Hi!
We’re expecting our second and final child in November. We have a daughter named Alana (different common spelling). She has my last name with my husband’s as her middle. We will be doing the opposite for this baby. My last name is like Trash with an O and my husband’s is like Denmark minus the first letter.
We are not finding out the sex of this baby, but have picked out Calvin for a boy.
My list of needs/wants in a name:
– a recognizable name that is easily spelled, but not too common. We eliminated Luke because it’s so popular.
– does not start with an E (dislike alliteration) and would have a bit of a preference for not an A as well.
– preferably no S sounds as I have a bit of a lisp
– not matchy-matchy with our daughter’s nameAnd my pipe dream is that it has a tie to a cool character in pop culture/history. My daughter is named after a favourite book protagonist and Calvin is after the comic character.
Our current top 3 contenders are:
-Mia (possibly too popular, is it hard to say with the last name?)
-Natalie (is it tricky to say with Alana?)
-Paige (seems a bit boring to me)Those are in my order of preference. Mia is a video game character we like and none of the others hits that fun criteria. There’s also someone in our smaller city with the Paige Last name combo which probably bugs me more than it should.
My husband’s preference order is the opposite.
Other names I like but were eliminated for various reasons:
-Saskia
-Jade
-Maya
-Kate
-Zoë
-Cassidy
-KeiraNames my husband suggested (Paige has always been his #1 though):
-Samantha
-Vanessa
-VictoriaAre the possible issues with Mia/Natalie just in my head? Do they go with my daughter’s name? Or should I just let my husband have this one and go with Paige. Any other suggestions that both of us might like?
Thanks!
Heather
Ooo, I don’t know if it helps, but I associate the name Paige with a character in the comic strip Fox Trot. It’s not as cool an association as Calvin, but it’s something.
I find Mia a little difficult to say with the surname, but not deal-breakingly so. I also find that the end of Paige blends into the surname in a way I have to do something about: again, not a deal-breaker.
I am not at all opposed to common/popular names—but I feel a little dissatisfied at the combination of a relatively uncommon name such as Alana (#206 in 2020, according to the Social Security Administration) with a relatively common name such as Mia (Top 10 for the last twelve years in a row). But I DO like the way you have a cool cultural association for both names, and that might outweigh the popularity difference for me.
(I hesitate to mention this, because I can’t tell if this is just because it’s been in the news so the sound pattern caught my ear—but Mia with her dad’s surname brought Myanmar to mind.)
Just to continue rolling over your choices with every possible objection, apparently: the name Paige feels like a very different style from Alana. It’s a little startling to go from the vowely flow of Alana to the tailored preppy 1990s sound of Paige.
I wonder if the trickiness you’re seeing with Alana and Natalie includes the word “and”: that is, if the -an and -na of Alana, AND the an- of and, AND the na- of Natalie is all too much. Try saying them without the “and,” and see if that helps or not: “Alana, Natalie, come to dinner!” But it IS still a lot of A and N and L sounds, even without the “and,” so it might just be too many repeating sounds for your tastes.
I suppose, reading this over, that I am saying that all three of the options are fine—but if I were you, I would look for more options. And, it’s strange to be saying this, because usually I find myself advising people to drop some of their preferences—but in your case, I feel as if you’re not meeting enough of them. All three name options are recognizable and easy to spell, but Mia and Natalie are both very common (Mia is more common than Luke; Natalie was, too, until very recently). You’d like to have a cool pop-culture or historical tie-in, but Natalie and Paige don’t have that.
I’d like to add back into consideration Vanessa from your husband’s list. Alana and Vanessa sound good together to me, without being matchy; Vanessa is familiar and easy to spell, but almost identical in popularity to Alana (Vanessa was #208 in 2020); there are quite a few Vanessas in culture/history. But I understand if the S-sounds (and/or other issues) rule it out.
Would Veronica work? There’s the Veronica Mars tie-in, which is pretty cool. It’s maybe a little sing-song with Alana, though.
I would really like to salvage Jade from your list, but Jade with your husband’s surname turns into Jay Denmark.
And what I am mostly hoping is that we can make a collective list of names with good pop-culture and historical associations. Video games! Children’s and YA books! TV shows! Comic strips! Movies! Historical things! Beatrice (Divergent series)! Greta (Thunberg)! Jacinda (Ardern)! Maxine (Waters)! I hope you are better at this than I am, since I have already suggested three with S-sounds!
Name update:
Despite me being completely convinced that this baby would be a boy, our second baby girl was born last weekend. I let my husband make the final call since our first daughter’s name was definitely my choice. He ended up deciding he liked Mia best so Mia she is! Here’s hoping it doesn’t end up too popular in her social groups going forward! Thanks for all the ideas for me to throw at him.
Ada. Ada Denmark. Alana and Ada.
Maeve. Maeve Denmark. Alana and Maeve.
Margo. Margo Denmark. Alana and Margo. (Your husband seems to like longer names; this could be a nn for Margaret)
Nora. Nora Denmark. Alana and Nora. (Eleanor nn Nora)
Ada is probably my top pick. It sounds similar to Jade and Kate. It ties in to both Ada Lovelace (computer scientist) and Ada Twist, Scientist (amazing book/show). Also a great character in The Poisonwood Bible.
I have a slight hesitation with Alana and Ada, but since their last names are different *and* the vowel sounds are different, it seems to work.
I love Margo!
What about Matilda?! It sounds like a combo of Natalie and Mia and has a great literature namesake!
Hmmm, there’s Meg from Wrinkle in Time. Anne from Anne of Green Gables. Rory from Gilmore girls. Natasha from the Avengers. Lucy from Narnia and also the Peanuts. Leia from star Wars.
Hm, I thought Paige was the best style match with Alana. I wonder why I consider them similar. I think I grew up with girls with those names so they seem of a similar era/style to me.
But I like Natalie best, and it’s both parents’ number two name, so I’d go with that.
Me too! I thought Paige and Alana were very style aligned. This would be my pick if mum liked the name.
Naomi is my other thought.
Agreed about Paige! Lovely name, strong, trim, elegant. In one of those princess movies, the one with the prince from Denmark, there’s a lovely Paige character, Midwestern and farm-raised, who becomes a doctor despite also being on the fast track to princess-hood.
The little Natalie I know has a sister named Carla; might you like that? Or Vera? Clare/Claire? Does Julia feel too popular? Tess/Tessa? Molly feels similar to Alana, but maybe just because I have cousins with those names who are the same age. Or Holly? Hailey?
If one daughter is named Alanna (Song of the Lioness?!?!) I wonder if you could get excited about Angharad (with the NN Angie or Harry) for the Blue Sword, and really double down on the sword weilding heroines genre.
I’m guessing Alanna from Song of the Lioness too! I second the suggestion of Angharad, and here’s some other ideas from books I read at a similar age:
Other Tamora Piere characters: Beka, Briar, Lark, Aly
Other Robin McKinley characters: Aerin, Katriona, Rosie
Perhaps some Dianna Wynne Jones? Sophie, Maewen, Janet, Millie
And if you like Ursula K. LeGuin and are willing to get a little weird, I think that Tenar from The Tombs of Atuan (and later Earthsea novels) would be an interesting namesake.
Me 3. Beka’s full name Rebekah is a familiar, underused name that the OP seems to prefer. Rebekah/Rebecca Denmark does have those k’s at the end, but doesn’t seem a deal breaker to me. Plus, it’s easy to say with a lisp. (My sister’s a Rebecca and I could always pronounce it, even if it took me a dozen years to pronounce *mine*)
Another McKinley character is Rae, from Sunshine (which is her nickname). No swords but she does handle vampires very well. :)
*Of the type the op seems. oops.
Lyra? Zelda? Trillian? Coraline? Tillie (from the new Star Trek)?
It’s hard to make suggestions without knowing which pop culture you find appealing…I find in general literature classics people are not the same as Star Wars people are not the same as Star Trek people are not the same as Ursula K Leguin people.
Miranda came to mind as a name with some similarities to Mia but more unusual, and it goes well with Alana and the last name.
It’s the name of the main character in When You Reach Me, a Newbery winning book that I love (it involves a game show and time travel and being a kid in the 70s). There’s also Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada.
I second the suggestion of Veronica.
I don’t find Natalie tricky to say with your daughters name, and it’s the one you agree on without choosing either fave. So I say lean into it! I have no idea what either name reference is, but they both give me accessible starlet vibes, for some reason? As do Mia and Paige. Mia is so very popular, and Paige does feel more plan next to sister. But they obviously hold more association to elevate them for your family.
I’m not up on your history / pop culture references, so I’ll just suggest a few sister names based on your rules:
Bianca
Imogen
Bridget (or Brigitte)
Geneva
Lyra was my first thought as well! Hermione?
Or something with that same air of nobility as Alana – Philippa? Katrina?
Oh, Marian! Alana and Marian is kind of wonderful.
Have you considered Talia? It has some syllable overlap with Natalie and comes with a Batman reference.
Alana & …
Vera
Phoebe
Matilda
Margot
Carys
Francine
Vivian
Claire
Thea
Coraline
Brenna
Imogen
Gemma
Keira
Bridget
Nora
Odette
Daphne
Ottilie
Leonie
Georgia
From your list with Alana I like Natalie the best. I like Swistle suggestion of Veronica.
As soon as I read you wanted something from pop culture I thought about Coraline.
Other suggestions: Chloe, Claire, Juliet, Lara, Lucille, Natasha, Nina and Scarlett.
Sabrina – I know the OP said no “S” but to me, it’s a great sister name to Alana.
Maya – like Mia, but with a different pronunciation and less popular. Plus some great namesakes!
Corrine, Gemma, Brooke
Callie – if you like the sound of Cal from Calvin
Some of these are more popular than others but what came to mind is
-Diana as in Wonder Woman (also the goddess)..it looks like it should rhyme with Alana but the -ana ends are pronounced differently
-Joan. Joan Jett, Joan of Arc, and Joan Holloway-Harris from Mad Men
-Elizabeth. Ton of references and nicknames, though I’d personally like to see Betty come back in use. Never fully goes out of popularity. Like Margaret.
-Violet. The Incredibles and A Series of Unfortunate Events, plus classical literature and period pieces. This is I believe is pretty popular right now.
-Antonia. My Antonia by Willa Cather and one of the daughters from Practical Magic.
I thought of Saige as an alternate to Paige but you said no S names.
What about Peyton? Or Pacy is cute, even though the pop culture reference I’m thinking of is a boy, it works so well on a girl.
Lucy comes to mind right away when I think of comic characters. Maybe Jean or Barbara, which both have the same feel as Calvin?
I really like Vanessa, but if you struggle to say it than it’s off the table.
Best of luck
Matilda, Vada (from My Girl), Coraline, Eleanor (from The Good Place), Dorothy (we call ours Dory)
Alana and Brynn
Alana and Faith
Alana and Thalia
Alana and Fiona
Alana and Carly
Alana and Marley
Alana and Phoebe
Alana and Juliet
Alana and Felicity
Alana and Matilda
Alana and Celia
Alana and Beatrice
Alana and Ida
Alana and Edith
As for the top 3, I actually think any of them could work. The issues raised don’t bother me.
I don’t think I can contribute to the pop culture list because it just seems so individual to me, what will resonate with any person. I did think the suggestion of Matilda was brilliant, though.
So, here’s a list of names of girls or women I know who have sisters with names on your list to see if any of them click for you.
Kate –> Laura (I like the repeating L and vowel sounds of Alana and Laura but I am a fan of that in general)
Maya –> Zoli (Has the advantage of sounding like Zoë, but maybe kind of out there with Alana. The A to Z thing would be cool, though, if this baby is your last)
Keira –> Ailyn and Riana (One starts with an A. Alana and Riana is kind of musical, though the rhyme could be too much for some people.)
Submitter here!
Lots of great suggestions, some of which we considered, but likely were vetoed by my husband (eg. Matilda, Miranda) or I didn’t love enough to bring up to him. I can’t respond to everyone so general comment here.
Ada would be a strong contender (we both work in programming), but I do worry about the similarity to my daughter.
Pop culture-wise we love video games, Greek mythology, and fantasy novels (as those who sorted out my daughter’s namesake can guess). Zelda would 100% be a contender, but since it’s my favourite game franchise it’s very very on the nose. Mia (and Maya) is from a pretty niche video game franchise so I don’t expect many to make the connection which is just fine.
I had sort of tried to get him on board with Valerie (Ms. Frizzle’s first name), but I’m pretty sure he was over talking names by that point. So far he’s decided on Mia. I’m second guessing it hard based on popularity. While I think I’d have a bit of a preference for another girl, I think I’m hoping for a boy at this point so I don’t have to bring up the name conversation again.
From out in left field:
Antigone — I like the nickname Tiggy.
Melanie — Mia could be a nickname for Melanie.
I really like the name Calvin, so I guess I’m rooting for a brother for Alana. Best wishes to you!
I don’t suppose you want to go a totally different direction and just stay with awesome heroine names from Tamora Pierce? I loved the Wild Magic series more than anything as a kid and maybe Daine would offer you a kind of fresh feeling reminiscent of Paige but with a very different set of associations? I am kind of charmed by Daine (D)enmark, there is no actual alliteration, and it could be cute/surprising with your daughter’s name.
Ooo… I love your mention of Valerie (Ms. Frizzle reference) in your reply a little ways up.
Alana and Valerie. No alliterations or s-sounds to worry about. Some fun nicknaming possibilities for both girls, and both would share a cool naming story reference.
This is a little out there, but Peggy could be an alternative to Paige. It has similar sounds but references Peggy Carter (Marvel), who is an amazing character and even, in one variant of the fictional timeline, becomes the super soldier instead of Captain America. Alana and Peggy.
If you don’t mind going with the slightly unusual, Keladry or Kel is fun. Instead of Mia, maybe Miri? Or Menolly? Or Jemma? Gabrielle? Myka? Ramona? Eve? Dinah? Laurel? Carol? Dejah? Teyla?
Thought of a few other ideas that I’ve seen in the wild recently that might pair well with Alana.
Dorna
Camille
Irene
Narine
Tara