Middle Name Challenge: Deven Elise and Quinn _____?

25 Replies

Jen writes:

our second daughter, quinn, is scheduled to arrive 7/7 and we still need a middle name for her. both our girls will have androgynous first names (she’ll be little sister to deven) with more feminine middle names so that, if they end up hating the first, they’ll have an option.

SO, middle name needs to be stand-alone as a feminine name – and by stand-alone, i mean a less unusual choice…deven’s middle name is elise.

the other complicating factor is that we have a long last name – something that sounds like micon (hyphen) bonner – and so we think the middle name shouldn’t be more than 3 syllables…but not a monosyllable because it kind of clunks after quinn.

i could be persuaded to go longer for a name i really love but anything beyond 3 syllables starts sounding very princess-y to me. (alexandria, gabriela, etc)

lastly, while we love quinn as a first name – and love deven & quinn as sibling names – quinn starts sounding like “queen” when paired with certain middle names, like elizabeth.

the other officially vetoed names have been sophia, caroline, mirabelle, corinne and madeline.

we sort of like these names but none sound like The Name…

gabrielle – too princess?
kathleen – too dated? (plus a friend’s name)
caprice – not stand-alone enough?
therese – too plain to be a first name option?
olivia – too popular? (plus, a family members middle name)

(sidenote: olivia is deven’s middle name suggestion.)

we also want to stay away from family names since deven doesn’t have one…that rules out:

alice
danielle
justine
elena
eleanor
margaret
linda
stephanie
pamela
alexis
ariana
carole
elizabeth
jessica
holly
angela
erin
shannon
nora
katherine

good grief, we’re picky.
help?

Since Deven and Quinn are such perfectly-coordinated sibling names, one exercise we could try is coordinating the middle names just as if they were the first names. That is, we could play the game “Sister Names for Elise,” and see if it yields any names that fit the bill for the actual situation.

The Baby Name Wizard suggests these sister names for Elise: Camille, Elena, Hope, Celeste, and Noelle. And right off the bat we have a definite possibility in Camille: it sounds similar to Caprice but is more common and standalone; it’s two syllables; it sounds great with Quinn; it sounds great with your surname. Quinn Camille Micon (hyphen) Bonnor. Devan Elise and Quinn Camille. I feel tempted to pressure you into using this, so let’s move on to finding some more options.

Quinn Adele
Quinn Audrey
Quinn Beatrix
Quinn Bethany
Quinn Bridget
Quinn Camille
Quinn Cassidy
Quinn Charlotte
Quinn Clarisse
Quinn Claudia
Quinn Estelle
Quinn Felicity
Quinn Frances
Quinn Giselle
Quinn Joanne
Quinn Joelle
Quinn Juliet
Quinn Lucy
Quinn Miranda
Quinn Ruby
Quinn Penelope
Quinn Shelby
Quinn Simone
Quinn Stella
Quinn Sylvia
Quinn Willow
Quinn Winifred

Quinn Felicity and Quinn Penelope both exceed the ideal syllable count, but I love both of them so much. I wanted to start this next sentence “Other favorites are:” and make a list, but I like too many of them. Quinn Miranda stands out to me, though.

Name update! Jen writes:

we ended up going with juliet, thanks to some input we got from this post – thank you!

25 thoughts on “Middle Name Challenge: Deven Elise and Quinn _____?”

  3. Susan

    With Quinn, I like the two-syllable middle names that have the accent on the second syllable — like Quinn Camille, Quinn Adele, Quinn Estelle, Quinn Giselle, Quinn Noelle, Quinn Joelle, Quinn Lucille, Quinn Louise, Quinn Nicole, Quinn Monique. I like your idea of pairing a feminine middle name with the androgynous first name.

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  5. The Mrs.

    Quinn Elara
    Quinn Emeline
    Quinn Eva
    Quinn Macy
    Quinn Evelyn
    Quinn Lacey
    Quinn Aubrey

    Nice pairing with your girls’ first names: Deven and Quinn. They are balanced.

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  8. Steph the WonderWorrier

    Quinn Isabella flows well to me; so does Quinn Alexandra. I think the 3-syllable names sound really great with Quinn as a first name. Even with your longer last name, it’s not too big of a thing because middle names aren’t really used THAT often anyway.

    I like the other suggestions, of the 2-syllable names with the emphasis on the second syllable — Quinn Lucille, Quinn Adele or Quinn Camille absolutely work well.

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  9. Laura

    So, Quinn was one of the names on my list too (but husband vetoed it) and I was IN LOVE with the combination of Quinn Ariana (pronounced Ah-riana not Air-iana)… I know Ariana is 4 syllables, but I just adore it paired with Quinn, so I thought I’d share it with you :)

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  11. Dawn

    This is super hard because I know the LC’s and know that they, like me, have a hard time with names. But I definitely have my favorites.

    I adore:
    Quinn Camille (as does everyone else it seems)
    &
    Quinn Collette (these are my top two favorites of all the suggestions)
    There’s just something about the ‘c’ sound after the ‘q’ sound.

    Of the other suggestions Claudia and Estelle are quite lovely as well. And I could see you (Jen) loving both of those and them fitting in well with your idea of names.

    The others that I want to toss into the hat are…
    Quinn Scarlett
    Quinn Iris
    Quinn Dahlia or Delia
    Quinn Cornelia (don’t love this one but think it sounds good)

    Oh and of the comments above if you named her Quinn Avaline (pronounced line) I’d be so jelaous…love, love, love that name! In fact if you don’t use it I might just toss it on our list :)

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  12. Erin

    I don’t love the alliteration with the Q and C sounds since Quinn is so short. I do love the following from the other lists:

    Quinn Felicity (awesome, not princessy, but long)
    Quinn Lucille
    Quinn Simone
    Quinn Aveline

    And my suggestions:

    Quinn Jolie
    Quinn Charlize (I know two actresses)
    Quinn Brigitte
    Quinn Eleanor
    Quinn Lucinda
    Quinn Juniper (cute!)
    Quinn Imogen
    Quinn Sabrina
    Quinn Michelle
    Quinn Eliza
    Quinn Danielle
    Quinn Brianna
    Quinn Delilah

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  13. Anonymous

    I know Felicity exceeds the syllables, but that is the first name that popped into my head.
    Quinn Felicity

    I also like:
    Quinn Lyla
    Quinn Layla
    Quinn Juliet
    Quinn Emily

    Good luck and congrats!

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  14. Angela

    I like Quinn Felicity. Felicity is one of those names that’s long and pretty without being at all princessey. If anything it’s prim and puritan. I love all the short I sounds.

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  16. Meg

    My suggestion is Quinn Adelaide. Adelaide is uncommon, pairs nicely with Elise, doesn’t “clunk” with the first or last name and separates well from Quinn (When I was running through names so many of them seemed to make the first and middle become one long name)

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  20. Jen

    wow – big big thanks to swistle and everyone else who’s weighed in…we definitely have a more filled-out short list to work with and i appreciate all the feedback. while we’re still considering lots of these choices, favorites right now include…

    juliet
    camille
    gabrielle

    oh and i love miranda and felicity but the other mama is unconvinced. :/ (i’m still trying.)

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  22. Tracy H.

    Quinn Juliet! I am so excited that is one of your finalist names. That was definitely my favorite from Swistle’s list and I haven’t had the time to comment. So, yeah my vote is for Juliet. I love your naming style!

    Reply ↓

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