; an Everett paired with an Audrey seems like a classic brother to a classic sister.
Oh wait! I just wanted to add one thing, which is that–I might be in the minority here, and you seem to have already made up your mind against this point, but–your using June as Audrey’s middle name doesn’t necessarily disqualify it here! Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, for example, just used their first daughter’s middle name as their second daughter’s first name for similar reasons–the name honored a relative, and they probably would have loved to use BOTH first names on the first daughter. You could sell it that way, if you wanted to! You’d then have one daughter named after each grandmother. And if Audrey has a baby sister named June, no one will ever call her (Audrey) “June,” because that name will belong to her sister.
And (now I’m into really crazy territory, but) you could use your next-favorite girl name as June’s middle name, and then if a third daughter ever came along, you’d have another first name all lined up…
On the other hand, full disclosure, I suppose I would feel that I’d been given a second-choice name if I had the name June in this situation. But there are probably lots of people who wouldn’t feel that way!
I really dislike the idea of using a middle as the next kid’s first — it’s bad enough never getting your own set of blocks because, “Oh, your siblings’ blocks are around somewhere” (yes, I’m still bitter, lol), but I can’t imagine getting a hand-me-down name, too. But aside from that, don’t you find June Dejean hard to say? I do, at least.
Yeah, I totally see the argument against using it. On the other hand, imagine having the name your parents loved so much, they used it twice!
My youngest brother’s first name is the same as my middle brother’s middle name. It doesn’t bother him at all. If you really like June, go for it.
I also really like the pair Olive and Audrey together. I did use to think Olive sounded sort of out there, but I know a four-year-old Olive and a baby Olive, so it sounds pretty normal to me now.
With Audrey, I l really like Olive and Beatrice. I don’t think you could go wrong with either.
With you story about your Dad though, I really like the idea of going with Frances, Francine, or Francesca and using the nickname Frankie is you like.
I also don’t like Everett for you. Pairing a top-50 girls’ name with a traditionally boy name (that doesn’t even break the top 1000 for girls) makes me uncomfortable. And I agree with your husband about Frankie as a given name. Francine is another option that can get you to Frankie. My suggestions: Leslie, Meredith, Zelda, Stella (I love this so much with Audrey that I think I must have read a book once where sisters had those names), Sylvia, Lydia, Genevieve
I was going to say Judith, Julia, Jocelyn, Marjorie, and Regina, until I tried saying them with Dejean and had a really hard time not getting tongue-tied. But I don’t have the same problem with Genevieve when it’s pronounced with a Zh sound at the beginning.
Beverly Francesca comes to my mind–it might be a bit of a stretch to call her Evie, but only a very little one, you could certainly do it if you wanted. Not sure if the ending is too close to Audrey though.
I think Violet from the commenter who has a similar naming style is inspired, and Evie as a nickname is not a stretch to me. I love Audrey and Violet together. Audrey June and Violet Darr (would you?). Audrey June and Violet Louise. Violet Frank. Violet Frances.
Frances.
FRANCES.
Frances!!!
Frances is great with Audrey! I also like Eloise, Beatrice, and Colette.
I agree with Swistle. I think Everett is an outlier… if I heard it, I would 100% think it was a boy.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Olive.
If you both like Amelia but wonder about having two “A” names, what about the spelling Emilia? I actually really like Audrey and Emilia together. :)
Emilia makes me think of Emmeline.
I really love the name Francesca nn Frankie. Super cute.
What about Stella? Audrey and Stella sound especially great together.
Other names:
Juliet
Violet
Vera
Eve
Esme
Rose or Rosalie or Rosalind
Good luck and keep us posted!
Evelyn Francis
Evelyn Louise (Evie Lou)
Louisa Everette.
Karina Louise
Elouise Francis
Emeline Louise
Violet Francine
I agree that Everett does not sound or look good with Audrey. Audrey June is such a pretty classic name and would go perfect with another pretty and classic name.
Audrey and Frances are so great together. Love! Frances nn Frankie is adorable!
Love Collette from your list! What about Harriet?
Good luck!
What about Pearl? Audrey and Pearl!
Or Louisa? Audrey and Louisa are sweet together!
My sisters first daughter has a top 100 feminine name like Audrey. Her second daughter has an uncommon gender neutral name but given more to girls than boys (however only a name nerd would know this). So more feminine and less common than Everett.
It does cause some confusion in daily life but as much as I thought it would. My sister gets mildly irritated, mostly because she thinks the names are well matched and doesn’t understand that the rest of the world does not. In the beginning there was lots of talk – esp behind my sisters back. Not mean but people noticed the mismatch and commented. People got over it but it took awhile.
So: choose Everett if you love it enough to have to handle comments from the peanut gallery in the beginning and some confusion later on. Not a huge price to pay but not free either.
I hate to be negative about Olive, since I like its feminine-yet-unfrilly charm matched with Audrey! Or I would, if they didn’t sound so similar to my ear. I know many people pronounce Audrey with a more prominent “Aw” sound, but I say it like Ahh-drey—the same starting sound as Ahh-live. (Also, Olive with a last name that sounds like dijon makes me think of food.)
As others have mentioned, I do not like Everett with Audrey. It seems like a style outlier.
If I heard about siblings Audrey and Everett, or Audrey, Everett and Darr, it would be very jarring to learn that Everett was a girl.
I have a daughter named C@therine Everett Lastname and we call her “C@te Everett.” I have three other daughters whose names are similar in style and syllables to C@therine – all are definitely traditionally feminine. We call all three sisters by their full first names almost all the time, so C@te Everett feels like a departure from our style. I have noticed that a lot of people attempt to spell my daughter’s name with an “e” on the end of Everett, so many must think that is the appropriate spelling of the name for a girl. Everett is a long-used family name for us and it was important to me that my daughter be called by the name – not just have it tucked in somewhere. We have generally had very favorable responses to her moniker and the rest have been wise enough not to comment. Perhaps you would consider calling your daughter by two names? Everett Louise? Or Evie Lou? Or the traditional double name filler of Mary. Mary Everett? You could even pair Everett with something current like Mae (or “May” could be fun with June) and calling her Everett Mae? I swore I would never use a double name, but it’s worked out fine. At home, we sometimes call her “C@tie Rett.” Her sisters called her BabyRett and RettRett when she and they were younger; there are lots of nickname possibilities. I think you would be fine to use Everett and call her that even if it is a different style from Audrey; it’s not a big deal in my book.
I do love Frances with the Frankie nickname, though!I think that’s a really sweet nod to your dad.
I have to admit, I had a very negative visceral reaction to Everett. Especially from the rest of the names listed and the post about wanting this to be a traditional girls name. Just go with Evelyn or Evie or another V name, for sure.
Also dislike Frankie, unless you use Francesca.
How about Everly? Audrey, Everly, and Darr.
It gives you the nickname of Evie and sounds complimentary to Audrey.
Everly Louise is somehow musical. Sounds great with your surname, too!
Best wishes!
Everett reads very boy to me, especially next to Audrey. I agree you should save it for a middle name, or perhaps think of a way to incorporate it into a possible future son’s name. If you like Evie, perhaps something like Evangeline, Genevieve or Geneva instead?
I agree with Swistle’s comments about sticking with Eloise, especially since you stated you don’t care for alternative spellings. Elouise is just setting her up for a lifetime of corrections & explanations. Louisa would also be very pretty as a fist name to honor a Louise.
And I agree with the idea of Frances or Francesca with Frankie as the nickname. Audrey & Frances are adorable together.
Some suggestions (some may be repeats) Miranda, Sabrina, Evelyn, Nora, Eleanor, Miriam, Elise, Veronica, Lucy & Cecilia.
Ah. What about Audrey and Vivian?? Love these two.
Also love Audrey and Evelyn. Then you could use Evie as a nn if you’d like!
I love Francesca with my whole heart, and think it would be perfect. As soon as I saw Frankie in your letter, it was the perfect fit for me. Frances is good, but the ones I know are always called Fran. I think it’s because Fran is easier to use in the possessive (that one is Fran’s, vs that one is Frances’.). Not sure if they choose it, or others chose it for them and it stuck.
Thank you all for your thoughtful input! Colette Louise made her debut a few weeks ago and we couldn’t be more in love with both her and her name. Thank you, again!
Re-reading through the post before getting to your update I said “oooo, Colette” out loud, no other name got that response. And then I read that that’s the way you went! I love it! And congrats!
Thank you! We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback which is always nice.