Hello!
Our twin girls have arrived a bit early and we’re under the gun for picking their names, as they lay there and stare at us in shame. We thought we’d have more time! Sigh… We had come upon Olivia and Ava fairly organically, only to find out how popular they are, and as a pairing too. That really took the luster off for us, and now we’re trying to decide if we want to stay with that initial thought or move to something at least a little more unique.
We’ve since come up with a Lennon/Marlo pairing, or maybe Lennon/Ava, or Lennon/Olivia. Other names heavily considered were:
Mabel
Rowan
IslaLast name will be Lund. We haven’t even gotten into middle names yet, haha. We’re a baby naming mess.
Thank you in advance,
Andrew III + Taila
Lennon Lund is a lot of L and N for a name; I don’t like the way it feels when I say it, but of course that sort of thing is heavily subjective. Rowan Lund is okay, but feels a little clunky. Marlo Lund is better, but the -lo/Lu- combination is a little awkward; I feel the same about the -el/L- and -la/Lu- of Mabel Lund and Isla Lund. I would not pair Lennon (unusual, unisex, surname name) with either Ava or Olivia (Top Ten, used exclusively for girls, non-surnamey).
Now that I have dismissed all the options except the one that no longer has luster, where does that leave us? Well, we could look for names similar to Ava and Olivia but a little less common.
Aubrey
Audrey
Cora
Eliza
Eva
Evelina
Fiona
Geneva
Genevieve
Ivy
Josephine
Lydia
Mavis
Penelope
Ruby
Sabrina
Sylvia
Veronica
Victoria
Vienna
Vivian
Eva and Lydia has a very similar sound to Ava and Olivia, but is quite a bit less common. Ivy and Vivian is another similar-sound option.
Can you put a finger on what you like about Ava/Olivia? Is it the V-sounds? The long vowels? The -a endings? The way the two names share sounds (that is, it wouldn’t necessarily have to be V or the -a, but just any repeated sounds)? The two/four-syllable pairing? That might help you to form a new pairing.
For middle names, it can be fun to take advantage of the twin situation to honor two equivalent people at the same time: both grandmothers, for example, or perhaps the two of you each have one sister to honor, or would each like to honor one aunt. Or perhaps each of you would like to choose the name of an artist/scientist/actor/author/activist you admire. Or, since you are using the father’s family surname, perhaps both of the mother’s grandmothers could be honored, or perhaps the mother has two sisters. Or you could honor the parents with middle names Andrea/Drew and Taila. If you like twinny things (I did/do), you could consider giving Baby A a middle name starting with A, and Baby B a middle name starting with B. Or you could give them matching middle initials. Or if you still love the names Ava and Olivia but don’t want to use them as first names, they might work as middles. Or if it ends up being very hard to narrow down first-name options, the hard-to-let-go runners-up could be used as middles.
Edited to add: The parents are having the same commenting problem many of you are having (we have had no luck getting the website host to fix it, nor any luck figuring out anything in common among people who are having trouble), so here is the comment they were unable to post:
Thank you so much for the in depth thoughts and analysis! Its so amazing to get your third-person view without the pressure of family/friends. There’s a lot to parse through in there, and we will be thinking long and hard about the list you’ve offered up! You and your readers are crazy good at this!!!
Its interesting because we can now actually look at our babes, call them a name and see if it works. We eliminated quite a few names that way to get to the list in the initial email (Cora, Asa, Maeve, Amelia, Wren).
Mom loves the Ls, Ms, Os and soft sounding names. Dad loves the As and Vs. Both Mom and Dad like the idea of repeated sounds, names that work well together without being the same… Mom and Dad also like the idea of semi-unisex names that keep open the world of possibilities for the girls as they grow into themselves. We really think about what type of people we’d love for these girls to become (strong-willed, independent, creative, hard-working, loving/caring, etc.) and what kind of names exemplify those traits.
For middle names, Dad really likes the idea of Mom’s surname (Fisher) as a middle name for one or both of the girls, or even as a second middle name. Mom is keeping her last name, so it feels appropriate to pass it along to the girls in some fashion.
As we continuously talk about names, we do keep coming back to Ava and Olivia and wondering if it really matters all that much that they are popular. There was an initial distaste to finding out their chart position (#2 and #5 in 2016) [note from Swistle: according to the Social Security Administration, Olivia was #2 in 2016 and Ava was #3], but maybe it wouldn’t affect them so poorly, and we do still really like them, aaaaand they do fit the girls.
Other random question: What kind of pairing could work with the name Mabel? We haven’t been able to get a second name that suits sister well.
Thank you again and again and again. This is so needed and insanely helpful!!!
Name update:
Heyo, the website let us comment!
We are overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness and thoughts for our two little ones.
Based on Mom and Dad’s conversations and your comments, we ended up putting Ava and Olivia back into the mix. We axed Lennon and Isla, and while we loved Mabel neither sister fit the name. Soren was a wonderful late addition, but we couldn’t find a middle name that fit for us.
Eventually we happily landed on Ava Brie Lund and Marlo Fisher Lund. Brie is Mom’s middle name.
Thank you again for your help. While we didn’t follow all of your advice, it was really really helpful to set a baseline that Mom and Dad could jointly work from. Here’s a few pics of our little nuggets. They’re still in the NICU but hopefully soon to leave :)
Andrew III + Taila
Ava
Marlo
If it’s hard, maybe go with the whole AB thing to limit yourself? Looking at your list I came up with Avery & Briar. I love the pair! Semi-unisex but both lovely sweet sounds. Or Arden & Blaire. Avalon & Bellamy. Anjali & Bay. Or A-T after yourselves? Avery & Tenley. Alice & Thea. Astrid & Tova. Allie & Tess.
Good luck! You don’t need the naming stress on top of having newborn twins. Hope something clicks soon.
I think Rowan and Hazel would be nice, since they’re both trees, but not obviously so. I definitely wouldn’t pair Lennon with Olivia or Ava, for the reasons Swistle mentions. I love Renee’s suggestion of Arden and Blaire which have a similar vibe as Lennon/Marlo without all the Ls. There’s also Margo(t), which I think sounds better with Lund. Margo and Genevieve, Margo and Vivian, Margo and Fiona. Ooo, I like that last one.
On the other hand, there’s nothing *wrong* with Ava and Olivia, and you do like them. On the OTHER other hand, I seem to remember someone writing in to Swistle a while back saying that she chose Ava and Olivia for her daughters and was dismayed at how many people said, “Oh, I know two other sets of sisters with those names!” So I quite understand why the names have lost their luster.
Ainsley and Tiernan
Ainsley and Teagan
Darby and Blair
Merritt and Darby
Vivian and Margot
Daphne and Phoebe
I would def steer clear of names beginning or ending in L sounds.
Evelyn and Audrey
Avie and Olive
Annabel and Maisie
Avalyn and Evie
I tend to agree about Lennon but you could use Lennox. Lennox and Rowan.
Harlow and Lennox
I am a twin! Parents chose two 6 letter names that start with A for my sister and me. I’m a big fan of names that are related without being TOO related for twins.
I like the comment about Rowan and Hazel above! There’s a bunch of nature names listed by Swistle and the commenters. Nature pairs I like without being matchy:
Ivy and Sylvia (shared V sound)
Rose and Ainsley (shared Z sound)
Iris and Estelle (shared S sound, feels old Hollywood to me!)
Casey
Kira
Gracen
Sinclair
Jensen
Emmanuelle
Skylar / Skylark
Austen
Alison (diminutive of Alice)
Sid
Luka
Dylan
Dagny
Logan
Rory
Tate
Tatum
Waverly
Becket
Maiken (diminutive of Mary)
Monroe
Fate
Jade
Wynn
Mabel & Ivy
Mabel & Nora
Mabel & Carys
Mabel & June
Mabel & Ruby
Mabel & Fiona
Mabel & Lenora
My niece has daughter’s named Ivy and Mabel…beautiful names for wee girls
Lots of strong women have feminine names—and there is nothing wrong if that is your style (or if top 10 is your style! A beautiful name is a beautiful name). On that note, the perfect name to go with Mabel (LOVE Mabel!) is Ruth! Does it get any cooler than RBG? Or maybe Violet? Gloria? Katherine? Beatrice?
But I personally think Sylvia and Vivian would make the most lovely twin sisters. Sylvia Lennon and Vivian Reverie would be my picks.
Congratulations!
Mabel and Alice
Mabel and Olive
Mabel and Violet
Mabel and Lucy
Mabel and Piper
Mabel and Nora
Mabel and Adelaide
Mabel and Eloise
Mabel and Sadie
Mabel and Clara
Mabel and Winter
Mabel and Gemma
Mabel and Florence
A few other unisex suggestions:
Hadley
August
Arden
Arlo
Charlie
Elliot
Love Mabel and Ruth from the commenter above. I also love Mabel and Grace!
Mabel & Maren
Mabel & Betty
Mabel & Blanche
Mabel & Estelle
Best wishes!! Way to work to give your daughters distinction right from the get-go!
I know siblings called Mabel and Elsie – to me Mabel is a name reminiscent of a very specific generations so I find natural fits would be other Victorian/Edwardian staples:
Elsie
Betty (or Betsy)
Clara
Jemima
Polly
Dolly
Ada
Evelyn
Dorothy
Esme
Ruth
Maggie
Eliza
Personally I love the idea of something like Evelyn and Esme for you, if your personal style is quite soft and feminine? Or Eliza and Olive?
I have a nephew named Rowen so if you’re going to use it as a possible female name, his sister’s name is Ramsey so Rowan and Ramsey?
With that being said, I’m an identical twin and me and my twin are named nothing alike!
I do love Mabel! What about Olive as an alternate to Olivia?
Other suggestions:
Mabel & Lucy
Mabel & Greta
Mabel & Abigail
I have a neice named Olivia after her great grandmother Olive. It’s interesting to see it go back the other way.
Mabel and Hazel
Mabel and Molly
Mabel and Velma
Going back to Olivia and Ava, what about Sylvia and Evelyn?
Here to offer Ada as an alternative to Ava.
I like Ada paired with Mable.
Ada Lund
Mable Lund
I’m playing around with combinations of Ada, Lydia, Evelyn, Violet …
Ada & Lydia – similar to Ava & Olivia, but no V
Ada & Evelyn – a V, but no repeating sounds, though still somehow quite similar to Ava & Olivia
Evelyn & Violet – a shared V, and also a share L
Evelyn & Lydia – shared L & Y, also 1V
Lydia & Violet – shared L, 1V
Not sure about Ada & Violet as a pairing
I think you should stick with Ava & Olivia if you love them and they feel like your daughters’ names. They both go beautifully with your surname. A few other ideas:
Madeleine & Genevieve
Margot & Vivian
Evelyn & Colette
One more idea: Vera & Gwendolyn
Why are you letting other parents decide what to name _your_ children? That’s essentially what you’re doing if you’re discarding perfectly lovely names just because other parents have chosen them, too.
Add the fact that name popularity is really not what it used to be: the U.S. naming landscape has become so varied that nothing really qualifies as “common” any more. In 1986, a name given to 1.0021% of baby girls (like Olivia in 2016) would’ve ranked 12th, and a name given to 0.8454% of baby girls (like Ava in 2016) would’ve ranked 15th.
One effect of the current statistical picture is that the numbers can no longer predict real-life name encounters. Yes, our local elementary school has more than one Olivia and Ava, but neither name occurs nearly as often as Ryan. There is nothing in the statistics that can predict that in 2018, a group of about 450 children, mostly under the age of 10, will have as many Ryans as Avas and Olivias put together.
Think of top-ranked names as what they really are: well-liked. Is it really such a horrible thing that you like some of the same things that other people like? Do you stop watching a TV show that you enjoy just because you find out that other people enjoy it, too? Do you look for an unpopular or badly-rated model of car so that you’ll stand out in the parking lot?
I think Ava and Olivia are great names for twins: they have some things in common, but are totally distinct, just like your daughters.
I vote for mom’s maiden name for both middles. It’s a lovely and easy-to-understand setup when mom didn’t change her name, and when you’re under time pressure and having trouble coming up with even one name per child, it’s a handy but meaningful solution.
Mabel! I love Mabel. I think Ava and Mabel are lovely together– especially with mom’s maiden name in the middle. Olivia feels just a tad too frilly next to Mabel. However, Olive works!
A name my husband and I considered for its unexpected unisex factor is Judith—we really liked the nickname Jude. Another name like that is Charlotte, nickname Charlie. Either is lovely with Mabel.
Some others:
Alice
Lucy
Violet (great with your last name!)
Frances (sounds unisex)
Rosalie
Matilda
Elodie
Annabel
Lorelei
Martha
Oh, please use Ava and Olivia! My own anecdotal info is that across 3 daycares in the last few years, I have run into 2 Olivias and no Avas (but 2 Adas and 1 Adah). Top 10 names for both girls and boys pop up WAY less frequently than I would have expected in daycare. Then, there was the year that there were 3 Stellas in a 50 kid daycare.
-Mom of 2 kids with popular names
I hope this means we get an update soon!
I agree with those who have added Evelyn, Grace, Lydia. What about Eleanor? Magnolia is the girl name I never got to use.
Evelyn & Lydia
Olive & Evelyn
Mabel & Grace
Mabel & Magnolia
I also like the idea of both girls having Fisher as a middle name. Welcome, baby girls!
In my daughter’s daycare class, there is a Finn and a Finnegan. There is a Maddy, Madeleine, Addy, and an Adeline. There’s one Ava, no Isabella and no Olivia.
Use Ava and Olivia if you love them. Some others:
Eliza and Evelyn
Lorna and Lena
Mabel and Vera
Ada and Amelia
Lavinia and Lydia
Olivette and Avalon
Eliza and Matilda
Edna and Iris
Mabel and Hazel
Mabel and Pearl
Mabel and Mavis
Mabel and Matilda
Mabel and Edith
Could you match long forms with super cute rhymes?
Harriet and Matilda—> Hattie and Maddy
Josephine and Penelope—> Posey and Poppy
Beatrix and Matilda—> Trixie and Tilly
Good luck!!!
I have a 10 year old daughter named Ava, and as much as I love her name she always has at least one other Ava in her class, dance class, sports group etc and it can be slightly frustrating.
I love the twin set of Marlow/Lennon both are great names and go so well together!
Other suggestions sorry if I’m repeating
Amity, Iris, Greta, Mila, Aubrey, Everette, Quinn, Ada, Olive, Sage, Audra, Odette, Thea, Briar, Linnea, Freya, Heidi, Hazel.
Congratulations, I’m excited to here what you choose!
Mabel and Miriam?
Mabel and Naomi?
Maeve and Fiona?
Mabel and Martha?
I know twins with the same initial and it does make it harder to get their names right. Just a thought.
Oh, and I agree with a previous poster who mentioned that twins with the same initial causes confusion. I know a set of (grown up) twins who work in the same field and whose names begin with the same letter, and they are continually confused for each other when people are speaking. One of them is fine about it/understands, but the other has a chip on his shoulder about it, and it causes a lot of angst! So, I do suggest using different initials and not repeating sounds too much.
I also agree that Lennon, Isla, and Marlo with your surname are quite hard to say. Mabel doesn’t bother me as much. Olivia with your surname sounds quite close to the actress Olivia Munn, which is neither here nor there but did occur to me.
Mabel and Kitty?
This is such a fun one. I don’t have any brilliant ideas, but I wondered about just tweaking the one you like. So Eva and Olive? (I prefer Eve and Olive but, when I said Olive and Eve, it made me think Adam and Eve.) Avalon and Odessa? Or if you like Lennon, what about Monroe and Lachlyn? (The latter is hard with last name too but I absolutely love it anyway.)
Ava & Olivia are lovely, don’t let their rank bother you if they are the names you love most!
Wow, looking at your name list, the first thing that occurred to me is that your name style is a bit all over the place. I would normally not expect to see Lennon & Mabel on the same name list. That doesn’t have to be a problem, but if you might have more children, would you want to stick to the same name style? If so, you may want to narrow down a primary style now.
As to specific names, I don’t care for Lennon, particularly with the surname. Looking at Cora, Asa, Maeve, Amelia & Wren, what jumps out to me most is Asa. I realize you like unisex names, but Asa is traditionally a Hebrew masculine name and is not really unisex. On a girl, I think it would read more as “boy’s name on a girl” and could potentially cause confusion, especially since the other names are solely feminine is use. I think Cora & Amelia or Cora & Wren are nice together, these are my favorite pairings.
I prefer for twin-names to have a connection, but not be overly theme-y. With that in mind, I might look at some less-common word/nature names to pair with Wren. Perhaps Luna, Ivy, Bliss, Lyric, perhaps Coral instead of Cora? For Maeve, other Celtic names seem like the obvious choice. Isla & Fiona both come to mind. For Amelia & Cora, I think any vintage revival name would work nicely. Ava, Olivia, Vivian, Rose, Tessa.
For names to pair with Mabel, I think you’ll want something vintage, but not quite ready for a full-on revival. It leans a bit more fusty than your other names. Agatha, Bess, Stella/Estelle, Frances.
If you love Ava and Olivia use them. My son is a 2010 Noah and he’s actually the only Noah in his elementary school class of 120 1st graders. We rarely run into another same aged Noah, even though it was #1 in 2010.
Second I wanted to recommend Lila to you. Lila Lund is good alliteration I think and matches with either Ava or Olivia.
Ava and Lila
Olivia and Lila
Or Anya? Olivia and Anya
I do like the idea of using Ava and Olivia in the middle name spots – assuming you don’t come up with something you like more/a perfect pair of honour names. It means you don’t have to ‘let go’ of the names you’ve liked the longest and it frees you up to perhaps choose something slightly more daring for the first name spots.
Congrats on your girls….and please update us!
Do you like Margo? (If Marlo Lund doesn’t work for you, I don’t mind it much.) Other names I like that might appeal (not necessarily unisex, but also not “frilly”) : Alice, Simone, Valentine, Ada, Adele, Iris, Frances (nn Frankie! *swoon*), Arden, Eden, Claire, Stella, Eve.
Also, I know an Olivia that just got a baby sister named Avery. It’s technically unisex even though I have only heard it on girls. Without looking up actual stats, I’m assuming it’s less popular than Ava.
I think you have a lot of beautiful names here, but wanted to remind you that there is nothing wrong with naming the kiddos Ava and Olivia. They’re popular names for a reason. Also I love using Fisher as a middle name for both girls, either alone or as a second middle name. Oh and also, sometimes a name doesn’t seem to fit a tiny baby no matter how loved the name, I found that both my kids grew into their full names and I nicknamed them generally as babies. (“Juju” for Julian, “Morla the ancient one” for Eleanor – not my fault she looked exactly like the turtle from the Neverending Story.)
So Ava and Olivia are lovely. If that’s not right what about feminine names with unisex/Tomboy nicknames? So they can be whoever they want!
Georgia and Frances (Georgie and Frankie!)
Natalie and Delia (Nat and Del)
Julia and Margo (Jules and Go or Mo)
Josephine and Samantha
I love Georgia and Francis.
A couple more… I keep thinking about your family!
Mavis & Adelaide
Arden & Maren
Carys & Gweneth
Marina & Estee
Esme & Collette
Flora & Greta
Mabel & Rosalie
Mabel & Alice
Mabel & Josephine
Mabel & Elsie
Mabel & Violet
Mabel & Ivy
Lennox & Elm (though Elm Lund is a little weird to say, there’s a tree theme going on here)
Lennox & Rowan (Nox & Ro)
Lennox & Linden (Len & Lin)
Lark & Wren (tweet tweet!)
I love Ivy & Olive or Mabel & Ruth…and I also think your maiden name as a middle name for both is so sweet. Can’t wait to find out what you decided!!
I have a Mabel, so I’m a huge fan! Her boys call her Maisie. Our second choice name for her was Margaret. Names I also like which “feel” similar to me: Ruby, Ruth, Eleanor, Nora, Cecily, Ingrid, Beatrice, Edith, Matilda, Eliza, Josephine.
ABSOLUTELY both girls can have your maiden name as a middle name.
Congrats!
If you keep coming back to Ava & Olivia, maybe those are just their names? You’ll never regret them using those if you love them.
Gemma & Mabel would be my favourite pairing.
And yes yes yes to Fisher as the middle for both! Love it.
Good luck. I wish babies came out with a tattoo of their name on them. Naming our second was so tough, we threw over a dozen names at her before one just clicked.
Sylvia and Ivy
Anna and Ramona
Serena and Sophia
Mabel and Isla
Rowan and Hazel
Rowan and Ivy
Rowan and Tansy
also, Rowan and Arden
I really like Adelia with Mabel, think they match very well while not being too matched!
If you guys like Ava but are concerned about popularity plus like more gender-neutral names, would Avalon work? Definitely unique and gender-neutral, plus the bonus of Ava as a nickname if you want! I also think Bellamy fits your wants!
So my suggestions:
Mabel+Adelia
Avalon + Bellamy (baby A and B as a bonus!)
I like
Mabel and Ruby
Mabel and Poppy
the idea of moms maiden for both girls middles!
Mabel and Evelyn
Mabel and Emery
Mabel and Everly
Good luck!
If you love Ava and Olivia best for your girls, go for it! As someone said on another post, it just shows that other people have good taste too. Personally, I think I’ve seen a couple of each at my kids’ library story times, but we’re talking a 5 year span.
I kind of like Evelyn and Agatha, too.
We are overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness and thoughts for our two little ones.
Based on Mom and Dad’s conversations and your comments, we ended up putting Ava and Olivia back into the mix. We axed Lennon and Isla, and while we loved Mable neither sister fit the name. Soren was a wonderful late addition, but we couldn’t find a middle name that fit for us.
Eventually we happily landed on Ava Brie Lund and Marlo Fisher Lund. Brie is Mom’s middle name. Thank you all so much for your help and extensive discussion! It really set the table for Mom and Dad’s decision here
So sweet! Congrats and welcome Ava and Marlo!
Perfect! Beautiful names. Congratulations!