A. writes:
Okay…Baby #5 needs a name. We have four girls. Catherine, Caroline, Claire, and Colleen. Their names were NOT picked for their first initial, but because we really liked those classic, old names. We assume, but do not know, that we are having another girl. Can we break from the C? I say yes! Please, Please help with some old, classic names that flow well with our other girls.
Just to keep it all even more exciting…Baby #5 is due on New Year’s Eve!
Good luck! I’m stumped!
I say yes, too, especially if there will be more children after this one. But I’ll leave in the C names if any seem to fit the criteria. Here are some possibilities:
Abigail
Amelia
Anna
Audrey
Charlotte
Cora
Eleanor
Elizabeth
Evelyn
Emily
Grace
Hannah
Josephine
Julia
Laura
Laurel
Lillian
Lydia
Meredith
Nora
Rachel
Rebecca
Rose
Sarah
I have a soft spot for holiday names this time of year: Bethany (makes me think of Bethlehem), Holly, Ivy, Joy, Meredith (Merry), Natalie, Noelle, Stella (star). I think, too, that if anyone felt there was anything strange about switching from C names at this point, a holiday name would make them feel they had an explanation.
My favorites are Audrey, Cora, Evelyn, Meredith, Noelle, and Rose.
Or perhaps you will be naming your first BOY! In which case we need some boy name possibilities:
Andrew
Benjamin
Caleb
Charles
Daniel
Ian
Isaac
James
John
Nathan
Nathaniel
Samuel
Simon
William
Name update 01-05-2010! A. writes:
Our 5th baby has arrived. Welcoming our new baby are big sisters Catherine Rose, Caroline Grace, Claire Elizabeth, Colleen Patricia, and finally CALEIGH NOELLE. We are blessed with 5 daughters and love our newest little one’s name. Thanks for all your suggestions. Caleigh was a name that came up after she was born. We realized that to not name her with a C name was impossible. She just had to be part of her sisterhood club. We loved the suggestion of Noelle too. It will always remind us of our special Christmas baby.
I do think Swistle’s right – a holiday name seems like a reasonable explanation of why you’ve broken from the C names. Stella would be my pick from the list.
Otherwise, I can’t imagine being the odd one out. I quite like Cordelia for a girl, or maybe Cecily? Both seem different enough from your other girls’ names, and yet still share the initial C.
Of course, I do think a boy is a very good reason to break from the initials, too – I see Josephine on the girls’ list, but how ’bout Joseph for a boy?
Best wishes!
I like the idea of a Christmassy name if you celebrate Christmas–Holly, Ivy, Joy and Stella are my favorites from Swistle’s suggestions. I’d add Christina. For boys, Christopher, Nicholas or Joseph would fit the bill.
If the baby comes closer to New Year’s than Christmas, maybe a name that means something to do with newness. The best I can think off the bat is Julia or Julian, which I think mean young, because the year was young when he or she was born.
If you do decide to stick with Cs– Cora and Charlotte are lovely. I like Coral, too. Caleb’s a good choice for a boy. Or Cedric.
One more: Cecilia. (Cecily in the previous comment gave me the idea.)
How about…
Felice
Louisa
Brooke
Corinne
Camille
Cecilia
Reid
Ross
Russell (I don’t know why they’re all R names:)
Miles
Graham
Eric?
Oh, I was going to say Cecilia! I LOVE that name and it’s a great song!
Obv you can name your baby whatever you want, but I think breaking from the C for a boy would go down easier and yield less questions from nosy people.
I do love the name Meridith that Swistle suggested, too.
I think I would stick to the C’s for a girl, but break from the C’s if it’s a boy. I love the idea of Cecilia / Cecily, and I’m adding:
Celia
Corinna
Christina (Christmas themed!)
My opinion is that this baby should have a ‘C’ name… to give this baby a non-C name may (and probably will) eventually make the child feel left out with the other siblings. Example… what if the Duger’s had all those J’s with a Katherine in the middle… it would be really weird, KWIM?
My suggestions…
Chloe
Charlotte
Chelsea
Cadence
Cecilia
Cassandra
and my favorite… Claudia
I think if it’s a boy you might be able to step away from the C names but I’d still try and keep with the trend.
this may seem silly, but if she is a new years eve baby – what about “Eve”??
I love both Charlotte and Charles. They would honestly be my favorites out of either list.
I have to be honest and say I’d find it kind of odd to branch out from C names at this point- either the other girls would feel that this sister got the “special” name, or this sister would feel left out of the c bunch.
If it’s a boy it would make more sense, I think. Or if it were born on Christmas, or on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Then a holiday theme seems understandable. I love the suggestion of Eve or Eva! Classic and beautiful.
i kinda think you need to stick with a C name too. i’m picturing myself reading all of your children’s names on a christmas card (tis the season) and i think a name with a different letter would stand out in an awkward way, like you wanted to stick with C names but ran out with the 5th baby. Or I might think you named all your children C names and your dog another name and then I’d look at the card again and realize you did indeed have 5 children so one of them really wasn’t a C name and I’d start wondering why and forget how cute the card was.
My favorites are Charlotte and Charlie
I think it’s okay to not use a C name if you are planning to have another child. Or even if you’re not. It’s like the period at the end of a sentence!
That said, C girl names:
– I like the suggestions of Christina, Camille, Claudia, and Charlotte.
– Others: Clementine, Colette, Carmen
C boy names:
How about Colin (also has a New Year’s meaning of young), Cameron, or Clinton?
Non C names:
– Girl: Felicity, Eloise or Elise, Penelope, Alexandra, Margaret
– Boy: George, Graham, Julian, Bryce, Frederick
My first thought was Virginia. It’s such a beautiful classic name, and it totally ties in with the season (Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus:) )
Love Lydia, Charlotte, Renee, or Audrey as other possible names.
I have a little Eleanor, who was born last January. We picked her name in part because we liked the meaning “Light” for a New Years baby. We had also planned on naming her Natalie if she was born on or close to Christmas. I think both of those names sound lovely with your other girls’ names!
I like Charlotte and Cora (for a girl) and Caleb (for a boy). I really think this baby should have a C name, too :) – I am sorry. Good luck and what a fun family. ~Jenny in MD
I agree with what someone said above that if this one is a girl, she may feel left out without a “C” name. But I think deviating from the hard “C” SOUND is fine, so I like Charlotte or Cecilia. For a boy, I think leaving the “C” theme behind is fine, and then once you’ve broken the “C” theme, you can continue to use non-“C” names for both boys or girls if you have any more.
Oh Michelle! I love the Eve idea!
About the baby feeling left out without a C name—we don’t know if this will be the last baby or not. If there are 4 children with C names and then, say, 3 without C names, I don’t think anyone will feel left out.
Cecily or Cecilia were on my list had the baby I’m expecting in March going to be a girl. We found out in October we are having a boy, and I’m bummed that I can’t use them since I doubt we’ll have more children after this. I preferred Cecily, but since my husband didn’t like it, we most likely would have gone with Cecilia as a compromise.
Cecilia seems more familiar to me than Cecily, and I feel the familiarity makes it go better with the other girls’ names. And I like what someone else said about Cecilia fitting the C pattern, yet still being different with the soft C sound.
As for breaking the C pattern, normally I am one who says, why not? But this is the first time I remember someone already having 4 kids with the same initial. Usually it is 2 kids with the same initials and the parents are contemplating breaking the pattern for the 3rd kid. The more kids you have with the same initial, the more difficult it seems to break the pattern.
It really is a crapshoot, because you just don’t know how the last kid will feel. Some kids would feel left out having a different letter and others would feel special. And I never considered, like another poster, how the 4 older kids would feel.
Personally, I grew up in a family of 3 with all A names, and I honestly felt it was stylistically unimaginative at best and silly at worst, but it hasn’t scarred me for life or anything. Although I did swear I would never do it with my own kids. But maybe I’m limiting myself. My daughter is Fiona and I love the name Felix, but never even considered it for my expected son because I don’t want to repeat the F.
I’m assuming this will be your last kid, only because in modern society few people have 5 kids, much less more than 5, but I guess I could be wrong.
i really like the four girl names you already have.
and i agree about what has been said about c-names vs. non c- names for number five.
my suggestions:
Elisabeth
Rebecca
Margaret
Christine
Clementine
Charlotte
Alexander
Miles
Benjamin
Charles
Christopher
IF you stay with a C name, I would definitely go with Charlotte/Charles or another non-hard-c name. It seems kind of random to break up the pattern on baby #5, but as Swistle said, this may not be the last baby so it could make perfect sense in a couple of years. Amelia and Isaac are my favorite from the non-C list.
There are still so many good C names in your style, I say stick with it. I love the suggestions (some from above) of:
Cora
Clementine
Charlotte
Celeste
Camilla/Camille
Cassandra
Claudia
Chloe
Cadence
SO many great C names, I say stick with it, and if you want to be different, go with a Celeste, Charlotte, Cecilia, or some non-hard C sound. Christina would be a lovely Christmassy name as well!
Well I have to say that I believe this is our last baby, so having said that most of you feel that it should be a “C” name. I have a lot to think about and go over with my husband and the girls. You’ve all given wonderful opinions. Thanks so much, and if you think of any other suggestions…add to it! Mom 2 Be…
I think you should probably stick with C names, but you don’t have to. With C names I like Cecelia or Camille for a girl. I think Christopher and Charles work for boys and go with your other siblings.
Good luck!
Yeah, if this is your last, I think you are too far in to change it now. There are so many cute “C” names, so that’s good! For girls, I like Charlotte & Cadence and for boys I like Chad, Cole and Colin. Good luck!
I think Charlotte is a great option for you – she won’t be ‘left out,’ yet it has a different sound (soft C vs. hard C).
For a boy, I like Charles, Connor, and Christian.
We had a pattern going with our first four also. Actually, it started with my husband and his brothers. All five of them have the same first initial. We used this same initial with four sons and then deviated from that with the fifth boy because a family member wanted one of our children to be named after him and it seemed like #5 might be the last chance! I still feel namers remorse about this almost two years later. I wish we had found a way to incorporate the initial AND the relative’s name. Anyway, that is just my cautionary tale of better safe than sorry.
Celeste and Celina could work, too.
i love the idea of sticking with the “c’s”!
here are a few suggestions and new ideas that i love:
-cora
-celeste
-caron
-charlotte
-cade/caden
-cale/caleb
-colin
best wishes on both the name selection and your delivery! :)
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I’ll go with the chorus and suggest you stick with C. There are LOTS of lovely, classic C names that fit with your girls’ names. I think a soft C is fine or even a K such as Kathleen or Kimberly. or My C suggestions have alread been listed but if you do decide to mix it up, maybe:
Helen/Helena
Mary/Maria
Jacqueline
Theresa
Eve/Eva (whether or not she arrives on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve)
Anne/Ann/Anna
I think the world is your oyster for boys’ names. But take it from someone who was SURE that she was having a boy but got a girl: Have a boy plan too. At least a very short list. Seriously, I could NOT sleep in the hospital until her name was pinned down and you KNOW you’ll want to sleep. Even then I ended up with a tinge of namer’s-remorse
First I would like to say that I love the C names that you have chosen for your daughters. I come from a family with J names, except for me. My parents named me a D name. I joke that D stands for different. Sometimes it bugged me that my name stood apart from their names. Truthfully, it did not make a big impact on who I am and I know they love me. My favorite girl names from your list are Charlotte, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Evelyn, Laura, and Meredith. From your list of boy names, Caleb, Charles, John, Nathaniel, Samuel and William are my favorites.