Sarah writes:
I’m due with my first child- a girl- in early February, and desperately need your help in coming up with a name! My name is Sarah; my husband’s name is Brendan, and our family name is Burr with a ‘d’. Somehow, in the course of this pregnancy, we’ve become certain that this little girl is mellow and sweet. Thus, we really like short and sweet names for our little lady. But one problem is that we can’t narrow down our list! We like:
Fiona
Violet
Nora
Elinor
Celia
Rose
Eliza
Margot
Charlotte (nn Lotte)
Lucya few disjointed thoughts:
We would have named this baby Everett Thomas if she had been a boy. We really favor strong Celtic names for boys (and plan on using these names for any future boys): Seamus, Cormac, and Finlay. For some reason, the same rule doesn’t apply for girls’ names: I ruled out Mairead, which I do love, as sounding a bit “too Irish”, but we both love Margot (said the French, not German way) and similarly my husband ruled out Tegan for not sounding feminine to our American ears. The one Irish name that stuck was Fiona, but my husband isn’t sold on it as being “the one” and neither am I.
We ruled out Chloe, Emma, and Sofie because they’re currently top 10 names. My husband ruled out Jane, which I love, for being “too plain”. My husband think’s Elizabeth is too plain as well, but doesn’t mind Eliza. Catherine was ruled out as a first name because my husband’s sister, who he has a strained relationship with, is named Kathleen (goes by Katie).
Right now my husband’s number one pick would probably be Margot Quinn (middle name being a family name- and he’s said about Margot that “he thinks of her as a Margot, but isn’t sure she’ll look like a Margot”) and my number one would be Nora, or else Rose. My burning question, in addition to “is there some fabulous name we’re missing? One that is a bit traditional, feminine, sweet, but fresh sounding? Preferably a saint’s name, since we’re Catholic?” would be “what middle name could we use for Rose?”
Please help! I’m really waffling about here. It seems like every day I have a new #1, which is making it difficult to even visualize her having a name. Meanwhile, my husband is pretty certain about Margot but would be open to using Rose if we came up with a balanced sounding middle name.
Rose seems like the perfect option to me: short, sweet—but strong and versatile, too, if she ends up being less mellow than expected. For the middle name, I’d consider many of the names from your list (or names that didn’t quite make the list), especially ones you love but don’t want to use as a first name: Rose Emma Burr, Rose Catherine Burr, Rose Mairead Burr.
But when you asked for a sweet, feminine, fresh name that was also ideally a saint’s name, the name that sprang to mind was Felicity. Felicity Rose Burr, maybe, or Felicity Quinn Burr, or Felicity Jane Burr.
The other sweet feminine saint’s name that came to mind was Cecily. Or Camilla, or Flora, or Genevieve, or Josephine. Or Maura gives you a saint and also a moderately familiar Irish name. Or I have a soft spot for the name Winifred, with the very sweet nickname Winnie.
The name Nora makes me think of Cora, one of my favorite sweet names, and Cora makes me think of Clara. Those might have too much R with the surname, though. Oh…and Cora Burr-with-a-D might sound like corridor.
Willa would also be sweet, or Molly, or Faith, or Laurel, or Rosemary.
If Chloe is too popular, Cleo or Phoebe.
I’d also suggest this post: Narrowing down a list.
Name update! Sarah writes:
Writing in to update that I finally had my baby girl! We named her Margot Jane, a compromise between my husband’s favorite (Margot) and one of my favorites, which he’d initially vetoed as a first name (Jane). We are smitten with her! Thanks to you and your readers for helping us name her. We’re already brainstorming sibling names. :)
Maeve!
I was going to suggest Rose Eliza Burr-with-a-D but does Rose with the last name sound too close to roadster?
Margot Rose Burr would be great.
I feel like Rose Durr might be too choppy, but what about Rosemary or Rosabel? Two syllable names (or longer) might sound best. A few other suggestions:
Iris Burr
Leona Burr
Vivian Burr
Agatha Burr
Evelyn Burr
Sasha Burr
Willow Burr
Isabel Burr
Any that jump out at you?
You might like Stella as well, for either a first or middle name.
I might go with his first choice since it’s consistent and yours isn’t, but I really like your list so I don’t think you can go wrong. Maeve was a good suggestion. How about Zoe instead of Chloe?
We are kindred naming spirits! I’m having a baby boy, due in March, and his name will be Everett Thomas. I really love Margot and Felicity. Might I also suggest my favorite girl name, Beatrice? It’s a saint’s name and also I think very sweet.
How about Kellyn? It is Celtic, unusual, and feminine. Kellyn Grace is pretty or Kellyn Rose?
Bridget!
Like the previous poster, my first thought was also Bridget. Plus, there’s the great nickname Bridie…..
I also really love Margot Quinn, or Nora Quinn…..
The Irish variant of Rose, Roisin, is also beautiful, I know a couple of girls with this name.
Second swistle’s suggestion of Cora.
Rose Caroline? That’s the name of our cousin’s 5 year old daughter and I think it’s beautiful.
Rose Augusta
or perhaps Honora (nn Nora)?
My favorite Irish name is Deirdre (prn DARE-druh, not the British DEER-dree) but if Burr with a D is actually D replacing the B and not tacked at the end of Burr, than this would definitely NOT work for you. Best of luck to you and I can’t wait for your update post!
Hmm… I was actually thinking of Deirdre, too! But the pronounciation of ‘DEAR’-drah seems so affectionate and sweet; it’s the one I prefer.
And, unlike the poster above, I think Deirdre ‘B’urr would be super fun to say and a memorable name (in a musical sort of way). She could even have the nickname of DeeDee from it!
Have you considered Agnes? Aggie ‘B’urr has a definate charm about it and sounds strong but sweet.
And if Agnes is too far out there for you, what about the simplicity of the name Anna? Anna Rose ‘B’urr.
Best wishes to you and your little family! And merry Christmas!
Ooh, I like Margot Jane! His favorite first and a middle that you liked.
Using Rose + name on your list or saints name:
Rose Elinor
Rose Adelaide
Rose Frances
Rose Helena
I also like Maeve, Mary, Colette, and Winifred (some of which have already been mentioned). Happy naming!
Carys Rose?
Maisie and Mae are short fun names that are variants of MAIREAD. And they don’t sound too Irish.
traditional, feminine, sweet, but fresh
Names that end in a vowel might sound like one word when used wiht your last name. My boys are into “Cars” so Mater comes to mind when I say Mae Burr.
Rita and Marta are traditional, feminine names.
Why not go with Rosalyn Burr with nn Rose?
Hello all! OP here. Thank you so much for the thought you’ve put into your comments.
“I might go with his first choice since it’s consistent and yours isn’t, but I really like your list so I don’t think you can go wrong. Maeve was a good suggestion.”
That’s what I’m thinking at the moment- that I’ll let him decide the first name and perhaps somehow narrow down my long list of names into a middle name. I feel so lost in a sea of good names, none of which “feel” right! I *adore* Maeve but husband has an unaccountable aversion to it. Sad face.
“We are kindred naming spirits! I’m having a baby boy, due in March, and his name will be Everett Thomas. I really love Margot and Felicity. Might I also suggest my favorite girl name, Beatrice? It’s a saint’s name and also I think very sweet.”
We *are* kindred naming spirits, because I *love* Felicity and Beatrice both. Husband truly dislikes Felicity, so it will always be one of those never-used but much-loved names… he’s warmed up to Beatrice, but not for this particular baby and not for a first name. Sigh.
“Hmm… I was actually thinking of Deirdre, too! But the pronounciation of ‘DEAR’-drah seems so affectionate and sweet; it’s the one I prefer.
And, unlike the poster above, I think Deirdre ‘B’urr would be super fun to say and a memorable name (in a musical sort of way). She could even have the nickname of DeeDee from it!”
I love this! My husband’s last name is indeed much like Dürer, and while it’s a little challenging I think it lends itself to some fun sounds. My husband, unfortunately, detests Deirdre, so it’s another lost name for me.
I’m nervous to mention progress on the name front, because historically I’ve been quite fickle on the subject… but as for right now, we’re heavily leaning towards Margot Clementine or Margot Jane, with the possibility of using Rose Beatrice if it seems to suit her. I will most definitely post an update. Again, thanks to you Swistle and all you dear Swistle readers.
Rose Monica Burr
Rose Gladys Burr
Rose Carmen Burr
Rose Tabitha Burr
Rose Elizabeth Burr
Rose Edith Burr
Do you want a one syllable middle name or is that too choppy.
Rose Jean Burr
I think Rose Phoebe sounds good. Rose Mairead is nice, too. Other options with Rose:
Rose Eliza
Rose Felicity
Other names I like from the list:
Margot Quinn
Margot Phoebe
Margot Fiona
Margot Felicity
Margot Jane
Margot Eliza
Nora Rose
Nora Charlotte
Nora Phoebe
Nora Jane
Felicity Jane
Eliza Jane
Eliza Rose
I love Rose Mairead! And from a previous Swistle naming post, I still love the name combination of Rose Valeska. Pretty sure I’m getting sold on the idea of Rose as a first name with a bold, feminine middle name. Love it!
I have to cast a vote for Clara! My daughter is Clara, and there are several saint Clare/Claire’s out there. Clara is such a soft, feminine, lovely name. I’m a little biased, mind you. :-)
Similar to Nora is Nuala (Nool-la), which is very Celtic/Irish. I think it is a cool name and have a friend who pulls it off well. It is a name she can make her own!
Hi There! With my first baby girl, we really wanted to use an Irish name, but we weren’t 100% in love with the traditional girl names. We went with a traditional boy name, that has become a bit unisex in the US. We ended up naming our girl “Rory Belle”. We chose a very feminine middle name to balance the ambiguous first name. I think Rory Durr would be so sweet.