Erin writes:
After years of trying, my wife and are are thrilled to be expecting a baby girl in late October. My name is Erin and hers is Virginia. Our last name has two syllables and ends in -son. This will likely be our only child.
Years before even trying to get pregnant, we decided that our future daughter would be named for my grandmother. Her name was long and Italian, and we will shorten it to Bennett. We absolutely love Bennett, and think it a strong ‘resume’ name as well.
We are now on the search for a middle. We are looking for feminine, whimsical names with around 2-4 syllables. We would like to avoid names with an A. (Our last name starts with a D, and we do not want her initials to spell BAD.) My favorites are Simone, Magnolia, Olivia and Emmeline, though I do not completely love any of those – and my wife has vetoed all of them except Simone. Her top choice was Isabel, after her own grandmother, but it was recently used by her brother for her young niece, who is the only child in the family so far.
Our first child, a son, was stillborn. His name was Orion. Though we don’t often mention his name in daily life, a middle name for our daughter with a strong O sound or slightly cosmic feel would be meaningful to us.
Thank you for your help! We love your blog.
First I looked in the Astronomy section of Baby Names Made Easy: The Complete Reverse-Dictionary of Baby Names:
Celeste – “heavenly, celestial”
Celestina – “heavenly, celestial”
Danica – “morning star”
Estelle (BED initials) – “star”
Kalinda – “sun”
Kamaria – “moonlight”
Luna – “moon”
Selena – “moon”
Next, I looked up the names of other constellations; it appeals to me to have a brother and sister both represented by constellations. It’s such a pity that Andromeda gives the initials BAD, because I think that’s a lovely choice—but there were some other options to consider. My favorite is Cassiopeia: it’s whimsical, pretty, and feminine. Bennett Cassiopeia D___son. More options, with the meanings Wikipedia includes:
Carina (keel)
Lacerta (lizard)
Lyra (lyre, harp)
Norma (carpenter’s level)
Vela (sails)
Next I looked for names that shared sounds in common with the name Orion. I went to school with a girl named Orianna, and I think it’s a very pretty name—but if I picture myself in the situation, I think I would prefer a name that related to my brother’s name without feeling like it was a namesake name.
I wonder if something like Nori would work? It uses all the letters of Orion, and it’s pretty. Bennett Nori D____son. Or maybe that again is too namesakey.
Perhaps since Erin, Virginia, and Orion all share the letters R, I, and N, a middle name that also used those three letters would make a nice family tie-in with all of you.
Lorelei would be pretty, and it has the -or- sound of Orion. Bennett Lorelei D__son.
Oh, again I get a pang about the BAD initials, because wouldn’t Aurora be nice? And I’m not crazy about BOD, either, which makes me disinclined to suggest Ophelia or Olympia; or BED, which makes me disinclined to suggest Elodie. More possibilities:
Calliope
Carolina
Chloe
Cleo
Cordelia
Fiona
Gwendolyn
Harlow
Hermione
Imogen
Ione
Isadora
Joelle
Josephine
Juno
Naomi
Noelle
Philomena
Romilly
Rosabel
Rosemary
Sophia/Sofia
Victoria
Zipporah
My favorites from the list:
Bennett Calliope
Bennett Josephine
Bennett Naomi
Bennett Victoria
What about Bennett Simona? Or Bennett Ariana, which is a little less namesake-y than Bennett Orianna?
Nice to see some lgbtq representation on this blog :]
Stella also means star and would be lovely with Bennett: Bennett Stella D—son.
I went to school with a Benetta and she was so nice that I’ve always loved the name.
I am SO WITH YOU on the initials. My husband is Daniel Aaron Nielsen. Dan. DAN. He haaaaaaaaates it!
The name Orla could get the strong “O” sound you are looking for.
Bennett Celestina is lovely and unique.
I also like Bennett Philomena and Bennett Cassiopeia.
Oh, the curse of a D last name. We are the Davises and so far our kids are ABD and ELD. We had a boy name picked that would have been NOD, and i could never decide whether that would be a bad thing or not!
What about Bennett Luella? Orion was a hunter and Luella comes from Louise which comes from Louis which comes from Ludwig which means “famous warrior” :-P That is probably a tenuous connection, but I think Luella is beautiful and feminine and whimsical.
I also don’t think you have to rule out Isabel, it could be lovely for cousins to share such an important family name. Katie Bower from the blog bowerpower has a son named william and her sister just had a son named william clay, and they are calling him clay, because william is an honor name in their family.
I was going to suggest Stella but I see someone beat me to it. How about Skye?
I also like Celeste, Lyra, Cassiopeia from Swistle’s suggestions.
Bennett Isadora seems perfect to me: the beginning of the mn is a subtle honoring of Grandma Isabel, the last part remembers brother Orion. I don’t see any problem with the initials BID. (In fact that’s a nn of a friend’s sister Bridget.).
I actually really love the name Eurydice – pronounced Eu-ra-de-chay. I know that the initials become BED but I really think it sounds beautiful with Bennet – Bennet Eurydice. I also like Calliope and Celeste or Celestine.
Actually, it’s yur-ih-duh-see, because it’s Greek. The story of Eurydice is AMAZING and there is a play by Sarah Ruhl that adds to its brilliance. LOVE IT.
These are definitely quite whimsical, but I see they haven’t been suggested yet: Oracle, Luna (means moon), Lumiere (means “light” in French), Nova, Elysia, Divina, Versa. A few others I found by delving into some planetary/lunar research: Mathilde/Matilda is the name of an asteroid; Elara, Lysithea, and Leda are moons of Jupiter; Phoebe, Rhea, Pandora and Helene are satellites of Saturn; Thalassa and Larissa are satellites of Neptune; Carina and Phoenix are constellations.
Oh wow, Larissa would be a gorgeous MN!
First, let me say I love to see Bennett on a girl — it’s one of those rare medieval English names that’s *truly* unisex. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s only a boys name! It’s perfect to honour a grandmother “Benedetta” (I’m guessing that’s the original name :D)
Love Bennett Olivia, Bennett Selena, Bennett Lyra, and Bennett Calliope.
more ideas:
* Bennett Oriana (maybe to close to Orion)
* Bennett Hermione
* Bennett Maia
* Bennett Elizabeth / Bennett Isabella – to honour the other grandmother
* Bennett Persephone
* Bennett Luna
* Bennett Diana
* Bennett Estella
Thank you for this, Rita! We named our daughter Bennett, we love the name but we do it hear it quite often “that’s a boys name”. Still love it but be prepared although it TRULY is unisex!
In Greek mythology, Calista is turned into Ursa Major, which would give you a constellation connection to Orion. It would also make her initials the alphabetical BCD, which I find appealing.
The first thought that came to my mind considering the Italian background would be Cosima.
But My favourite is Celeste/ Celestina/ Celestine or even just Celestial. I also like Cassiopeia and Estelle/ Estella.
I think you should also explore your wife’s family background for more names and find out what Isabel’s middle name is/ was or just use it as it is a beautiful name and I’m sure the cousins would love sharing it, it would be a special family link that they share.
I love the idea of your daughter being named after both grandmothers somehow but also like your children to have that celestial connection in their names perhaps seeing as this may be your only child you could have two middle names Bennett Celeste Isabel D___son I really like that, what a gorgeous name!
Also I want to add that I love the name Bennie and have always wanted to use it but unfortunately being a Bonnie myself I just can’t do it. Bennie and the jets! Your daughter will have the most awesome song ever to rock out to!
I looooooove Cosima. (Also Stella, as others have mentioned.)
I love the name Bennett, & want to suggest Bennett Luciana! Luciana is feminine, whimsical, & Italian, & it means light, which is a subtly cosmic meaning. & Bennett Luciana gives you the nickname possibility of Bel, if you want a tie-in to Isabel. & the initials BLD are neutral, I believe. & the Italian pronunciation (“Loo-chee-ah-na”) is just too lovely, & a great accompaniment for Bennett.
My suggestion would be Coralie. Bennett Coralie. (Actually, I’d love to see you use Isabel so both grandmothers are honored–I think it’s completely OK for cousins to share a name if one has it in the middle).
Orion is the son of Poseidon, so maybe a meaningful connection would be to use Eirene, which is the name of one of Poseidon’s daughters.
According to Wikipedia, in Norse mythology Orion’s Belt is called Freya’s distaff, so Freya might be a way to make a connection as well.
Great suggestions
I also am drawn to a name starting with C so that the initials are BCD; that satisfies my need for things to be orderly. :) Of the choices mentioned so far, my favourites are Celestina, Calliope and Cassiopeia.
I would avoid Nori though, at least depending on where you live. Here in Vancouver, there’s a sushi restaurant every 127 feet (on average) and nori is the japanese word for the edible seaweed used in sushi. I imagine the teasing would be intense.
For a name as cool as Bennett Andromeda, I’d either not worry about initials or add in another middle to make it work.
Bennett Andromeda Isabel D___son
Bennett Andromeda Lux D___son
Oh. I suppose Lux isn’t a good choice as a second middle–BALD isn’t an improvement over BAD.
BARD would be kind of neat though. Hmm, what starts with R?
Bennett Andromeda Renée
Bennett Andromeda Regina
What a great name! I love Bennett Celeste but with the suggestion of Skye, maybe Bennett Skylar would appeal to you as well.
I also just wanted to add our first child, a son too, was also stillborn. Hugs to you and I hope the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly.
I think Celeste is a wonderful choice.
I love so many C names for you! Names from Greek mythology are especially pleasing as something in common with Orion. (I love the name Orion as well).
I love Calliope, Cassiopeia, and Calista! Bennett Calliope.
I haven’t noticed if Calypso has been suggested! Bennett Calypso. Cleo is also wonderful. What about Cleopatra?
Other Greek myth names that don’t start with C are nice too. Penelope or Persephone are both lovely, as are Hermione, Daphne, Phoebe, Evadne, and Thisbe. Bennett Penelope and Bennett Persephone are my favorites.
Bennett Cordelia and Bennett Victoria are my favorites, with a lean towards Bennett Cordelia. Bennett Larissa, as mentioned above, is also lovely.
What about
Bennett Isha
Bennett Isolde
Bennett Isis
Bennett Ines
Although I think Bennett Vega is adorable too and has the astronomy connection to Orion (beautiful name btw).
Or you could go for a mn that can give you some fun nn’s (although I think Benita and Bente are great nn’s already for Bennett), like
Bennett Theodora or Bennett Thais, nn Beth or Bethy
Bennett Layla, Bennett Eliora – Bella, Belle
Star!
I love many of the suggestions others have made, especially Larissa, Calista, and Freya. From Greek mythology, a name I’ve always loved and would have used for one of our daughters as a middle had my husband been willing is Hera.
What about a star from the constellation Orion? Possibilities that sound feminine:
– Bellatrix (if you don’t mind or even like the Harry Potter character connection) is Orion’s left shoulder.
– Meissa is Orion’s head.
– Mintaka is in Orion’s belt.
Possibilities that sound masculine or gender neutral:
– Rigel is Orion’s left foot.
– Saiph is Orion’s right foot.
You could also choose a star from the associated and adjacent Taurus constellation:
– Maia is one of the sisters in the Pleiades cluster (said to be pursued by Orion).
– Electra is another of the sisters.
I’m loving all the suggestions I’m seeing, and I see the mn I was going to suggest, Cosima, has already been mentioned. My own little Cosima is asleep on my lap as I type this :) We pronounce it CO-sih-ma, nn Cosi, and it’s a feminine form of cosmos with a strong O sound in there. I wish y’all a safe uneventful pregnancy and a healthy baby girl :)