Here is the game we are playing:
We are going to pretend that we are naming a baby and that the name MUST start with a certain letter, and so we will need one name starting with that letter for a boy and one name starting with that letter for a girl, or else one name that would work for either, EVEN IF we don’t like any of the names that start with that letter enough to Actually In Real Life choose them. It is just a game where we place artificial restrictions on reality in order to create the kind of tension that makes games fun—like when you have to choose what foods you’d eat if you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life: the fun is in thinking it over AS IF it were a real forced decision, while KNOWING it is not. There is a baby! It MUST be given a name with a particular letter! That is the game.
After that basic concept, we can decide our own sub-rules, based on what makes the game fun and not stressful. Some examples:
• I’m not planning to play that the name has to fit with the names of my other children or with the surname, though this would be an option for anyone who would LIKE to play it that way; I think I will have more fun if I pretend it is a stand-alone baby and that the surname is not an issue, though I may change my mind as we go. (And if I narrow it down to a few options and can’t decide, I might use siblings/surname as a tie-breaker.)
• It is also fine to narrow it down to a few finalists without getting to The One Name.
• The boy name and girl name don’t have to work TOGETHER: we are only naming ONE baby, so you’d only use one or the other. But you MAY play that the names have to work together, if that’s more fun.
• It is fine to wave aside issues such as a friend who already used that name, a famous person with the name, etc., if that makes it more fun and less stressful to choose. This is just pretend, so you can pretend that those things aren’t issues if you want to. (Or you can let the issues stand as they are in real life, if THAT is more fun.)
• We can also all make our own decisions about whether the names have to be ones we think we’d ACTUALLY USE in that hypothetical scenario, or just our FAVORITE names starting with that letter, regardless of whether we think the names are practical; I am not sure which way I will play it, and I likely won’t be consistent.
• If you already have a child with a name starting with the letter we’re working on, you get to pick again from all the names that remain; you don’t have to choose your child’s name as your favorite just because it WAS your favorite: this is a FRESH baby, and you wouldn’t give it the same name as your existing child. (If you would normally prefer not to repeat an initial within a sibling group, you can just pretend that’s NOT a preference for the sake of the game.)
• You can do as much or as little explanation as you like in your comment: you can just list the names you chose, or you can explain your process/preferences/reasoning/runners-up, or whatever is most fun.
Today’s letter is O. For a girl, I love Ottilie, but it’s outside my Hassle Willingness Range. I went to school with an Orianna (the -anna part was pronounced like -onna) so that seem familiar and usable, but I associate it strongly with that one person. I would like to think I might choose Olympia or Octavia, but I don’t think I would. I choose Olive.
For a boy, I would have predicted I’d choose Oliver, since that was high up on our list when I was expecting Henry, and the only thing that stopped us was that we had a cat named Oliver at the time. But I think actually I would choose Owen.
Now you! If you want to! Only if it’s fun and not stressful! Feel free to adjust the game-play to be fun and not stressful!
Ophelia for a girl, unless it’s the eighth child in the family, so then I’d choose Octavia!
Orlando for a boy
Opal for a girl and Oskar for a boy
Name Twins– although I would go with Oscar
For boys I love Oak and Oscar.
For girls I like Onyx, Ottilie and Opal. A friend has a daughter Ophelia but they call her Opie. Opie is adorable! But I think I’d go for Opal to get that nn.
So, boy Oak and girl Opal.
Ditto! Oscar and Opal (or MAYBE Octavia).
For a girl, I would go with my great-grandmother’s name, Olava! The family history would outweigh the hassle factor, I think. Oliver for a boy.
O is a tough one. I know of a young girl named “Ocean” but I wouldn’t be brave enough to use it myself.
I’d go with either Orion or Owen for a boy, and Opal or Onyx for a girl.
I knew of a girl named Ocean too! Naming rules aside, I would love to use Sea as a name but everyone would think her name was “C”.
I know a Sea in real life!
I think I would go for Ophelia for a girl. Though Opal and Onyx are great too. I thought of Olympia as well but feel like no one can top it after Serena Williams (an actual Olympian!) used it.
Boys are harder, Oliver was nearly the only one I could think of for a while though I find it too popular for my taste. I once met an Orson and an Orion… hmm not sure if it’s a name in use already but I’ll go for Oso which means “bear” in Spanish.
I like O names. The unusual O beginning seems to makes them automatically unique sounding, even if they’re familiar, and it’s a pleasant vowel to sound.
For girls, I think I’d go with the classic Olive too. It’s a bit more fun than the even more classic Olivia to me.
There are so many tempting O boy names like Orion, Oscar, Osmand, and Otis. Oscar would be my second choice. I like the name in Spanish and English. Maybe I could get the nickname Oz to work. Ultimately, I would choose Otto. It’s an established name that I think would be wearable on a man, but it has a fun edge to it.
I’ve been thinking about it, and just for my own peace of mine, I’m returning to this post to change my final boy name to Oscar.
I love O names!
For a girl, I like Ophelia, Olwen, Orla/Orlaith, and Olympia. I’d choose Olwen.
For a boy, I like Otis, Orson, Oliver, and Owen. I’d choose Owen.
So Owen and Olwen!
If this were my first, I think I’d choose Orla, but now it rhymes with one of my daughters’ names. So I go with Olive. It bothered me that Olivia was so popular back when I was naming my kids, so we tossed Olive, but I do really like it and my mom kinda looks like Olive Oyl and loves her, so it would be a cute nod.
Oscar was our boy name and we never had a boy. My inlaws made fun of it incessantly, but then they also don’t understand Oliver or Jude, so it’s a shame they partially ruined Oscar for my husband. I also really like Otis, but with an S- last name, it would sound like Oti.
Olive & Oscar.
Boy: Oscar
Girl: Olivia
I think I have to go with Olive too. I just really like it.
For a boy, I think Otto, maybe. I’m not sure I could use it with my last name, but if it’s only about preference….
I love Ottilie, but I don’t think I’d be able to deal with the hassle either. I think I’d go with Ophelia.
For a boy, Oliver is one of my favorite names. I do really like Otis and Oscar too, but I think I’d go with Oliver.
O: Ophelia, Oliver
P: Pearl, Percy
Q: Quinn, Quentin
R: Ramona, Rupert, Remy (unisex)
S: Sylvia, Samuel, Sage (unisex)
T: Tessa, Tobias
U: Una, Ulysses
V: Violet, Vincent
W: Winifred, Winston
X: Xanthe, Xavier
Y: Yara, Yates
Z: Zoe, Zachary
I think I would end up choosing Olivia and Owen.
Olivia and Owen would be my picks too. I looked for O names in a couple of name books, but found nothing I liked as well.
I don’t like many O names. For girls I like Oanni and Oriana. For boys Oliver and Owen and as a middle name Orlando after my step-dad. If just one then Oanni and Owen.
For a girl, I’m going with Olivia. I’ve loved it since I was naming cabbage patch dolls, but I just couldn’t get over its popularity when naming my own baby. Olive was my Grandma’s middle name, so it’s a close second, and if I’m factoring in current popularity, I’d choose it, but in my heart, I just LOVE Olivia.
For a boy – While I love Oliver, I’m going to choose a name that was on the lift for our first-born. We did the “practical” thing to consider future siblings and our overall naming style and found this one to be a HUGEW outlier, so it got tossed out, but it still makes me swoon… Orion.
1000%, I would use the name Oona/Oonagh for a daughter. Orla (though, realistically, probably not Orfhlaith) would be a runner up. And, what the heck, let’s go full-on Irish and I would use Oisin for a male child. I love all three of those names.
My kids love the PBS show The Odd Squad and all the agents on the show have (almost unique) O names. It’s great for hearing names I would never consider before.
So I would go with Orion or Ocean for a boy. For a girl, I’ll stick with Olivia, which as been a long time favorite.
For once I find the boy name easier for O – Otto. I wouldn’t use it real life because my daughter is Margot – it turns out that I ruled out loads of fun boy names for myself that way – but whatever, today of all days I’m in fantasy name land.
For a girl, I think Opal. I know little girls named both Ottilie and Octavia, and they’re both lovely but longer than my natural style and also I associate them strongly with those kids.
O is really not my letter, but under duress… Orla and maybe Oak?
I know a little boy named Oak and another one named Oakes and ANOTHER one named Oakley and they are all cute little boys.
Hmmm. There are a lot of boy ‘o’ names that I thought were RIDICULOUS NAMES as a youth that I am now utterly charmed by. I went to elementary school with an Oscar and why would anyone DO THAT TO THEIR CHILD (but Oscar is adorable! Ozzie!). Same with a friend from college named Otto. Like ew why. (Because Otto is GREAT?). My BIL’s name at birth was Otis, and he was a junior, and he has changed due to complicated bad dad feelings. So I like Otis but it seems SPECIFICALLY unusable (my husband hasn’t seen his dad since he was 4 (his dad died a couple years ago (his dad was not a great guy))).
I like Orion but it seems too hippie to me and I know a shocking number of little boy Orions.
I always liked Oliver but my sister tried to name a boy Oliver and my BIL wouldn’t stop chanting “ALL OF HER CLOTHES OFF” and he kind of ruined it for me. I like Owen but I feel like there are too many Owens in my circle.
Ok, I choose Oscar (Ozzie!) and I hope that the children of today are more sophisticated than I was.
Girls! Ophelia is BEAUTIFUL to me but it is one of those terrible ill-fated names that I just couldn’t deal with. I do not care for the associated story. I grew up with an Oriana and always liked her name but like your Orianna it is a single and strong association for me. I like Olympia on someone else’s child. Olive and Olivia don’t feel fresh.
I choose Opal. I love the stone, I find the name to be Quite Pretty.
Oscar and Opal, final answers.
I see other people doing this so I’m adding it so I can keep track for the next letter (also because I have a lot of nervous energy right now)
O: Oscar & Opal
P: Patrick & Paloma (Close seconds are Peter & Pearl)
Q: Quinn (for either, because I already have a Quentin)
R: Robert & Ruth (Special shout out to Ramona)
S: Sawyer & Sylvie
T: Toby & Tabitha
U: Uriel & Una
V: Vincent & Veronica
W: Walter & Winonah (honorable mention to Warren)
X: Xavier & Xia
Y: Yusef & Yolanda
Z: Zachary & Zelda (but upon reflection I think maybe Zinnia)
I was hoping you would have another post today as I need the distration.
I do like the name Otis but it still seems a bit too old fashioned for me. I also like the symmetry of Otto and have considered Hannah and Otto has a cool sibset in the past. And Oscar is appealing except that I associate it with the Grouch from Sesame Street. I think right now though I would also go with Owen.
I do like the name Olivia but know so many of them at this point. Olga and Opal have a certain appeal but sound harsh to my ears. I think I would go with Oona
O is kind of hard! Some really fun names that feel like far outliers, so the game is great for considering those.
For boys, I love Oliver (little Ollie, swoon!) and Owen. I think Otis is sweet, but still reminds me of Milo and Otis (the cat and dog movie). Looking at the lists, the standout O for me was Oneal, which as someone who likes Neal/Neil, was a fresh surprise. I really like the was Oskar looks with a k (and dilutes the Oscar from Sesame Street association, at least visually), but i wouldn’t want to deal with spelling confusion. Harry Potter makes me drawn to Ollivander, but such a pointed reference and so close to Oliver. I also like Oswald, but makes me think of the penguin from Batman. End of the day, I’d definitely choose Oliver.
For girls, Olivia is so pretty and reminds me of Capt. Benson from SVU, but it’s far too popular and couldn’t go with Oliver as a brother. I loved the Swan Princess movie as a kid, with Princess Odette, so there is some draw to Odette for me! I also met the sweetest Olga on a trip last fall that made me fond of it from her association, but I’m not sure I could choose it. Opal is a sweet name. I think I’d choose Odette! I really like -ette names and it seems like good nickname potential.
O – (f) Odette, (m) Oliver
P – (f) Pia, (m) Parson
Q – (f) Quincy, (m) Quaid
R – (f) Ramona, (m) Roger
S – (f) Susanna, (m) Sullivan
T – (f) Thora, (m) Tatum
U – (f) Uma, (m) Umber
V – (f) Virginia, (m) Vaughn
W – (f) Whitney, (m) Wade
X – (f) Xaida, (m) Xander
Y – (f) Yardley, (m) York
Z – (f) Zoe, (m) Zachary
Not as fond of O names as some of the other letters. But, I think I settled on Ophelia (nn Phee) for a girl and Oliver (nn Ollie) for a boy.
I have an Owen and still love that name. It was easy for him to say as a baby and I think is a great name for an adult too.
Girls are trickier. I like Olive but we have a food last name (think Ham, or Rice) so it’s out. Olivia is beautiful but not as fresh as it was 15 years ago. I have an ancestor who was named Otelia so might go with that? Same general sound as Ophelia but less Shakespearean baggage.
My choices are Olive and Owen and that was before I read Swistle’s choices.
In real life, I’d be concerned about the tongue-twisting sound repetition between Noah and Owen (in fact when he was little someone once misheard his name as Owen), but this isn’t real life, so I’m sticking with the name I like best.
I met a woman once named Ocean. I thought it suited her. I’d use it as a middle name.
I think I would go with Opal and Ogden.
Olive and Oak I think ❤️
P: Phoebe and Peregrine
Q: Quinn and Quentin
R: Rowena and Ransom
S: Sylvia/Savannah and Simeon
T: Tara and Thomas
U: Una and Uther
V: Vivienne/Vera and Valor/Vale
W: Willa and Wallace
X: Xena and Xavier
Y: Yael and Yves
Z: Zella and Zion
TL:DR Opal, Oscar
I love the name Opal– I feel like it had an older lady feeling to it when I was younger, but I have definitely come around. I am a little concerned that my last entry was another gemstone name (Pearl, which also has the same slightly musty but beautiful quality to it) but it isn’t surprising to have two sisters with flower names, right? Why should gems be any different.
For boys, I like Oliver, although I know a huge number of little Olivers and so I am a little done with that one. I am partial to Oscar, it feels nice, and could be pronounced in many different places. I do like the name Orrin, but that has a very specific reference for me (Orrin Hatch– not a good reference), and I would need to ditch that for that reason.
For a boy I would probably go with Oliver (after Mary Oliver), though I LOVE the nickname Oz/Ozzy. Oscar is unusable for me and I don’t like Oswald. If I had a little Oliver his initials would likely be OSS and it maybe a bit of stretch to nickname him Oz but I would consider it lol!
For a girl I would go with Octavia
Oriana and Oscar, or, if I was feeling daring, Orazio.
It would seem that I really like O names, second runner up to R so far I think! Although I would actually use most of the boy O names below, and probably not the girls.
Oak is my son’s middle name and I adore it. I love Otis, and Oscar, and Ollie, and Orion, and Otto, and Oslo. I also really would like Oleander to be a contender but I’m not sure if it’s too out there…
I love Odell, and Octavia, and Olive.
Final choices would be: Otto and Olive.
I see sooo may girl names that I like here- Opal (my birthstone!), Ottilie (to honor my grandpa Otto!), Ophelia, Oona, Orla. But the boy names are weirding me out- Otis is an old man, Owen is a little boy (not a grown man), Oscar is a no because my children are watching Sesame Street right this second.
Hmm… Orla and Orson.
Hmm I’m torn between Odette and Oakley for girls. The only boy name with O I can think of that I enjoy is Oakes.
Girl: Olivia
Boy: Oliver
Basic, I admit it. A rather distant second for a girl: Oleanna. It’s the title of a not joyful Mamet play iirc, but I like the sound.
Judging from my October 2017 baby due date group, Oakleigh/Oakley/Oaklee is THE name for baby girls, so I’ll be interested to watch its rise in the SSA charts.
Girl: Oakley (because I am nothing if not a bandwagon follower)
Boy: Otto
Olwen & Oleander
Olwen & Oleander
Persephone (possible nn Perry) & Phineas (nn Phin/Finn)
Quinn & Quinlan
Reese & Ronan
Sela & Scott
Teagan & Tate
Ursuline & Uriah
Viridian & Vale
Waveny & Wells
Xanthia & Xavier
Yvaine & Yates
Zara & Zander
My friend has a daughter named Olympia and I think it’s so beautiful! Similar to Olivia but fresh. I choose Olympia!
For a boy, I like the name Oakley. I know a cute little boy with this name and his mom calls him “Oaky” and it’s so sweet. I’d also consider the name Orson as a nod to the fictional setting of the show The Middle that my kids and I are binge watching right now – so funny! But if I had to pick I’d go with Oakley
Owen for a boy and Ophelia for a girl.
O: Ophelia and Owen
P: Pippa and Peter
Q: Quinn and Quill
R: Rosalie and Roan
S: Susanna and Simon
T: Tessa and Thaddeus
U: Umbria and Urban
V: Vera and Valerian
W: Wren and West
X: Xymeria and Xavier
Y: Ysabel and Yarrow
Z: Zelie and Zebulon
I’d use my daughter’s name (Ottilia) again in a heartbeat. Is that cheating? To all the scared of Ottilie folks out there, don’t be! I only have to spell it or explain it when most people would be doing it anyway, for paperwork, etc. And for a boy, Oberon, if only for the nickname Obie.
P.S) thank you Swistle for a nice distraction from the anxiety spiral of today. I don’t comment often, but needed this one!
Beautiful choice, truly!
My grandma’s middle name was Obediah. It’s an either-or name spelling wise, though Mom told me it has different pronunciations, depending on sex. Oh-bee-dee-ah for girls and Oh-buh-dye-ah for boys. I’d not use it for a girl since it’s too close to obedient for my taste. Not too bad for a boy’s name, if you like the Biblical vibe. You could call him Obie. I kind of like Olivia or Olympia for a girl.
Olympia or Octavia, Olympia or Octavia… St Olympia was a badass, but Octavia is more fun to say.
Oliver. It is just so sweet. I love soft names for boys.
O: Octavia and Oliver
P: Paulina or Paul
Q: Quartz and Quentin
R: Rosa and Raphael
S: Sylvie and Samuel
T: Theodora and Timothy
U: Una and Ulysses
V: Vera and Valerian
W: Willa and Walter
X: Xenia and Xavier
Y: Yvaine and Yves
Z: Zinnia and Zachary
Girl: Orla
Boy: Owen
For a girl I would use Oona or Olive. If I had to pick a middle name that started with O, I would use some fun noun-names. October. Orange. Something like that.
For a boy I would pick Oscar, which I don’t love, but is a long-ago family name and I remember the faint, tentative gleam of hope I saw in my dad’s eyes when he mentioned it before we had all girls. Or Orion. I know a kid with Orion as a middle name and it is Very Cool.
May I suggest for your fun middle noun name: Organdie. There are SO MANY fabric names that I think would work beautifully as names – Cotton, Poplin, Arrasene, Loden – but I have a special soft spot for Organdie.
Opal and Otis
Girl: Orla
Boy: Orion
I think I would talk myself out of most “o” names for girls IRL although there are several I like.
Oliviana: dressing up Olivia to make it slightly less common
Oriana: love it, but so close to all the popular variations of Ariana
Orla: like it, but would always be reminded of Morla, the Ancient One
Ortensia: don’t think it would get a good reaction
Oona: prefer the Una spelling (and chose it already for my “u” name)
Octavia: could my kid carry it off?
Ola: is a nickname for Aleksandra, but maybe works because it’s also a feminine form of Olaf?
Ostara: would people make the connection to estrogen?
That leaves me with Olya (which is a form of Olga that I could live with), Orsolya (a variant of Ursula that sounds less harsh to me plus wouldn’t make all those unforgiving people think of the sea witch), and Oksana. But I still don’t know what to pick even for the purposes of this game. I want to pick Oriana because I love it, Ostara, or Orsolya. I think I would have to wait to meet the child to choose.
I scratched several “o” names off my boy list, too, when choosing for my son, but there were a couple I regret not getting to use since I have only one child.
Oslo: I have never even been to Norway.
Oren: less common than Owen, but the spelling doesn’t fix the Orrin Hatch association
Othello: more Shakespearean baggage than Ophelia
Orion: too close to Ryan
Ozias: great way to get to Ozzie, but the biblical king was not exactly inspiring
Oswin: another great way to get to Ozzie, but don’t love the religious meaning
Otto: great palindrome, but too close to auto and don’t love the battle meaning
Octavian/Octavio: again, could my kid carry this off?
I am left with Ogden and Orlando and would again have to meet the child to choose. Maybe with a “z” middle name, I could use Ozzie for a nickname for Ogden, instead of Oggie?
Ok, Ostara and estrogen is a stretch. Maybe Ostara could win.
THANK YOU for the distraction today
I like more O names than I thought! Opal, Oscar, Octavia (Tavi), October (Toby), Oriana. And I’ve always liked Olivia, Olive, and Oliver but they’re way too popular for my taste.
I’m going with Ocean, for any gender.
Girl- Olive
Boy- would be Ollie but seeing I’ve already used Olive, I’m going to go with Oscar.
O: Ocean
P: Patrick, Pearl
Q: Quill, Quiara
R: Ramona, Raphael, River
S: Simone, Sylvan, Sage
T: Talia, Theodore
U: Uma, Uriah
V: Vanessa, Vaughn
W: Wednesday, Wade
X: Xiomara, Xavier
Y: Yvonne, Yonatan, Yael
Z: Zora, Zayn
In real life I would never choose an O name because our last name combined with the O initial would make the unfortunate word odor. But if I had no choice and had to pick an O name I would choose Octavia for a girl and Owen for a boy (I actually prefer Oliver but it sounds exceptionally bad and stuttery with our last name.)
Odette for a girl for sure. I’ve loved it since watching the swan princess as a kid. FWIW I know several under-fives called Ottilie and it works well on a child.
For boys I’m a bit stumped. I’m drawn to the Os- names – Oscar is way too popular here but maybe Osmond? Oswin? I like Oswin. BUT even though Ozzy is a cute nickname my name is Izzy so I couldn’t do it. Oh, I think Orson is nice and my family calls everyone Bear as a nickname so a name that means bear would be lovely.
Odette and Orson
Odessa or Olinta for a girl, Olivier for a boy (but only as an honor name for hubbie’s BF)
Olympia and Oliver
I love Oliver, despite popularity. We considered it for my son. So I’d pick that.
For girls, I’d love to say I’d pick Ottoline, because it looks and sounds so fun. But, we tend to pick names that you can say with a pretty lazy mouth, if that makes sense, and we like nicknames… so I’m sure I’d go with Olivia.
Oliver & Olive (or Odilia).
I’m not very enthusiastic about any O names. For a girl, I like Octavia and Olympia and Oriana in theory, but in real life they’re all too frilly for me. Olivia is beautiful, but because of its popularity (and the fact that I have a friend whose daughter is Olivia), it doesn’t feel exciting to me anymore. I’d probably go with Olive instead, which seems like a fresher version — although based on the above comments, it seems a lot of us have the same idea! :)
For a boy, I’m weirdly into Octavian (as in Augustus) but think it would be Too Much for an actual child. Oscar is also appealing, but I was obsessed with Oscar the Grouch as a kid, and I’m not sure whether that makes it a great choice or a name that will result in constant (albeit good-natured) teasing from my family. In real life, I’d choose Oliver despite its popularity. I like that it’s an under-the-radar Shakespeare name — he’s Orlando’s brother in “As You Like It.”
So, final answers — Olive and Oliver. Though not as a sibset, obviously! :)
I am weirdly into Octavian too. Sigh. But I agree it is Too Much.
Olive and Oliver but not both in a sibset)
O is easy for me. Owen for a boy, Ofelia for a girl. It’s an honor name, Spanish pronunciation. I like O-Fay-Lia much better the long ee sound. And, like my aunt, she’d be called Fay. Or maybe Lia.
O: Ofelia, Owen
P Pippa, Paolo
R: Rowan, Rodrigo
S: Serafina, Simon
T: Tessa, Thomas
U: Ursula, Ulve
V: Veronica, Valentin
W: Willamina, William
X: Xan, Xavier
Y: Yara, Yuske
Z: Zelda, Zebediah
Oliver for a boy.
For a girl, I would be torn between Ophelia, Olivia, and Octavia. My favorite is Ophelia, but I’m not as fond of the nicknames and it might be a little outside my comfort zone as a first, so I would probably go with Olivia. But Octavia…
Okay, Olivia. Probably.
Owen for a boy, and Olivia for a girl-after the great Olivia de Havilland.
It is so interesting what TIME does to baby naming! I saw that today was Letter O, and literally could not think of one name! Then I read Swistle’s post, and remembered that we NEARLY NAMED OUR SON OWEN! (It was my husband’s first choice, and my second choice.) And then…six years later I can’t even recall the name!
(For the record and this game, Owen is still my “O” choice!)
Oliver and Olivia have topped the baby name charts in the UK for the last few year and although I like them both, that makes them unusable for me – even in this game!
I like Oscar and Owen, but I love Otto best – it’s just delicious with my surname. Otto Marks! You’ve really got me reconsidering Owen, though. I love the gentleness of the name, the sweet soft sounds of it.
I love Ophelia and Octavia and Olympia but I love Ottilie best. Really love Kim’s earlier mention of Ofelia, Spanish pronunciation o-fay-lia. I especially like it because your little girl could be a Fay or a Lia – I think they are two very different people and I like that flexible option. Beautiful!
Boy: Oberon (Obi)
Honorable mentions: Owain, October (Tober)
Girl: Ophelia (Opie, Fi-Fi)
Honorable mentions: Orchid, Oakley
Either/or: Oz
Orla and Oscar
Olive and Otto (family name) would be runners up.
Ophelia for a girl, Shakespearean backstory notwithstanding. And I was surprised to see that no one has suggested Omar for a boy—what a great sound, even if it wouldn’t work with my surname.
Zola & Zane
Ysolde & Yeats
Xiomara & Xander
Willow & Wesley
Vivienne & Victor
Una & Ulysses
Tamsin & Tristan
Sylvia & Sebastian
Rowena & Raphael
Quilla & Quentin
Paloma & Perry
Ophelia & Omar
For girls I like Olivia, Odette (maybe as a middle), and Odessa (guilty pleasure).
For a boy I like Owen but couldn’t use it as we have one in the family already.
Orquidea for a girl; Orion for a boy
I had an ex who ruined the name Otis for me (it wasn’t his name, but the association is there), otherwise, I would seriously consider it. Oliver and Olivier are too close to my daughter’s actual name. Otto is nice and Oslo is actually what we named our cat, and would have been a strong middle name contender for a human baby, if we’d had a boy. Somebody suggested Omar up above and I love that very much. But I think I would ultimately pick Octavius – possibly with the nickname Tavi.
For a girl, I like Ophelia and Olympia, but somebody upthread mentioned Odette, and that would fit really well with preexisting siblings and naming preferences, as would Odessa. Hmmm. Odessa, I think.
In a different world, I might buck my typical style to go with Onyx for a boy OR girl.
The thing I love about this game is that there are a heap of letters where I think I won’t like anything and then I read the replies and realise I love so many names I can’t choose. I like Otto, Oscar, Opal, Owen, Odette and Ophelia. Olivia, Oliver and olive are NMS. I really love, love, love the O sound in names such as Naomi.
Owen and Opal but not in the same family.
Odette and Orion!
Oskar is my favourite boys name so that’s an easy one. Oskar Mathis.
A girl is harder. Opal or Ottilie or Opaline or Ottoline or Odette. Today I’m feeling Ottoline nn Otto. Ottoline Wren or Ottoline Sylvie.
Oliver and Oriana!
Orla and Oren
Omar for a boy, Octavia for a girl!
Octavian (for Octavia Butler) and Orla
I love Octavia, in honor of Octavia Butler. This was on my real life list and I would totally still use it.
I had a great grandma Ottilia, and the name is pretty but she was a big racist…so it’s out for me.
I have always loved Oliver because of the musical, but it’s so popular now. I think I would use Orlando.
Octavia and Orlando.
Owen and Opal … but not my favorite letter!
Octavia & Oscar
After mulling over some of the nice suggestions here — Olivia, Orla, Octavia — I keep coming back to Olga? I don’t know why it’s calling to me! Olga and Owen.