Hi Swistle!
My husband and I are having a hard time deciding on names for our baby who is due in late April 2019. We don’t plan on finding out baby’s sex so we need to be prepared for a girl or a boy (although big sister insists this is going to be her baby sister.) Our daughter is Rose Elizabeth and our son is Nolan David. Our last name rhymes with Mask.
We like old fashioned names but preferably not top 100 in popularity. Some girls names considered and not ruled out are: Juniper, Pearl, and Willa. Some boys names that we like are Samuel, Samson, and Lincoln. None of them feel just “right” though in the way that our other two kids’ names did. Rose is named after my very close cousin who passed away. Nolan is named for his dad’s favorite baseball player. My husband also says we “wasted the good name on the dog.” Harmon, which I actually agree with him on. I feel like it could have been a contender if it wasn’t already the dog’s name.
This is most likely our last child. We don’t have any middle names in mind but I feel like we could come up with one more easily once we have a first name chosen.
Thanks for your help!
Would Harvey work for a boy? I love that name and would love to see it used more.
If you’re trying to avoid the Top 100, I think you would find any Sam- name too common for your tastes: Samson was only #608 in 2017, according to the Social Security Administration, but Samuel was #21—and has been in the Top 50 for the past 30 years, and hasn’t been out of the Top 100 since the earliest online Social Security search results starting in 1900, so there are lots of Sams of many ages.
Lincoln is more recent: it hit the Top 100 in 2013, and was #41 in 2017. If I had to guess, I’d guess it would continue to rise.
More possibilities to consider:
Rose, Nolan, and Aidric
Rose, Nolan, and Alistair
Rose, Nolan, and Archer
Rose, Nolan, and August
Rose, Nolan, and Branson
Rose, Nolan, and Davis
Rose, Nolan, and Declan
Rose, Nolan, and Desmond
Rose, Nolan, and Edmund
Rose, Nolan, and Elliot
Rose, Nolan, and Everett
Rose, Nolan, and Ezra
Rose, Nolan, and Franklin
Rose, Nolan, and Garrett
Rose, Nolan, and Gilbert
Rose, Nolan, and Grant
Rose, Nolan, and Harris
Rose, Nolan, and Holling
Rose, Nolan, and Keller
Rose, Nolan, and Louis
Rose, Nolan, and Malcolm
Rose, Nolan, and Merritt
Rose, Nolan, and Miles
Rose, Nolan, and Reid
Rose, Nolan, and Rhett
Rose, Nolan, and Simon
Rose, Nolan, and Thompson
Rose, Nolan, and Wells
Rose, Nolan, and Wesley
Rose, Nolan, and Zane
A few of those are Top 100, and a few more are flirting with the line and may cross it in 2018.
I like all three of your girl-name choices in different ways. I think Pearl and Willa are my two favorites, mostly because Juniper feels more contemporary to me: it didn’t enter the Top 1000 until 2011, while little girls named Rose and Pearl and Willa have been in classrooms together for at least the past century.
I got sidetracked here because I was interested: Juniper feels more contemporary to me, but is it? It certainly seems as if it could have been a companion of Ivy and Hazel, and I have been surprised by names before. I checked the Social Security database that goes back to 1880 (unlike the online search which only goes back to 1900) and includes all the names given to five or more infants of that sex that year (unlike the online search which only includes the Top 1000 names). I wanted to see if Juniper was in use way back then, but maybe just uncommon. In 1880, there is no entry for Juniper, which means fewer than five babies were given the name that year. In 1890: no Junipers. In 1900: no Junipers. In 1910: no Junipers. None in 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960. Finally in 1969: 5 new baby girls named Juniper. From there, here are the number of new baby girls given the name Juniper in the United States, at five-year intervals:
1969: 5
1974: 23
1979: 9
1984: 6
1989: –
1994: 7
1999: 14
2004: 33
2009: 170
2014: 643 (plus 9 new baby boys named Juniper)
And in 2017, there were 1,033 new baby girls and 6 new baby boys given the name Juniper. In Juniper we have an interesting thing: a contemporary name that fits well with the vintage revival botanical names such as Rose, Violet, Rosemary, Hazel, and Ivy, while also sounding similar to and going well with names such as Harper and Piper and Skylar and Paisley. The Wikipedia article on the name suggests some possible sources for the recent usage: a song called Jennifer Juniper in 1969; the movie Bennie & Joon in 1993; the book Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary in 1998; and a cartoon series called The Life and Times of Juniper Lee in 2005-2007.
Anyway! More possibilities to consider:
Rose, Nolan, and Ada
Rose, Nolan, and Alice
Rose, Nolan, and Cecily
Rose, Nolan, and Clara
Rose, Nolan, and Cora
Rose, Nolan, and Eliza
Rose, Nolan, and Fern
Rose, Nolan, and Iris
Rose, Nolan, and Ivy
Rose, Nolan, and Josephine
Rose, Nolan, and June
Rose, Nolan, and Lois
Rose, Nolan, and Louise
Rose, Nolan, and Lydia
Rose, Nolan, and Mabel
Rose, Nolan, and Marilla
Rose, Nolan, and May
Rose, Nolan, and Molly
Rose, Nolan, and Stella
Rose, Nolan, and Sylvia
Name update:
Our daughter was born in early April 2019 and we named her after my husband’s grandmother, Grace. Her name is Grace Evangeline, and it suits her well.
My oldest is Elizabeth Rose so perhaps you would like her siblings’ names? They are Ryan Matthew and Alexandra Lily. Elizabeth chose Alex’s middle name herself because she wanted her to have a flower middle name like she did.
This is funny because my parents joked about naming my brother “Nolan Ryan Lastname” (after the pitcher obviously) but settled on naming him Ryan Joseph instead. That said, I probably wouldn’t go for Ryan as a brother to Nolan bc of the association of the two!
I love Rose, Nolan, and Josephine as a sibling set – but then realized the girls could potentially be nicknamed Rosie and Josie, which could be a dealbreaker for you
For a boy, how about Dashiell? For a girl, Iris?
I noticed that Rose and Nolan both share that long O sound. It would be cool to find another name that shares that sound
Margot/Margo
Josephine
Cora
Caroline
Fiona
Paloma
Lola
Willow
Cleo
Zoe
Chloe
Rory
Joseph
Cole
Jonah
Christopher
Jacoby “Coby”
Joel
Owen (probably too close to Nolan)
Josiah
Arlo
Milo
Toby/Tobin/Tobias
I really like Jonah with Nolan and Rose
I came on to comment this as well! Great list, Ainsley! I like it best for Name #3 for the Long O Sound to be in a place other than the first vowel sound – like Arlo or Margo.
I wanted to echo using the long “O” sound again! I personally lean towards differing sounds among sibsets, but since it’s already been done between Rose & Nolan, I feel like there needs to be a third :)
I love the options above of Joel and Jonah since you don’t already have a “J” name in there. Margot for a girl… there’s also Viola, Collette, Dorothy, or Flora which might fit your style.
A couple of things struck me when looking at your letter. 1) David Nolan was the name of Prince Charming in the show Once Upon a Time- which I have been binge watching lately. And pairing it with the name Rose the name of another character (Rose Red is the name of Little Red Riding Hood also known as Ruby) it really stood out for me but doesn’t look at all like where you were pulling from. And 2) both of your older children were given honor names (a favorite cousin and a baseball hero. I wonder how your third child would feel if they didn’t have a cool story like that about their name. Have you each made a list of people -relatives, athletes, rock stars actors/actresses, scientists, architects, etc… that you admire? Maybe some names will jump off the lists as ones that you like.
As far as names I personally think would go well with Rose and Nolan? I think Willow (similar to your Willa) and Violet give you the flora and the long O.
Rose, Nolan and Willow
Rose, Nolan and Violet
For boys instead of Harmon would you consider Hudson? It is #64 so maybe a little more popular than you like but again gives you the long 0 you like and there are lots of famous people named Hudson.
Rose, Nolan and Hudson
Or Boaz- Long O sound and a really cool guy in the bible.
Rose, Nolan and Boaz
Or Orson after the great Orson Wells
Rose, Nolan and Orson
Some great suggestions! I also wanted to suggest Phoebe for a girl and Milo and Holden for a boy.
From your list my favorites are Willa and Samuel. And I really like Josephine and Margot with your sibest too.
As for Harvey, it’s a great name, but I’m not sure whether the hurricane association isn’t still too strong… Or maybe it’s just me?
I would also add a few other possible contenders (all are currently outside the top 100 list):
Holly
April
Frances
Daphne
Sage
Giselle
Olive
Tessa
Isla
Jane
And as for boys:
Scott
Benson
Winston
Leonard
Spencer
Beckett
Bennett
Jeremy
Graham
Eric
Harrison
Rose, Nolan, and Hollis. Classic but underused!
Rose and Nolan smooshed together give you Roland… so that’s definitely out.
Rawlings, perhaps?
Or how about Floyd? Rose, Nolan, and Floyd.
Harmon makes me think of Garvan.
Rose, Nolan, and Garvan “Mask”
Do you like Gregor?
Rose, Nolan, and Gregor
For a sister:
Opal? Rose, Nolan, and Opal
June seems like an ideal option (think Swistle mentioned it). I like Junia even more!
Rose, Nolan, and Junia “Mask”
Flora may suit you.
Rose, Nolan, and Flora
Best wishes and congrats on your new child!
I love the suggestions of Cora & Margot for you. Other ideas:
Vera
Cornelia
Zora
Una
Felcity
Daphne
Claudia
How about:
Boys:
Foster
Luca
Girls:
Ramona
Sylvie
I really do love Juniper, too!
Naomi!
Rose, Nolan and Naomi.
Rose, Nolan and Esther.
I was thinking it might be good to stay away from another long o name. It starts to seem a bit matchy however, I do like the short o.
With Rose and Nolan, I like:
Aaron
Oscar
Knox
Joel
Gavin
Jared
Ezra
or
Joy
Olive
Molly
Iris
Grace
Love the suggestion of Jacoby for a boy, though it may hinge on your husband’s feelings towards Jacoby Ellsbury (baseball player).
Rose, Nolan and Jacoby.
Rose, Nolan and Bronson — also a pitcher, Bronson Arroyo, so maybe that’s weird?
Rose, Nolan and Cole
Rose, Nolan and Cody
Rose, Nolan and Brody
Rose, Nolan and Brady — prob not if you’re not a Pats’ fan.
Rose, Nolan and Landon
Rose, Nolan and Torin
Rose, Nolan and Tobin
Rose, Nolan and Raleigh
Rose, Nolan and Doyle
Rose, Nolan and Dover
I love the name Rowan but, like Roland and Ronan, it sounds like a squishing of Rose and Nolan and turns your sibset into a tongue-twister.
Rose, Nolan and Sage
Rose, Nolan and Cara
Rose, Nolan and Cora
Rose, Nolan and Lila
Rose, Nolan and Holly
Rose, Nolan and Hope
Rose, Nolan and Dove
Rose, Nolan and Lark
Rose, Nolan and Bree
Rose, Nolan and Brooke
From your list: I like Willa the best. My inclination was to also say Lincoln (which I do like) but I think Nolan and Lincoln sound very similar and that you can almost get Nolan out of the letters in Lincoln (well, Nolin anyway).
My Swistles list: Desmond, Garrett and Reid are my favorites for a boy, and Lydia and Sylvia are my favorites for a girl.
I like the reader suggestions of Miles/Milo. I wonder if you would like Corbin, Graham, Priscilla or Marie. I’m especially fond of Marie, which to me, like Rose, deserves to be promoted from “lovely middle name” to “delightful first name.”
I suggest:
Solomon or Clavin.
Lora or Stella.
To me they feel like they would suit your style.
I had a great-great grandmother named Lora, I’ve always liked it. I would have used it if there wasn’t already another Laura in my family.
Or Lorna is a name I recently heard and wished I had heard it before my daughter was born.
How about Laurel? Nice tie-in with Rose and shares the long O sound with the other names. I actually like Lawrence or Laurent for a boy too.
Other girl names: I love Pearl and May. But I agree with earlier commenters that if you can find some kind of honor name–not neccessarily of a family member or even a person, but something with meaning & a story, that will help child #3 feel just as cherished. I think this is especially true since the first two have clear honor names and you only plan three.
Would Hirum /Hyrum work instead of Harmon? It’s super old fashioned and not top 100 but also seems familiar because of the character in the Archie comics/Riverdale tv show.
Love the suggestions of Cleo and Brody!
Nolan and Brody are great brother names, both having Irish origins. What about Connor, or maybe Carter or Spencer?
What about Sophie for a girl?
Rose, Nolan and Sophie. Nice!
Cora, Louise or Holly?
Good luck!
I just love both Willa and Pearl. Rose Elizabeth and Willa Pearl!
Nothing is singing to me from your boy list. Ok, we know you like Nolan and Harmon.
Harold
Warren
Karl
Solomon
Melvin
Stanley
Jared
Eugene
Shoutout for Lois! I feel like this is primed for a comeback. Shares the long O sound.
In my extended family we have a young Polly and a young Fern and they are both great names.