Hi Swistle!
It’s crazy to think that I started reading this blog when I was expecting my first, and now I’m catching up to you with five kids. How time flies! We are due in April and our last name sounds like Carrot with an M.
Our daughters are Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, and Cl@ire. And baby 5 is a girl!
I think somewhere half-spoken in my mind, I had been thinking that it would be fun to mix it up this time: daydreaming about learning how to do a cute little boy haircut and… Well, anyway, I could still totally learn how to give cute haircuts.
I think what I need to get excited about little girl 5 is a great name. But it’s a catch-22, Swistle; I need a great name to help me get jazzed about twenty more weeks of pregnancy and a new baby, but I’m just so blah about naming this time around. Every name on our list has already been rejected before. What I really need is for someone else to help me look at names afresh, (which, isn’t that what so many of us write in to ask?)
In the early days of baby naming, I had a lot of angst about naming because my husband and I both cared about names, but our styles seemed very different, (see previous letters here and here). In the end, we’ve settled on a naming compromise: we take turns naming the baby with full veto/suggestion power from the other person. This has worked pretty well for us!
He loves saint names out of the top 1000, and he chose Avil@ (sounds like Avalon) and Ze1ie (rhymes with Ellie). I like what I jokingly call Hollywood Pirate names: Will, Rose, Theo, Jack, Hope, Kate. Short, familiar, and snappy. I also like names like Anneliese, Vivian, Genevieve. I chose R0se and Cl@ire for my names.
We love nicknames, and use them interchangeably with our daughter’s names: Avi, Rosie, Ze1ie-Lou (from middle name Louise), Clara/Coco.
It’s his turn to choose a name, but he also seems surprisingly uninterested in the task this time around and he keeps asking me for suggestions. The only part I’m excited about is using my name Gabrielle as the middle name. We used my husband’s name Michael for Cl@ire’s middle name, (at my insistence because I just loved it and wanted to honor him,) and I am feeling that same excitement for using my name this time.
His suggestions:
Hildegard (vetoed. Hildie is a cute nickname, but the name seems harsh to me.)
Anastasia (but we both like the nickname Ah-na, which honors my Grandma. So far everyone we’ve tested it on says Annastasia and Anna; it feels like an uphill battle. The full name seems very long to me.)
Blaise (This has been our boy name for 9 years, but I just don’t know for a girl)
My suggestions he vetoed:
Vivian
Sylvie
Anneliese (name of his cousin)
Hope (name of his mom’s cat)
Our list so far:
Genevieve (He said maybe and likes the nickname Evie. Not great with middle Gabrielle.)
Hmm, well, I don’t know. Can I admit to you? Secretly, I feel like you may not choose this letter because the names are too “boring”. Recently the Swistle name posts that got me excited were for names far outside my usual naming style: this one was awesome, and I thought about possible names for ages! This recent one was fun too. Am I having a midlife naming-style crisis and need to name this kid Oak or Maverick? Or should we name her Genevieve and that is still exciting? Help me, Swistle, before I go crazy overthinking this.
Thank you!!
Gabrielle
I suggest Mathilda, which includes the nickname Hildie as well as Tilda, Tilly, Mattie, etc. It’s a saint name, and it’s alliterative with the surname in a way I find it pleasing to say. Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire, and Mathilda.
Belina. I found it in the Saints section of The Baby Name Wizard, so I am suggesting it without knowing the story of this or any of the other saints; I don’t know if that part matters to the selection. Belina strikes me as distinctive and unusual but accessible; my one hesitation is about whether it could be too similar to Ze1ie, but for myself I come down on the side of no. Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire, and Belina. Nicknames and pet names absolutely abound: Bella, Belle/Bel, Lina, Lee, Bee, Bina, just so many fun sound combinations to make.
I wanted to suggest Annika (I have an Annika in my circle, and although people will sometimes GUESS ANN-nika, once they HEAR ON-nika it seems to click into place for them), but it seems too similar to Avil@.
Blaise, for me, does not pass the “Would I want this name for myself?” test—especially if I had four sisters all with highly feminine names. I think it would accidentally communicate that you were hoping for a boy. I find, in fact, that even seeing it on the list is giving me a surprisingly strong feeling of indignation. It makes me want to pointedly offer counter-suggestions such as Felicity (lucky) and Evangeline (good news) and Beatrix (blessed).
Bonus: Felicity and Beatrix are both saint names, so I do suggest them, earnestly as well as pointedly; I love them both, and will give them their own spaces below so they don’t get lost in the “Swistle says no to Blaise” section:
Felicity. Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire, and Felicity.
Beatrix. Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire, and Beatrix.
Oh, WINIFRED is a saint name?? You know I am not going to miss the opportunity to suggest that favorite! Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire, and Winifred!! …I see I also discovered this while answering a previous letter, and then forgot. This is one of the glories of aging: fun fresh surprises, again and again!
I like Genevieve a lot, and this is subjective but I really like it with the middle name Gabrielle. I think it’s intriguing the way the G initials match but are pronounced differently, and it gives you the nickname G.G./Gigi, which is especially nice if Evie seems too close to Avi. There’s also Ginny.
We had Blaise (for a boy – sorry! What about Blythe?), Avila and Zelie on our lists. We ended up with Thea. I think Evangeline is a good fit for you (after John the Evangelist if a saintly connection is important) because there are so many nickname options depending if she wants her name to be pretty, or spunky or just “normal”. Other names we considered were Veronica (Ronnie?!) and Agnes. You have a great list, I don’t think you can really go wrong here, remember that you love the names you already have more because they have become tangible in your children. This will happen again!
Paulina, Rosetta, Valencia and Martha were the girl named we never got to use (all boys here!). Rosetta is obviously out but I think the other 3 could all be very possible options with that sibset! Polly/Lina, Valley/Cici and Martie as all possible nicknames.
Yes to Blythe! I came here to suggest that!
Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire and…
Siena (Catherine of Siena)
Teresa/ Therese / Tess / Tessa
Mary / Maria nn Polly
Gianna
Joana / Jane
Rita
Gemma
Hilda
Magda(len)
I love Genevieve Gabrielle nn GiGi! But there are other nice nn like Evie and Viv.
Other suggestions:
Abigail nn Abby, just found out that a saint name
Therese nn Reese
Julianna nn Jules
and I do like Anastasia nn Anna
I just wanted to say that my daughter’s name is Felicity and I have never regretted it for a minute!! I love it so much and it gets so many great reactions. She mainly goes by Fliss or Flissy ❤️ My other daughter’s name is Louisa (nicknamed Lou Lou) and I’m always surprised by how uncommon it is! I’m pretty sure both are saint names as well!
I also love love love the suggestion of Matilda/Mathilda. So sweet with great nickname potential! It’s on my list!
Here to say that I have a six year old Genevieve and I LOVE it. I constantly have people compliment her name and are surprised to hear it. I’ve only encountered one other Genevieve (so far) and I found it enchanting on her as well! My Genevieve goes by her full name or G, so I think Gigi would be a natural and great nickname with your middle name in there!
I love Genevieve Gabrielle, I think those names are wonderful together. I like Swistle’s suggestions of Felicity and Beatrix, as well.
Definitely not Blaise with the sisters’ names.
If Hildegard is too harsh, what about Henrietta? (No idea if it’s a saint’s name.) Hennie, Hettie, Hattie are all great nicknames.
I came to say I also love Genevieve Gabrielle, and then I saw Siena from a commenter above and WHOA that is a stunner with your sib set. Also love Swistle’s suggestions of Matilda and Beatrix.
And my favorite little Siena has a sister named Fae (others spell it Faye or Fay) – could be a nickname for Faith or stand alone, especially as Faye.
Love Genevieve Gabrielle; I did wonder about Gabrielle as a first as well. Love when it’s not the first child who gets the parent’s first name(s). Or could you like Ginevra (Gevvie, Ginny)?
I know you are so very tired of people asking if you are “trying for a boy” I know you are trying for a child and are happy to have an all-of-a-kind family, please don’t communicate otherwise to the world by naming her Blaise.
Your daughter’s names are absolutely beautiful. There’s some overlap with a Catholic family I know with a Genevieve, a Zelie, an Elizabeth and a Gianna so it made me wonder if maybe Gianna would work for you? Ah-an sound for your Grandma, and Gianna Gabrielle nicknames to Ana or Gigi, or Gia.
I think a double first name of Mary Blaise would be kind of awesome.
Do you like Jane? I think, like Rose, it’s very refreshing as a first name.
Edith called Edie? Augusta? Frances? If you don’t mind repeating initials, Zita is a nice fit.
I find Genevieve Gabrielle pleasing, too. I was about to suggest Blair instead of Blaise before I remembered you had a Claire. Well…I like Blythe, too, which another commenter suggested.
Eve!!! I love this name for you. Rose and Claire were my top picks for my first daughter and Eve was my top pick for my last (who ended up being a boy). I think Eve goes really well with the classic naming style of Rose and Claire but also sounds great with Ze1ie and Av1l@.
When I saw Hildegard, I thought of Hilda. It has a softer sound and you can still call her Hildie if you want. It’s also a saint name. Hilda Gabrielle Marr0t.
Oh please listen to Brandi Carlile’s “The Mother” on repeat and consider Evangeline! Evangeline Gabrielle – love it.
Props to Felicity and Beatrice, too. Those are smashing names.
I also love Evangeline Gabrielle! Bringer of good news + feminine form of Gabriel, like the angel… Beautiful! Opens you up to use Evie, but if you decide it’s too similar to @vi, she could be Eva or Eve or so many more.
Other ideas…
Felicity Gabrielle
Siena Gabrielle
Mary Gabrielle
Molly Gabrielle… Form of Mary, also makes me think of St. Gianna Molla
Veronica Gabrielle (Vera? Ronni? Nica?)
I also really like Anastasia from your list.
I wonder if Kateri called Kate could work for you. Some other short but fun ideas:
Greer
Verity
Magali
Pia
Brigid
Flora
Inez
I LOVE your girls’ names! Beautiful. A few suggestions:
June
Greta
Linnea
My daughter walked up so I shared your names and she suggests Daisy :)
Once “Anastasia/Ah-na” is in use and becomes
your baby, I would bet corrections won’t be a long-term issue. I feel like it’s a not so unusual request and especially if
you shorten to “Ana” not “Anna” it’s a non issue. With current generations of Princess-loving girls coming of age, Ana is a great choice with the sib set.
Ana Gabrielle, of course!
Ana clearly signifies Ah-na (not Ann-a) and is a perfect name in its own right. It is also a delight to say next to all the sisters, it passes the Yell Test, and it sounds great with Gabrielle.
Agree that Ana will get you the pronunciation you want. I’m an Ileana who sometimes goes by Ana with preschoolers and the like because it is easier to pronounce. There are many lovely names ending in Ana! Looking at saint names- Emiliana? Mariana? Susanna?
I hear you on anticipating the opposite gender of what your child ends up being. I was so certain with my second pregnancy that is was another girl that I was stunned when it was a boy! Sometimes it takes time to recalibrate. Five sisters will be so fun!
Your girls have beautiful names. It seems you both like short names or nns (5 letters or less), -ie endings, and hubby tends to high Scrabble letters. Genevieve Gabriella is beautiful together, and Evie or Gigi fits right in with those criteria. You don’t need to look further at all.
But in case you want to…
Raquel. Avil@ R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire and Raquel. Nn Rae maybe?
Livia, nn Liv. Livia is quite close to Avil@ but not Avi and Liv aren’t.
Ingrid, nn Indy. If Hildegard made the cut, maybe Ingrid would? Avil@ R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire and Ingrid.
Briallen means primrose in Welsh. Nn of Bri. Avi, Rosie, Ze1ie-Lou, Clara/Coco, and Bri.
Elowen, nn Ellie or Wendy. Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire and Elowen.
Best of luck!
Lucy
Regina
Frances
Siena
Margaret
Martha
Lydia
Cassia
Cecilia
When you first said Anastasia, it made me think of Tatiana, nn Ahna, because I think it’s easier to get the ah sound out of Tatiana than of Anastasia, even though I have friends with daughters named both and they call them Ahna, interchangeably, which would drive me bananas! Anyway, then I saw Vivian and I thought why not Viviana, DEFINITELY has an Ahna nn feel. THEN I saw Felicity as Swistle’s recommendation, and that’s what I named my third girl after one boy and I was so, so sick of choosing girl names. We call her Fifi and Feliss and I love love love her name. Also, when I was pregnant with Felicity, I liked Perpetua, who is a saint who is often talked about with Felicity, both strong mom saints (one of pregnant moms and one of nursing moms) and I would have used Pippa as a nn, had my husband not felt so strongly NO about it. Best of luck!
We have a bit of overlap in our naming styles (My little girl is Rosemary) so here are my suggestions!
Juliet Gabrielle
Greer Gabrielle
Irene Gabrielle
Helena Gabrielle
Norah Gabrielle
Elena Gabrielle
I also love swistle’s suggestion of Felicity, so precious!
I totally agree that Genevieve Gabrielle is totally fine – for more in that vein, Gemma jumped to mind. Very Catholic, but also more short and simple like your existing names. But Genevieve has been on your list for so long… I would just go for it!
I love Felicity, Beatrix, and Thea for you. Thea isn’t a saint name but does mean something along the lines of “Godly” and could be a nickname for a saint name (Dorothy, Theodora, Cynthia).
More ideas: June/Junia, Celine, Colette, Jane, Frances (or Jane Frances as a double name??), Margo(t), Josephine
In my mind the Venn diagram of pirate and saint names includes:
Siena
Tessa
Celine
Celia
Beryl
Eulah (pronounced U La – really a wonderful name, we know two IRL.. pretty, cool, unique and snappy.)
Lucia
Genevieve Gabrielle and maybe nickname her Vivi? (I love Genevieve so much that I use it for my commenter name.) Gigi is also a great nn.
Viviana – gets the ah-na sound, feels different from Vivian which he vetoed, nn can be Viv or Vivi.
Tessa is so good with your sibset. Tessa Gabrielle.
Loving Swistle’s recs of Felicity and Beatrix.
What about Roxanne or Roxana?
Greta Gabrielle is also lovely. Familiar but not that common, spunky and punchy, can be for St. Margaret.
What about Gabrielle as the first name instead of the middle name?
Saint names you don’t hear as much:
Gemma
Adelaide
Joan – haven’t met a little girl named Joan, and I’m teacher
Just because I love it – Miranda – the root is to wonder.
Two things I notice…
1) How much flexibility you somehow still have after naming four girls already. You could go classic, and the name would fit in. You could go highly unusual, and the name would fit in. You could go frilly, you could go simple. You probably can’t go unisex-leaning-male, but other than that I think you have so many options.
2) You seem to really like Ana. I think enough to not sweat correcting the pronunciation, but only you know your personality.
If not having to correct pronunciation would really be tortuous and that short A sound is like nails on a chalkboard to you, would you like Honor? The connection to your grandmother would be considerably lessoned, but could be still be meaningful to you. And Honor as a secret honor name is kind of fun.
I swoon for Genevieve Gabrielle nn Gigi in this sibset.
I love Felicity, Beatrix, Genevieve, Winifred, and Mathilda.
Coming here to suggest Venetia, Frederica, and Sylvia (I saw that he vetoed Sylvie, but maybe the a at the end may change his mind?)
I actually love Genevieve Gabrielle, also!
Brigid!
This is so interesting to read because, to me, the girl’s names aren’t a set but a pattern- rare/unique name, short and classic name, rare/unique name, short and classic name. So, I feel you are due for a rare/unique one :) I’d never even heard of the names Avil@ and Ze1ie before and I am a name nerd so that’s saying something! I don’t have suggestions but if it were me, I’d look for something just as uncommon
I know one Blaise and it’s a girl, and she actually has a sister Avil@ so this would be a great combo to my ears! The sister’s name is pronounced like Ah-vee-la (her nickname is pronounced Ah-vee) and Blaise is pronounced like Blaze.
Other ideas:
Margaret (Meg, Maggie, Greta)
Cecilia (Cece)
Veronica (Ronnie)
Victoria (Vicky, Vix, Tori)
Magdalena (Magda, Maggie, Lena)
Lucie (or Lucy or Lucia (loo-see-ah)
I also like Genevieve nicknamed Jenny. I think Evie is too close to Avi. I also like the idea of Genevieve Gabrielle (Gigi)
This is the best Catholic sibling set! Love the suggestion of Tessa- I think Teresa/Theresa called Tessa or Tess would also be perfect.
Lucy, Brigid/Bridget, Felicity, Cecilia also seem right.
I agree that Anastasia called “Ana” is absolutely doable- you could also name her “Ana” (for St. Anne!) if the nickname plus the pronunciation seems like too much!
Tessa is a great suggestion.
Tessa Catherine or Tessa Gabrielle both sound fantastic!
Just wanting to say that I quite like Lucy as a nickname for Felicity. Felicity is not as unusual as Avila and Zelie, but it has a similar feel, and Lucy is just right with Rose and Claire. Might be a name that ties everything together.
I’d like to suggest…ANYA GABRIELLE
Anya Gabrielle M. Avil@, R0se, Ze1ie, Cl@ire, and Any@
It’s perfect! And, it checks all the boxes:
✔️ Saint name (or variation thereof)
✔️ Hollywood Pirate name (i.e., short, familiar, and snappy)
✔️ It bridges your and your husband’s naming styles
✔️ Fits in with your other children’s names
✔️ Sounds great with the middle name Gabrielle
✔️ Honors your Grandma
✔️ Could use nickname Ah-na, and the pronunciation is more intuitive, although no nickname is required
✔️ It’s not boring! 😃
Since you like Blaise what about Paschal?
I love Genevieve!
Esther Gabrielle?
Blythe is perfect. Mary-Blythe is amazing!
It’s a stretch but what about Eugenie? I never saw the appeal until I heard how Princess Eugenie pronounced her name and it’s beautiful.
If you like Hope, can I suggest other virtue names? Felicity Gabrielle
Charity Gabrielle
Verity Gabrielle
Faith Gabrielle
Sage Gabrielle (I have a little girl named Sage in my class, and I think it’s lovely)
I was also going to suggest Anya. Seemed the perfect solution to shorter and desired pronounciation.
Belina seems to fit really well.
Delphine / Delphina ?
Gratia or Gwen would be nice with middle Gabrielle for nickname Gigi
Olive ?
Congrats! Let us know what you decide.
Ooh Delphina makes me think of Dymphna- another saint name that is currently somewhat in vogue (though I’ve never heard of a baby named Dymphna- you could be on the cutting edge!!) because she’s the patron saint of mental health/mental illness!! Totally fits in this modern saintly sibling set, while also being rare.
Oh here’s another idea- Leonie! The name of one of St. Therese’s sisters/St. Zelie’s daughters.
I came to suggest Leonie as well! It would be beautiful with Gabrielle and marries well with her sister also named for a Martin lady! So chic and French, while also sweet and cute.
Out-of-the-box but there’s Benedicta (which means blessed). You could use Beni or Benny for a nickname.
I think Genevieve Gabrielle is absolutely lovely! So many good nicknames to draw from.
I absolutely love Genevieve Gabrielle, nn Gigi (or just GG)! What a beautiful name. If you want something shorter, what about Stella? It still has a Catholic tie-in (short for Stellamaris, “Star of the Sea,” a title for Mary), but it’s a little snappy, and I think it would fit beautifully with your daughters’ names.
How about Aurelia? Aurelia Gabrielle, nn Rei?
I’m kinda amazed no one has suggested Bianca.
Bianca Gabrielle.
It has the Ah-na sound you like, it is a saint name, fits in well with her sisters’ names, and it seems to merge the styles. Also it doesn’t seem to be on people’s radars.
Your daughters have beautiful names!
Talitha – after the words used to raise the little girl from the dead. Tali is a cute nickname.
Grace – along the lines of Ro$e & Cla1re, but with the added bonus of a religious reference. Gracie or Gigi! Grace Gabrielle sounds nice to me but this is of course a matter of opinion.
Magdalene – Nickname Mags or Lenny. I have a friend with this name & it wears very well on an adult woman.
Oona/Una – this is a wildcard but it’s an Irish name meaning lamb. If your daughter will be born in the beginning of April she will be an Easter baby.
Have you considered using Gabrielle/Gabriella as the first name & calling her Elle/Ella? Elle feels like it could be both your style & your husband’s. After 5 babies, I think you deserve an honor name in the first spot, if you want it!
I feel compelled to comment here as my name is Genevieve and I go by Evie. Even in Canada (where French is the second language) the pronunciation and spelling of both names get mangled all the time. I don’t care anymore but if that’s something that bothers you it can be irritating.
(The funniest one I remember is someone reading my name and then calling me Gillvedeen. Is that a more common name?!)