B. writes:
We are expecting our second child in November and have just learned it is another little girl. We are super excited about this — but now are tasked with finding a name that blends with her sister’s.
Our daughter, almost 3 now, is Molly — a name I have loved ever since I was young, and never thought I would get to use it for a daughter. I am so in love with the name, and it fits my daughter’s personality so much that I feel a lot of pressure to come up with something just as perfect for our baby girl on the way.
Molly’s middle name is Aneen (pronounced uh- neen). Aneen is my and my mother’s middle name. Our last name is similar to Krevitz, but with an L. I would like to honor family again with the middle name this time around. For our middle names, those choices are Rana (pronounced Renee, after my husband’s sister who was killed in a car accident about 11 years ago); Beth (after my mother); Marie (my mother-in-law’s middle name) or Maria (after my grandmother). Our top choice is Rana for the meaningfulness of using this.
For first names, we have it limited to two, the only two we have really felt drawn to — but I would love to hear other suggestions as well. We like names that are not overly popular or super trendy or sound like made up names. I also tend to like boy names for girls – and one consideration was to use Coty, another family name that would have significant meaning, as it would honor both my husband’s sister and her infant son who was also lost in the car accident.
Right now this is our list, ranked in order of appeal:
Madison (nickname Maddie — we love the combo of Molly and Maddie, two little sweet girls running around)
ReeseOthers that we discarded were:
Morgan
Quinn
Paige
Shelby
LoganThank you for your help –
That DOES seem hard. I think that because you loved the name Molly for so long, it could be helpful to give up the idea of finding anything you love as much. There might just not BE such a name. And of course by now you’ve come to love the name Molly even more, since it’s your daughter’s name—it would be hard for any name to measure up to that. My guess is that you will COME to love another name as much after you use it, but that unless you had a second name you’ve loved since you were young, you might not love it quite as much during the choosing stage.
With a name like Molly, which is used exclusively for girls in the United States, I don’t think I’d go too boyish for a second girl. Reese is borderline; Coty crosses that line for me, if you mean you’re considering it as a first name. (It also seems like it could be a painful choice, considering the circumstances.) Coty might make a great middle name, though I think my first choice would still be Rana.
Because you’d like to avoid popular and trendy, I’d cross Madison off the list. (Molly and Madison also makes me think of Dolley Madison, as well as Dolly Madison, though neither of those are negative associations.)
If you’d like the nickname Maddie, you could get it from Madelyn/Madeline/Madeleine, though those names too have been very popular. There’s also Madigan: it’s similar to Morgan and Logan from your list; it has not been popular at all; it has a boyish sound; and it ties into Molly’s Celtic roots. Madigan Rana; Molly and Madigan; Molly and Maddie.
Another option is Megan. Megan Rana; Molly and Megan; Molly and Meg.
I find Molly and Reese a little bit of a surprising combination, style-wise. But I don’t think the combination is unpleasant, and both names have a similar energetic and friendly sound.
I like several other names on your discard list, too. Molly and Paige sounds adorable to me. Molly and Quinn sounds similar, though more unisex. Molly and Morgan seems close to achieving the Molly and Maddie effect.
Abigail is popular, but I think Molly and Abby gives you something like Molly and Maddie, while also matching the more old-fashioned/feminine image I have of the name Molly. Abigail Rana; Molly and Abigail; Molly and Abby. Or maybe you’d like Molly and Mabel, or Molly and Maisie, or Molly and Mindy, or Molly and Mandy?
Are you planning to have more children? If so, and if you went with a Molly/Maddie or Molly/Maisie type combination, would you feel like you had to find a third similar name? Perhaps something like Sadie would work well: it coordinates sweetly but without coordinating so well that a third name would stand out. Sadie Rana; Molly and Sadie.
Is your mother’s given name Beth, or is that short for Elizabeth? Elizabeth is a name with a lot of nickname possibilities that could be adorable with Molly. Molly and Libby, Molly and Betsy, Molly and Lizzy, Molly and Bess.
Molly seems to be a different style than the kinds of names you like now. What was it that got you hooked on the name Molly? Was there a Molly in a book or movie, or was it the name of someone you knew? I wonder if that would be a place to look for another name you like (nearly) as much.
Name update! B. writes:
Thank you to Swistle and all of her readers. We were so excited when our question was chosen for a blog, and the feedback and suggestions from both Swistle and readers truly gave us a lot to consider — issues we would have never thought of ourselves. We actually put Paige back on our list for awhile, after reading all the feedback. It was tough decision, and we went round and round on our names. Our little girl decided to arrive 5 weeks early…5 lbs. 14 oz, and I am happy to report that she is healthy and beautiful and has stolen our hearts — including her big sister Molly’s. In the end, we ended up back at the beginning with our very first instinct. Madison Rana was born Oct. 8, 2013 and we are so completely in love. Hearing our 3-year-old say “I love you Maddie” in her sweet little voice is just about the sweetest thing in the world. Thank you again for all your help!
My first instinct was Reese – Molly and Reese, how cute! I like how both are short and do not have nicknames. However, I don’t think the combination Reese Rana works (wait – maybe it does??) and I suppose they are are different styles, as Swistle mentioned. I also like Paige Rana very much.
What about Emily? Molly and Emmy?
With a sister named Molly, I would assume boy for many of the names on your list (Reese, Coty, Morgan, Quinn, Logan).
I do like Molly & Maddie, though I agree I’d avoid any of the Maddie type names if you don’t want something popular. As a group, these are very popular where I live.
Molly & Paige are adorable together. I think they coordinate well, without being too matchy.
Molly & Shelby also coordinate well without being too matchy, though I don’t like Shelby quite as much as Paige.
Since you like boyish names, I wonder if you’d like a traditional girl’s name with a boyish nickname Charlotte/Charlie, Aurora/Rory, etc.
Some other names I think could work well with Molly, but without seeming too themey are Cora, Casey, Fiona, Lana, Lucy, Carly, Nora, Aubrey, Lilly.
I agree Madison is trendier than what you’re seeking. I like Reese and most of your discard list (esp. Morgan, Quinn and Paige).
How about Clara, Lila, or Violet?
I know a real-life sister pair of Molly and Elizabeth nn Lizzie when she was younger but mostly goes by Elizabeth now.I also think Lucy and Anna go well with Molly.If you wanted the Maddie affect you could use the nickname Annie which is similar to Maddie but not as popular or just use Annie as her given name.
Not Anna. Molly + Anna? Pollyanna. Or Anna Molly/Anomaly.
I just remembered that you wanted to honor your mother with the name Beth maybe.You could name her Annabeth Rana and still get the nn Annie.This way you can have two honor names especially if this would be your last child/girl.
What about Mariana Beth? Molly and Mary, Molly and Mara?
Maddie is super popular but if you like it just use it. I think my favorite full name is Madeline, it just feels less trendy.
Would Riva work for you instead of Reece? Or spelled Reeva?
Some other ideas:
Molly and Sage
Molly and Magnolia, nn Maggie
Molly and Mariel
Oooh, I LOVE the suggestion of Sadie! Molly and Sadie. Gorgeous.
I love all of your names! I know a little girl named Remy, which I think would be super cute with Molly. Similar to Reese but I little more feminine.
I agree with most of Swistle’s assessment. Reese, Coty, Quinn, Logan etc are too masculine to be sister to Molly. I would assume they were all boys. Also, Madison is MADLY popular, and the nickname Maddie even more so (when you add in all the other spellings of Madison and Madelyn, etc). I agree that Molly does not fit what you are saying your name style is.
Molly is a traditional nickname for Mary. What about a traditional nickname for some other classic?
Betsy, Maggie, Lizzie, Ginny, Abby, Gaby, Greta, Katie, Carrie, Lottie, Hattie, Ellie, Judy, and Becca all suit the bill! I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Megan, which could also be shortened to Meggie (like in the book Inkheart). Molly and Meggie.
You say you’re considering Maria as a middle name. How about as a first name?
Maria Rana Krevitz
Molly and Maria
I agree that Molly doesn’t seem to fit your naming style. Molly is one of my very favorite names, I wonder if you might like: Phoebe, Clara, Annie (or Ann), Ruby. I especially love Ruby–it is sassy but sweet and seems very bright and beautiful. Molly and Ruby. Molly and Annie.
I agree Madison and the nn Maddie are very popular, as is Reese, at least in my area, but that’s no reason to not use…just that you said you wanted to avoid overly popular names. I quite like Reese with Molly. I think my favorite suggestion is Sadie. It works really well with Molly. I also thought of Gemma and Maeve.
I immediately thought of Lucy when I saw Molly. Molly and Lucy are sooo cute together! Lucy Rana sounds good too.
If you like the alliteration between the girls what about Maggie or May? Molly and May is especially adorable I think! May doesn’t really go well with many of your middle name choices though so Mabel nn May perhaps?
Other suggestions:
Rosie
Amy
Josie
Lily
Bethany nn Beth after your Mother. Bethany Rana?
From other posters suggestions I like Annie and Ruby with Molly. Lucy is still my favorite though!
All the best!
oh… what about Jane or Janie? Molly and Jane nn Janie. Love it!
Girl names that I think ‘go with’ Molly:
Maggie
Lucy
Annie
Sadie
Daisy
Ruby
Rosie
Lily
Sophie
Just looked through other comments and I see a lot (all?) of my suggestions were already suggested!
I don’t like madison and it is super popular…Reese goes OK with Molly, but I think I would assume boy. Molly seems like it needs a fun, easygoing name to go with it. I think it also depends on whether or not you are planning more kids…in which case I wouldn’t go with an M name and I might consider not going with a name that shares a similar ending.
How about:
Lucy -LOVE this though if your last name starts with an L you might not like the alliteration
Phoebe
Abigail/Abby is fantastic
Emily is great–it’s popular, but it’s not popular the way that Madison is. It’s timeless. Molly and Emily is pretty great.
Bethany
Annie
Julia
Claire
if you are drawn to boy names, what about a girl name with a boyish nickname:
Charlotte/Charley
Georgia/Georgie
Augusta/Gus (I kind of like this with Molly, even though I am not sure why)
Frances/Frankie
Maxine/Max (hmm…I like this too, I think. Molly and Maxine, Molly and Max, Moll and Max…)
Josephine/Jo
SYDNEY! Molly and Sydney is great together. I want to push you to use Sydney now.
Nicole/Nico
How about Lucy? Molly and Lucy… love it!
Just a note on Swistle’s suggestion of Mandy: I used to read story books when I was little called Milly-Molly-Mandy!
Concur with Swistle that the unisex names, with a sweet feminine name like Molly, it would read boy to me.
I really want to pressure you toward Abigail because Molly & Abby (swoon). Such a nice sib set without seeming too matchy. Yes Abigail is popular, but I don’t know that its necessarily going to read as a dated name in the future. I feel as if I’ve known at least one Abigail at every age/stage of life.
Abigail Rana
I liked the other’s suggestions of Phoebe — also super cute and feminine and pairs so well with Molly without looking matchy.
Also awesome with Molly:
Fiona
Megan
Elizabeth (so! many! great! nicknames!)
Best wishes!!
What about Matilda?
Molly and Mattie
Hannah; Molly and Hannah; Hannah Marie Krevits or Hannah Renee Krevits (if its an option to change spelling, I’d go w/ Ranae or Renee to avoid chronic mispronunciations).
Congratuations!
Molly can’t be shortened past Mol or Molls. With some of the other suggestions, nicknames come easier, e.g. Betsy for Elizabeth or Charley for Charlotte. I like Lucy but I don’t know if it’s because it’s the names of Percy Wesley in the Harry Potter epilogue, so I’m used to the combo.
I would look for short names with no easy nicknames, like Jane.
*Percy’s daughters.
I’m with a lot of other commenters who think that Madison, Reese, Quinn, et al have a really different feeling tone than Molly. When I hear Molly, I think Nell, or Bridget, or even Eileen, any of which could pair really well with Molly. With Bridget, you’d even get the nickname of Bridie, with Eileen you could use Eily.
Molly is gorgeous, and so decidedly feminine that I feel a lot of your choices would ‘clash’ with it and make it appear as though you have a girl and a boy.
I know a couple of sibsets with a Molly in them, and these are the names:
Molly, Hannah and Phoebe
Molly, Emily and Oliver (these 3 are triplets)
Molly, Annabel, Elizabeth, Amelia and Olivia (they have five girls. FIVE GIRLS!)
Molly and Eva
Here are some girl names that I think ‘go’ slightly better with Molly (while trying to adhere to your ‘style’):
Molly and Evelyn
Molly and Megan
Molly and Brooke
Molly and Faith
Molly and Scarlett
Molly and Susie
Molly and Sophia
Molly and Violet
Molly and Stella
Molly and Caroline
Best of luck for your little ones!
I think Molly and Sadie are perfect together!
I like Swistle’s suggestion of Madigan.
Madigan Rana
or
Madigan Coty
You get the nickname Maddie, a less popular name than Madison, and a choice of honor names.
I agree with Swistle and all the other commenters on everything! That is, that Madison is the definition of trendy and over popular. Everyone else thinks that Maddie is super cute too : ) My favorite of the Maddie trend is Madaline/Madaleine (line, with a long ‘i’ sound). And, I also agree that Molly does seem to be a different style of name than the others on your list. For that reason, I would pick the more feminine ones – not Coty, Logan or Reese. (Although Reese is my favorite of the unisex names you like).
Paige is my favorite from your list! Paige is a beautiful name. Molly and Paige.
There have been some great suggestions from the other commenters. You seem to have a similar naming style of my sister-in-law, so I will add the name of my darling niece: Hope. Molly and Hope.