I was thinking about the way the names Alice and Ellis are almost identical in sound, and yet RADICALLY DIFFERENT in style. Imagine being someone completely unfamiliar with both names and trying to understand why one was a classic vintage traditional storybook name and the other was an androgynous preppy surname name. So much of the feel and appeal of a name is separate from the actual sound of it—which can make it harder to understand naming styles once they’ve drifted out of fashion. It can also contribute to how ruffled our feelings get if one name is mistaken for another.
Can we think of other such examples? They don’t have to be as similar in sound or as different in style as Alice/Ellis: just anything where a relatively small change in sound makes a disproportionately large change in style.
Allie and Ellie
Amy and Emmie
Autumn and Adam
Beverly and Everly
Davis and David
Lacey and Lucy
Jenny and Ginny
Joy and Joyce
Charlotte and Scarlet
Jane and Jean and Joan and June
Grey and Grace
Chloe and Cleo
Noah and Owen
Carla and Clara
Chris and Carys
Monica and Annika (the ON-nicka pronunciation)
Katie and Kady.
Ellen and Allen
Ellason and Allison
Carys and Karen
Yes- Corinne and Karen.
That’s so funny you listed this because I have a friend who used Carys 13 years ago and as mutual friends were struggling with a name they had never heard of before, I told someone: it’s ONE sound off from Karen! I’m sure you’ll learn how to make your mouth say it! 😆
Melody and Elodie
Willa and Willow
Braydon and Brandon
Gray and Gary
Winston and Weston
Olivia and Lydia
Lillian and Jillian
Aubrey and Audrey
Ada and Jada
Mila and Mira
Luna and Lana
Violet and Juliet
Bella and Becca
Beatrice and Caprice
Sylvia and Livia
Ruby and Rumy
Cora and Dora and Nora and Zora
Zoey and Joey
Oliver and River
Quinn and Lynn
Paige and Sage
Parker and Harper
Billy and Bailey
Jane and Jade
Gerard and Jarrod (actually not sure how Gerard is pronounced in the US, but here it’s emphasis on 1st syllable)
Eden and Aidan
Interesting topic!
CLAIRE and CLARA have always seemed worlds apart to me.
Agreed! It’s taken forever for me to get get beyond the image of Clara as an old ladies’ name and/or part of a clown’s name. On the other hand, Claire has always seemed ageless and beautiful.
fascinating–to me Claire is younger and probably blonde and happy.
Clara is elegant and dignified, possibly a ballerina (like in the Nutcracker). Thin, with brown hair in a bun.
Neither is a bad name, but they conjure up different images for me!
Super interesting. Clara (in Spanish) means clear, pure. I always think of Clara in “The House of the Spirits” played by Meryl Streep. Claire is one of my all-time favorite names. To me they are very similar in style — but I can see how my perspective is, perhaps, unique.
Eliza & Alexa
Oh! Also, I have a late-30s friend (male) named Mattison, nickname Matt. I love this name and it feels fresh and unique to me, even though it sounds almost exactly like Madison (which feels pretty worn to me these days).
Lindsey vs. Kenzie
(I’m biased)
I grew up with my best friend named Caitlin. I called her Cait. It was years later I connected it to the same sound as Kate because it just is not the same name in my mind.
Jeanna and Gina
Floyd And Lloyd
Kristen and Christian
Esther and Chester
Agnes and Inez
I have a Susannah and people always think I am saying Savannah. In my mind these are totally different styles!!
Yes! It really took me by surprise how often my Susannah is mistaken for Savannah . The sounds are similar but the style completely different.
Elise and Kelsey
Darn. Elsie and Kelsey. Although I guess also Elsie and Elise.
My niece just named her baby Elsie, I got off the phone after speaking to her and had to check that I had heard correct and that it wasn’t Kelsey or Chelsea simply because Elsie is definitely not common here.
My sister assumed I had meant to spell Elise when I let her know.
Byron and Brian. I loved the name Byron for a boy but never used it because I was convinced he would perpetually be mistaken for Brian and I don’t like the name Brian at all.
Morgan and Megan
Louis and Lois
It’s interesting how spelling also completely changes the vibe of names. My husband is Jon but when I first me him I spent six weeks thinking it was John (because I hadn’t seen it in writing yet). It took a while for my brain to wrap around the discovery that I was actually dating a Jon, not a John.
Similarly I once spent over a month thinking I was dating a Shane, when actually his name was Shayne which feels totally different to me!
I completely agree about the spelling…it makes names completely different in my mind! It took me years after I started dating my husband to realize that his best friend Jeff has the same name as my brother Geoff.
Caroline vs. Carolyn. I am always amazed that people mix these names up because they couldn’t be further apart in style, in my opinion.
I am not totally biased or anything, but I think Suzanne and Susan are wildly different names (just like Joan and Joanne), and Suzanne and Susannah as well. Such similar spellings and sounds but So Different.
Karen and Kaden
Maya and Meyer
Jennifer and Genesis (though both are frequently nicknamed to Jenny)
Alma and Elma
Melanie and Melania
I met a girl recently named Eimy, pronounced Amy, which brought up different associations and assumptions to me.
My name is Leah and people often mishear it as LeeAnn, which is such a diffent style of name! Also, there are virtually no LeeAnn’s living in my part of the country, so it baffles me every time.
Another Leah here who has also been mistaken for a LeeAnn, which has always seemed odd to me. I also get Lee/Leigh/Lea/Lia/Leia
On the other hand, I *am* a LeeAnn (though with a different spelling) who gets called Leah. To be fair, it’s usually from overseas visitors, or in loud areas. But when I get the follow-up “Oh, your parents were Star Wars fans then?” I realize the mistake.
I also feel bad for every Leia/Leah/etc who hears that comment. No one can spell my name correct, but no one has an association with it, either!
I have met only a couple LeeAnns in my time, and I’ve only ever seen one with the same spelling I have. But, I don’t think I’ve met a Leah, so that seems fair!
And on the topic, Lee and Leigh. Such different names, I don’t know how anyone confuses them. And names that end in -lee, -leigh, and -ley are very different feels.
Emilia and Amelia
Daniel and Nathaniel
Hallie and Sally and Allie and Callie
Karen and Maren
Kevin and Evan and Devin and Gavin
Shane and Kane and Dane and Lane and Rain and Zane
Zachary and Isaac
Jacob and Jacoby
Hayes and Hazel
Grant and Graham
Duncan and Declan
Hallie and Haley and Holly
Cora and Cara
Eliza and Alyssa
Jake and Blake
Tyler and Taylor
Lindsay and Kinsey
Ryan and Rylan
Also forgot to add Nathan and Nathaniel. They are so similar but people’s perception of each name are vastly different! Seems a lot of people agree that Nathaniel is handsome and stately but comes off as a bit more serious and religious than simple and approachable Nathan. Funny how they both shorten to fun and friendly Nate! I still can’t decide which one I like more!
Bea and Bee.
(my daughter is a Bea and I am always surprised(horrified) when people think her name is Bee.)
Julia and Julie – Julia always struck me as more classical and Julie as very 70s
Laurie and Lori – same as above ; Lori seems like a trendy alternative spelling from the 60s or 70s
Caroline and Carolyn – Caroline always struck me as more classical and elegant; Carolyn more down-home and friendly. In fact all of the – line versus -lyn names strike me that way. (Madeline vs Madelyn or Adaline vs Adelyn).
Willow and Willa – seem strikingly different in style to me.
Likewise, William and Wilson and Willis are all very different in style despite the similarity in beginning sounds.
Jackson and Jaxon conjure up very different images to me.
Gina and Jenna
Mary and Carrie and Clary
June and Jane
Mack and Jack
Abbott and Emmett
Chase and Case
Estelle and Stella
Jody and Josie
Ray and Roy
Vaughn and Shawn
Amy and Annie
Molly and Holly
Melissa and Marissa
Karen and Kerensa
Gwen and Jen
Jessie and Jesse
Jasper and Casper
Walt and Wally
Oh, man. This could go forever! Fascinating how culture and history has formed these. It does illustrate why “use this name instead of the one you wanted because they sound alike” doesn’t satisfy most parents. If a name is unuseable because of possible family repeats or the neighbor naming their new dog your soon-to-be born baby’s name, parents go looking for a name with the same FEEL, usually not the same sound.
Cool topic, Swistle!
Amy and Emme
Cora and Korra
Louise and Eloise (and Elise)
Juno and June
Oona and Una (and Uma)
Pola and Paula
Caeli and Kylee*
Ky and Kai
Helen and Helena (and Ellen)
Victory and Victoria
Seraphina and Safira
Martha and Mara
Oh! And Moon and Muna.
Maisie and Macy.
Somewhat unrelatedly, I saw a post today. A woman said her father’s name is Aaron and, as a child, she’d mis-hear him announcing his ‘errands’ as his ‘Aarons’. She grew up thinking the chores you need to do about town were named after oneself. Accordingly, she still thinks of her errands as her ‘Ellies’.
I really liked that….
Noah and Noa
Maris and Marissa
Marian and Maryanne
My son is named Oliver and I call him Ollie. One man misheard and thought his name was Ali (like Mohammed Ali). Those two names come from completely different worlds!
Beverly and Everly! It’s kind of funny how fresh Everly sounds compared to the more dated feel of Beverly….
Just yesterday I heard about a child called Echo and I was musing how similar but very different it is to Chloe.
Miles and Milo
Thea and Theo (one very classical and one very friendly to my ears)
I also feel that there is a significant difference between the Lyns and Lines.
I love Emilia but not so much Amelia.
Robert & Rupert
Lisa & Liza
Marina & Corinna & Edwina
Wilma & Willa
Margot & Margaret
Adeline & Adelaide
Amanda & Yolanda
Nora & Nola
Arnold & Aaron
Henry & Henley
Melinda & Miranda
Jeremy & Jerome
Rose & Joyce
Lena & Lana
Anna & Hannah
Lily & Libby
Roman & Ronan
Fiona & Diana
Sharon & Emerson
Hayden & Helen
Isabella & Isadora
Isabel & Isobel
Theresa & Marissa
Amy & Aimee
Mandy & Andy
Aidan & Adam
Rosalind & Rosalie
Edna & Ava
Grace & Jace & Hayes
Maya & Mia
Laura & Dora
Julian & Julius
May & Maeve
Liv & Liz
Oh, a couple more (it’s a really fascinating topic!):
Nell & Elle
Judy & Jodi(e)
Erin & Irene
Sara & Mara
Tiffany & Epiphany
Kira & Kyra
Penny & Jenny
Carrie & Kelly
Paris & Carys
Laura & Lara
Nina & Gina
Evan & Yvonne
Tess & Jess
Blair & Fleur
Cally & Kelly
Joanna & Joanne :)
I always felt like my name was so dated compared to the almost identical June and Jane. I remember wishing fervently that my mom had named me either of those two names instead. It took me a long time to love my name.
Cindy & Indie
Candace & Cadence
Elsa & Ailsa
Which reminds me that Ilsa, Isla and Lisa are all anagrams yet very distinct names.
Brenda vs Brenna
Brynn vs Lynn
Are Jane/June/Jean/Joan really a different style? I know they vary vastly in popularity, but unlike most of the other pairings here, I’m having trouble seeing them as different types of names or styles. I’ve pondered this a lot, as would love to use Joan as an honor name and want to believe it’s following June and Jane in their trajectory, but I’m not sure! Why are Jane and June trending while Jean and Joan are not?
The comment above by a Jean, sends me further into my bewilderment!
Maybe it’s just me, but the name Jane brings to my mind a picture in sepia of a victorian lady in a flowy dress, while when hearing the names Jean and Joan I picture a cheerful girls from 1950s with ponytails and in full skirts.
June is kind of more timeless for me and hard to pin to a certain time period, I don’t really know why.
However, all these names seem equally fine to me and sound great, so I don’t think you really should have a second thoughs about naming your girl Joan (especially when it’s a family name). Besides, who knows, maybe Joan and Jean will be next Graces, Avas and Amelias in a few years?
Anna (my name) and Ana. When it’s misspelled I’m like THERE ARE TWO N’S HOW DARE YOU.
I was also confused by the movie frozen and it’s Anna-pronounced-Ana.
When I was a kid, I knew a girl named Berry. It occurred to me years later that (at least in my part of the country) it sounds EXACTLY like Barry. Offbeat/quirky nature girl name vs. the ultimate dad name.
Lesley & Wesley
Which makes me wonder if Wesley will “go girl” too. Wesleigh anyone??
Olivia and Alivia
Alyssa and Elissa
Mary and Merry
Oooh, this is fun!
Arthur & Archer
Gemma & Jenna
Robert & Norbert
Gordon & Jordan
Faye & Jay
Beryl & Cheryl
Hazel & Haven
Mavis & Maven
Ginevra & Jennifer
Marisa & Clarissa
Mary & Mireille
Millicent & Melisende
Nora & Laura
My Norah is always being mistaken for Laura.
Lila & Liza – love both of these
Genevieve & Jennifer
Gemma & Emma
Mia & Maya
Ella & Ellen
Aria & Ariana
Samantha & Amanda
Sophie & Zoe
Julia & Juliet
Ruby & Ruthie
Lila & Lola
Sydney and Cindy.
These are worlds apart to me; and I never noticed how similar they sound until my 2 year old started using Cindy instead of Sydney!
Laura/Lauren and the name Laurel.
So similar and yet… in two different worlds IMO.
Jennifer and Juniper. I didn’t think they were that close, but I have a Juniper who is often called Jennifer in a first meeting (and we almost didn’t use the name for that exact reason as Jennifer isn’t really our style).
Sweet Welsh girl name Lowri against older male Larry. I’ve also been interested in the different feelings from the variants of my own name, Hannah, which feels worlds away from Anna or Hanna or Hana.
My Sybil has been misheard as a Cyril.
It isn’t a name, but I was astonished when I realized the word celeidh (a social Irish/Scottish dance which I associate with music and joy) sounded exactly the same as a name I’ve never liked: Kaylee.
And I know a woman who I thought for ages had a surname name (Barrett) and realized finally had a beautiful Scandinavian form of Bridget (Berit).