Catherine writes:

We are still very stuck on our baby girl’s name and I am having lots of contractions. She could come any day, but the latest is December 22nd. Please help! We are nowhere near a decision.

Our last name is May and my son’s name is Andrew Charles May. I am Catherine and my husband is Christopher, but often goes by Chris. I do not go by any nicknames and our son does not go by “Andy” or “Drew” (so far), he is always “Andrew” and he is nearly 2 years old.

Here is the current name list:

Avalon (Avalene) (Avalyn)
Scarlet (Scarlett)
Charlotte
Adelyn
Paloma
Aubrey
Addison
Peyton
Annalise (Elise)
Evelyn
Brooklynn
Annabelle (Annabella)
Arabelle (Arabella)
Toria
Camille
Avonlea

My husband hates most of the list and is only currently favorable towards Charlotte, Scarlett, or Aubrey. We like the middle name “Helena”, after our grandmother’s, but are not set in stone on it. If the first named ended in “a”, we would change it to Helene. Like “Charlotte Helena May”, but “Annabella Helene May”. We are also considering Charlotte for the middle name.

I think if I could pick one today, it would be “Avonlea Charlotte May” Same intitials as my son and I loved the Anne of Green Gables books as a kid. I think it is beautiful. My husband thinks it is weird and hates it. Doesn’t seem willing to give in. I think “Andrew and Avonlea” are cute together. Hubby hates it.

Although, he did hate Aubrey, but now is coming around to that one. My mom hates Aubrey and says it is a man’s name in a Jane Austin book. She really hates it.

Finally, to make matters more complicated, I would like to somehow honor my mother, but her name is “Sandra Amelia” and I don’t care for either name. For our girl’s first or middle name. So that might just not work out. Any pretty variations on Sandra or Amelia?

Any new name suggestions are also welcome. I tend to love “A” names and girly names that are more current and unusual. No “Linda” or “Mary” or “Elizabeth” for me.

Thank You!!!

I think we can immediately narrow the list down by taking out the names your husband hates, leaving only the ones he’s willing to consider. It’s possible he’d change his mind as he did with Aubrey, but there isn’t much time for that. So here’s the new list:

Aubrey
Charlotte
Scarlett

Your mom’s hate, though, I’m tossing out of consideration. A LOT of girl names were once boy names: Alice, Allison, Anne, Evelyn, Lesley, Mackenzie, Shannon, Tracy, Whitney. Ashley was a boy’s name in a Margaret Mitchell novel, but that doesn’t take away its current girl-name status. And besides, you’re trying to honor her by using her name for your daughter, so I don’t want to hear any lip from her. No lip! (Fine: it influences me that she hates the name Aubrey. I just don’t WANT to be influenced, because I love the name and because I think one generation OFTEN dislikes the next generation’s naming choices.)

In general, I don’t like to alter namesake names. Helena to Helene is about as far as I’d go: after that it starts to feel like it’s not really the person’s name at all, as when someone names their baby Madison “after” Grandma Mildred. The message becomes: “I want you to act honored and teary over this, but also we hated your name and didn’t want to use it.” Which, er, is usually a pretty accurate message. Sorry, honorees, but your names sound really out of date.

Amelia could be Amalie (AH mah lee), if you like that better. It has a similar sound/rhythm to Avonlea, Avalyn, Avalon. You could use Lia, except that’s such a different name, especially since it’s your mom’s middle name so there’s already considerable distance from the name she’d think of as hers.

I think we might have some luck with the first name, though: Sandra is short for Alexandra. Do you like that name? It starts with A, gives you the same initial as Andrew, and Andrew and Alexandra is a nice sibling set. Alexandra Helene would be a beautiful family name, and Alexandra May is lovely. You could also use Alissandra, a variation I like even better and which has the benefit of emphasizing the Sandra connection.

That’s my suggestion: Alexandra/Alissandra Helene May. Or, if you want the same initials as your son’s, Alexandra/Alissandra Charlotte May.

From your list of finalists, my favorite is Aubrey but my guess is that Aubrey is out because of your mom, in which case my favorite is Charlotte Helena May.

Name update 12-16-2009! Catherine writes:

Thank you for using my letter on your website and giving me your opinion on our naming dilemma. Our baby girl arrived 3 and a half weeks early, so you picked my letter just in time. She was born on December 11, 2009 at 10:14 p.m. and weighed 9lbs 1 oz and 19 1/2 inches long! She was technically a “late-term preemie” born at 36 weeks gestation, but she was still so big!

We really liked your suggestion of “Amelie” a lot. And debated a long time. But in the end, we chose “Annalise Charlotte May” for her name. I liked the matching initials and sounds with our son, “Andrew Charles May”. Both my husband and I felt the name was just right for her and we have had tons of compliments on her name.

Andrew is in love with his baby sister, Annalise, and we think she is pretty special, too!

Thanks for all your help,
Catherine

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!

Amy writes:

We are Andy and Amy Armstrong and we are expecting twin girls on November 17th.
We have two children – my oldest from a prior marriage:
Chase Larkin 14 yr old son and together Larkin Murphy 4 yr daughter

We don’t want any name that begins with A

My great-grandfather’s name was Larkin Timothy Murphy hence the family name I used as my children have different last names which I didn’t like – so they share my family name.

My grandmother was Violet Murphy and my father in law is Dan. We have quite a list going and I am trying to narrow things down prior to birth and would like input that is positive vs the debate friends and family can start.

My mothers maiden name was McBrayer but any form of that is better for a boy than girl I think?

So the list in no particular order is:

• Violet
• Dani
• Murphy (I keep hearing this is a dog name which irritates me but I think middle name for this)
• Harper
• Carson (name we had in mind when Larkin was born but waited until we saw her to name her)
• Camryn (same as above)
• Lily
• Marley (again with the dog comments)
• Keely
• Kylie
• Zoe
• Lauren
• Rory
• Finley

The Irish theme is strong obviously but I am open to suggestions. I don’t want the girls to have sing/song names as they are individuals.

Oh fun! Okay, I’m going to start making some pairs:

Harper and Keely
Harper and Kylie
Camryn and Marley
Carsyn and Marley
Harper and Marley
Harper and Lily
Harper and Rory
Harper and Finley
Rory and Finley
Harper and Camryn
Kylie and Zoe
Keely and Zoe
Lily and Lauren
Lauren and Camryn
Keely and Marley
Zoe and Lauren
Camryn and Zoe
Rory and Zoe
Finley and Kylie

Well! That’s not very helpful, is it! No wonder you’re having trouble narrowing it down!

I changed the spelling of Carson to Carsyn to make it go with Marley, but I didn’t do much more of that in case you hate that spelling. I think otherwise Carson makes it look like boy-girl twins, or makes it appear that there is an expectation that one girl will be tomboyish and the other girly, as in twin-based sitcoms.

I think Harper goes with a LOT of the names on the list.

I wondered if Lily/Lauren and Lauren/Camryn and Keely/Marley and Finley/Kylie would be too matchy for you because of similar sounds, but put them on the list anyway because to me they’re just the right amount of matchy to please people who like twin names to coordinate, without sounding like sugar-and-spice.

I think Murphy and McBrayer would make an excellent pair of middle names. Harper Murphy and Keely McBrayer. Lily Murphy and Lauren McBrayer. Rory Murphy and Finley McBrayer. And so on.

I’m reluctant to add any MORE names to the mix, since you have so many good ones already and since with twins there is a huge increase in number of combinations for each added name. But for father-in-law namesakes, I wanted to add Dania, Daniella, and Danica. Violet and Daniella is a nice pair, and Danica goes with a lot of the names on the list: Danica and Camryn, Danica and Harper, Danica and Zoe, Danica and Marley, etc.

Everyone, please say your favorite combinations and let’s see if we can narrow it down a little. I think my favorites are Rory and Finley, Harper and Keely, and Harper and Marley—but gosh, I don’t know, every time I look at the list I change my mind.

Name update 11-18-2009!

Amy and Andy are proud to announce their two beautiful baby girls born Tuesday, November 17

Brin Murphy Armstrong
born 12:07 pm
6 pounds 12 ounces

Erin McBrayer Armstrong
born 12:08 pm
5 pounds 3 ounces

Everyone is doing great!

Sara writes:

I am due December 3rd. We have chosen not to find out the gender ahead of time. Our 2-year-old son is Jonah Daniel, a name that we quickly agreed upon and never had a list of runner-up names. Our girl name (which we still like from last time) is Nora Josephine. We just liked Nora, and Josephine was my husband’s mother’s middle name. I like the family connection there.

I worry that I may have too many ‘rules’ – even though I can’t really figure out which ones I’d give up. My sister thought it was kind of a fun ‘word puzzle’, but I think even she has tired of it. So here it goes.

1) Our last name is an actual word, close to ‘Stark’, so let’s pretend that’s it. I’m Sara and my husband is Sean, so that’s a lot of S’s already. I’m not at all interested in any other names starting with an ‘S’. Also, if it ends with an ‘s’, it runs into the last name and sounds bad. So that knocks out a ton of good names.

2) Nothing with an ‘-ar-‘ in it because it sounds weird with the last name. Also shows up in lots of names.

3) Because our last name is short and kind of abrupt, I want at least a 2-syllable first name.

4) I also prefer names that don’t have obvious, kind of automatic nicknames, so no Benjamin, Alexander, Nicholas, etc. Although I know people can get nicknames for tons of reasons, I like the name to just be the name.

5) Not another J name.

6) I want a boy name that does not appear to be getting taken over by girls.

7) Not a name that is also an actual word. Since our last name is a word, that would be odd.

8) No ‘–son’ names.

9) Nothing totally unfamiliar or spelled ‘creatively’.

10) We’re not religious, and when Jonah is paired with some more biblically-associated names, it makes it seem like we are. Those types of names tend to be more the style I like, but it seems uncomfortable like we’re trying to pass ourselves off as something we’re not.

11) My husband and I have both been teachers for a combined 15 years or so, so a lot of names get vetoed just because of the strong associations. I can never have a Tyler, Dylan, Brandon, Levi, Dustin, Ben, Evan……..

I’ve looked at so many names and lists and haven’t had anything that jumps out at me. It makes me a little sad to think that I’ve probably already seen the name we’ll end up choosing and that we were just like “Eh… that’s ok… I guess.”

So… help??

We are totally open to new suggestions! Names that we maybe kind of like include:

Aaron -probably our top option right now, but I wonder if people’s pronunciations will bother me, saying it more (to my ears) like Erin, a girl name

Adrian – another name I think I like better on paper than when I say it out loud

Julian – even though it’s a J

Isaac

I’ve thought maybe Leo, Milo, Nolan, Ezra, but Sean doesn’t really like them. He likes Owen, but me, not so much. He’s also said he likes names that sound ‘smart’, for what that’s worth. Neither of us are into the ‘tough’ sounding boy names.

And then (as if this hasn’t been long enough – feel free to disregard if it has), I really like the idea of middle names as a family name spot, and my dad comes to mind as one to name after. His first name is also my brother’s name, so I kind of feel like that’s ‘his’ to use in the future if he wants. But my dad’s (and his dad’s) middle name is Orville. Yikes. I go back and forth thinking “My dad’s a good guy, and lots of people have crazy middle names.” and “How can I slap an Orville on a baby?” Thoughts on that from you or your readers?

Thank you so much for ANY help, guidance, and suggestions!!

Let’s start with the Orville question, because that has grabbed my imagination. Have you already talked to your brother about the first name that belongs to him and to your dad? He might not care one whit if you use it as a middle name, even if he has the full intention of using it for a future child himself, and maybe he will even be flattered that you want to use it, especially if you spin it to include him in the namesakeness. That would solve the Orville issue in one swoop, and that would be nice because otherwise I am conflicted. I agree with you exactly: on one hand, lots of people have unusual middle names; on the other hand, Orville.

The very first name that occurs to me for the first-name slot is out: Simon. It sounds smart to me, and I like it with both Jonah and a potential future Nora. You were very clear on NO S NAMES so I shouldn’t even be mentioning it—but here I am, mentioning it anyway. Cheeky!

The second name that occurs to me is ALSO out: Karl. It has the “ar” sound but otherwise would qualify, and I think the repeating “ar” is good here. I would like to take a moment to highlight the name Karl, in fact, because it is SO UNDERUSED. I was out and about and heard a mother talking to her adorable, pumpkin-sweater-wearing, rosy-cheeks-having, 1-year-old boy and calling him Karl, and I thought “!!!” It’s great. Timeless! Smart! Girls are not stealing it! ALMOST NO ONE IS USING IT. It’s one of the few names I thought of where I didn’t think, “Oh, but they’ve probably had a bunch of students with that name already. Karl! Consider Karl!

Some QUALIFYING possibilities:

Caleb Stark; Jonah and Caleb
Elliot Stark; Jonah and Elliot
Emmett Stark; Jonah and Emmett
Ethan Stark; Jonah and Ethan
Henry Stark; Jonah and Henry
Ian Stark; Jonah and Ian
Malcolm Stark; Jonah and Malcolm

I also had Everett and Oliver in the list originally, but are those too much like an “ar” sound? Anyway, I like them both: Everett Stark, Oliver Stark.

Name update 12-07-2009! Sara writes:

I just wanted to let you know that we had a baby girl, Nora Josephine, on December 3 (her due date, no less!) so all my worrying about boy names and rules ended up just being for fun, I guess. :) I really appreciated all the feedback and suggestions from your readers, and we went into the birth thinking that we’d probably go with Aaron or Simon (gasp – breaking my #1 rule). We realized that if I set aside my ‘no more S names,’ that really was the name we liked best. And I also talked with my brother about his name, and he was totally fine with us using it if we wanted, so we had our two options for middle names there, too. But in the end, little Nora made the decision easy for us. Thanks so much!! :)

Rachel writes:

I love your baby name blog and can’t wait to write you for myself someday, but for now I’m writing for my sister (with her blessing). She and her husband are expecting their third baby (gender unknown) at the beginning of December–the 4th to be specific.

They’ve got a son, William Charles (age 3.5 years), who is named after two family members, and a daughter, Clara Grace (not quite 2), whose first name is a family name and whose middle name was chosen for the religious significance.

If I get another niece, my sister wants to name her Anna (which is a family name) and my BIL wants to name her Hannah. Both of them love their own choice and strongly dislike the other’s choice, which makes everyone want to pull their hair out since the names are SO similar. Any third suggestion to pull them away from the Anna/Hannah debate? My suggestions of Ava, Lydia, and Lila were rejected. They like Elizabeth and Eleanor for a middle name, but my sister doesn’t think Eleanor goes well with Anna or Hannah. (And they don’t want to move either of those family names to the first name slot.)

If I get another nephew, they both like Elijah for the Biblical character, but my sister doesn’t think it goes with the sibset. They’re thinking of Patrick for a middle name, which my sister doesn’t like well enough for a first name but wants to use in the middle name slot to honor a family member.

Their last name, which my sister does not want included in the post, is four syllables with the emphasis on the second syllable.

Thanks, Swistle!

I love the Anna/Hannah debate! Let’s see if we can find some other possibilities to consider:

Eliza
Ella
Emma
Lucy
Helen
Minna
Molly
Nora
Rose
Ruth

My favorites are:
Eliza Eleanor (William, Clara, and Eliza)
Lucy Eleanor (William, Clara, and Lucy)
Molly Elizabeth (William, Clara, and Molly)
Rose Elizabeth (William, Clara, and Rose)

I think Elijah is coming mainstream enough to go with William and Clara, especially if he goes by Eli. It’s not quite the same style, but it’s not a jarring clash. If they continue to be unsure of it, perhaps they could use it in the middle name slot. Some other first-name possibilities to consider:

Daniel
Elias
Elliot
Emmett
Everett
Isaac
Jonathan
Josiah
Nathaniel
Owen
Samuel
Silas
Simon
Saul

My favorites are:
Daniel Patrick (William, Clara, and Daniel)
Nathaniel Patrick (William, Clara, and Nathaniel)
Samuel Patrick (William, Clara, and Samuel)

Name update 12-17-2009! Rachel writes:

Thanks so much for your help with a name for my sister’s new baby. We loved reading your suggestions and the comments. In the end, the Anna/Hannah debate was moot, because I have a new nephew! My sister and I both *loved* your suggestion of Nathaniel, but my BIL had a bad association with the name. Elijah Patrick was born December 1st, weighing in at 8 lbs 2 ozs and measuring 21 inches. Thank you again for your help!

Gabi writes:

We are expecting baby #1 in a couple of weeks (actual due date is November 19th) and I would love some feedback on the names that have made our “short lists”. Sex of the baby is unknown. Although we’ve all been referring to the kid in-utero as Baby Edge, our last name is actually Edgerton. The middle names have been set from the beginning: if boy, the middle name has to be Dow (a family name); if girl the middle name will be Cynthia. Other than that there are no restrictions on the names although I would prefer not to name the kid something that is too associated with Catholicism or some other religion that we are not. I am of Eastern European Jewish heritage and my husband’s family has been in the States since colonial times, from the British Isles before that. We have narrowed our lists to 6-7 for each, I can’t see any pattern in the names we like, though I would be interested in any you can decipher. I am open to suggestions of pretty variations on any of these as well as completely new suggestions that we may not have thought of. Here are the lists (in no particular order):

Girl: Mikayla (would call her Ayla for short); Eliza; Anika; Madelyn; Lyla; Anya; Samantha (would call her Sam for short)

Boy: Henry; Andrew; Asa; Ryan; Owen; Jonah

Thanks!!

I love Eliza Edgerton so much, I am having trouble drumming up motivation to look further. Well, although I also like the initials you get from Anika or Anya: ACE seems like a fun nickname she could access in her high school years if she wanted to.

For a boy, my favorite is Henry Dow Edgerton. I also wonder if you’d like Isaac Edgerton.

What does everyone else think? Favorites? Additional suggestions?

Name update! Gabi writes:

Your blog helped us name our first daughter, Eliza Cynthia, now 3, and we have been extremely happy. It was a hands down favorite of yours and your commenters, and that was all the encouragement we needed to pull the trigger. We get compliments on her name all the time.

K. writes:

Hello. My name starts with a K and so does my husbands, our last name is Ogawa. Our baby girl is due on November 1st.
We are having one heck of a time picking a name. Obviously we have settled on the most popular names ever (isn’t that how it always works). My favorite is Emma; His is Isabelle; We have Olivia and Lilian on the list as well. Middle names aren’t as much of a disaster we have a couple that go with each first name.
The difficulty factors in here….I am American/Irish (100%), My husband is half Japanese (hence the last name) and half Spanish. So we wanted a first name that both families will be able to pronounce.
We have pretty much settled on the above 4 and need help choosing, but if you have another suggestion I am all ears.

Thank you so much for your help

I like Emily even better than Emma: I think Emily Ogawa has a nice sound and rhythm. I like all four of your choices; my favorite on its own is Olivia, and my favorite with your surname is Lilian.

Let’s have a poll over to the right [poll closed; see results below] with your four choices plus my choice of Emily, and people can leave more suggestions in the comment section.

Poll results (195 votes total):
Emma: 22 votes, roughly 11%
Isabelle: 17 votes, roughly 9%
Olivia: 22 votes, roughly 11%
Lilian/Lillian: 65 votes, roughly 33%
Emily: 69 votes, roughly 35%

Name update 11-08-2009! K. writes:

Olivia Emerson Ogawa was born on Nov 4. Thank you so much for all comments and suggestions on the names!