J. writes:

We’re having a girl, due March 29, though we’re anxious to pin down a name soon. My husband and I seem to agree on our top three first names, though, not in the same order. And we’re having trouble with the first name/middle name combinations. Our three first names that are in the running right now are Rose, Scarlett and Evelyn.

We love Rose as a first name, but are having a really hard time finding a middle name that sounds good with it. And I’m worried that she’ll constantly hear “oh, Rose is my [sister’s, friend’s, etc]. middle name” because Rose is so popular these days as a middle name. Which, brings up another issue. Rose is traditionally used as a middle name in my husband’s family and so we like that as a middle name possibility, too, but I’m not that thrilled with her having the same middle name as most of the girls her age.

We also love the name Scarlett, and Scarlett Rose Livingston is one of my top choices right now, except the middle name issue. I also wonder if the name Scarlett will become too popular in the next few years? I also love Evelyn Rose Livingston, though I wonder about the repetition of the L and N sounds in Evelyn Livingston.

So I guess what I’d like to know is, do you have suggestions for good middle names for Rose, Scarlett and Evelyn? And any thoughts/suggestion about using these names or the combinations I’ve listed above.

Thanks so much for any feedback!

I love Evelyn Rose Livingston, and to me the repeating L/N sounds are a pleasing tie-in.

I too love Rose as a first name. And I agree: it’s very hard to find a middle name for it. Some possibilities:

Rose Alice Livingston
Rose Cordelia Livingston
Rose Eliza Livingston
Rose Elizabeth Livingston
Rose Ella Livingston
Rose Ellen Livingston
Rose Esther Livingston
Rose Frances Livingston
Rose Helena Livingston
Rose Louise Livingston
Rose Margaret Livingston
Rose Marilena Livingston
Rose Marie Livingston
Rose Mary Livingston
Rose Melina Livingston
Rose Minerva Livingston
Rose Noelle Livingston
Rose Priscilla Livingston
Rose Victoria Livingston
Rose Virginia Livingston

I think my favorites are Rose Alice, Rose Eliza, Rose Frances, and Rose Noelle.

I don’t think I would pair Scarlett with Rose, since it emphasizes the wordness of both names: suddenly it’s an adjective and a noun instead of a first name and a middle name. Some possibilities to consider:

Scarlett Adele Livingston
Scarlett Anne Livingston
Scarlett Cecile Livingston
Scarlett Claire Livingston
Scarlett Elise Livingston
Scarlett Faye Livingston
Scarlett Ida Livingston
Scarlett Jane Livingston
Scarlett Jo Livingston
Scarlett Kate Livingston
Scarlett Kay Livingston
Scarlett Leigh Livingston
Scarlett Louise Livingston
Scarlett Lucy Livingston
Scarlett Mae Livingston
Scarlett Mia Livingston
Scarlett Rae Livingston
Scarlett Ruth Livingston
Scarlett Sue Livingston

You know, I’m finding Scarlett just as challenging as Rose. Anyone who knows a Scarlett or a Rose, what’s her middle name? And can you think of more suggestions? And what do you think of Evelyn Rose?

Name update 04-06-2010! J. writes:

Thanks so much for your post! Rose Amelia Livingston was born on March 20, 2010. Her dad and I are both super happy with her name. I think we knew she was Rose all along. :)

Sara writes:

We are due with a delivery surprise on March 22. We have a daughter named Audrey Caroline and a son named Oliver Andrew, and we miscarried a baby that we named Christian. Our last name is pronounced “SHE lee.”

For each of our pregnancies, we have tossed around Greta or Gretchen, Rachel, and Rebekah. We don’t like the nicknames for Rebekah, so it usually gets crossed off the list early. For this pregnancy, we had agreed on Greta since about 20 weeks, but now I’m having second thoughts. It has been hard to find a middle name for Greta, too. I like the flow of my daughter’s name, with the longer name in the middle, and I really don’t care for traditional middle names like Lynn, Leigh, Michelle, etc. My husband likes Greta Louise, but it seems a little unfair to give one daughter the middle name “Caroline” and stick the other one with “Louise.”

We are much closer in style on boys’ names. We both like more classic, traditional names. We are both OK with Henry and Benjamin, but it just isn’t *the* name. He likes George, Jefferson, Lewis, and Franklin. I am looking for something with a little more spunk, like Levi, Eli or Elias, I like double names like John Paul or John David, too We love Alexander, but only for a middle name.

We are trying to avoid using another name that starts with a vowel, and names that start with B to avoid the initials BS. We’d like either the first or the middle name to be a Saints’ name or Biblical.

Here’s our no list, most because one of us doesn’t like it, but some because they have been taken by family members.

Girls: Abigail, Anna, Beatrice, Beverly, Bridget, Camille, Camilla, Cecilia, Claire (although it could possible work in the middle), Colette, Cora, Delilah, Eleanor, Eliza, Eva, Felicity, Gabrielle, Gemma, Genevieve, Hannah, Joy, Julia, Leah, Lydia, Madeline, Matilda, Naomi, Sophie, Sophia, Stella, Veronica, Vivian

Boys:
Brice, Cormac, Dominic, Gabriel, Hugh, Isaac, John, Jude, Leo, Lewis, Linus, Nathan, Nathaniel, Roderick, Walker, Xavier, Zachary

I think some of the problem is that my husband has an immediate reaction to a name, it is a yes or it is a no. That’s why our no lists are so long. He says he doesn’t want to make a list, he’s only looking for one name. I need to try a name out, and think about it for awhile. I’m looking forward to your suggestions and reader ideas, too. Thanks!

Why is it that men are so often difficult about things like this? They don’t want to make lists or consider or discuss or to come up with their own suggestions, they only want godlike veto power. Sigh. Well, we must work with the chromosomes to which we are yoked.

Oh, I like Greta Louise! I think Louise has sass. It’s one of my mom’s favorite names for the middle-name slot because it’s so fun to SAY. Plus as you know there’s a Saint Louise so that takes care of the Biblical/Saint requirement. I think it’s GREAT. Greta Louise Sheelee. I also like:

Greta Helena Sheelee
Greta Josephine Sheelee
Greta Lucia Sheelee
Greta Naomi Sheelee
Greta Susannah Sheelee

But if you decide not to use Greta, I suggest Margaret. It’s such a flexible name, with so many nicknames including Greta and Gretchen but also including Meg and Maggie and even Daisy. It’s wonderful with the sibling names and with your surname. Plus, there’s a Saint Margaret. I think Margaret Louise is adorable and also fun to say, and if you nickname her Daisy you have Daisy Louise which is even MORE fun to say.

Another name I like for you is Clara. Clara Sheelee. For middle names I like:

Clara Jane Sheelee
Clara Josephine Sheelee
Clara Katherine Sheelee
Clara Madeleine Sheelee
Clara Margaret Sheelee
Clara Rebekah Sheelee
Clara Rosemary Sheelee
Clara Violet Sheelee

For boys, I have an idea. Your husband likes George, but you want a little more spirit. My mom knows a George who goes by Geordie. Even the nickname Georgie gives the name a lighter touch.

Another possibility is Charles, which has the spunky nickname Charlie. Charles/Charlie Sheelee. Too close to Charlie Sheen, maybe.

With Oliver, one of my favorite names is Elliot. I think it has a similar yet distinctive sound. I know you’re trying to avoid another vowel, but I really like it! Elliot Sheelee.

Another good one with Oliver is Simon. It avoids the vowel, though it gives you alliteration: Simon Sheelee. Or Silas: Silas Sheelee.

Oh, or Reuben! Reuben Sheelee.

I really like Felix: Felix Sheelee.

Ivan—once again, a vowel. Perhaps vowels are particularly nice with your surname. Ivan Sheelee.

And, er, Edmund. Vowel. But so nice! Edmund Sheelee.

Oh, here’s one with no vowel initial: Quentin Sheelee.

And another: Nicholas Sheelee.

A recent favorite of mine is Frederick: Frederick Sheelee.

Name update 03-20-2010! Sara writes:

Henry Alexander was born on March 18 at 12:13 pm. He was 8 lbs, 12 oz., and 20 inches long. Big Sister Audrey and Big Brother Oliver are adjusting well. Thanks to everyone for your name suggestions!

Jennifer writes:

We are expecting our second son on or around March 24th. Our first son is named Henry David Dickens. I’d like a name that “goes with” Henry but it doesn’t have to be too matchy-matchy. They’re going to be different people, after all.

We have a fairly short list of candidates, but I’m not sure we have found the perfect choice yet. I’m a little nervous about having namer’s remorse. I feel that way a little bit about my son, Henry. I think he might have made a good Linus, and I am sad that we didn’t consider it when we picked his name. (Perhaps we did, and I forget.) My biggest concern is that there’s another name out there that I haven’t seen that I might think is perfect. That’s why I’m coming to you!

My husband prefers fairly standard names, nothing too weird. I prefer “normal” names, but ones that are not too popular. I love Ethan and think it goes really nicely with Henry, but it’s #2 in popularity right now! I hate the recently made up slew of “-en” names (Jaylen, Braden, etc.) and I eschew tradesman names or place names with a few exceptions. I like short, consonant-heavy, old-fashioned names that are nickname proof.

Here is my list: Rudy (think hipsters from the 50s, not Guliani), Dean, Stanley, Simon, Earl, Edison (don’t like Ed but Sonny might work).
Here is my husband’s list: Ben, Sam, Owen, Nelson, Thomas, Linus, Atticus.

I’m not too worried about the middle name. We have lots of names we do like so I think finding a middle name will be a pretty easy task. I’m more concerned with the first name at this point. So, are there any other options out there that we might be overlooking that you and your good readers can think of?

Thanks so much!!

Adam Dickens, Henry and Adam
Elias Dickens, Henry and Elias
Everett Dickens, Henry and Everett
Franklin Dickens, Henry and Franklin
Isaac Dickens, Henry and Isaac
Joel Dickens, Henry and Joel
Karl Dickens, Henry and Karl
Nathaniel Dickens, Henry and Nathaniel
Rufus Dickens, Henry and Rufus
Russell Dickens, Henry and Russell
Silas Dickens, Henry and Silas
Warren Dickens, Henry and Warren

I particularly like Isaac, Elias, and Rufus.

Name update 04-30-2010! Jeni writes:

Update:
Linus Nelson Dickens
March 22, 2010 3:30 PM
7 pounds, 4 ounces
21.5 inches long

Katie writes:

I’m wondering if anyone has advice or an opinion on changing a child’s name after the birth certificate has been signed. Not his first or last name, but his middle name. The child is 2 1/2 currently and it’s eating at me, as silly as it sounds.

I always hated naming my children because it was like shooting skeet. I would toss up a name and hubby would shoot it down. Never did he toss up a name and it made me nuts. We ended up naming our first Gabriel after I tossed a little, checkout impulse buy baby name book at him and told him, “Pick a name!” Gabriel was the first one he came too that he liked. Naming our next three was similar. But we always tried to have some sort of family connection — espcially in the middle name.

With our last — number 5 — I tossed out the name Logan thinking he’d shoot it down as being ‘too soap-opera-y’. Instead he glommed onto it, with our older children standing around. I was super surprised until Gabe shouted, “It’s Wolverine’s real name from X-men!” As it was a favorite family movie, I knew there’d be no way I could get out of the name Logan. Plus, when he’s older I thought he’d appreciate it.

Middle name suggestions at the time ranged from Ryan to Wolverine. I liked Xavier (because 1. if we were going to go the x-men route Xavier is one of the other main characters, 2. I like it, and 3. how cool would Logan X. H_____man look as a signature?) But it didn’t have any sentimental value. So, obviously nixing Wolverine, we went with Ryan — the last name of hubby’s best friend and the one who brought us together. Only after the fact did I realize Logan Ryan H_____man sound way too heavy on ‘n’ sound at the end.

Now Logan is 2 1/2 and I’m seriously contemplating changing his middle name if it’s not too outrageously expensive, difficult, or cause future problems (like with Social Security Number/IRS, etc.)

If anyone has thoughts, advice, encouragement, or warnings concerning this issue, please share!

Name update 03-05-2010! Katie writes:

Thank you all for helping us get our head on straight. You know how sometimes you need someone to mentally shake your head like an Etch-a-Sketch so you can stop dwelling on something? Well, we had Etch-a-Sketch head and you all helped clear it.

Telling the friend and taking back the honor was the main reason we really hesitated and, with the comments focusing mainly on that, we realized that, while the friend probably wouldn’t care (he’s pretty happy-go-lucky) his friendship and the past mean too much for us. Logan is our last baby and it’s fitting that his name brings us back to our beginning.

As for the ‘an’ ‘an’ ‘an’ at the end of all the names that bugged me — knowing that the commenters didn’t think it sounded bad has helped me get over it. I’m used to critical people who pick apart a name so I guess I was feeling too defensive.

So — thanks for the positive comments! Logan Ryan shall remain Logan Ryan and I’ll find something more serious to worry about.

Laura writes:

We need some help: we are stuck in that spot where no names are good enough but there are plenty of bad names to go around! We are expecting a boy-bundle, half-Norwegian and half-New Yorker. Our 3.5 year old daughter is Sofia Eloise Astri Evenson (Sofia because we did not know how damn popular it was, Eloise for Eloise at the Plaza, and Astri for her two Norwegian Great Grandmothers, who shared this name – also, SEA…why not!?). We and she call her “Fee” or “Fia”, NOT Sofie.

In the boy department, we are looking for something Scandinavian, and not sure if we will do two middle names again. We plan to have at least one more child, so I guess we can break away from that tradition now or continue on. We do plan to live in Norway at some point, so the name has to have crossover potential, without making him feel like he has two separate names.

Names we have talked about (and then dismissed, for a variety of reasons) include:
Bruno (too Germanic and gruff – but both my maiden name and husband’s middle name {from his mother’s maiden name} are Brown/Bruun)
Axel/Aksel (too heavy)
Odin (too presumptuous: the “All Father” of Norse mythology…very anti the typical Norwegian modesty)
Finn (husband’s aversion)
Dashiell/Dashel nn Dash (husband’s aversion)
Aleksander (my opinion – common and not sure about the Slavic spelling)
Joakim/Joachim (Y-sounding J in Norwegian is confusing/my aversion)
Lucas (too popular here and in Norway)
Jonas (too popular – in Norway, but a family name for me, and that J!)
Kaspar/Jasper/Jesper (the friendly ghost, and confusing Y-sounding J in the final option)
Karl (lots of these in Norway)
Stellan (too Swedish…)
Johan/Johann (too Swedish)
Ole/Ola (SO Norwegian but likely to be mispronounced and assumed a girly name here)
Lars (name of my husband’s ONLY uncle, who incidentally does not speak with the family)
Miles (we both love it, even though it’s not Scandinavian: an outlier, because it’s as popular as Sofia. I also love Mila as a girl’s name, so I can let this go for now)
Espen (husband’s aversion)
Carsten (husband’s aversion)
Kai (too common in Norway)

Middle Names (eg names we wouldn’t consider putting first):
Edward (a family name)
Charles
Jonas (family name)
Hans (family name)
Erling (pronounced OUR-ling, family name)

Any help would be appreciated – we are definitely stuck and probably going to start asking grandparents soon, which is a BIG MISTAKE!
Thanks!

What I know about Scandinavian names can fit in…well, in the “Nordic” section of the revised edition of The Baby Name Wizard. I can look at the list and say I like Anders and Gustav and Henrik and Leif and Linus and Mathias and Mikkel and Niels and Oscar and Soren and Torsten, but I don’t know how popular those names are or which Nordic area they’re most associated with. Is there a Scandinavian Namer in the house?

Name update 05-19-2010! Laura writes:

I have been meaning to write to thank you and your posters’ for helping us find a name we love for our son.

Miles Olav Edward was born on April 2. We chose to go with the name we both love and put our Norwegian nod (Olav V was a recent and well-loved Norwegian king) plus a nod to my family this time (Edward is my dad’s middle name) in secondary spots.

Thanks so much for helping us!

Peyton writes:

So, I’m not really looking for more potential names, because we’re really kind of happy with the one’s we’ve got it narrowed down to–I’m mostly just hoping for opinions from the general populace rather than my limited circle of friends/family.

I’m due to have our first, a girl, on March 18. In a pseudo-tradition that my mother decided to make up, the first girl has the same first initial as her mother, and the middle name “Michelle,” so we were looking for P names. Our short list currently consists of

Pandora, which is my husband’s favorite. He likes the mythology reference, the pop-culture familiarity, that it sounds modern without actually being “popular” in real use; I’m a bit put off by the pop-culture of it–its use in Avatar and the internet radio station, among others. If there were just the mythological reference, I’d totally go for it, but the other stuff kind of annoys me. And I don’t care for any of the nicknames we’ve come up with (except “Pan,” which I could see on a teen, but not so much on a toddler). Most of our friends (who are mostly bohemian-type sci-fi/fantasy geeks, and proud of it) seem to like this one best, though.

Priscilla, which seems to be our middle ground. We both like it (it’s really amazing how much the name has grown on us). But most of our friends (see previous geeky mention) think “prissy, snooty princess.” There’s a high likelihood that any daughter of mine will be just that (really, I’m a lot like that), so I’m not sure I mind too much. Most of our family has been voting for this one. They think Pandora is too “out there.”

and Portia, which is my favorite–I think it sounds strong, but still feminine–but everyone in my husband’s family reacts with “That’s a car.” This has resulted in a large bruise in the middle of my forehead from the number of facepalm reactions I’ve had. Maybe it’s the rural American upbringing? Or am I really the last person outside of liberal arts academia to realize that Portia was a woman’s name millennia before Henry Ford was a twinkle in his daddy’s eye? I can’t tell if it’s just them, or if everyone is going to think the same thing (if it’s everyone, I don’t think I could handle that much frustration). My husband has said that with this name, she’s not allowed to turn 4 until she can respond to every “Like the car?” with “No, you , like the Shakespearean heroine.” He insists that we start training her at the same time we’re teaching her “What does a cow say?”

My husband originally nixed Portia back in my first trimester. We ran a poll on Pandora and Priscilla on facebook, and then I resubmitted Portia for his consideration about a month ago. My husband keeps on insisting to me that Portia is the only name I’m ever going to be happy with, and so that’s what we’re going to name her, even though he’s made it no secret that he doesn’t really care for it and it would be a name he have to get used to, since Porsche is also his first thought when hearing it, and he just doesn’t see it on a person. I don’t really believe that he’s okay with it when he constantly feels the need to remind me what a compromise it would be on his part. I really do like Priscilla, so I’m not completely sure which name I would be sorrier to not use. I could handle dropping Pandora pretty easily (DH also likes other names that end in “-dora” for possible future daughters), but every time I come across a reference to the myth, I can’t help thinking, “Man, that’s a great namesake.”

None of these are really names that we ever thought would be on the short list, but we’ve come to really like them. My husband has given his input and is now insisting that it’s entirely up to me. GAH!

Here is the problem: searching for inspiration while naming products, many companies turned to myths. The names are older than the products—but the products come to mind, even for those of us familiar with the myths. I knew the story of Pandora’s box long before the radio station came along, and I still think of the myth when I hear the name—but the radio station has become another association.

Same with Portia: it’s not (necessarily) ignorance that causes people to think of the car, and it’s not that they think the car has first dibs on the name, it’s that the car’s existence has created an additional association—and unfortunately has caused the name to sound like a product. Mercedes, too, was an excellent girl’s name, but now it’s a product and it doesn’t matter who used the word first. It’s sad, but I don’t think it’s a matter of educating the public, I think it’s a matter of accepting that a name comes with ALL its associations, not just the one we like.

It does sound to me like your husband doesn’t want to use the name Portia—or maybe he DOES want to, but wants to pin it on you when others don’t like it. If you do end up using it, I suggest coming up with an answer to the car association that’s quick and kind, and something you can say a million times without wanting to fling yourself from a cliff. Something like, “Oh! No. It’s P-O-R-T-I-A. Like in Shakespeare.” The “Oh!” is said as if you’re a little surprised by the question. The rest is said as if OF COURSE the questioner knows Shakespeare, and that clearing up the spelling will clear up the confusion.

I looked up the name Priscilla in The Baby Name Wizard and learned something new: Priscilla is the pet form of the name Prisca. Prisca reminds me of the name Portia.

Everyone else, opinions? Pandora, Priscilla, or Portia?

Name update 06-28-2010! Peyton writes:

Portia Michelle was born on March 24. Apparently while I was pushing, my mother was on the phone, telling her mom that she thought we were going to go with Priscilla. We were just really getting used to the name attached to the baby, and really thinking we were okay with the dual connotations (especially when a couple of responses from strangers were “Oh, Shakespeare would be so proud!”) when my parents went car shopping and came home with a Porsche Cayenne. They got a phenomenal deal on it, but (headdesk).