Dear Swistle,

I’m hoping you can provide me with some much needed baby naming clarity. I’m currently pregnant with my third child and having the most difficult time coming up with a name. My pregnancy has been chaotic- I currently have nearly 3 year old twins and we started trying for our third while we were undergoing a major construction project on our home. Naturally we got pregnant much more quickly than we ever thought possible for us and here I am 9 months pregnant, house in complete disarray and very much discouraged by the fact that I cannot come up with a baby girl name that feels right. It would give me much comfort to feel as though I at least had a plan when it came to naming our newest addition.

Our darling twins are named Maya Elyse and Benjamin Asher. Our last name is pronounced phonetically as Or-lee.

Our third is a girl, and I love girl names that feel feminine but simple with some charm to them.

I originally loved Corinne, however my husband is concerned because acquaintances of ours who happen to live in our neighborhood have a 3 year old by the same name. It doesn’t bother me, but much to my dismay he feels very preoccupied about it.

My runner-up choice has been Isla with a middle name of Rose. I have two concerns, the first being pronunciation issues as it is not terribly well known in our part of the country and the second being whether it mimics the vowel sounds of Maya too closely. Also, maybe it’s too trendy?

Other names we have tossed around:

Abigail (husband loves)
Naomi (both of us are ok with this one)
Chloe (same deal as Naomi)
Ella (before the Clooneys nearly certainly doomed it to be even more ubiquitous than it already is)
Iris (we like it but I worry it’s too stuffy?7

I’m so interested in your input on our name selections and would be equally enthused to see any new suggestions you had to work nicely with our existing children’s names.

Wish me luck! Im scheduled to be induced on July 18th! Thank you very much in advance for any help you might be able to offer!

Alison

Maya and Isla do feel very similar to me. They look so different, but when I say them aloud I get an almost-rhyme feeling. Isla Rose brings Lida Rose to mind, which could be a plus or a minus or neither.

I think Corinne is great with Maya. It bothers me a little bit that the ending is similar to Benjamin, but I don’t think that would bother me long-term. The acquaintance thing wouldn’t bother me. It bothers me a little that it repeats the -or- sound in the surname, but for others that would be a plus: Corinne Or-lee.

Would it help the acquaintance issue to use Corinna or Karenna?

Or Celeste is a similar style to Corinne, while being a very different name. Celeste Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Celeste.

Camille is another such option. Camille Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Camille.

From your list, my favorite is Naomi. I find it a little difficult to say with the surname, but not at deal-breaking levels.

I don’t think Iris is stuffy, but I am increasingly aware of the difficulties of your surname. Iris Or-lee blends into Ira Sorely. Not that that’s a big deal, but it bugs me a little.

I wonder if you’d like Eliza. Similar to Ella in sound and Abigail in style, but less common than either. Eliza Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Eliza.

Or Fiona. Fiona Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Fiona.

If you don’t mind repeating initials, I like Bianca. Bianca Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Bianca.

Sabrina. Sabrina Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Sabrina.

Simone. Simone Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Simone.

Linnea. Linnea Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Linnea.

Rose. Rose Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Rose.

Stella. Is that too much L? Stella Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Stella.

Juliet. Juliet Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Juliet.

Claudia. Claudia Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Claudia.

Nadia. Nadia Or-lee; Maya, Benjamin, and Nadia. I really like that.

Name update:

Dear Swistle,

I wanted to express many thanks to you and your readers who really helped me with their contributions! Baby girl was born July 18 and after sleeping on it for a night, we decided on Naomi Rose Or-lee.  She’s happy, healthy and completely living up to the Hebrew meaning of her name (which is “pleasant”).  Maya and Ben are head over heels for her and the last 48 hours has been spent happily refereeing who gets to hold her next.

Thank you again- what a lovely community this is, especially when working through a rather stressful decision!

Very sincerely,

Alison Or-lee

Dear Swistle,

I am emailing you after being an avid fan of your blog for years. You’ve taught me how to look at names differently (how they go together, how to choose a name), yet on this go-around I can’t seem to get it right.

We are having our last child due on August 16. Our last name is German and sounds like “mailmen” with some extra letters thrown in there. Our current children are N@than (N@te) C@rter, Cl@ra Ele@nor, and 1vy C@roline. I desperately want the names to “go together,” so that is how I began approaching the task of naming our fourth (a boy). I ended up on the name Peter Everett as a top choice, but my husband and I just didn’t feel like it was “the one.” This is pretty common for me. I changed both of our girls’ names very near the end of each of their pregnancies.

The hard part is the constraints of our last name. I feel like I can’t name him with a “B” name (for the initials), can’t end in an “N,” “M,” or “S” (don’t go well with last name), can’t start with an “M” (too many M sounds), can’t be a verb or adjective like “Reid” or “Gray” (sound silly with the last name). Also, the last name is super hard to spell, so I don’t want the first name to be. I don’t like unisex names at all. We like Biblical, timeless, or antique charm names and want our boy names to sound good together. I especially want the baby’s name and 1vy’s name to sound good together, since they are the closest in age (7 year gap between 2nd and 3rd), and I feel like I will be saying “1vy ‘n’ ___” so much.

Current contenders are:
Peter
Everett
Leo
Theo
Jed (husband’s choice)
Grant
Jack
Joseph

Middle names are not as hard for me. I like Everett and Theodore and will probably use one of those if they work.

I wanted 1vy to be named Everett if she was a boy, and that is still my favorite name. I put it into the middle name spot for Peter because I really do love it. I just don’t know if 1vy and Everett go well together as first names. Are they too similar? Should we just go with the “safer” choice of Peter even though we don’t love it?

Any advice would be so helpful. His room (and crib) is still occupied by his 3-year-old sister, so we just have nothing done for this little surprise and I’m starting to be so stressed!

Katie “Mailmen”

I think 1vy and Everett sound great together. They repeat only the V-sound: all their other sounds are different, and they have a different number of syllables. I think it achieves the goal of having the final two names sound particularly compatible. And Everett is your favorite boy name. And it meets all the other requirements. Everett seems like the winner to me.

But Peter is also terrific. Really, I love either Everett or Peter in this group. N@than, Cl@ra, 1vy, Everett. N@than, Cl@ra, 1vy, Peter. They’re both charming options. I would THINK I’d prefer the name Everett, but when I look at the two groupings I have trouble letting go of the name Peter.

I don’t see any reason to go with the name Peter if you prefer the name Everett. It doesn’t seem safer to me; they both seem like good solid choices with their own pluses and minuses. Peter has more of a timeless/biblical/traditional feel; Everett is more of a current vintage revival / antique charm.

I wonder if you’d like the name John. It’s timeless/biblical, and it’s a name I think parents’ eyes tend to skip right over in the baby name book: it feels common because it’s been so consistently used over the years, but it’s fairly unusual among current children. Many of the boys named John are going by Jack, or else they’re John IV so they’re going by something else. N@than, Cl@ra, 1vy, and John.

Or Henry? N@than, Cl@ra, 1vy, and Henry.

Or Elliot: it’s similar to Everett, but doesn’t repeat the V-sound of 1vy. N@than, Cl@ra, 1vy, and Elliot. One downside is the spelling: one or two L’s, one or two T’s.

Or maybe David? Definitely timeless/biblical, and easy to spell. I’m trying to think if there are ANY Davids among the kids’ classmates, and I can only think of one. It repeats the V-sound in 1vy, tying it in; but the strong consonants keep it from seeming too similar. And the long-A ties it to his brother’s name. N@than, Cl@ra, 1vy, and David.

Name Update:

I want to thank everyone who responded to my post while I was struggling to name Baby #4.  The post, along with all of the comments, has been printed and will go in the baby book so I can fondly remember the naming process for this little one!  I read each comment and appreciated them so much!  The first name ended up being a decision between Everett and Peter.  I appreciated the feedback that “1vy and Everett” did not sound too similar when said together.  The most helpful advice, though, was from the mothers who actually already had a Peter.  Their advice that the name Peter was a well-received name helped put me more at ease to use it.  It started to feel like the right name to me, and I’m happy to say that my husband also agreed!  Our son, Peter Everett Mailmen, arrived on August 17, 2017.  He was 9 lbs. and 21 inches.  He was warmly welcomed by siblings N@te (11), Cl@ra (10), and 1vy (3).  We love the name, and it suits him very well.

Hi Swistle,
I’ve been reading your blog all the way from Australia for a couple of years and now I need your help! My husband and I are expecting our first child – a boy – on August 29. We’ve had a solid list of names picked out that we both like for months. My husband has vetoed a lot of names that I love, including Harrison. But just the other day, he said he’s changed his mind and now he really likes Harrison and wants it on the list! Only problem is, I can’t think of a middle name to go with it. Ideally, we’d like a family name from my side. The options include:

Ian – my favourite as it’s my dad’s name. I’m worried about how it flows with Harrison though as they both end in the letter N. Am I overthinking this?!

John

Francis

Ronald

Patrick – this is on our list of first names too, and could be an honour name for my grandmother, Patricia.

Our last name is pronounced Killarney but spelt differently.

Other first names on our list include:

Alexander
Owen
Patrick

Names we’ve considered but have decided not to use:

Asher
Nicholas
Nathaniel
Heath
Jude

If this baby were a girl, she would have been called Eliza, Nina, Layla or Tessa.

We are planning to have one more child after this one.

Any reassurance or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I promise to send an update with a photo once he’s born.

Many thanks,

Louise

This makes for a shortish post, but I vote for Ian. It doesn’t bother me at all that Harrison and Ian both end in N. And it’s your top choice too. And it honors your dad. Winning all around.

John also ends in N and is also a nice choice.

In fact, ALL the names on your list are nice choices. For me it depends a lot on who’s being honored, and how much you want to honor that person. I think that’s how I’d narrow it down, if I were you: since all the names are good choices, rank them in order of how much it makes your heart pound with happiness to think of honoring the people the names represent. Who would you rather honor, your dad or your grandmother?—and so on.

Name update:

Thank you Swistle and everyone who commented! Our beautiful son arrived on August 28. We were totally ready and excited to call him Harrison after you eased our minds, but when we saw his little face we knew he was an Alexander, a name we have loved for over a decade – in fact it was the first baby name we spoke about when we were dating.

So introducing Alexander Ian Killarney. My dad was so honoured by the middle name he cried!