Baby Girl Harding, Sister to Hannah, Holden, and Norah

41 Replies

Hi Swistle,

Baby girl is due in 4 days and I am freaking out! We have no idea what her name is going to be, and I’m desperate for an outside opinion.

For context: I’m Elisabeth and my husband is Michael, and our last name sounds like Harding. This will be our first child together, but we each have children from prior marriages. I have two daughters, Hannah Eileen (8) and Norah Joanne (5), and he has a son, Holden Emory (7).

Because both Holden and Hannah start with H, we don’t want another H name, which would cause Norah to feel left out. Unfortunately, Harleigh, Hartley, and Hailey are all among my favorite names. Even more unfortunately, hubby actually really likes all of those. Eek! Why are the only names we can agree on the ones we cannot use?

At five, Norah is really at the peak of understanding her name versus her siblings’ names and I don’t think I would feel comfortable with her being the only non H. She is already losing her spot as the youngest and I wouldn’t want to make it an even harder transition for her, so the no H thing is fairly non negotiable.

Ok, onto other possibilities. The middle name we like is Corinne, but this is still rather up in the air. Our first choice is Hailey Corinne, but obviously that’s not going to happen. As for first names, here is our list:

Caitlyn
Piper
Willa
Lilly
Clare
Rose
Grace

Obviously our taste is kind of short and sweet and more contemporary names, although we’re having so much trouble fully agreeing to anything. There’s just nothing we love as much as Hailey Corinne, and that sings to our hearts the way it does. As far as personal preferences go, my favorite is probably Clare or Grace, while my husband favors Piper and Lilly. I also love Rose, but do not like Rosie but Rose Corinne does flow nicely to me. Caitlyn is also nice but I’m still on the fence about it, while Willa is a bit outside our normal range which makes me a little

I hope you can help us narrow down this list but also add some suggestions of your own! With the due date coming so close we are in desperate need of some advice and an outside opinion!

Thanks so much,
Lissie and Mike Harding

 

It is hard when a preference is so strong/important that it has to rule out the parents’ first-choice name. What I suggest in situations like this is a redirect: Don’t try to find a name you love as much as Hailey Corinne, or a name that makes your hearts sing as much, because there might not BE any such name. Don’t compare your new list to Hailey Corinne, because you’ve ruled that name out and it is no longer relevant. Instead, make your goal to find your favorite of all the non-H names, and only compare those names to each other.

Would it be fun in any way to choose a name that starts with N? I don’t mean in an “Oh, no, now our choices are even more limited!” kind of way, but more in a “Let’s try this interesting little side path first!” kind of way. We’ve just done Our Favorite Baby Names Starting with N, if that would be helpful. Nadia is pretty: it gives all three girls an -a/-ah ending but with a different sound to it, and it ties into the -d- of Holden and of the surname. Nadia Harding; Nadia Corinne; Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Nadia.

If she is born in December—well, I am a sucker for a good holiday-themed name, and would lean very hard toward Noelle. Noelle Harding; Noelle Corinne; Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Noelle.

Or do you have any interest in switching first/middle? Especially adding an -a: I think Corinna Hailey is very pretty, and lets you have most of what you wanted, without ending up with an H- first name. Corinna Harding; Corinna Hailey; Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Corinna. And I also like Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Corinne.

From your list, I like Willa if it appeals to you to give all three girls -a/-ah endings: I like the old-fashioned sound of it with Hannah and Norah. Willa Harding; Willa Corinne; Hannah, Holden, Norah, Willa.

I also like Lilly, Clare, Rose, and Grace: all great vintage-revival choices, all good with the sibling names, all good with the surname and middle name.

Piper feels to me like a sudden style jump: it’s great with just Holden, but doesn’t feel like a natural choice with Hannah and Norah, and emphasizes the change in naming partners. Caitlyn is a name that has had an extended season in the sun, and now perhaps is ready to take a well-deserved rest until its revival in a few generations.

We can also look for names similar to Hailey/Harleigh/Hartley—though I’m nervous that many of those veer from the style of her sisters’ names: e.g., I could suggest Kailey/Bailey/Paisley, and Marleigh/Carly, and Carter/Courtney/Atley, but those seem mismatched with Hannah and Norah. So I’m going to be looking for names that ideally combine to some degree the sounds of Hailey/Harleigh/Hartley with to some degree the style of Hannah/Norah; I’ll also add in anything else I find during the search:

Abigail
Ada
Adelaide
Audrey
Charlotte
Claudia
Dahlia
Daisy
Darcy
Elena
Faith
Garnet
Ivy
Jane
Laney
Layla
Lilah
Maisie
Margaret
Margo(t)
Molly
Rosalie
Sadie

 

 

 

Name update:

I’m sure you normally don’t get updates this soon, but then again I suppose most people write to you more than four days before their due date. :)
On December first, Noelle Corinna Harding was born at 5:36 am, happy and healthy. Older siblings Hannah, Holden and Norah are over the moon with joy. We are so happy with her name! Thank you so much for the suggestion of Noelle, Swistle, it’s absolutely adorable and suits her perfectly. She is our little Christmas baby.
Many thanks to you and your readers for all the help!
Lissie, Mike, Hannah, Holden, Norah and baby Noelle

41 thoughts on “Baby Girl Harding, Sister to Hannah, Holden, and Norah”

  1. Yolihet

    I really love Swistle’s suggestion of Noelle, I think is a pretty name that goes well with the sibset. From your list my favorite is Willa Corinne. And I want to add Ella Corinne.

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  2. Kerri

    When you were suggesting N names for around Christmas, I though you were going to suggest Natalie. Its a bit longer than some of the other names, but I think it fits nicely.
    I like both Willa and Clare (maybe Clara?) with the siblings. I don’t think Caitlyn or Piper fit as well.

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  3. Andrea

    Natalie!!! It’s not quite as short as some of your favorite names, but it’s sweet without being at all frilly, plus you’ve got the -lee ending of Hailey and the other H favorites. I also like Nina a lot — Nina Corinne, swoon. I think it would fit well on your list of favorites, but I do worry about it being tongue-tangley with the sisters’ names.

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  4. wink ;)

    I think you should consider Ailey. It sounds virtually identical to Hailey, but doesn’t have the (sole) disqualifying ‘H’ at the beginning.

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  5. Sargjo

    I’ll add Lucy, another “sweet” name. You could even go with Lucia pronounced loo-SHA to echo Hannah and Norah’s names.

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  6. Reagan

    I rather like the idea of all the girls names ending in h so Leah seems like a good option. Leah Corinne. Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Leah.

    As for N names, I do like Nellie and it has a similar ending sound as Hailey.
    Corrine. Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Nellie.

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  7. Carolyn

    Trying to pull some of the sounds that make Hailey so appealing I came up with this list:
    Emilie Corinne
    Lila Corinne
    Navy Corinne
    Kylie Corinne
    Briony Corinne
    Skyleigh Corinne
    Maisie Corinne
    Caitie Corinne

    Or what about two middle names? ____ Hailey Corinne Harding.

    E.g.
    Rose Hailey Corinne. This sounds like an upstanding lady of the early 20th century who is marching for women’s rights (e.g. Elizabeth Cady Stanton)!
    Bridget Hailey Corinne
    Skylar Hailey Corinne
    I also love Lillian Rose Corinne (it would be so fun to gift her a bouquet of lilies and roses!)

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  8. Morgan

    I love that Norah has an H as well. It would be so fun to have an H in this girls name!

    Dahlia
    Chloe
    Delilah
    Faith
    Josephine
    Sophie

    Out of your list – I looooove Willa!

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  9. Hazel

    I love love love the idea of doing a name starting with N. I don’t have much to add other than a plea for a) An N name and b) an update when the baby is born, regardless of which name path you end up choosing

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  15. ab

    I really like Tessa. Tessa Corinne Harding; Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Tessa.

    I also like the idea of an N name. Naomi, Natalia, Nella, and Nina all sound good with Corinne as a middle name, Harding as the last name, and the sibling names.

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  16. StephLove

    I like the names on your list and I think almost any of them would work. Clare Corinne is appealing. You could call her CeCe if you were so inclined. Rose, Grace and Lily are solid choices, too. I like Piper and while it’s a style outlier from the other girl names, it does pull Holden into the mix in what Swistle sometimes a Happy Assortment.

    But would you like your perfect name flipped? Corinne Hailey?

    I do like the balance an N name would give you– either the Christmassy Noelle or Natalie or Naomi or Nina work.

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  17. Ira Sass

    What about NAOMI?

    Naomi Corinne
    Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Naomi.

    I like all of the names on your list except for Caitlyn, which I think has become a “mom name.” I’ll also suggest Willow and Talia. But I love Naomi for you.

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  18. Marissa

    I LOVE the idea of an N name and I love Hartley as a middle. My favorite are Naomi Hartley or Natalie Hartley. (Look how lovely Natalie Hartley is! Swoon.)

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  19. Jms

    Nadia! My niece is Nadia – swoon. I also love the suggestion of Lilah. An N first letter or H last letter is so fun. And the H ties all the kids together.

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  20. Shay

    I did notice that all of your names have the letter h in them which could be a fun connection between the names. I do love the idea of finding an n name too though!

    What about Nathalie? It’s a less common spelling but certainly not made up.

    Others:
    Dorothy
    Sasha
    Ruth or Ruthie
    Rachel
    Rhea
    Phoebe
    Thea
    Leah
    Daphne
    Whitney
    Ophelia

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  21. Edie

    Would you like Eva or Ava?
    Eva Corinne
    Ava Corinne

    Ivy would be another seasonal choice.

    Or Ailsa picks up a lot of the sounds of Hailey!

    Ivy Corinne
    Ailsa Corinne

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  22. Shannon

    I know sometimes suggestions of rhyming names totally miss the mark but I do like Shailey/Shaileigh/Shayley.

    Also love the suggestions of Nadia, Nina, and Noelle. Or Corinne/Corinna as first name.

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  23. Iris

    I want to go back in time and solve your problem by naming you second daughter Honnora…
    But moving on… If Hailey Corinne is really your first choice, consider similar sounding names like Kailey ou Bailey.
    Or maybe Lilah Corinne or Layla Corinne. Kind of in between Hailey and Lilly (but Lilah gets you the H ending).

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  24. Marie

    I vote on connecting the names with the letter H
    Chloe seems perfect.

    Chloe Corrine
    Shay Corrine
    Ashley Corrine
    Thea Corrine

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  25. Nine

    I love the suggestions of Dahlia and Laney. Also, keeping the Everybody-Gets-an-H, Girls-End-in-A and/or Team N theme alive somehow.

    What about Lahey? It’s pronounced LAY-hee (aka Laney with an H) and is an anagram of Haley. Hannah, Holden, Norah & Lahey. Might be a style outlier and mispronounced/mistaken for Laney.

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  26. Jaime

    My first instinct was to recommend another N name to balance out the sibset (unless you plan on more children in the future). I like Nell, Naomi, Nina, Natalie and Noelle.

    I also like the suggestion of Corinne Hailey. Or Carina Hailey (love the meaning). Or something similar to Hailey like Shailey/Shaelie etc.

    From your list, Piper does feel like an outlier. My faves for you would be Clare, Grace or Lilly.

    Additional suggestions:

    Hannah, Holden, Norah and…

    Maisie
    Marlo
    Greta
    Daphne
    Phoebe
    Ivy
    Gwendolyn

    I like Daphne and Phoebe because then all four names have an H in it.

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  27. Courtney Cameron

    When I read your other children’s names the name Nixon came to mind. I like that it fits well with Holden. It starts with a N, so you will have two H and two N names. It also shares the same ending sound with Holden which is nice because the girls also share the same ending sound. Goodluck

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  28. Jd

    I’ve come to recommend Delia. It’s vintage revival like your girls but also trim and modern. Hannah, Holden, Norah and Delia.

    I also love Naomi

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  29. Liz

    I totally love the idea of Nadia or Noelle. And also the suggestions above of Nina and Natalie.

    What about Naomi? Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Naomi (three have H in their names, three have O in their names)

    But I also love the idea of including an H, to tie all four names together. What about Natasha?
    Hannah, Holden, Norah, and Natasha.

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  30. Tracy

    I recently heard the name Neely and thought it was a great name. Sounds a little like like Hailey but gives the N name. Hannah, Holden, Norah and Neely

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  33. Yolihet

    She’s so adorable and I love that you went with Noelle.
    Also yeay for quick update! Congratulations and many blessings to all the family.

    Reply ↓

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