Hi Swistle,
We’re expecting our second child next month and won’t be finding out the gender of the baby. We felt naming our baby the first time around was far easier, and settled on Leon for our son pretty early on in the pregnancy. This time around we’re struggling, particularly with boys names. Our surname sounds like Monahan.
We chose the name Leon previously because we liked the fact that it was uncommon, yet easily pronounceable and a strong short name. We also appreciated that the name worked well as it was, without needing a nickname.
We love the name Anais for a girl, with the pronunciation as ‘Anna-ees’. Would love your feedback on what best spelling would best match the pronunciation. Elise is also another name that we like that also goes quite well with Leon.
For boys we’ve narrowed down to either Emil or Henry / Henri but are less confident. We like Emil for the same reasons we like Leon. Short, and pronounceable. We like Henry too but prefer a more uncommon name, and that Henri with an ‘i’ is more modern than the traditional/classic names that we like.
Would love your thoughts.
M
The association with Anaïs Nin is going to help at least a portion of the population with the pronunciation of Anais. But you’re right, it’s a bit of a challenge for many. I am not having success coming up with a pleasing alternate spelling.
Because you also like the name Elise, I suggest Anneliese.
I also like the idea of Anne Elise, either as a double first name or as first/middle (but calling her by both names).
For a boy, I think Emil and Henry are both nice choices, and I agree that Emil is more in line with Leon. If I saw the spelling Henri, I would think the name was pronounced on-REE.
The Baby Name Wizard has a small section of “Names without Borders” that I thought would go well with what you’re looking for. For girls, I especially like Anika and Nadia. For boys, nothing from the list seems quite right. I am not sure what to pair with it. Possibly something like:
Anders
Arthur
Cyrus
Ezra
Hugo
Jasper
Karl
Milo
Noel
Rufus
Silas
But I am especially glad to have the comments section for this post.
My older son’s name is Victor, which is longer than Emil or Leon, but has the benefit of being unusual but also classic, and super-super-super international. Other boy names we considered: (we had some longer names in the mix too but I’m leaving them out):
Arlo
Marcelo
Roger
Ezra
Martin (used this as a middle for our second!)
Oscar
Enzo
Orson
Overall I think you have GREAT taste in names, I love Swistle’s workaround to get the sound of Anais without the sexytimes author association (or spelling/pronunciation challenges) and I wish you the best of luck!
Xavier ?
Gabriel ?
My first thought was Anton, but it does seem a little close to Leon. I like the suggestion of Hugo also… But really I think Emil is the best choice for you.
Anais I would pronounce more like Ah NYE ees, with the last two syllables running together. I have no idea if that’s how most people would say it though… If you want a simpler pronunciation, I think Elise, which is a great name, would be the way to go.
My favorites of your choices are Emil and Elise. I agree with Swistle that I would pronounce Henri like the the French do – On-ree and not like Hen-ree.
With Leon and your last name, I also like:
Otis
Earl
Ivan
Milo
Enzo
or
Marcy
Lois
Hazel
Iris
For boys, what about Marcel or Mael? I was recently thinking about Clement/Clemence and wondering if they are poised for a comeback — either would go well with Leon, I think.
For girls, what about Daphne or Delphine or Celeste?
I feel strongly that you should go with Emil or Elise. Anais is a name that trips up many people. There are two pronunciations that are deemed “correct” (yours and “uh-NAY”), but there will still be fumbles beyond that. I agree with Swistle that Henri would be pronounced “on-REE”, or that people will think you’re trying to creatively mess with a classic.
Emil and Elise, though, are gorgeous! They seem right in line with Leon to me. I also like Swistle’s suggestions of Hugo and Anika.
I may be misreading how the letter writer intends to pronounce Anais, but I find anna-ees to be totally unpronounceable. It gets VERY jumbled in my mouth. I pronounce Anais as in Anais Nin “ann-AYE-iss” (emphasis on second syllable) although I guess I’m not actually sure if that’s correct.
Ditto. I think Annaliese is a great alternative, or just Elise, which is more streamlined like Leon.
I agree with this comment entirely, including how I always assumed Anaïs was pronounced. I blame Jewel (the singer), whose first CD I listened to over and over again as a tween. One of the songs on that CD refers to Anaïs Nin, and she pronounces the name “an-AYE-iss”—since I had never heard anyone say the name out loud before or since, I always assumed she was correct. Fast forward to this comment thread and I find A) both I and one of my favorite artists from childhood were wrong (evidently?), and B) I can logically know that and yet still be unable to pronounce the name correctly, in my head or otherwise.
I thought of this exact song, too!
Clyde for a boy!
I love Anais too. I think Anais is the more common spelling, but Anahis is used in Latin America and has the same pronunciation.
Your taste in names is VERY similar to my own! Elise, Emil, Henry, and the general category of “names without borders” are all on my list.
I love Anais, but I hope you will use the umlaut (double dot above the I) if you use it! It clarifies the pronunciation for me. I think if you use that name though, you are sure to run into pronunciation issues no matter what, I think that’s just part of the package deal with Anais. If you want one with a similar sound but no pronunciation issues, what about Naomi or Noemi? I LOVE LOVE LOVE Elise as well.
Other girl names that are high on my list: Maren, Antonia, Mabel, Maryse (this one might fit for you?) Coralie, Cambrie, Camille.
Boy names: I personally love Emil and would pronounce it ay-MEEL. But I think we’ve visited this name in the past and some people apparently say it like AY-mull. Which rhymes with something that would be easy for kids to make fun of. Just an issue I’d want to be aware of.
I would not use the spelling Henri in North America, I think people will assume the French pronunciation. I don’t think that spelling it with an I makes it more modern, if you want it pronounced like Henry. It just makes it a bit… precious. For me, anyway.
A few other boy names on my list: Desmond, Arie (pronounced ARR-ee, the AR sound rhymes with car), Samuel, Miles, Darius, Cedric, Nolan, Toby, Spencer, Andrew, Anders, Cameron. I really like Arie or Cedric for you! Cedric and Leon. What a great combo.
Hello baby name sister-twin! I was thinking of writing in looking for names along the very same lines, but you already did it for me :D
I have a 2-year-old Charlotte Anaïs (!). Last name is Spanish in origin, starts with Lar-. We are expecting a baby boy next month and equally stumped for names.
My current baby boy name shortlist:
Max
Leon (<– :-o, but possibly too much with Lar- last name)
Julian
Anton
Also a fan of:
Noel
Hugo
Lucien
I love global-friendly names with latin or greek (and non-biblical) bases. I will be following this comment stream enthusiastically.
I would literally have no idea how to pronounce Anais. I would guess “Uh-NACE” or “Uh-NAY-iss”. I think it’ just a tricky one that she would unfortunately have to pronounce for most people for most of her life.
Same here.
I would be unsure because it is a name I’ve read lots but haven’t heard. I would pronounce it ah-Nay because I think -ais in French is “ay” (so Anais would rhyme with Renae). But if I said it out loud I would be tentative because I would know I’m probably wrong!
I am not a fan of Anais because of the pronunciation issues but LOVE Swistle’s suggestion of Annaliese- it flows well off my tongue and it goes well with Leon. I’m going to go one step from Swistle and suggest Ainsley for a girl. Or what about Aundrea? Arlie?
As far as boys names I want to suggest:
Jett
Zander
Laith
Anvy
Hadrian
Gareth
Gideon
Foster
Thane
Asher
Ezra (already suggested by someone else)
Given that you like Anais for a girl, I immediately thought of Elias or Silas for a boy. However, if you want to have more children in the future, you may not want to use a name that is similar to Anais.
Arlo
Lukas
Elias
Gus
Silas
Linnea
Lorelei
For a boy, Eli.
What about Estelle for a daughter? It’s feminine, tailored, and elegant…not to mention easy to pronounce! Elsie could even be a nickname.
Otherwise, perhaps Miren (which gives you a pleasant-sounding alliteration).
For a second son, how do you feel about Rex? Or Floyd? Or Bryce?
Best wishes!
I love Noel as a sibling name for Leon, particularly because they are anagrams of each other. I love Elise.
What about Ivor? Leon and Ivor are great together.
Love the names Emil and Hugo, in fact I think Hugo is my favorite with Leon.
For some reason Felix comes to mind here. Leon and Felix!
Elise is a gorgeous name too and I agree that Anais will probably cause pronunciation problems. If you really like it though a quick correction is all it will take. What about Isobel?
Ilsa, Anya or Katya? Leon and Katya/Katia together are adorable!
Good luck!
Joel or Sasha?
I love Elise but would have definitely pronounced Anais as Ah-NY-is (probably because it reminds me of the male name Ananias from the bible). Would you like Anise for a girl?
As for the boy names, I like the name Emil however wonder if people would confuse it with the girl name Emily. Henry is very cute but popular so you would have to decide if you could accept the popularity or not! How about Hank (could also be a nn for Henry), Dean, Reid, Cormac or Conrad for a boy? Good luck picking!
Also vote Emil or Elise but here are some other ideas:
Boys:
Ari
Ira
Harry
Lyle
Hank
Ray
Tobias
Girls:
Miriam
Zelda
Opal
Simone
Vera
Daphne
I like Hugo.
Other ideas: Linus and Pascal
Do you like Roy or Ian?
I have never been sure how to pronounce Anais and in my mind say ‘Uh-Nay’. If you like this name I think you have to decide how important easy to spell/say is to you, messing with the spelling will make it worse IMO. Elise is beautiful.
I would also say Henri the French way if I saw it spelt the French way. I thought the change the ‘y’ for an ‘i’ option of modernising names is a bit …done. It seems very 80’s early 90’s to me ‘Tiffani’ ‘Brandi’. At school I was envious of my friend ‘Becki’ dotted with a love heart (a LONG time ago!). It would be interesting to see the stats as I could be waaaay off on this one. Henry is popular because it is a good name with many positive attributes. Do you like Hal?
I love love love Emil. Sigh. Love it.
Leon and Emil. Wow.
Pascal is a fabulous suggestion.
I also like Hugh or Hugo.
What about Rafael?
As for girls, I unfortunately have to agree, I never know how to pronounce Anais. I can’t help but immediately think anus and then know my brain must come up with a different pronunciation, which usually takes me to a-naye-us. I don’t even know if that is right??
Elise is nice. I also like the ideas swistle presented as well: Annelise or Anne Elise.
Mabel, Opal, Rose or Rosa, Vera, Pearl, Esmé … I love all those names for you as well. Actually looking at these above names (all on my short list) I think they all fit the same criteria as Leon and would make a great pairing. They are all classic names (not made-up) but are not overly common and still have that great unique feel. I think the following are my favourites:
Leon and Vera
Leon and Pearl
Leon and Esmé
Good luck and keep us posted!!
I am wondering if you have any ties to Germany/a Germany speaking country? Leon has been a stable in the Top 10 names here in the past years, Emil ranked #16 and Henry/Henri #13 in 2016. Both spellings are common and the -i doesn’t read explicitly French to me. It is somewhat more natural for languages that don’t really use the letter y, such as German or Dutch. Swistle mentioned the ‘names without borders’ list and to me, your picks sound ‘European’ – you might like to look into the top 100 baby names list of some European countries like Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands for inspiration.
Other baby names from the current German top 100 list are (leaving those out that have been mentioned before):
– Ben
– Paul
– Jonas
– Finn
– Louis/Luis
– Lucas/Lukas or Luca/Luka
– Anton
– Julian
– Theo
– Phillip
– Milan
How about Ivan for a boy. For a girl I like Margot and Camille.
I love love love the suggestion of Anneliese. Swistle is the best. It also made me think of Astrid, which I love too. (However, in the vein of full disclosure, I did worry it could become @ss-turd when teased. Still love it.) Others have made great suggestions for boys names so I’ll leave that one to them.
Love Emil. Love.
I say On-ree for Henri, would be weird to find out you are not French. May I suggest Remy, Micah, Willem.
Elise is lovely. I have heard Anais pronounced but am not sure if I say it correctly. There are lots of beautiful girls choices that are easier to pronounce. Analeise, Helena, Linnea, Delphine, Iris, Amalie, Elena. love Elena for you- very international.
My friend named Anais pronounces her name Uh-NAY-iss. The children’s brand Aden + Anais pronounces it “uh-NAY”. So, if having to correct pronunciation bothers you greatly, it may not be a great choice. If you don’t mind saying “Oh, it’s Anna-ees actually”, then go for it! It’s a darling name. I also love the suggestion of Anneliese, which has that “names without borders” Euro feel to me.
For a boy, what about Oscar or Otto? Sebastian and Dominic also feel similar to Leon, but may be too long for your tastes. And I’m seriously in love with the name Hugo– I keep hoping more people will use it so that my husband will eventually come around to using it for our future child!
The Anaïs I knew in college pronounced it ON-EYE-EESE, with basically equal stresses on all three syllables. Visually I thought it was very cool, but I found it difficult to say aloud, especially since she corrected anyone who let the last two syllables run together (ON-ICE). I avoided calling her by name, and I also sometimes noted the fact that it sounded like an accented way of saying the word an*s. Other possible pronunciations might have that same problem, unfortunately.
That is to say that, like some of the commenters above, I would have thought I definitely knew how to pronounce it, but I would apparently be wrong!
Anais is beautiful. What about if you add a “y” – ANAYIS. Does that help the pronunciation?
I love Emil with Leon!
Do you like Lillie for a girl? Or Isla?t
I love the suggestions of Otis, Jasper, and Finn for a sibling of Leon. All three are so great with his name!
I like Anais, and people get used to unusual names quickly these days. But I’m also a fan of Anneliese, and that seems to solve the pronunciation issues handily. Also love both Annika and Anya, for that matter.
I would definitely give Henri the French pronunciation, although I thought that was what the OP intended. My immediate thought for a boy name was Miles. Leon and Miles. I think that might be my aversion to Emil, though, which I can’t totally explain. There is a bit of it being to close to Emily/Emma/Amelia to me. Miles seems like a stronger, fresher, more masculine sound. I like Hugo a lot, too.
I hope you update us – I do like your style, and want to know what you end up with!
I actually don’t know how to pronounce Emil. Eh-mil? EE-mil? Eh-MEEL?
If you are choosing a name like Anais, I’d definitely forgo the alternate spellings and just go with the original. Then some people will recognize it, and when they hear it pronounced correctly elsewhere it’ll help them remember. You can always teach them how you want it pronounced!
I was thinking about this post when I was going to sleep last night and I had a burst of inspiration: Roman. I LOVE it with Leon!
Leon and Roman
Yes!
oo how about Ronan?
I have a 2-year-old Anais. Once people hear the correct pronunciation it isn’t a problem and I agree with Swistle that the author, Anais Nin, should give them a reference. Go for it if you truly love the name!
I’ve always loved Anais and worked with a girl with that name. It’s not uncommon among Spanish speakers. For me the biggest pitfall is the visual and audio similarity to anus.
OMG! I LOVE the name Rufus!!!!!
I love the repeated /on/ sound in Leon Monahan. I wonder if you’d like that again in a second child. A student of mine is middle-named Alonso, and that name made me think of you. Unusual but not unheard of, international-feeling, and repeats the /on/. The French form is Alphonse but that feels a bit fussy with Leon.
I love the name Anais (and I’ve always known it as on-eye-EES) but I think it’s a really different name from Annalise or Elise. Anais strikes me as a little more exotic and strong or ethereal, where as Annalise/Elise both feel pretty and delicate. Am I alone on this?