S. writes:
My husband and I need help naming our boy/girl twins due in June. We already have a daughter named Avery Elizabeth (nn Ave), and I would like to give our twins names that began with a vowel as well. Our surname sounds like “Bame”; and I would prefer to have first names that begin with more than one syllable. I like unusual or trendy names, while my husband prefers more traditional names.
We have agreed on a girl’s name (Olivia Jean nn Liv) but are unable to agree on a boy’s name that would go well with Olivia and Avery.
We have vetoed the following boys names:
Allistair
Asher (husband dislikes)
Evan
Ethan
Oliver
Owen
Ian
Aaron (too normal)
Adam
Andrew
Everett (husband dislikes)
Emmett (husband dislikes)Please help! Do we need to select a boys name that begins with a vowel, or would a name that begins with a consonant be ok?
This is an excellent example of when it’s time to drop a preference: you’d prefer to use a boy name starting with a vowel, but you don’t like any of the boy names starting with vowels. That’s exactly where I’d brush off my hands briskly and say, “Well, this would have been our ideal, but I guess it’s not going to work out.”
And in fact, I have brushed off my hands briskly in a similar situation: when I was expecting boy/girl twins, my preference would have been to have something twinny about their names: a shared initial, a shared number of letters or syllables, swapped first/middle initials, a strong shared sound—something like that. As I made list after list, it gradually emerged that in order to do that, we would need to choose one name we liked and one name we would never have chosen except to meet the preference. That trade wasn’t worth it to me, so I dropped the preference. (Giving them matching initials for their blog pseudonyms was fun.)
We’ve had the “Do we have to keep going with vowel names?” question come up on the blog a couple of times before; the general consensus has been that it’s not the kind of theme people notice—or if they happen to notice, it’s not the kind of thing they think is a big deal. If you had five children all with vowel names or all with the initial C. and you wanted to leave one twin out, it would be another matter; after only one vowel name, adding one vowel name (a different vowel) and one consonant name seems unnoticeable. For anyone who DID notice, the way I’d spin it is that you like vowel names for girls. Perhaps the twins could have something else in common—the swapped first/middle initials idea, for example, or a strong shared sound (Olivia and Noah, Olivia and Leo).
Eamon?
I think Swistle is exactly right and name beginning with a consonant is perfectly okay. I tend to like a vowel beginnings for girls but not boys. I don’t think I even notice the start of a name for sib sets unless they all match letters.
Some other vowel beginning boy names if you absolutely decide you want to keep it:
Archer
Oscar
Alexander
Ewan
I like Swistle’s suggestion of the twins having swapped initials… so, J.O. for the boy.
Alternately, none of your names are unconventional, so how about:
Eric/Erik
Ephraim
Elijah
We are doing the vowel thing with our kids too. ;) I obviously like E names for a boy!
Best wishes.
Another thought: both of your girls will have names with very prominent v-sounds; maybe you could pick a name for your boy that STARTS with a V?
Also, you said you plan to call the girl twin, ‘Liv’ as a nn, so the vowel matching with the girls won’t even be obvious at most times.
Swistle suggested Leo, which echoes the ‘o’ sound from Olivia, but is also cute if you plan to call her Liv. Liv and Leo.
A few other possible vowel names: Elliot, Elias, Ellery, Otis, Abram, Isaac/Ike, Ivan.
,
Not to be negative, but in a sibset that includes an Avery + a girl with a non A name + a boy with an A name, I would absolutely assume Avery was a boy. Its possible that in your area Avery has gone full to the feminine side, but it is originally a boy name that is now commonly used by girls and has become a gender neutral name.
Since you have a neutral name for your first girl, and a very feminine name for your twin girl, I would want something very masculine for your boy. I LOVE the idea of the girls sharing the starting vowel and pulling in the V for the boy name and I suggest Vincent. I also like Vance, though its only one syllable. For a middle V sound, how about Calvin? Or Trevor? Or Levin?
From your list, my favorites are Ian, Evan & Everett. All of them are nice, though I would not even consider Oliver is you are already set on the girl’s name being Olivia.
Some other vowel boy names that I think would work with Avery & Olivia are Eli, Elias, Isaac & Ivan. I really like the idea of Isaac called Ike for you. Ave, Liv & Ike. Ivan is also nice because all the names would also share a strong V sound. Avery, Olivia & Ivan.
Some non-vowel names that could work are Milo, Myles, Victor, Liam, Leo, Silas & Garrett.
I’ll also second the suggestion of swapping initials for the twins, so the boy’s initials would be J.O. Maybe then you could even use Oliver as the middle. I don’t think Olivia & Oliver would be too matchy for twins if one was used as the middle name.
The list she gave is her veto list
I was ready to be all “don’t give up yet” & suggest Ivo or Axel when it sunk in that both of your daughters have top 20 names, so instead I’ll echo what Swistle has said: Don’t limit your options just to achieve something others likely won’t notice.
Olivia & Logan.
Olivia & Alexander. (Liv & Zander!)
Olivia & Isaac.
Olivia & Levi.
(It’s true two of these start with vowels, but in scanning the top 30-40 boy names that would work well with Olivia & Avery, these are what I came up with). Good luck!
First of all, I think it would be fine to not use a third vowel name if you cannot find one that you love… especially if you are planning on calling your daughter Liv.
I LOVE Liv and Leo. SO SWEET. Perfect in my opinion.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the name Arlo. Avery, Olivia and Arlo. I like the connection between them all. Avery and Olivia have the -V’s, Olivia and Arlo both have strong -O sounds, and Arlo and Avery both start with -A’s and have -R’s in them as well. They do have a lot of names that are very similar to one another, but I like that they all sort of match and give the same feel as one another…. that two names are similar and the third name is very different.
I also really like the suggestion of Elijah. Olivia and Elijah. Liv and Eli. That’s pretty cute too! They definitely make you think twin’s but they aren’t too match match.
Other vowel names:
Emil
Alec
Oscar
Ottis
Otto
Issac nn Ike
Iver
Everest
Orvin
Ivan
I also like the idea using a V- in this boys name too. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be at the beginning of the name, just throughout.
Vaughn
Victor
Sylvester
Gavin
Davis
Sullivan. Liv and Sully.
Iver
Ivan
Everest
Orvin
Good luck! Keep us posted!
Eeek… definitely read a couple typos in my above paragraph. This is what I meant:
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the name Arlo. Avery, Olivia and Arlo. I like the connection between them all. Avery and Olivia have the strong -V’s, Arlo and Avery both start with -A’s and have -R’s in them as well. Olivia and Arlo both have strong -O sounds and -L’s. It is actually kind of neat… Olivia has OL- and Arlo has -LO, the placements of the L and O are just backwards from each other. They do have a lot of same SOUNDS that as one another, but I like that they all sort of match and give the same feel as one another…. that two names are similar and the third name is very different.
I immediately thought of Garrison for you – not overly popular, with a trendy sound, but still sounds classic.
I don’t think you should worry about using a vowel name – go with a name you love and don’t over think it!
I do agree that Avery, next to very feminine Olivia could lean male, so a strong boy name for your son could balance things out nicely!
Also, I know you said that your husband likes classic, while you prefer unusual/trendy names; however, the names you’ve already selected have very classic sounds while being on trend. Therefore I suggest a classic, strong male name that feels current.
Henry. Ave, Liv, & Henry
Samuel. Ave, Liv, & Sam
August. Ave, Liv, & Gus
Nathan/Nathaniel. Ave, Liv, & Nate
Jack. Ave, Liv, & Jack
I don’t know why, but the names Spencer & Cooper keep popping into my head. While these names are no longer for the boys only, I feel like either could really work.
Ave, Liv, & Spence
Ave, Liv, & Coop
Good Luck!
oooh.. August is great. Ave, Liv and Gus or Auggie. Love it!
Congratulations on your girl/boy twins!
I like Olivia and Owen for your twins: Liv and Owen The names would start with the same letter (thus “twinie”), but the twins would be known by names that begin with different letters.
Avery, Olivia and Owen — Ave, Liv and Owen
Owen is on the veto list (boo, I like Owen as well).
I did notice that Owen had been rejected but I like it so much with Olivia that I wanted to give the name a boost. Sometimes parents reconsider a name that they liked and then didn’t like as much and later find that they still do like it.
(A daughter expecting her first baby was set on Owen a couple of years so ago but now Owen has gone off her list too, with no favorite name to replace it. I’m hoping at some point Owen at least makes their shortlist again. ;-) Owen seems so perfect with their Gaelic surname just as it does with Olivia for different reasons. )
I like Elliot. Olivia & Elliot; Liv & Eli.
I think Levi is too similar.
But I do like the idea of having another V sound:
Evander
Gavin
Steven
Vincent
Vaughn
Other ideas:
Nathan/Nathaniel
Julian/Julius
Max/Maxwell
Xavier
Connor
William
Alexander
Jeremy/Jeremiah
Zachary/Zachariah
Samuel
Joshua
How about Grayson?? Ave, Liv, and Gray!
I know siblings named Ava, Grayson and Olivia and almost suggested that set of names here. With those siblings I’ve wondered if their parents coordinated Ava and GrAyson (strong long A sound with each) and then coordinated their second daughter’s name with their older daughter’s name — two popular names, both with an internal V and ending in A. I think Grayson could work with Avery and Olivia too.
I just remembered why I didn’t suggest Grayson in my first response: “Gray” Bame. I agree with your preference for names with more than one syllable with your surname “Bame” and have been wondering how you pronounce Ave — like Cave without the C or like Ava? Olivia could be Livy Bame; it seems to flow better than Liv Bame. And for your son, you might want to choose a two or more syllable first name that doesn’t easily shorten to a one syllable name.
Leo is so perfect with Olivia–upbeat, on-trend, and would be super cute with a twin called Liv! I also really like Isaac nicknamed Ike.
I wanted to suggest Lincoln, nicknamed Link. Ave, Liv and Link would be a great sibset too!
I agree a consonant would be fine. And it could be any consonant, but if you want an element of matching, an L name would coordinate well with Olivia’s nickname– Lachlan, Lewis, Linus, Logan, Luke? Or if you really do want to stick to vowels, how about Alexander, and call him Xander, so the twins have vowel names with consonant nicknames.
Vaughn was my first thought, too- strong and classic but unusual too. I also love the idea of repeating ‘v’ for sibset. Except for the vowel start, might hit all your criteria? Second votes for Leo or Owen!
From Swistle’s list, I love Leo. Leo and Liv are super cute together! To me, the shared “v” sounds stand out much more than the vowels at the beginning of the two girls’ names. What about finding another boy name with a V in it? Some suggestions:
Calvin (Cal is cute!)
Corvin
Davis
Devin/Devon
Donovan
Gavin
Harvey
Neville
River
Sullivan
Travis
Trevor
Vaughn
Xavier
Good luck and congrats on the twins! :)
Maybe Easton, Egan, or Ezra?
I was going to suggest Ezra too! I think it would be perfect.
Avery, Olivia and Ezra sound like such a “set” without being matchy. Ezra Bame…and it has the bonus of being biblical, so your husband’s preference for traditional is met (in a way).
I almost suggested Ezra as well!
I do like it, but my hesitation is – I don’t remember if it was this site or another – but someone knew a fair # of girls named Ezra. To me it is all boy. Maybe op can check the stats for their state?
I think you are fine to go off vowels and have gotten a bunch of great names to go with. But here are some other vowel names:
Isaiah
Abraham
Isaac, and Emil (which others have mentioned)
For your sibset I like Isaiah. Olivia and Isaiah, Liv and Izzy
You don’t *need* to keep the vowel theme going but since you want to, I wonder if you considered Ulysses? Well known bc of Ulysses S. Grant, so may appeal to your husband, but definitely not many with the name.
In that same idea, I would also suggest Edison or Ivan.Personally, I wouldn’t want to repeat first initials, so I would eliminate A names.
I’m with whoever said they would like a name other than Olivia – to better coordinate with the andro Avery. Something like Emery, Emerson, Ellis, Eliot, or Ira. If you did chose to deviate from Olivia, I might consider Oscar, Orion, or Orson for a boy.
If there really no vowel name that works, I like the idea of coordinating Ls or Vs as others have said.
My first thought was Arlo. It shares sounds with Avery and Olivia but isn’t so similar that it would get confusing.
I also really like the name Aaron. Was its popularity the only reason you vetoed it? In 2012 Aaron was actually slightly less popular than Avery and Olivia.
I agree with Swistle, though–if you feel like you’re throwing away names you otherwise would have used because they don’t start with a vowel, it might be time to give up on that Several people have suggested using names that share other sounds in Olivia and/or Avery…I especially like Swistle’s idea of Leo. Victor might be good too…Liv and Vic would make a great pair of twins.
Love the suggestions of Calvin, Leo & Ezra. I would be tempted to stick with a vowel name personally, but I also like the idea of continuing the V sound. There is a Victor in my son’s class, and while it is not a name I would have ever considered, this little boy is so super adorable it makes the name seem trendy and cool.
You have lots of good suggestions here, good luck!
What about Austin or Aiden? I also quite like Arie.
I love the suggestion of Leo with Olivia and think Olivia and Evan are a sweet set. I also think Alexander nickname Xander, Andrew nickname Drew,or Ezekiel nickname Zeke could work. Other vowel names to consider Isaiah, Anderson, Anders, and Ian. I also like Samuel and Henry with that set.
Olivia & Alexander or Liv & Xander
Olivia & Andrew or Liv & Drew
Olivia & Ezekiel or Liv & Zeke
Edison maybe?
Just a few other suggestions that may be sort-of your style?
Atticus
Finnean or Finnigan or Finley (or any spelling variations of those!)
Anthony (classic, but pretty trendy right now!)
Oswald (“oz” is such a trendy, awesome nickname!)
Osias (classic and Biblical, but super cool, and again has the nickname “oz” or “ozzie”)
Malcolm (not sure what makes this sound great with Olivia, but it does! maybe the Ls in the middle)
Ashton (I know “Asher” was vetoed, but maybe Ashton would be more appealing?)
Wesley/Westley (not sure how well this works .. definitely doesn’t stand out as bad, but I’m trying to figure out how it could tie together … the Ls again, and the “ey” sound with Avery… hm, yeah. Plus, the nicknames are so cute! Liv, Wes/West, and Ave!)
Andre if Andrew is too conventional?
Griffin (the Fs and Vs sound enough alike that it definitely sounds pleasant with Olivia and Avery)
I wonder if you would like Eric or Aric?
One thing that we have considered for our Olivia’s future sibling is using the “v” or another common letter as the tie-in between names. Like a girl might be Violet and a boy Calvin…just a thought on another way to tie the names together. With Avery and Olivia, it would be a cute but subtle way to do that.