Well, let’s get back to work.
This is a fun one for me. Last year we did a post discussing the name Cole for a girl, and I mentioned that one thing to consider was the potential difficulty of choosing a sibling name—or maybe not:
If your list is mostly “boy names for girls,” and a point in Cole’s favor is that it’s usually used for boys, then I think you’re all set: correcting people will be fun, and you will be able to find plenty of similar names for future daughters. (But I find myself hoping you have trouble and we can help; that would be a really fun list to make!) Perhaps you could give each daughter a traditionally-boy first name and a traditionally-girl middle name, as you’d be doing with the name Cole Leann. Brothers seem like less of an issue: I don’t think you could choose any name for a boy that would make it clear that Cole was a girl, and it’s common for parents to have a somewhat different naming style for daughters than for sons, so I think you could just go with your own preferences.
Emphasis added, because in my inbox this week was this email:
Hi Swistle,
Sorry it’s taken so long to update!!! Little baby girl Kole Leann arrived in August! Her name fits her perfectly!! Your response and the replies from readers really helped us with our final decision. It prepared us for the responses some people may have and encourage us to go with our gut!We’re now pregnant with our second!! We would appreciate any help from you and readers for sibling names for Kole! I think we may want to stick to the single syllable theme. It’s still early so we don’t know the gender but we’re so excited!! We would love any suggestions!
Thank you!!!
WE’RE ON.
So for boys, I’ll say what I said before: I think you can go with pretty much whatever you like. Last time you mentioned Lane, Jonah, Brooks, and Mitch. Kole and Lane is most unisex, if you want to go for that. Kole and Jonah, Kole and Brooks, Kole and Mitch—they all seem like they’d work equally well, each giving a different tone/style to the sibling group. If it were up to me, I’d choose Kole and Lane or Kole and Brooks.
Girl names are the fun ones here. My own preference is for the style within a sister group (or brother group) to be similar: there’s no rule against sisters named Kole and Josephine, but if I were in charge of the rule book I might make at least a note about it. I think it would be fun to search for another one-syllable name used mostly for boys, with a feminized spelling and a girls-only middle name. I’m not saying I think such a thing MUST be achieved, just that I would enjoy the hunt.
I like Flynn. In 2015 it was used for 15 new baby girls and 360 new baby boys. I think the “Lynn” element gives it a feminine sound; and the Y, while not an altered/feminized spelling, gives it a feminine look. Kole and Flynn.
Ross has potential, I think. It was used last year for 8 new baby girls and 157 new baby boys. It’s reminiscent of Roz, and of the unisex Joss. Again it lacks a way to feminize the spelling, but that’s the detail I’m least concerned about. Kole and Ross.
Oh, oh, oh, how about JUDE? It’s sometimes used as a short form of Judy, but more often as a given name for boys. I really like this option. Kole and Jude.
Bo/Beau. Those of us who took French may balk at the Beau idea (in French the word is masculine and means handsome), but I like how it’s visually the first syllable of beautiful. I also like the sound of the name: a bow as in a ribbon gives it a feminine feel. Kole and Beau/Bo.
Something like Dane or Dean? So close to Jane or Jean. Kole and Dane, Kole and Dean.
Lane would be nice for a girl as well as for a boy. Kole and Lane.
Jace. Kole and Jace. I like the style match here.
Jules. Kole and Jules. I don’t like this style combination as much.
Blake. Kole and Blake.
It’s not one syllable, but I think Percy would be darling on a girl. Kole and Percy.
Because Kole’s middle name Leann is a family name, my vote would be to find another family name for a sister, something definitely girl.
Love a follow-up letter! If you’re not stick on one-syllables, I’d like to suggest Perry or Perrie! Kole and Perrie seem like perfection to me. Or Rory / Rorie, not sure why but the -ry/ries look great. Jory?
For one-syllables:
Hale
Welles
Smith
Quay
Tyne
Mick
Reeve
Reed
Crewe
I really like Swistle’s suggestion of Flynn. I know an inordinate amount of girl Finleys, so this fits in well. From your list I like Laine for a girl. I think you’ve got a great list for boys so nothing to add.
I think Noah could work well for a girl (I know boy siblings names Cole and Noah so maybe that’s why). It’s not one syllable but still reads and sounds “short” to me.
I also like Rafe-you know, the British alternate of Ralph? It’s not exactly a style match but it is as dashing.
What about Max for a girl? I guess I’d worry about the nickname Maxi but if boys can handle it so can girls. Kole and Max sounds fun.
It’s not one syllable, but we have a little girl named Brady! I love with it a sister named Kole.
Other ideas for girls:
Lou (so cute!)
Logan
Carson
And for boys:
Clark
Rex
Troy
Good luck! Can’t wait to see where you land – giving me so many ideas for B’s future siblings. :)
For a girl I like Noa and Jules!
Kole Leann and…..
baby brother: Wells, Dean, Finn, Kent, Knox, Vaughn, Dash, Graham
baby sister: Quinn, Blair, Beck, Wynn, Wren, Mae, Leith,
either: Blue, Tate, Gray, Kai
I would love to know why this family decided to go with the Kole spelling, because their original letter talked about Cole. I think it would help with suggestions for siblings.
I agree! I think the K changes the name completely. Not a single other selection they or anyone else has suggested is “kreative”. If they lean towards those names it totally changes the question.
Just notied that when someone suggested an “ee” ending name, I read/thought of Kole as Khloe.
Data point: I went to jr high with a girl named Bo. Her brother was Blaise.
She loved her name and really played it up, in 8th grade she was Little Bo Peep for Halloween.
What about Reece or Sage?
Sage (M) or Saige (F) would be great!
Girls: I know it’s all girl, but I love Sloane. Kole and Sloane.
Tate, Bryce, Lee, Scout
I like Lane or Saige or Blake with Kole for a girl. Lots of the suggestions for boys would work well, I think.
Swistle’s suggestion of Flynn is great. Here are a few other possibilities:
Hayes
Teague
Gage
Nash
Sister: Sloane, Clarke, Max, Quinn
Brother: Dane, Max, Clark
I know a sister/brother pair named Sloane and Dane. Just the cutest!
These names are all my style!! I love when that happens.
With a sister named Kole, i’d assume Lane is also a girl. A character from one of my favorite YA fiction series is a brave young woman nicknamed Dane. I like both with Kole. For a boy i’d prefer to go with more traditionally male names. I suggest:
Girl: Lane, Dane, Jax (another strong female in fantasy and sounds a lot like Jack), Noel
Boy: David (nicknamed D or Day, perhaps?), Jason, Edward
Chris (or variant spellings)
Jo
Billie
Beau
Nash
Reeve
I like Noel, but if you pronounce it the boy way it rhymes with Kole, is that okay? And if so, what about Joel?
Chase
Mike (Myke?)
Tony (Toni?)
I like the suggestions of Sage, Reece, Sloane, and Quinn for a girl. Oh, and Lane, but for a girl, not a boy. I would also suggest Bren or Brynn.
For a boy, I like Dax, Jack, Reeve.
With Kole as the sister, I like Lane for a girl as well. I think if it is used for a boy, it could be problematic for him. Lots of great suggestions here. I’ll just add Jude to the list.
Another vote for Lane! Perfect sister pair, Kole and Lane. I also like Wren and Quinn, and even though it’s not unisex, Kate sounds pretty cute with Kole. Or Clark?
Joss, Blake, Tate, Hayes, or Sloane for a girl!
Congrats!
For Girls:
I have to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jude. Sigh. Kole and Jude. LOVE.
I also really like Welles.
Swistle – Percy? That is a marvelous suggestion! It unexpecting and different and would be super adorable on a little girl.
Blake is another good option although it doesn’t have the same whimsical feel I get when I see Kole and Jude beside each other.
I love the suggestion of Beau – and really, I think it could be a good fit if you have a girl or boy.
For Boys:
I really like the suggestion of Vaughn. I would offer the spelling of Vonn. My friend has a son named this and I like the spelling for you.
I also really love Hayes. Kole and Hayes.
What about Jhett?
Good luck and keep us posted!
Kole feels easily feminine because of the letter “k” and the “l” sounds. It reminds me of Kaylee, Kylie, those names.
My favorite suggestion for a sister is Lane. It too leans female at first glance.
I also love the suggestions of Blair, Wren, Quinn, Wynn, and Blake.
I also think you could easily pair it with a single syllable nature name. Wren, above, is a great one, but Kole could even work with:
Jade
Fern
Ash
West
Lake
Lynx
Skye
Lark
Rose
Pearl
Good luck!
For a girl, I think Swistle’s suggestion of Jude is so perfectly perfect I can’t even think of anything else to suggest.
For a boy, how about Xavier or Zander or Zephyr? For some reason I like the Xs and Zs next to that K.
I know two teen boys named Lane, both like their names and haven’t had problems being called Lane.
I think Jude and Flynn are both great choices.
I would also suggest:
(Girls)
Tatum
Vaughn
Ray/Rae
Aleks
Wynne
Drew
(Boys)
I would go with something classicly masculine but offbeat…
Samson
Otis
Theon
Maddox
Edison
Oh love the suggestions of Otis (or Otto) and Theon!
Brothers:Gale, Gene, Nate, Leif, Lloyd, Isak, Hugh
Sisters: Alix, Shea, Rain, Alba, Thea, Luca, Greer, Arya