Nicole writes:

My husband and I are expecting our third child on May 10th. We have two boys, Jonah Andrew and Henry Thomas, and our last name sounds like Overby (Over-bee).

This baby is supposed to be a girl, and we’re having a more difficult time this time around, for some reason! Our just-in-case boy name is Charles Philip.

The finalist names are: Charlotte, Natalie and Maren (pronounced Maw-ren), and her middle name will be Mabel (in honor of the great-grandmas Monica, Avis, Bernice and Eunice). Kind of cheesy, but I like it anyway!

Reasons for not choosing each name:
Charlotte (dh’s favorite) is rapidly rising in popularity, and it was just named the #1 Elite Baby Name (whatever that really means). It’s also kind of a long name.

Natalie is already extremely popular, and we know a few girls with that name already. It seems a bit common (i.e. bland) compared to the other two.

Maren (my favorite) will be mispronounced and misspelled A LOT. Plus, dh thinks it’s too close to the word ‘marlin.’

So, what do you think? And if you have any other suggestions, please share. I’m a Nicole, and while it’s a fine name, I was always ‘Nicole P.’ in school because there were so many of us. I’m sure you hear that all the time!

Oh, and we call her Una in utero, but we would never actually name her that – too bizarre and too many vowel sounds with our last name!

Anyway, thanks for the input!

A name I like that’s similar to Maren is Mirren. Perhaps that doesn’t reduce the spelling/pronunciation issues, though (I’m pronouncing it MEER-rin.)

I love the name Rose with your surname. Rose is common as a middle name but I never hear it as a first name. Rose Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Rose.

I like Eliza, too: Eliza Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Eliza.

Ooo, or Ruth! Ruth Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Ruth! Ruthie is such a cute nickname.

You mentioned you call her Una; I wonder if you’d like the name Junia? (I think it’s pronounced to rhyme with petunia.) Junia Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Junia. Oh, I guess it’s too close to Jonah. Shoot. Oh! Juniper! Juniper Overby! Jonah, Henry, and Juniper! Juniper Mabel! Cute!

I love Beatrix too: Beatrix Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Beatrix. Oh—but probably we want to avoid the initials B.O.

That makes me think of Josephine: her initials would be J.O., same as her nickname. Cuteness! Well, although then we run into the similarity of Jonah again.

Annika? Annika Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Annika.

Celeste? Celeste Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Celeste.

Claire! Claire Overby; Jonah, Henry, and Claire.

Name update 05-14-2010! Nicole writes:

Our baby girl came three weeks early on April 20, and was 6 lbs., 6 ozs. My hubby (with my approval) chose Charlotte Mabel, which is perfect for her.

Marne writes:

Help we can not come up with a name for our fifth child. Our due date is May 7th. We are having a baby girl. Our kids names are: Luciano Vincent, Marin McCabe, Evelyn (Evie) Jean, and Charlotte (Charleigh) Maureen. Marin’s name is the combination of my name, Marne and my husband’s name, Aaron, Evie and Charleigh we fell in love with, and Luciano’s name came from out of the blue.

My husband likes names that are classic and at least two syllables. I was a school teacher so popular names or names of any of my students are out. I don’t like thinking of anyone else when I say the name at least before we name the baby that is. Our last name is Pechota so as you can guess, Dakota is out or anything ending with a!!

Our middle names have always took on a greater meaning for us. Vincent is my Grandfathers middle name, McCabe is my mother n laws maiden name, Jean is my Grandmothers first name and my mothers middle name, and Maureen is my sisters name. We are running out of names but some could be Angela, Marie, Kathleen, Ann, Marian, Patricia (Patti), and Kay are a few suggestions.

The only name that the two of us like is Juliet but I don’t love it.

My husband likes..

Isabella (too popular and our dog’s name is Bella)

Gabriella (I dislike the nickname Gabby)

My husband likes Italian names, classic names, and elegant names.

Names I like…

Theodora (my uncle, who is mentally retarded, name is Theodore we call him Teddy) I like the nickname Teddy for her

Tess ( my husband doesn’t like this as a full name but I can’t come up with a longer version of this except for Contessa which my husband doesn’t like)

I love Irish names, unusual names, and also classic with a twist names

Please give us some good suggestions we need it.

Please help!!!

If you like Gabriella except for the nickname Gabby, you could use Bree or Ellie. I also really like Raffaella: so pretty and underused.

My favorite baby name book mentions that Tess is a nickname for Teresa or Therese.

I wonder if you’d like the name Tamsin? I think it goes so well with your other children’s names, and with your surname.

Or Carys. That has the added benefit of giving you an end-sound you haven’t used yet—though it repeats a first initial, if you’re trying to avoid that. Karis, maybe.

Gwyneth and Gwendolyn both have a sound your husband might like, while being Celtic and unusual for your tastes.

Isla, too, seems to me like it might work for both of you. (I’m trying to avoid names that end in A, but so many do!)

Or Josephine: elegant, classic, cute nickname, new end sound, new first initial.

Or Laurel—so pretty, and I think of it as “classic with a twist” because of how close it is to the name Laura and yet not quite. Lorelei would work too, and you could use the nickname Rory as they did in The Gilmore Girls.

Name update 05-05-2010! Marne writes:

Thank you for your post. We ended up delivering our little bundle of joy on April 30th. She came a week early with such great joy on mommy side. We ended up going in a whole different direction with the name, then when I first posted a long time ago. Her name is Keaton Marie. We gave her the middle name Marie for Aaron’s sisters middle name. We deicded on Keaton because we loved the name, it was original, it had a short story –we both grew up loving the tv show Family Ties, and we thought it sounded well together. Thank you for all of your suggestions and the suggestions of your readers!!

Jennifer writes:

We are due on May 6th and are totally stumped thus far!!! Our daughter is named Adelie, and we call her Addie. We love the fact that it is classic and sophisticated, but with a manageable nickname. Our last name is quite cumbersome (three syllables) so the shorter name option is essential. It is important to us to avoid common names, but we still wanted a classic feel and Adelie fit the bill perfectly. Our leading choice for the new baby girl is Wyndan Rose. We would call her Winnie as a baby/little girl and she could switch to Wynne or Wyndan if/when she wants something more sophisticated. I think Wyndan sounds very elegant and graceful, but fear there is too much of a masculine association. I think it is officially a boy’s name, yes? I love the flow of Wyndan Rose, but am not crazy about the fact that Rose is such a common middle name. Our second choice (also a boy’s name?) is Quinlan (Quinn). We really don’t want to saddle our little girl with a name that is too masculine, however, and we are open to totally new suggestions that fit our criteria. Please help!!

I’m having trouble getting a handle on your criteria. To me, Adelie is a modern invented name and not classic at all. Wyndan is, as far as I know, not an established name (are you thinking of the boy name Wyndham?), so you’d be free to make it a girl name if you wanted to.

I say YES, Wyndan is a very good sibling name for Adelie. They’re both invented names; the nicknames Addie and Wynnie are great together; and I don’t think Wyndan is too masculine.

I think it’s nice to balance an uncommon first name with a more-common middle name, and I agree with you that Wyndan Rose has a nice flow. But I also know what you mean about Rose getting a little tired as a middle name these days, so perhaps we can find some other options. Jane is used pretty often but still sounds good to me. Joy, too: not uncommon as a middle name, but not overused either. Noelle. Kate. Eve. Joan. Ruth. Fay. Jo. I’d avoid any names that emphasize the “Wind in/and” sound of Wyndan, such as May, Skye, Rain, June. I think my favorites are your original Wyndan Rose, and also Wyndan Joy.

Name update! Jennifer writes:

We ultimately chose the name Piper as a sibling name over Wyndan thanks in part to the feedback we got from your awesome site.

Anne writes:

Hi Swistle! I’m due on 5/6 with a girl but have been having crazy pre-term contractions scares so am thinking it’s going to be any day now…we thought we were settled on a name but I’m having last minute doubts and am hoping your readers can help!

Our first daughter is Cora Elizabeth, chosen because we just loved the first name and the middle name is a family one on my side passed down for many, many generations. That part was easy. And of course the “problem” is I love her name so much, I’m having a hard time finding another one I’m equally as in love with this time around.

Our last name is a very Irish, 2-syllable McG____ name. It’s pretty easy to work with, I’ve found, but I don’t want anything that sounds like a pub name or a heroine in a song you’d sing at such a pub when you’ve had one too many pints. Hence Molly McG____ is out, even thought I love the name Molly.

Our #1 contender right now is Greta. I adore it and feel like it fits well with Cora, and I’m half German so that part feels nice to honor.

Other options:
Ellen (always liked)
Mary (another family name)
Quinn (new contender I really like – hubby is lukewarm on it at best)
Margaret – but call her Greta. This is my husband’s first choice but I have issues with naming her something just to know we’re going to use a nickname. Plus it feels REALLY long compared to the rest of our 4-letter names!

In general, I don’t like names that have easy nicknames.

Middle name is TBD, but likely using my husband’s name (Ryan) since I’m pretty certain I’m not doing this pregnancy thing again and thus a boy is out of the question for us down the line. Our other option was Ramsey, to honor a family friend who passed away years ago.

Would love to know people’s opinions on using Greta versus any of our other options, or even throwing new ones in the mix!!

Thanks!!!

I’m the same as you about nicknames: Paul and I both really like the name Charlie but not Charles, and we didn’t want to name the child a nickname OR name him a name we didn’t like, so we were stuck and we crossed it off our list. For some reason, though, I feel differently about names that have classically been nicknamed, such as Elizabeth and Margaret. Although it’s possible to name a girl Margaret and call her Margaret (and I love that option too), I feel just as happy if it’s “Margaret, and we’ll be calling her Maggie.” Inconsistent? Well, there it is!

But! Margaret McG___ is hard for me to say with all those repeating sounds. I think Greta is better (though I wish the Gr sound didn’t repeat). It doesn’t give me the “Charlie” feeling—I think of it as a stand-alone name as well as a nickname.

And I also really like the sound of Mary Ryan McG___. Sassy and Irishy without being over-the-top. And Molly is a nickname for Mary, in case you want that option without putting it on the birth certificate.

A name I heard recently on a little girl and FLIPPED for is Elsa Jane. Elsa is similar to Ellen, it’s German like Greta, and I think it’s great with your surname and with the name Cora. My eyes had never lingered on the name Elsa as I went through my baby name books, but as soon as I heard it with Jane and on a real little girl, it became a favorite. Elsa Jane! Adorable.

Update 05-20-2010! Anne writes:

What fun to read everyone’s suggestions! I spent most of my time in labor staring at a whiteboard in the delivery room with “Margaret Mary” and “Greta Ryan” both written on it, and in the end she came out and we instantly said “that’s a Greta!” So Greta Ryan is here, born May 4th.

Ashley writes:

Why are middle names so hard?

I’m due on April 26th with my second child, a boy! We’re very excited as he will be joining his older sister Claire Elyse (2 1/2). One of each:)
That being said, my husband (his name is Kristopher) and I are having difficulties deciding on a name. Right now its between Lucas and Grant. The problem being that we can’t come up with a middle name for Grant. (I like Lucas James, but would be open to an alternative). So I guess my question is….what would you pair up with Grant? Our last name is Comon which makes it kind of difficult.

I’m open also for any other suggestions besides Lucas or Grant. We’re more traditional in names and don’t want something too trendy. We tossed about Miles, Caleb, Finn, or I like Harper for a boy but my husband didn’t.

Oh, I do like Claire and Grant together! Let’s see if we can find some middle name possibilities.

Middle name flow is a matter of personal preference, and there are two rhythms I particularly like with the name Grant Comon: (1) a 2-syllable middle name with the emphasis on the first syllable; (2) a 3- or 4-syllable name with the emphasis on a middle syllable. I tried to avoid middle names that were inclined to blend with the strong T sound at the end of Grant (Grant William, Grant Adrian, Grant Owen), and also names that created a double -en sound with the surname (Grant Hayden Common, Grant Owen Comon)—though as you’ll see, I wasn’t completely consistent: sometimes a name seemed good to me despite having the same issue that had eliminated another name.

Two-syllable with first-syllable emphasis:

Grant Davis Comon
Grant Henry Comon
Grant Isaac Comon
Grant Jacob Comon
Grant Lucas Comon
Grant Michael Comon
Grant Samuel Comon
Grant Silas Comon
Grant Wyatt Comon

Multi-syllable with middle-syllable emphasis:

Grant Augusten Comon
Grant Ezekiel Comon
Grant Isaiah Comon
Grant Nathaniel Comon
Grant Sebastian Comon
Grant Zachariah Comon

And one that didn’t fit in either category:

Grant Theodore Comon

To me a stand-out is Grant Nathaniel Comon. I hadn’t even planned a list of multi-syllable options until I came to that one, and then I thought “YES!!” and started looking for similar names. But I also like the way Grant Lucas Comon would allow you to use both of your first choice picks.

Name update 04-27-2010! Ashley writes:

Thank you Swistle!

You did an amazing job with suggestions. A few of those we actually had in the running as well:) And I greatly appreciate all the comments from your viewers. What an fabulous network you have!

Well, my son decided to come a week early and was born on 4/17. After much discussion in the recovery room (and many votes from the nurses), we decided he looked more like a Lucas than a Grant.

We ended up naming him Lucas Ryan Comon and so far it seems to fit him.

Thanks again!

Rosemary writes:

We are expecting our first baby at the start of May 2010 and don’t plan to find out the gender in advance. We’ve sorted out a boy’s name, and thought we had worked out a girl’s name – Annalie Hazel Rouse. However we are now having second thoughts due to the issues raised here! Swistle Baby Names: Analeigh

“Emily” would be a good alternative, but that’s my new sister-in-law’s name and we also have a niece named Amelia. Sadly that rules out “Amelie” as well.

Another option might be Freya, but Freya Rouse seems like more of a mouthful than Annalie (could be I’m just not as used to it).

Olivia would be nice but as it is extremely popular here it is not an option – we do not want there to be another girl in her class with the same name.

We quite like “Ebony”.

Thanks for your help!

 
Addalie is very similar to Annalie but avoids the, um, issue. Natalie is another such choice.

Emmeline is similar to Emily but less common, and I think it’s particularly wonderful with your surname.

Ivory is similar to Ebony in that it reveals my ’80s-music childhood.

Abilene is a name I just saw in a book and thought “Hey!” Same rhythm as Annalie, and nice and unusual.

Here’s a name I’d never heard until I saw it in The Baby Name Wizard: Bellamy. So pretty, very similar to Emily, and with the nicknames Belle and Bella.

Some more possibilities:

Adelyn
Annika
Bethany
Briarley
Cecily
Ellery
Elodie
Everly
Harmony
Imogen
Lorelei
Meredith
Nadia
Philippa
Verity

Name update! Rosemary writes:

Just to let you know that Philip Tristan was born on 16 May, and that had he been a girl we would have chosen the name Leonie Hazel!

Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions! :)