J. writes:

We are expecting our second child, a little girl, Christmas day (please. PLEASE. please. come earlier) and would love some name advice. Our son’s name is Wilson (named after my grandfather). Our last name is Smith. We like classic names that are strong or make you think of strong women. We also like a family connection, but also want something that is not too common (we already have the most common last name there is).

My maiden name is Hudson and we are strongly considering it for her name. We like Hudson Kathleen (Kathleen was my grandmother’s name) but I am afraid it is too harsh for a girl and doesn’t go well with Wilson. Other names on our list are: Ayla Grace (Ayla means oak in Hebrew. Oak is a nickname I have for my husband. He is my oak tree–strong and dependable.), Grace Kathleen, and Anna Lee (our mother’s middle names). Anna is quickly leaving the list… Okay, it is pretty much off the list.
My husband loves Ayla. I like it but it sounds similar to our niece’s name Alana (pronounced: A-lane-uh). Grace has always been my favorite name. I think it is the most beautiful name in the world, but it is so common that I don’t know if we should name her that.

Some other names we like are: Charlotte (My husband likes this name more than me. If we went with it we would most likely use the nickname Charlie), Violet and Olivia.

Naming this little one seems harder than I remember. Although, we didn’t actually name our son until we saw him. The original names we had for him (Grant and Scott) just didn’t fit. He came out looking like a wise old soul and naming him Wilson (after my grandfather) just fit. Maybe she will be the same.

So what do you think regarding the names we have? Do you have any other suggestions? Your help is appreciated!!

Smith is such a tricky surname! It rules out the common end of the spectrum (Jane Smith, Elizabeth Smith), but it can make highly unusual names sound comical, like that Monty Python skit about political candidates where it’s like Broomdiddly Rang-Rang Biscuit-Barrel Montgomery…Smith. And because it starts with an S, it blends with first names that end with the S-sound: Grace Smith sounds like Gray Smith; Iris Smith sounds like Ira Smith.

Hudson, for me, is neither classic nor strong woman. Even as a boy’s name, I think it would out-boy the name Wilson. I suggest using it in the middle name slot.

The meaning of Ayla is a good one, but it seems confusing that it reminds you of the nickname you use for your husband. A name that symbolizes someone whose strength and dependability you can count on is perfect for a spousal relationship, less perfect for a parent-child relationship. And without knowing the meaning, I would have put the name Ayla in the same category as names such as Kayla, Jayla, Braelee, etc.—good names, but not classic or strong.

I’m not sure I have a handle on what kind of name you’re looking for: “classic” and “strong woman” doesn’t fit for me with Hudson or Ayla; “not very common” doesn’t fit with Grace or Olivia. And for me, Grace and Violet are more like “gentle woman” names: a charm/virtue and a small flower.

Here are some names that make me think of strong women:

Anastasia
Antonia
Athena
Beatrix
Carmen
Claire
Claudia
Constance
Diana
Eleanor
Elena
Elizabeth
Esther
Fiona
Florence
Francesca
Genevieve
Georgia
Hazel
Iris
Jane
Julia
Louisa
Margaret
Minerva
Naomi
Nora
Penelope
Philippa
Philomena
Rosemary
Simone
Victoria
Wilhelmina
Winifred

This list would vary hugely from person to person: associations are so subjective. I’ve got Diana on the list because it makes me think of the goddess, but someone else might think of Shy Di. I have Julia on my list because of Julia Sugarbaker, but someone else may have never watched Designing Women. And maybe I’m thinking of biblical Esther and someone else is thinking of a frail grandmother, and so on and so on.

It influences me strongly that you think Grace is the most beautiful name in the world. There are two strikes against Grace: it’s commonness (because of the commonness of your surname), and the way the ending S-sound blends with the starting S-sound of your surname. But if your husband feels close to the way you do about the name, I think those issues are minor and my vote would be to use Grace. Wilson and Grace is a WONDERFUL sibling set (the sitcom Will and Grace doesn’t bother me, especially now that it’s over). Grace Hudson Smith would be my top pick, but other options are Grace Kathleen Smith and Grace Charlotte Smith. Kathleen Hudson Smith would be another possibility.

From my own strong-woman list, my favorites are:

Claire Hudson Smith; Wilson and Claire
Claudia Grace Smith; Wilson and Claudia
Eleanor Grace Smith; Wilson and Eleanor
Georgia Grace Smith; Wilson and Georgia
Julia Hudson Smith; Wilson and Julia
Louisa Hudson Smith; Wilson and Louisa
Margaret Grace Smith; Wilson and Margaret
Nora Grace Smith; Wilson and Nora
Rosemary Grace Smith; Wilson and Rosemary

Name update 01-15-2010! J. writes:

Dear Swistle and Readers,

Thank you so much for your feedback!! I can happily report that it was YOUR suggestions that helped us name our daughter… Eleanor Lynn Smith was born on December 20, 2009 at 7:07 pm- weighing 7 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches long. She is just perfect! We call her Nora, Nora Lynn, and Eleanor.

Monica writes:

With baby number two due on 12/25 (yes Christmas Day!) we are still searching for a perfect boy’s name. We have a great girl’s name picked out, but no boy’s name. And even though I have a serious favorite name for a boy, the vote is not unanimous (yet). And it has to be a vote of 2-0 you see.

Here are our requirements. Potential names have to sound good in both German and Spanish (Su’s family is German and she and I both speak Spanish).

Our two year old son’s name is Daniel (see, it fit’s our criteria—just try saying it in German or Spanish!)

His middle name is actually a family name that rhymes with “Zorn” and the baby’s will be too.

Our last name is something Irish. Let’s say Fitzscribble (cuz that’s what it looks like anyway when I write it.)

My serious number one pick is the name August.

August (Gus) Zorn Fitzscribble — Danny and Gus

Another name under consideration is:

Lucas Zorn Fitzscribble – Danny and Luke

Swistle and friends, can you help us?

Oh dear, I am always on shaky ground when names have to sound good in other languages. I only know the most basic of basics, such as that LL sounds like Y in Spanish, and W sounds like V in German.

I think Lucas is closer in style to Daniel than August is, but that either one works. The name Angus seems closer to Daniel while still giving the nickname Gus.

Another name that comes to mind is Benjamin. Danny and Ben—sweet! Or Nathan: Danny and Nate. Or Charles: Danny and Charlie. Those all sound like Brothers to me.

Everyone else: Which name do you like better, August or Lucas? I’ll put a poll over to the right. [Poll closed; see results below.] And do you have more name possibilities to suggest?

Poll results (147 votes total):
August (Gus): 52 votes, roughly 35%
Lucas (Luke): 95 votes, roughly 65%

Name update 12-31-2009! Monica writes:

Hi Swistle. Thanks so much for all your the great name suggestions you made, as well as the suggestions that came from commenters. Just wanted to let everyone know that we had our second child, another little boy, on December 17, 2009. We loved watching the polling between the names Gus and Lucas, but in the end we decided to go with one of your suggestions Swistle. We are pleased to introduce our second son, Benjamin who is 8 lbs. 1 oz and 21 inches long. He is a living doll, and the spitting image of 2 year old brother Daniel! Thanks again and Happy New Year!

Megan writes:

We are due with our first baby, a girl, on Christmas Eve and have not found that perfect name. We like classic, slightly old-fashioned names, nothing too preppy. Our last name is Acosta (pronounced with a long “o”) so we are eliminating names with a long “a” ending. Tops on our list right now is Evelyn. It sounds soft and feminine and has cute nicknames like Eve and Evie. I really like it but I’m not sure it’s perfect. Other names on the short list are Ivy, Sadie, Josephine, Lucy, Penny, and Hazel. I like the rhythm of the long “e” sound with our last name. Other names we really like but are a bit too expected are names like Grace, Emma, and Kate. I’m hoping you can suggest a few more names and one will strike that perfect chord.

I suggest Genevieve. It has the Eve/Evie nicknames you like (and also Gen and Genny if you want them), it has the long E sound you like, and I like it with your surname: Genevieve Acosta.

My second suggestion is Penelope. It gives you Penny as a nickname (and also Nellie if you want it), it has the long E sound, and I like the repeating long O sound with your surname: Penelope Acosta.

If you like Grace but it’s too common for you to want to use it, you could use Gracelyn. Gracelyn Acosta.

You could do the same thing with Emma: Emmalyn Acosta. Or Emlyn: Emlyn Acosta.

I know the name Emily is common but I don’t care, I love it—and in my area, it’s not used much. Emily Acosta.

A name with the flavor of Emily but much less common is Felicity: Felicity Acosta.

This one has no tie-in, I just thought of it: Jillian Acosta.

One of my own favorites is Annabel: Annabel Acosta.

Sadie and Penny make me think of Molly: Molly Acosta.

I have a soft spot for the name Noelle used at Christmastime: Noelle Acosta. I like it as a middle name if not as a first: Genevieve Noelle Acosta, Felicity Noelle Acosta, etc.

More suggestions for the Acostas?

Name update! Megan writes:

We named her Evelyn Marie, born 12/14/09! She goes by Ev and Evie a lot too. Thanks so much for your help back then, it was very encouraging to hear positive feedback on our “vintage” name choice!

Gayle writes:

My husband and I need help choosing a name for our first son. We already have two little girls, Avis Abigale and Melody Alice Elvira. (Melody has two middle names just for fun.. no specific reason.) That really is sort of our naming style – we find a name we like and we use it. All the in depth stuff, like meanings, or initials, or family approval, or naming after a family member, etc, isn’t that important to us.

We want our sons name to be as distinct as the names Avis and Melody. For example, Avis, Melody, and Jayden/Cayden/Grayden/Hayden is not the kind of name we’re looking for. We really like more turn of the century names, but not names like Henry or William. More outlandish names like Cornelius or Augustus (although we’ve vetoed both of those.)

Here are some names we’ve considered, to give you an idea of the names we’re looking at:
Cornelius, Augustus, Benedict, Clement, Barnabas, Eustace, Florian, and Percival.

As you can see, these names are pretty ‘out there.’ We feel like they really aren’t names you can wear in the 21st century without getting made fun of. They sound like characters.

So we’re looking for names similar in style to these, that go with our daughters names, but that could work for a little boy in the 21st century, not just the 19th. Also, we’d really like his middle name to start with an A, because my husband and I both have middle names that start with an A, and completely by accident, so do our daughters. So we liked that unexpected connection and want to continue it.

Oh, and our last name is one syllable and rhymes with Kench, so longer first names would go better with that, I think.

I think you could use Augustus pretty comfortably, especially if he went by the nickname Gus. Avis, Melody, and Augustus seems good to me. If it seems like too much, maybe August? Avis, Melody, and August.

Cornelius makes me think of Corbin and Cormac. Benedict makes me think of Bennett. Eustace makes me think of Edmund and Euan/Ewan. Florian makes me think of Finian and Julian.

But some of the names I’m reminded of are a big style change from the originals. In STYLE, I’m reminded more of names such as Julius, Rufus, Felix, Hugo, Jasper, Lucius, Phineas.

Well, here’s the list all together:

Aidric; Avis, Melody, and Aidric
Angus; Avis, Melody, and Angus
August; Avis, Melody, and August
Bennett; Avis, Melody, and Bennett
Corbin; Avis, Melody, and Corbin
Cormac; Avis, Melody, and Cormac
Edmund; Avis, Melody, and Edmund
Ewan; Avis, Melody, and Ewan
Felix; Avis, Melody, and Felix
Finian; Avis, Melody, and Finian
Hugo; Avis, Melody, and Hugo
Jasper; Avis, Melody, and Jasper
Julian; Avis, Melody, and Julian
Julius; Avis, Melody, and Julius
Linus; Avis, Melody, and Linus
Lucius; Avis, Melody, and Lucius
Phineas; Avis, Melody, and Phineas
Rufus; Avis, Melody, and Rufus
Sebastian; Avis, Melody, and Sebastian
Silas; Avis, Melody, and Silas

I think my favorites are Aidric, Edmund, Felix, Hugo, and Jasper. With some A middle names:

Aidric Alistair Kench
Edmund Ambrose Kench
Felix Arlo Kench
Hugo Augustus Kench
Jasper Atticus Kench

Name update 12-10-2009! Gayle writes:

Hi Swistle,
thanks so much for all your help (and for the people who posted, also)
Our son was born on Nov 28th at 5:02 PM (yum, a hospital Thanksgiving!) and we went with Leander Aidric – we loved your suggestion of that name.
Again, thanks so much!