Gabe writes:
Hello!
I have a dilemma and I think it might be ridiculous but none the less I need baby name help stat!!My wife is due June 10! We are expecting a girl we already have a daughter. Her name is Brylee Grace Rodriguez. We liked the idea of Hope for a middle name. An we came across Breelyn for the first name.
We have been calling her this for months but now I am thinking its so similar to Brylee. Am I overthinking it? Need help fast! I’ve been digging back into names but no luck! My wife and daughter were set on Breelyn.
Please help!!!
GabeDad’s name is Elias Gabriel
Mom’s name Kayla DanielleNames off limits
Maddison
Chloe
Ava
Giuliana
Danika
Elyssa
Danae
Dominique
Teagan
They seem much too close to me: both starting with Br-; one containing -lee and the other containing -eel; both including a Y. The names are made up of similar elements: Bree and Lee, and Bry and Lyn. They look at first like two different arrangements of the same letters. My mind immediately starts mixing and matching, getting Briley and Breeley, for example, or Brylyn and Brinley. I found that even after reading the letter many times and studying the names fairly closely, I continued to have trouble remembering which were the actual names under consideration: I had to keep looking back at the original letter. I would recommend noticing the sounds and letters you like, and seeing what other names have a similar sound. Keelyn, for example, or Aubree.
But name similarity can be subjective: one person’s way too close is another person’s adorably matched. Let’s have a poll:
If not Breelyn, which is terribly close. What about Raelyn? Raelyn and Briley. Or Taylynn? Or Caedyn? Camden? Jaylynn? Or Jocelyn? Or Jadyn? Or Breann? Though, the latter still seems close.
Oh geez – I’m the one ‘no’ vote!
I’m saying it ‘Bry (rhymes with cry) – Lee’ and ‘Bree – Lynn’. If that’s right, then they really don’t sound TOO similar to me. At least no more so then brothers Jeremiah and Jedidiah or sisters Joy-Anna and Johanna.
I might throw out: Joleen or Kinlee
Other Bs: Brixlee, Brecklynn, Breckin, Brogan, Blakelyn, Blakely, Brooklyn, Braylynn,
To me your pairings of Jeremiah and Jedediah and Joy-Anna and Johanna also sound WAY too similar!
Just real life examples of sibling pairs!
There is also a Joseph and Josiah — way too close imo! But they did it and it works.
Yeah, but those are the Duggars…and when you have 19 kids and have committed to one letter you are sort of short on options. I always thought Joy-Anna and Johanna were way to similar, even amongst 19 kids.
Totally agree. I’ve never liked Joy Anna and Johanna in the same family. They often say Joy and Johanna, which definitely helps. But like you said……19 kids versus 2 kids……not at all even in the same category! I think Brylee and Breelyn are way too close!
don’t do it
I read the letter three or four times before I realized there were two different names being mentioned. I thought: “But they didn’t mention the name they worried was similar to Brylee. I’ll have to re-read” or “Wait, they called their daughter Brylee, then came across Brylee for the first time? That doesn’t make sense.”
For me, that makes them too similar for sisters.
I did the same thing. I definitely think the names are too close.
Mmm, too close for me. And breelyn sounds a bit like ‘breedin”.
How about Bree on it’s own? That’s a spunky name. Or Breeanna.
Or:
Britt
Brittany
Britta
Bridget
Delaney
Lindsay
Linden
Good luck!
These names are very close. Perhaps not a problem, unless you have a third child. It seems you’d be under more pressure than usual to come up with another matching name. I know adults from several three- or four-child families who feel one of their siblings’ names “sticks out.” For one girl in particular, who has the non-matching name, it has always been a sore spot. I’d avoid this if possible.
I second the suggestion to use Bree by itself, or possibly Breeanna. You could also spell it Breanna.
If you like it, Lynn is a possiblity too. Or Lynnie–I know a woman with this name, and it is nice. Or what about Adelynn?
I think a lot of the problem lies in that they are not common names by themselves, so you can’t immediately categorize them – hence the mixing up. I grew up with twins Stacey and Tracy. While super rhyme-y, not nearly as difficult to remember as (looking up at the post, because I still can’t remember) Brylee and Breelyn. Even Madison and Madeline would not be as difficult.
Like other commenters said, I had a hard time keeping the names straight in my head. But it sounds like you and your wife might really like the similarity/sisterliness of the Br– names, so what about trying:
Breeanna
Bridget
Britta
Birdie
Bronwyn
Good luck!
Same vein: Brenna?
I think they are way too close. Like Swistle & other posters, I had to go back and re-read your question a few times before I could keep the names straight.
I’ll second the suggestion Kinley.
Kensie, Avery, Aubrey, Delaney, Emery, Kaelyn, Peyton, Cameron
Sorry, way too close! I think you need to move away from names starting with “Br”…maybe you would like some other names that end in “lyn”:
Evelyn
Carolyn
Adelyn
Madelyn
Jocelyn
Gracelyn
Other names you may like that are similar in style, but not too close in sound:
Leighton
Sydney
Emery
Layla
Like previous posters, I think the two names sound and look too similar for sisters.
What about having the “br” in the middle spot with either Cambrie or Cambria? Bry and Cam are cute together.
Other suggestions:
Camryn
Ashlyn
Layla
Lauryn
Madelyn
Kelsey
Carly
Jocelyn
My personal favorite is Brylee and Layla! I love the suggestion of Kinley too.
If you really like “Br” names there are plenty to choose from without the letters being too “matchy”.
Brooklyn
Brooke
Bria
Briana
Bristol
Britt
Brielle
Brenna
Brienne
All the best!
One thing to keep in mind is whether you are planning to have more children. If so, I would make sure that you either use a Br- name for those kids as well, or make sure you find another way to tie the names of future children to his/her siblings. Otherwise, you risk having a child feel like the odd man out.
Also, if the girls feel that their names are too matchy as they get older, they can always use a nickname: Bree, Lynn, Lee, etc.
I agree–they’re too similar to use for sisters. I’d suggest:
Raelynn
Brianne (might still be too similar but I think it works better than Breelyn)
Brooklyn (again, might still be too similar to use)
Brooke
Bree
Maelynn
just realized Mom’s name is Kayla, so that would rule Layla out!
Definitely too close to use. But I think if you just got rid of reusing the Br- start to the name, you’d be in the clear. Instead of Breelyn, what about:
Kailyn/Chailyn (I’m in love with Chailyn pronounced like Kailyn, but can’t use it!)
Keelyn
Maelyn
Linnea
Raelyn
Jaelyn (I don’t like the sound of “jail” within the name though)
Taylin/Taelyn
Shaelyn
Hm this made me think of Creelyn. The one letter change makes a big difference imo – Brylee & Creelyn. The girl I know uses Cree as sometimes nickname.
Have you considered other unique names that would complement Brylee?
For sister names, I like: Skyla, Audra, Annabel, Trese, Beatrice, and Aubrey
I think keelin is a good suggestion. Also:
Ashlyn
Caelin/kaylin (could be honor name for mom)
Ashton
Caitlyn
Maylynn/Maelyn
Jaelyn
Fallon
Leiland
Kinley
Tensely
Ohh! The Shaylin/Shaelyn suggestion is good! That’s pretty!
Random, but i recently heard
Keaton. Is that appealing at all?
I agree they’re too close, and would also stay away from anything with yo the Kay sound in it as being too close to mom’s name. I’m ditto-ing Brooklyn. I see Danica was vetoed, what about Annika? Kyra? Kyrie? Lyra? Anje?
What about just Brynn? Brylee and Brynn? They’re close but not so identical… especially in sound.
But if you’re jonesin’ for a two-syllable name, what about something to honor both your and your wife’s name? Gabriel and Danielle together make a pretty fabulous name.
Brielle.
Brylee and Brielle. Bry and Brie.
Brielle Hope Rodriguez.
Best wishes to you all as you welcome your sweet new addition!
They do seem very similar to me, but if you’ve been calling her that for months and not noticed a problem until now, maybe it isn’t a problem?
They would be too close for me personally, but if you’ve had your heart set on it for months and only just noticed the similarity now then I would say go for it.
The only people who would find it a problem / get mixed up, are you & your immediate family, your extended family, and future school teachers. It seems you & your immediate family are not bothered and there are ways around any other problems:
– Call them by nicknames Bry and Bree
– Call them by family nicknames Big B and Little B
I think the names seem worse written down because of all the shared letters, than they do said out loud:
– Consider spelling Breelyn different, depending on how you pronounce it maybe Breylyn, Brelyn, Brielyn, Braelyn.
– If there is a larger age gap between Brylee and Breelyn then the teacher issue may not be a problem if there is a high turnover of teachers / unlikely to both have the same teachers.
– If Brylee is still pretty young, consider changing her spelling to Bryleigh, Brierley, Briley, etc
But really I think that like the previous poster said, if you don’t see a problem then maybe there isn’t one. Good luck.
I was another reader who thought they were the first name upon my first reading. Written down they are too similar & become difficult to pronounce when looking at both of them next to each other. I agree that part of the problem is that they aren’t names I’m familiar with. I do know a very sweet Brynn, so that’s an option. The Brynn I know is a girl, though it is a unisex name in my area.
I actually voted against Breelyn, but as a counterpoint, I think these parents obviously WANT super matchy names! It’s clear that they used Brylee as a starting point for coming up with Breelyn, so the only thing that puzzles me is why this is only just now occurring to the dad.
I think it’s okay as long as you embrace it. I’ve met tons of sibling sets with names only a letter or two apart, and it’s both clearly intentional and mostly no big deal. I knew my friend Victoria for years before meeting her brother victor, and the fact that her parents had essentially reused a name seemed a lot less important after thirty years of living their own separate lives. It was the only thing that suggested they’d come from the same parents.
That Brylee and Breelyn are both invented names actually makes this a little better, I think, victor/Victoria seems a little lazy. Brylee and Breelyn has creativity and internal consistency. Just as long as you don’t name a third child Emily, you’re fine! Individually they won’t be everyone’s style, but putting them together will lend them some credibility till the girls age and can wear the names more fully.
For the record, I didn’t get them confused at all because I shortened Breelyn to the nickname Bree right away.
I also think they are too close, not only in sound but in the letters in the names. My suggestion is BreegN this gives you the same beginning if Bree but breaks up the letters in the second half of the name to give a stronger sense of difference between the two.
Sorry for the typo Breegan
I agree WAY too similar! people who don’t know you so well would get it confused all the time especially seeing as they sound like “made up names”/ modern names they aren’t familiar to people and they sound and look too similar. Don’t do it!
I wonder if you would like Meryl? Brylee Grace & Meryl Hope, Bry & Mer.
I think they’re way too close! I’m confused just reading your letter and I can’t remember the names – I get the syllables switched around….