Faith writes:
I’d love to get some help with baby girl names. We have a son, Eliot Lee, and our baby girl will be born on the 27th (as in NEXT THURSDAY!) We had settled on two possibilities if the baby was a boy (Graham or Tobin) but are somewhat at a loss now that we know she’s a girl. Our last name is two syllables and starts with Jen–.
When we were first married my husband and I agreed that we both liked the nickname Winnie. My husband really liked the name Winsome but it seems to fanciful to me. We though Winifred was a better option to keep Winnie but now I find myself unsure if it’s too stuffy. It would solve a lot of problems if I was 100% sure of Winifred but I’m not. The problem is that I’m not 100% on any other name either and we have less than a week (eep!)
I find myself being drawn to 3-syllable names but it’s not a deal-breaker. In general I like classic but not super popular names that have the option of cute nicknames. My husband suggested naming her after me (Faith Margaret) which I think is sweet but don’t really want to do but I think Faith for a middle name might be nice.
The two names at the top of my list were Vivian and Naomi. My husband’s name starts with N and I kind of think it might be nice for her to have her own initial. But if we went with Naomi I’d like to find a middle name that starts with R so the two of them have the exact same initials as a way of honoring him.
Some other names we’ve discussed include:
Rosalie (husband thinks it’s too frou-frou)
Louisa (husband thinks it’s too frou-frou)
Evangeline (Too long and too matchy-matchy with Eliot)
Eliza (LOVE it but it feels too matchy-matchy with Eliot)
Alice
Pauline
Ada
Adeline
Matilda
Imogen (the alliteration with our last name seems too cute. Also, it seems like a lot of people here in the States would mispronounce it)
Mae
More possibilities for Winnie are Gwendolyn and Gwyneth and Guinevere. They do tend to produce something more like Gwinnie/Gwennie, but I think you could make it Winnie—or maybe you’d also like Gwinnie?
Or there’s Winter, which is not as fanciful as Winsome and not as formal as Winifred. Or my favorite might be Wynn/Wynne: it’s a good grown-up name that passes the “Would it work on a doctor or a lawyer?” test, but also goes easily to Wynnie. …No, my favorite is still Winifred, but my SECOND favorite is Wynne.
If you go with Naomi, I like the repeating O-sound of Rose: Eliot Lee and Naomi Rose. Naomi Rachel would be pretty, too, or Naomi Rae, or Naomi Rain, or Naomi Reese, or Naomi Robin. Or Rosalie might be too frilly for your husband as the first name, but maybe he’d like it better as a middle name: Naomi Rosalie. Or perhaps Naomi Faith to honor both father and mother?
Name update! Faith writes:
I wanted to drop you a line and update you on our baby girl!
We decided to name her Naomi Catherine with Catherine being in honor of my MIL. Objectively speaking I might not have picked the name Catherine since it seems a little long to follow Naomi but I have a wonderful MIL and love that our daughter shares this connection with her. We actually find that we call the baby Nomi most often which is what my three year-old christened her. :)
Thank you again for all of your input and for the input of your readers. I loved reading your feedback and all the comments!
I like 3 syllable names too, I’ve discovered. So I vote for Guinevere!
To get Winnie:
Bronwyn/Bronwen
Wilhelmina
Winola
Winona
Arwen (a bit of a stretch)
I also like Vivian (amd Vivienne) or Naomi. Adeline is gorgeous too!
I second Bronwyn. Such a beautiful name with a nick name you love!
I love Winnie, and think a lot of names would work as the formal full name. I agree with Swistle that Gwendolyn (or any variation of it) will get you to Winnie. On The Wonder Years, Winnie’s first name was actually Gwendolyn, so there you go!
My personal favorite is Willemina or Wilhelmina. My great-grandmother was named this and went by Minnie. Winnie could easily be another nn.
Love the suggestion of Guinevere nn Winnie. My vote, hands-down.
I love Winnie. Edwina would give you Winnie, too. Or do you like Winona? And Willemina or Wilhelmina are lovely, of course! Classics. Faith is an excellent mn.
You can’t go wrong with either Vivian or Naomi. (Naomi Faith. Swoon!) The rest of your list is great as well, I especially like Mathilda and Alice.
Good luck!
I like Ada and Naomi quite a bit from your list. I know a little Naomi who goes by Mimi. Very cute.
People have come up with so many good possibilities for names that could be nicknamed Winnie. My favorites are Bronwen, Gwendolyn and Winona.
Maybe you could use Rosalind as an alternative to Rosalie? Would your husband like it better?
OH I really like Naomi. My mother and brother share an initial, and I never even noticed it until literally just reading this post and your concern over it, so unless you say, “We started with an ‘N’ to honor dad,” I don’t think it’ll be an issue.
If you like Pauline, maybe Paulina? I happen to love Genevieve, and it seems to go with some of your other choices, it doesn’t give you Winnie, but you can get Vivvie, which is cute.
Good luck!
I love Pauline! Its my daughters mn.
Wynona means first daughter and gives you the nn Winnie.
I think Naomi Rose is lovely, but Alice and Eliot go so well together.:)
You have a wonderful list it is hard to pick just one!
My friend has a little girl named Ruby Wynne. I think it is a gorgeous name.:)
What about Windemere, nn Winnie. We know a three year old with this name and it works super well!
I think you could get to Winnie through the last syllable of the name, particularly if you like welsh names.
Bronwin
Olwin (or Aelwin)
Morwin
Arianwin
Arwin
On the other hand, I think all of these are a little on the ‘out-there’ side for being paired with Eliot.
I also like Winona, and Windermere as suggested by previous commenters.
My favorite is Guinevere, which isn’t as direct a path to Winnie, but I think you can get away with it.
Or would you prefer another nickname similar to Winnie, such as:
Minnie for Minerva (unless Minnie Mouse bothers you or you feel Minerva is stuffy like Winifred but I feel Minerva is an underappreciated name)
Millie for either Millicent, Mildred (not my favorite, but maybe you will like it), Camilla Camille or Amelia.
Lottie for Charlotte, which is getting more popular, but could work well with Eliot if you don’t mind the rhyming. Some people love rhyming sibling names and others hate them.
Mattie or Tillie for Matilda.
Good luck.
I think you should stick with Winnie since it is a name you both love. I love Wynne, and also Bronwyn from previous suggestions.
good luck!
Naomi Faith would be such a nice connection to both parents, I really like that idea.
Or what about Margaret Faith? Then you could call her any number of adorable nicknames: Maggie, Maisie, Greta, Meg, even Daisy.
I feel like I’m one of the only people who doesn’t like the idea of Winnie. I like Wynn/Wynne and think that’s nice but to me Winnie will always be Winnie the Pooh.
I LOVE the suggestion of Naomi Faith after both parents.
Naomi Rose, Naomi Reece were also great.
Vivian is nice but I like Naomi more.
I don’t think Eliza and Eliot are too matchy at all! I think the different E sounds make them stand together just fine!
I’d say I’m torn between Eliza and Naomi for you!
I think Winnie is really cute and Winsome and Winter are great. Here are some other “Win” names:
Windsor
Winema
Wineva
Winslowe
Just a suggestion: would Susannah work for you, with the nickname of Sunny?
I love Winifred, it’s just so cute.
But my second fave from your list is Vivian/Vivienne.
If you LOVE Eliza I wouldn’t eliminate it. I don’t find it too matchy, matchy with Eliot at all.
However, if you both have your hearts set on Winnie I’m most partial to the suggestion of Winona.
I like Wynne, because it’s a good match to Eliot. It’s strong and not overly girly.