We started this in August 2020, and we are finally finishing up!
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 A. For a girl, I already have Annabel and Anastasia (the anna-STAY-zha pronunciation) on my list. I also like Abigail and Alice and Anna and Anne, in an “If someone ELSE named my baby, and the name was any of those names, I would be more than fine with that” way. Really, I like way more girl A names than I expected, because I also like Ariadne, Athena, Audrey, Augusta, Agatha. I am having a very hard time narrowing further than Annabel/Anastasia. It’s mostly because I feel as if the -bel/-belle names have had their surge and that the surge has passed—so even though I am not tired of the name Annabel, I wonder if I would regret using a name that was part of a Name Group. Anastasia feels like A Lot of Name—but I LIKE girl names that are A Lot of Name. Okay, I choose Anastasia.
For a boy, I had Alan on my list for Henry (family name + Alan Alda), but it doesn’t feel right to me anymore. Albert and Alfred are favorites of my heart; I am not sure I would use them on an actual child quite yet, but I am hoping they will come back into style in time for a grandson. I like Alistair and Anderson and Aidric and Arlo and Abbott, but they’re not my usual naming style for boys (Top 50 / very familiar). Actually, as I’ve been writing this, I’ve come back around to Alan: it feels like a warm, friendly, stable kind of name to me—kind of dated, but I’ll bet it’ll be back, and “It’s a family name” works well in the meantime. I choose Alan.
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!
Anneliese, Annika, and Anna are three of my perennial favorite girl names even without restricting myself to “A”. I especially like the very tailored Ann/Anne and was always pleasantly surprised to meet a contemporary named Ann who didn’t go by Annie (although I also like the nn). I have an aunt named Aurelia who went by Ria and I am a total pushover for family names so I think realistically I would choose Aurelia. For a boy, Arthur. No question.
Almost all my favorite girls names start with A and many boys names as well. For girls I have Alanna, Abigail, Arianna, Arya, Alexa, Anneliese, Alondra, and I could keep going. Even though I love Arya and Alexa, at this point I wouldn’t use them.
For boys I love Alexander and Anthony and their Spanish version Alejandro and Antonio.
Chosing one of each would be very difficult but I’m going with Arianna and Alejandro.
I went back to get my full list, this has been so much fun.
A: Arianna / Alejandro
B: Brianna / Bruce
C: Cora / Caleb
D: Danika and Delilah as a MN / Daniel
E: Eloise / Eli
F: Fabiana and Fiorenza as a MN / Frederick
G: Giuliana / Gael
H: Harriet / Hugo
I: Izzy / Ian
J: Juliette / James
K: Kiera / Kai
L: Layla / Luke
M: Mikaela / Milo
N: Nalani / Nikko
O: Orianna / Oliver and Orlando as a MN
P: Patricia / Paolo
Q: Quinn / Quincy
R: Rylie / Reese
S: Sabrina / Salir
T: Tessa / Theo
U: Ulani / Uriel
V: Vivienne / Vincent
W: Willa / Wes
X: Xioana / Xander
Y: Yariana and Yoliette as a MN / Yael
Z: Zoé / Zachary
I contemplated Adele for my second. I don’t like Addy as a nickname though (Del/Della is cute but honestly I like it best intact.) Anjali, Anouk, Ailish, Arietta, are gorgeous but I don’t think I could pull those off. Annie was also a contender – love it on its own.
I always thought Ambrose would be a cool way to honour my family name Rose for a boy. Love Angus, Amos, André, Arthur, Abner, Ari, Ansel. My hubby is into photography so Ansel wins.
I’m so sad this game is wrapping up! It’s been such a fun distraction. Thank you, Swistle! I love reading everyone’s responses. I’m posting my whole list here.
Adele / Ansel
Beatrix / Barrett
Cleo / Conrad
Delilah / Dean
Enid / Earl
Fleur / Farley
Guinevere / Grady
Heidi / Hank
Ingrid / Isaac
Juno / Joel
Kirby / Kelly
Liddy / Leroy
Mabel / Meyer
Nell / Nelson
Olive / Oscar
Pearl / Pierce
Quill / Quincy
Ruby / Rupert
Sabine / Stellan
Tallulah / Tristan
Ursa / Ulysses
Vera / Vance
Whitney / Wolfe
Xandra / Xavier
Yvaine / Yardley
Zuzu / Zane
A is the hardest letter because I have SO many favourites.
Boys first: would be either August or Augustine, nn Gus. Runners up Aurelian or Arthur nn Teddy.
Girls: I think Avielle would probably win out, but Aveline, Azélie, Anneliese (Nell), Aderyn (Aerie), Adélise (Addie), Anaïs, Amity, Anissa, Anouk, Adelaide (Della), Aurelia (Goldie) would all be in the running!!!
A – August(ine) “Gus” / Avielle
B – Boaz / Brigitta “Birdie”
C – Camille / Cecile “Ceci”
D – Deacon “Deke” / Delphine “Della”
E – Ernest “Ernie” / Emmélise “Emmie” or Élodie
F – Felix or Francis “Frankie” / Frida or Florence “Flossie”
G – Grover / Geneva “Neve”
H – Henry / Hadassah
I – Isidore / Ivelise or Iveline or Iseline
J – Jeremy “Jem” / Jemima “Jem”
K – Kieran / Kaia
L – Luka / Lucienne “Lucie”
M – Mathis / Maëlys
N – Niven / Niamh
O – Oskar / Ottoline
P – Philip “Pip” / Philippa “Pip”
Q – Quinn / Quinn
R – Rafael or Rowan / Raphaëlle or Rowan
S – Sidney / Sylvie
T – Tobias / Thea
U – ? / Ursa
V – Vincent / Viviana “Vivi” or Vera
W – Walter / Winter “Winnie”
X – Xavier / Xanthe
Y – Yves / Yvelise or Yveline
Z – Zimri / Zephyrine
Aria/arya for a girl and Aristide (pronounced aris-teed not tide like the detergent) for a boy
Aoife has been my husband’s favorite for a long time, and it’s really grown on me. Runners up would be Alice and Aderyn.
For a boy, I didn’t have one obvious on my list. We’d probably pick Anthony under pressure since there’s a family connection. But if I could go wild, I’d pick Artemis. Runners up would be Apollo and Arthur.
I have loved this game, and enjoyed reading everyone’s responses even when I didn’t have choices for a particular letter. Thank you for many diverting hours!
A is tricky. I love Abigail and Alexandra which are family names but also are in use by children of friends. A beloved family member was Arlene, which I wish I could love (it’s so close to Irene, which I would use in a heartbeat, but the Ar- makes it different enough that it seems too old fashioned for me to use yet. I see it is sticking around in the bottom of the top 1000 names. I hope it will come back!). I also like Alma and Agatha and Alva and Ava.
For boys I like Ambrose and Abel (purely because of the eponymous character in the book Abel’s Island) and Arthur and Alden.
I think I would choose Alma and Alden.
I also somehow totally forgot that Aurora was on my list for my daughter’s name. I still like it but it no longer seems to fit my naming style.
I’ve always loved Aoife for a girl (and we have a Very Irish surname, so it’d work) but I think perhaps Audre (for Lorde) or Aurelia (nn Goldie).
For a boy, Amos, 100%. A college friend married a guy named Amos, and I just loved how unexpected it was in like, 2004. I know it’s more common now, but I still just love it.
Andrew or Alexander for a boy.
Adele or Anna for a girl.
The first name in each of those pairs is a family name and we currently have a cat named Alexander (called Xander), so probably Andrew for a boy, possibly called Drew. But I think I lean to Anna for the girl name.
A was always my favorite letter for girl names with favorites like Aria, Adele, Audra, Amelia, Ava, Alice, Amalia, Amaris, and Anthea. Two different daughters were nearly Adele and Audra respectively. I remember reading a book twenty years ago where a character was named Ava and I thought that was such a pretty, unusual name – and it’s still pretty though hardly unusual. Funnily enough, I never did end up using any A names for any of my three daughters.
For this exercise, I’m torn between Aria and Alice, but I think I’ll choose Aria.
For the boy name, I like both Asher and August, but Asher feels more like “mine” so that’s what I’ll choose.
So, finally, my name choices are:
A: Aria and Asher
B: Beatrix and Blaise
C: Camellia and Colin
D: Dahlia and Dominic
E: Eva and Ethan
F: Fern and Finn
G: Genevieve and Gideon
H: Hannah and Heath
I: Iris and Isaac
J: June and Jude
K: Kestrel and Kellan
L: Leia and Lance
M: Magnolia and Miles
N: Naomi and Nathaniel
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
(sorry if this comes through twice, I’m not seeing it post…)
For girls, my favorites are Ashtyn and Alana. (Ash-ten Uh-lane-uh).
For boy, Alexander and Alfred
I recently heard of a baby named Agatha and fell in love with that name. Heart eye emoji for nickname Aggie. That is the name I pick for a girl. I do love so many A names (even if they’re dated). Ava, Amy, Alice, Anna, Anne, Amelia, Alexandra, Aurora … I could go on and on.
For a boy I like Alexander, Arthur, Anderson, Abner (would use this name for a cat!), Anson, August. I’ll pick Alexander.
So Agatha and Alexander are my picks for the letter A. Aggie and Alex. This has been a fun game!
Anastasia and Alexander — easiest choices of the game!
Rounding up the whole list:
A: Anastasia and Alexander
B: Bianca and Benjamin
C: Catherine and Casper
D: Daphne and Dominic
E: Elizabeth and Edward
F: Felicity and Frederick
G: Gregory and Gwendolyn
H: Henry and Helena
I: Isabella and Ivan
J: Joshua and Juliet(te)
K: Karina and Keegan
L: Leo(pold) and Lorelei
M: Madeleine and Malcolm
N: Nicholas and Nadia
O: Oliver and Ophelia (I did settle on Olivia, but, nah, I changed my mind. Ophelia’s my fave, even if she is more unusual than my typical style)
P: Penelope and Philip
Q: Quentin and Quiteria
R: Rosalie and Raphael
S: Seraphina and Sebastian
T: Tatiana and Theodore
U: Ursula and Ulysses
V: Veronica and Victor
W: Winter and William
X: Xenia and Xavier
Y: Yasmin and Yuri
Z: Zoe and Zacharias
I haven’t been commenting on most of these since the beginning. Maybe I will go back!
The boy name is Arnold! Oh man, I love Arnold so much. I feel like it is so warm and sweet sounding like a cup of hot cocoa. It even goes really well with my kids’ names.
For girls, nothing comes to mind. I will have to look some up . . . OK. I am back. Aurelia, I guess. It’s kind of cool, but I am not sure if I would use it
Boy: Arno
Girl: Amaya
For girls, I have many A name I would actually use in real life, including Anneliese, Anastasia and just plain Anna. I also have a soft spot for Adelaide and Adeline, as well as Aurora, Alice and maybe Alexandra. Amelia and Ava are also nice. I think in the end I pick Anastasia or Anna. Or maybe Anastasia nickname Anna!
For boys, I love Alexander, Andrew and Anthony, as well as August and Angus. Asher and Archer are also nice but I prefer them on someone else’s kids.
I think in the end I choose Anastasia nickname Anna, and Andrew, nickname Andy. Or maybe Anderson nickname Andy. I like that even more.
Girl: Audrey
Boy: Andrew (nn Drew)
For girls, I love my own name. Amity has been good to me.
For boys, I like Asa, Andrew, and we have a Maverick Abel.
Girl: Amity
Boy: Asa
Ada for a girl and Alastair for a boy
You know how sometimes you hit a name in real life and it hits your ear differently than you thought it would? I know you do, Swistle, I’ve read blog posts about it. Anyway, I was leading my class down the hall and I hear another teacher say “you can get a drink when you go back to the room, Athena.” Athena! So strong and fresh and yet very sweet on this lively little girl. Athena. My A name is Athena.
Alistair (couldn’t actually use it bc my mum is incapable of pronouncing it the way i prefer (ALister) and instead says “ALihSTAIR” which i don’t like)
and
Agatha
I am an Alexandra and have always liked my name. My top A name for a boy would probably be Alexander (I also like the idea of passing along my name to a boy, take THAT, patriarchy!) and for a girl I’d likely choose Aurelia or Alice.
This has been so fun to read all these months!
I always loved Alice for a girl but we have an ‘s’ starting last name so it would never have worked. Aurelia close second.
Our son is Alfie and I still absolutely adore his name. Popular in the Uk where we’re from, but we live in the US (he was born here) and have never come across another kid with the same name.
I chose Aleksei and Aisling so fast and easy I feel like it might be a trap! I’ve used both already in my own writing.
My favorite letter! I love so many A names: Anna/Annie was high on my list both times I was naming children. I also love Alma and strongly considered that. Also: Alberta, Alice, and Athena. I’m going to choose Alma.
For boys’ names, I already have an Arthur, a name I have always loved. I think I’ll choose another name for this game, though, just for fun. Here’s my list: Aengus, Albion, Abraham, Arto, Albert. I choose Albion!
This game has been wonderful. Thank you for hosting it! I hope you do more games in the future…
So many great A names.! For girls, I have always LOVED Azlee / Azli. I read it in a book many years ago, but I’ve never actually heard it used in the real world… I also love Audrey, Aila / Ayla, Annabeth, Addalee, Avee, Ainsley and Anna. Hmmmm so hard to choose! I think I’d pick Audrey!
For boys, I enjoy Andrew (but not the nicknames.) I can’t really think of any other A names for boys that I love.
For girls, I like Anna, Annina, Alice, Ada, and Alma. I think I’d pick Ada. For boys… I struggle to come up with a name I like for ANY letter. I like Adam well enough but it feels a little past its prime now. Maybe Atticus? Actually: Arthur.
Ada and Arthur.
I haven’t been commenting on this series but maybe I’ll go back and think about the other 25 letters :) Thanks for organizing it, Swistle.
Oh, this has been a fun game. I’d love a “summing up” post to choose our favoritest favorites from the 54.
I’m torn between Anne and Anne-Elise.
A: Anne and Arthur
B: Beatrice and Benjamin
C: Constance and Cole
D: Dove and Dominic
E: Estelle and Edmund
F: Frances and Finnian
G: Guinevere and Gideon
H: Harriet and Hayden
I: Iris and Isaac
J: Judith and Julian
K: Kestrel
L: Louisa and Luke
M: Mae and Matthias
N: Nicola or Nicholas
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
Top girls:
Theodora
Paulina
Rosa
Anne
Top boys:
Paul
Benjamin
Matthias
Raphael
Augusta (Gussie). Still have regrets over not using this for my second daughter.
Abram (Bram).
For a girl Aila and for a boy Alby. Both these names are on my shortlist for my baby due in November.
Girl: Alice
Boy: Alistair
Honorable mentions: Arwen, Ambrose, Auden, Avril.
Annabel with Ada as a runner up
August
I had to go back and put my list together
Annabel / August
Brenna / Benjamin
Clara / Callum
Delia / Desmond
Eliza / Emmett
Fiona / Finley
Gemma / Gabriel
Hazel / Henry
Ivy / Isaac
Juniper / Julian
Katherine / Kieran
Louisa / Leo
Marina / Malcolm
Nora / Nicolas
Olympia / Oliver
Penelope / Phineas
Quinn / Quentin
Rosalie / Ronan
Susannah/Samuel
Thea / Theodore
Una/Urban
Vivienne / Vincent
Willa / William
Xiomara / Xavier
Yvonne / Yates
Zara / Zane
Augustine (nn Gus) and Anne.
Alexander or Annie.
Annie has always been my favorite girl name, and I finally got to use it on my own daughter. There’s no A girl name I like more or as much, so I’m using it for this game, too.
I love so many names that begin with A. Where to stop and where to whittle the list down!
Girl: Anais or Annalie. Other contenders, some more dated than others: Ariane, Anissa, Audrey, Aurelie, Allison/Ally
Boy: Alexander. Other contenders: Aidan, August.
And this has been an incredible amount of fun and a highlight during this pandemic. Thank you, Swistle, for the great idea!
I almost don’t want to post because I don’t want this to be over!
For girls, I like Ada, Alice, Adele, Agatha. I think I like Ada best, but I like how it looks better than I like how it sounds when I pronounce it, if that makes any sense. I think I’ll go with Ada for this game, although it’s a little outside my style in real life.
For boys, I like Anderson, Ansel, August, Arthur, Alfred. I’ll go with August nn Gus, but it’s a tough choice.
For a unisex name, I like Artemis. I know she’s a Greek Goddess, and most people would probably consider it feminine, but I automatically think Artemis Fowl, so it could go either way for me. I don’t like a lot of unisex names, but bonus points in my mind for a traditionally feminine name on a boy, since it’s usually the other way around.
Ada, August, and Artemis.
Here’s my full list. It’s weird to look at, since a lot of the names don’t feel like “me.” There’s a lot of names I’d never choose in real life, and it’s missing a lot of my favorites when I had multiples that started with the same letter.
A: Ada, August, Artemis (unisex)
B: Beatrice, Bernard
C: Cora, Charlie
D: Delilah, Davis
E: Eleanor, Elliott
F: Flora, Frederick
G: Grace, George
H: Hazel, Henry
I: Ida, Isaac, Indigo (unisex)
J: Josephine, Jasper
K: Katherine, Knox
L: Lillian, Leland
M: Mabel, Milo, Merritt (unisex)
N: Nora, Nicholas
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
For girls I think I’d pick Anna or Audrey. I love the idea of Anna June “AJ”
For boys my pick is Avery. So handsome.
I used to think that naming without a partner would be ideal so that you could choose anything you wanted, but what I have learned from this game is that there are far too many names that I love, and without a partner I would have no idea how to choose and be happy with my choice. I think “A” is the most difficult letter for me for a girl name. If I had a girl to name IRL, I probably would have chosen an “A” name, an “L” name, or a “K” name, but maybe it’s just as well that I never got the chance, or I would have driven myself crazy trying to choose.
I think I can come up with something for a boy. I tried hard to like Arthur as a middle for my son after my grandfather, but I just couldn’t. His second middle name is Arbor instead because I love that it means “tree” in Latin. The only Arbor I’ve ever met IRL was male although apparently there are more girls with the name, so I decided not to use it as a first. I also considered Artair and Artorius as a nod to Arthur but decided they were too much. Other guilty pleasure names that I wouldn’t actually use include Arden, Arvid, Ambrosius, Aloysius, and Atreyu.
I might use Abram, but not if there were any chance of naming a sibling Bramwell. I once found the name Aiden pleasant, but I could never see myself choosing it now. Adriel is nice instead, but probably still wouldn’t happen. Love Aaron and Alexander or Alec, but they’re definitely not fresh enough, and I probably wouldn’t go for Alan either unless I had a partner to persuade me. Other names I might use if I had a partner to persuade me are Augustin (Gus/Austin), Aneirin, Amias, Arlo, Arno, Alasdair/Alastair, Aiken, Aidric, Alaric, Alban, Ansel, Anselm, Ashwin, and Aurelio/Aurelian.
I do have a guilty pleasure name that I think I love enough to choose for a boy IRL, although I’m not sure which form of the name: Arkadio, Arkadius, Arkadiusz, or Arkadian. It could be nicknamed to Arek, Arkasha, Kade, or Ian for Arkadian.
The only problem is that I would also love to use Arkadia for a girl, also called Arkasha or Kadie. There’s also the similar Akadia/Acadia and a ridiculous number of other “A” names for girls.
Like “E” names, all you have to do is add an “A” to the beginning of a bunch of lovely names to get an even lovelier name. Maya to Amaya, for example. And swap out an “M” for an “N” or an “L” or change a vowel or add an “i” before or after an “A,” and there are way too many similarly lovely names. Amaya, Alaia, Anaya/Anaia, Anara, Anaria, Ainara, Amara, Amora, Amira, Alara, Alana, Alora, Alina, Alida, Alia, Aila/Ayla, Ailsa, etc. The most appealing of these to me is probably Anora/Annora because it is a respelling of Honora, and I love the meaning of that.
Some other similar ones that I like include Azura, Azara, Azaria, Aniela, Ariela, Adria, Adriana (too common), Ariana (too common), Ariadna/Ariadne called Aria (a favorite because while Aria is popular, Ariadne is less so), and to complete the names with the “AR” sound or similar that I love: Araceli, Araluen, Arietta, Arwen, Aurelia, and Aurora (too common).
I would love to use Alcyone in the middle but probably not as a first. Names I would love on other people’s children include Alexandra/Alexandria, Alessandra, Anastasia, Anthea, Andromeda, Athena, Astraea, Astara, Ananda, Amelie, Azelie, Antonella, Allegra, Aviva, Arden, Adair, Adelaide, Adeline, Adele/Adella, Ada, Aida, Adia, Ava, Aveline, Augusta called Gussie, Alma, Aileen, Audra, Audrey, Aubrey, Aubriella, Aubriana, Amity called Amy, Anna/Ana, Anais, Aine/Anya, Annabelle/Annabella, Alicia, Alice (huge soft spot), and Alais.
See? I need a partner even for a game. But probably Arkadia, Ariadna called Aria, or Annora/Anora.
For a boy I’d use Andreas, nickname Andy. It was our runner-up boy name for baby #3 (who ended up being a girl), but we couldn’t agree on whether to pronounce it On-dreas or Ann-dreas. But I think I could convince my husband to go for the “Ann” pronunciation, especially if we were going to us Andy as a nickname. I also considered Adam for our first baby and August for our second baby, but feel both are overused for my preferences at this point.
For a girl I also like Anastasia. One of my favorite books as a child had a character named Anastasia called Tacy, and I think it would be fun to have a little Tacy.
For boys I am going to say Antonio or Anthony, for girls the first name I thought of was Annika. O thought Annabelle was beautiful too, but the horror movie franchise kinda burst that bubble.
For a girl I really like the names Aeleah, Arlene, and Anne. I think I choose Arlene.
For boys I like Albert and Arlo, but I choose Albert.
I had such fun with this!
My very favorite girl name is Anna, so this was an easy choice for me! :) It’s classic and familiar without being trendy, feminine but not frilly. I entertain myself sometimes by trying to come up with the perfect middle name: Anna Catherine. Anna Victoria. Anna Felicity. Anna Christina. Anna Josephine. So many options!
For boys, nothing gives me that same spark of delight. I like Adam and Alex and Andrew (though not particularly Andy or Drew). I think I would pick Anthony, because it is my dad’s name and my brother’s name — and my brother hasn’t passed it along to any of his sons! I like it better as a middle, but in lieu of anything else grabbing my fancy, I’d be fine using it as a first name too.
So, final answers, Anna and Anthony (though probably not in a sibset!).
There are SO MANY “A” names! It’s so hard to narrow down this letter and so many different styles/directions to take.
For girls, I like quiet a variety including Abigail, Adair, Addison, Alice, Allison, Amelia, Anna, Annette, April, and Astrid. Once upon a time, I also like Aspen which is beautiful, but is definitely not my style anymore. This list has current popular names, names that feels 80s/90s, some our mothers ages, etc. April has been along favorite of mine, and Astrid has become a recent interest of mine. I think I’d be very tempted to choose Astrid, but would probably choose April. But this is a game and I can dream, so Astrid!
For boys, similarly all over the place, including Abram, Adam, Adler, Albert (Bert!!!), Ames, Arlo, Arthur (Art!!!), Asher, and Atlas. I like classic boys names which makes me think in reality that I’d choose Adam, but I think I’d be so tempted by Albert called Bert, or Arthur called Art. A friend in school’s dad went by Art and I thought it was the coolest name, lasting impression. I’d also a million percent name a cat Bert which tells me it’s not quite back, but coming soon! So jumping in and playing the last round as a game, and going with Albert called Bert!
Final list, so sad this game is over! I hope Swistle comes up with a game to narrow down our favorites further from these!
A – (f) Astrid, (m) Albert (Bert)
B – (f) Beverly, (m) Brendan
C – (f) Cory, (m) Cameron
D – (f) Dana, (m) Derek
E – (f) Elaine, (m) Evan
F – (f) Freya, (m) Ford
G – (f) Gwen, (m) Grant
H – (f) Hillary, (m) Hugh
I – (f) Imogen, (m) Iver
J – (f) Joy, (m) Julian
K – (f) Kendra, (m) Keith
L – (f) Louisa, (m) Logan
M – (f) Mallory, (m) Marshall
N – (f) Nadine, (m) Neil
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
I have LOVED playing this game!
A names for a boy were hard for me. I read all the comments here before coming up with my own list of
Andy, Arlo, Albert, Arthur and August. But I think I’m going to choose Abram.
For girls, I named my daughter Anne, a family name for me that I absolutely ADORE.
A: (f)Anne / (m)Abram
B: (f)Blythe – (m)Blaine
C: (f)Claire – (m) Clarke
D: (f)Daphne – (m) Dashiell/Damien
E: (f) Eloise – (m) Elliott
F: (f)Felicity – (m) Fitzwilliam
G: (f)Georgiana – (m)Graham
H: (f)Heidi – (m) Heath
I:(f) Isla – (m)Ian
J: (f) Jones Elise – (m) John Elliott (Jett)
K: (f)Kathryn – (m)Kirk
L: (f)Laurel – (m)Liam
M: (f)Miriam – (m)Miles
N:(f)Naomi – (m)Nigel or Neil
O:(f)Olivia – (m)Orion
P:(f)Penelope(Poppy) – (m)Porter
PH:(f)Phoebe – (m)Phillip
Q:(f or m)Quimby
R:(f)Ruth – (m)Russell or Rhett
S:(f)Simone or Sierra – (m)Seth
T:(f)Tessa/Tess – (m)Tucker
U:(f)Ula – (m)Umberton
V:(f)Viola or Vivian – (m)Vaughn
W:(f)Wynn – (m)Webb or Whit
X:(f)Xanthe – (m)Xavier
Y:(f)Yara – (m)York
Z:(f)Zella – (m)Zeke
Boy: August
Girl: Alice
Girl: Alys, Alaina, Allegra, Alisa, Augusta, Abigail
Boy: Andrew, Allan, Alistair, Asher
love but wouldn’t feel comfortable using: Aderyn, Akiko, Alejandro, Anselm, Arathorn, Aramis, Armin, Athena.
If my daughter had been a second son, we’d have named the child Andrew. My fav among both sets of names definitely changes; they’re all pretty close. If I had to name the child _today_, it’d be Augusta or Andrew.
Aderyn is a boy’s name to me. There’s a character from this fantasy series I enjoy named Aderyn and he is a generally good guy. (One of the series’ elements is “what if this bunch of Celts ended up in another world?” and the names are all derived from real P-Celtic names, but hey, Kerr doesn’t *have* to be precise on the gender usage, since it’s her imagination)
For a girl, Annabel or Ainsley
For a boy, Amos or Arlo
Oh, Agatha! This was not even on my list, but, oh! I like Anne, Abigail, Alice, and Alexis, but I am going to make a snap judgement and go with Agatha. Darling.
For boys, I will shed one tear for the name Anthony, which was my childhood favorite boy name of all time, but which I have outgrown for various reasons, and one more for Andreas, which I loved while we were naming children (we had two girls), and then got over after a friend used it for her son. Instead, I will pick Alexander, just because I’ve never NOT liked it.
My entire list:
Zona and Zachary
Yvainne and Yorek
Xanthia and Xavier
Wave and Wynn
Verity and Valentine
Ursa and Uri
Tamarind and Thaddeus
Serena and Sebastian
Ruth and Robert
Quill and Quentin
Prudence and Philip
Odessa and Octavius
Nerissa and Nicholas
Marguerite and Milo
Louise and Linus
Katherine and Kellan
Joanna and Julian
Isabeau and Ivan
Harriet and Heath
Gertrude and Gaius
Flora and Frederick
Evelyn and Ethan
Drusilla and Devin
Clementine and Calvin
Beatrice and Basil
Agatha and Alexander
If we’d had a second daughter my husband was very keen to use an A name, to honour his aunt – our top contenders were Agnes and Agatha. I love them both, but I think Agnes edges out Agatha for me. I love a clunky-cool name!
For a boy: I like Alec, Alistair. But Alexander is one of my favourite classic names, so I think I’d go with that.
Thank you for doing this Swistle! It has been a joy.
For boys, I have an Alexander which I still love. But I think naming a boy now I would go with August. A family name and he could be called Gus.
Girl names are harder because there are so many good ones. A few of my favorites are Adhara, Adeline, Adelaide, and Amira. Even though I couldn’t use it because of cultural issues, I really love Amira, so I am going to choose it for the purposes of this game.
My complete list:
A: Amira & August
B: Beatrice & Broderick
C: Calliope & Calvin
D: Delphina & Dylan
E: Elena & Ellis
F: Freya & Felix
G: Grace & Greyson
H: Hazel & Higgins
I: Isla & Iden
J: Jane & Jacob
K: Keira & Keegan
L: Laurel & Lowell
M: Millicent & Miller (my maiden name and I am still salty I didn’t use it for my last son)
N: Nina & Noah
O: Ophelia & Oliver
P: Piper & Porter
Q: Quinn (either boy or girl)
R: Ruby & Rafe
S: Seraphina & Sawyer
T: Tallulah & Tyler
U: Urla & Ulric
V: Vashti & Varden
W: Willow & Winter
X: Xiomara & Xavier
Y: Yara & Yates
Z: Zola & Zachary
I never would have thought that A would be a starting letter I’m particularly drawn too, but even since I named my first son August (called Gus 95% of the time) I find so many “A” names that I love! I would rather avoid repeat first letters…but since the first goes by Gus it might be OK right??
Names that have jumped out at me that I would use in a heartbeat: Atlas, Alby, Arthur, Ari
Let’s go with Arthur for the purposes today!
Girls: I love but probably wouldn’t use Artemis, Astrid, Andromeda (Andy), Agnes
Let’s go with with Agnes!
For a girl, I like simple Annie or Anna.
For a boy, I’d say Archie is my current favorite.
Like many others, I love many, many A names. My two very favorite names, for at least 10 years, have been Adele and Adrian. Combine that with a family choice to use Israeli/Hebrew names for our kids and I have a son Adar! The runner up name for our daughter was Amalia.
I’d use Alex for either a boy or girl!
There are so many A names I love, but I’d go for Asher and Astoria.
So many good A options!
I like Ari as a given name for any gender, or as a nickname for Ariel. Also Avi.
I like Amal, Amalia, and Amaya. Amir and Amira and Amara.
For girls: Ayelet (although I worry people would pronounce it wrong), Aurora (though I really just like it as a way to get to Rory), April, Adele.
For boys: August, Ambrose, Adrian.
For any gender: Arden.
I pick August, Ariel, and Arden (with Ari as a nickname for either of the last two).
Thanks for this game, it was a fun distraction!
A: August, Ariel, Arden
B: Beatrix (Bea), Brooks
C: Calvin (Cal), Cedar
D: Diana, Dexter
E: Everett (Ever), Estelle (Esti).
F: Francesca (Frankie), Felipe
G: Gwen, Gael
H: Hazel, Harriet
I: Ivy, Ilan
J: Julia, Julian
K: Katrina, Kade
M: Mirah, Matteo
N: Nadia, Nathaniel
O: Ocean
P: Patrick, Pearl
Q: Quill, Quiara
R: Ramona (Mo), Raphael, River
S: Simone, Sylvan, Sage
T: Talia, Theodore (Theo)
U: Uma, Uriah
V: Vanessa, Vaughn
W: Wednesday, Wade
X: Xiomara, Xavier
Y: Yvonne, Yonatan, Yael
Z: Zora, Zayn
Weird, I missed L!
A: August, Ariel, Arden
B: Beatrix (Bea), Brooks
C: Calvin (Cal), Cedar
D: Diana, Dexter
E: Everett (Ever), Estelle (Esti).
F: Francesca (Frankie), Felipe
G: Gwen, Gael
H: Hazel, Harriet
I: Ivy, Ilan
J: Julia, Julian
K: Katrina, Kade
L: Lark, Lawrence
M: Mirah, Matteo
N: Nadia, Nathaniel
O: Ocean
P: Patrick, Pearl
Q: Quill, Quiara
R: Ramona (Mo), Raphael, River
S: Simone, Sylvan, Sage
T: Talia, Theodore (Theo)
U: Uma, Uriah
V: Vanessa, Vaughn
W: Wednesday, Wade
X: Xiomara, Xavier
Y: Yvonne, Yonatan, Yael
Z: Zora, Zayn
Alina and Alejandro
I’m so glad my favorite game to kill time while rocking my newborn to sleep has turned into a 9 month diversion on this site! My little Sylvie who was a very finicky sleeper is now a 13 month old who sleeps 12 hours a night! We really are living in a different world than we were last summer, aren’t we…?
I choose Adam and Audrey. Audrey is actually the name I would pick if I could ever convince my husband to have a 3rd (after the trauma of having so many sleepless nights last year hahaha). And Adam is just a solid boy’s name. Thanks Swistle for making me feel less crazy about this kind of game being my favorite past time!
Also here’s my whole list!
Audrey, Adam
Bea, beau
Cecilia, Cameron
Daisy, Daniel
Elena, Emile
Freya, Frederick
Georgia, George
Hana, Harrison
Iris, Isaiah
Jordan, Jasper
Kira, kellan
Lea, Leo
Mireille, Miles
Nina, Nathan
Olive, Owen
Phoebe, pierce
Quinn, Quinten
Ruby, Rhys/Reese
Sasha, simon
Talia, Tatum
Una, ulrich
Violet, Vincent
Willa, Wyatt
Xenia, Xavier
Yael, yuri
Zara, zachary
Annabelle & Arthur