Michelle writes:

hello! a friend of mine sent me a link to your blog knowing that we’re still trying to figure out a name for baby #3. we’d love your help! we found out that we’re having a girl and can’t seem to settle on something we both like. i’m due in three weeks!

our other children’s names are michael and allison. we call them mikey and allie. the “t” is silent in our last name, and is pronounced “sigh”. so here’s where we’re at:

* my husband’s top pick is lauren kara tsai. i like it too, EXCEPT that lauren doesn’t really shorten into a nickname (besides laurie, which i don’t think we’d use since saying it and spelling it wouldn’t be any shorter than lauren itself), and i would like to have a cute nickname for this baby since both her siblings go by nicknames. the other reason i’m not thrilled about lauren is because her siblings (ages 4 and 2) will be calling her “warren” since their “l’s” sound like “w’s”.
* we’d like to have the middle name start with a “k” since both her siblings have “k” middle names. just something to link them all together. i do like cara, but kara looks a little weird to me. so we’re also stuck on middle names as well.
* prefer not to have the name begin with a P, M, or A since those already in our family and we’d like each child to have their own letter.
* we’d like a clearly girl’s name that is easy to pronounce and is spelled traditionally. this is because my husband has a name he really hated growing up and wants to spare his children the angst, and also because our last name is a little tricky– no need to make it even more complicated for the poor kid.
* cannot begin with an “s” since something like “sophie tsai” sounds too cutesy and/or silly.
* husband doesn’t like names that sound too “harsh”.
* i tend to like “j” names, but haven’t found one that isn’t too common– like jennifer or jessica.

some names we’ve tossed around:

* emily
* olivia (husband doesn’t like)
* cara
* julie

names we can’t use due to close friends or family already using them:

* joanna
* jenna
* naomi
* megan
* kaitlyn
* kayla

looking forward to hearing your suggestions! thanks!

My friend Mairzy and I both like these kinds of names, so I immediately called her in on it. Mairzy writes:

As fun as the exotic names are, sometimes it’s nice to slip back into comfortable basic names. I enjoyed hanging out with Allison and Lauren this time around.

My top choice would be your husband’s: Lauren is a good name. I have a sister named Lauren, and we (the family) call her La. It’s not a nickname that would carry a girl through her life, but it is short and cute. I don’t know if “Wa” is any improvement over “Warren,” but at least they grow out of it.

I, too, love J names. Here are a few others to consider:

* Jillian (or Gillian)
* Julianna
* Jessie
* Janae
* Jane

For middle names, K is a versatile letter. Kate is pretty much the denim middle name: it goes with everything. Kayla is another easily-matched one. Other K possibilities:

* Kathleen
* Kay (nice and short, although still rather middle-aged in style)
* Kelly
* Kimberly? If you used a short first name like Jane?

My favorite choice would be Lauren Kate. Best wishes on #3!

Thanks, Mairzy! And I agree: Lauren is a great choice. It’s true that Laurie isn’t shorter than Lauren, but a lot of nicknames are like that: Jimmy for James, Annie for Ann, etc. And it’s great with the sibling names. And the “Warren” thing will be short-lived.

I love the name Emily even more. Love love love. It’s been high on my girl list with every pregnancy. Michael, Allison, and Emily. Mikey, Allie, and Emmie. Emily Kay Tsai. Love.

For J names, how about Jacqueline? Jacqueline Kay Tsai. Michael, Allison, and Jacqueline. Mikey, Allie, Jackie.

And I like Jillian. Jillian Kay Tsai. Michael, Allison, and Jillian. Mikey, Allie, Jill.

Or Josephine. Josephine Kay Tsai. Michael, Allison, and Josephine. Mikey, Allie, and Josie.

My top two choices (tied) are Emily and Jillian.

Let’s take a vote! Poll over to the right! [poll closed; see below] (I like Cara and Julie, but am leaving them off because they don’t have nicknames; I’m leaving Olivia off because one parent doesn’t like it.)

[Poll results:
Lauren/Laurie: 23 votes, roughly 14%
Emily/Emmie: 72 votes, roughly 43%
Jacqueline/Jackie: 7 votes, roughly 4%
Jillian/Jill: 39 votes, roughly 23%
Josephine/Josie: 27 votes, roughly 16%]

[Update! (08-29-2008) Michelle writes:

hello again!

so sorry for the belated update– but baby lauren kara tsai is now here! caught us by surprise by coming 16 days early, but we’ve been enjoying every minute of her. yes, even the 4 am minutes. :)

we did end up going with our original name, though i DID make a valiant effort to sway him toward “emily” on the ride to the hospital since i’ve fallen in love with the nickname “emi”. but no dice. but now that she’s here, she just *looks* like a lauren to us. still no nickname for her, but maybe she’ll come up with one herself if she decides she wants one!

thanks again for all the suggestions! emily will definitely be high on the list should #4 be coming along someday…

michelle]

Christy writes:

I had my big ultrasound this morning and we found out that we are having a second son. Yikes. Boy names are so hard, and I don’t know how you managed to come up with four of them.

Our last name is really close to “Edison” and our first son is Soren Kyle. My husband is very proud of the fact that Soren falls somewhere in the 900s on the Social Security list for 2006 – he refuses to use a common name. We are NOT Scandinavian (mostly German and Irish), so I don’t necessarily want another screamingly Scandinavian name, but I still want something that “fits” with Soren’s name. Here’s our measly list of possibilities:

• Liam: I think it might be a little more trendy than my husband realizes, but he likes it and so do I. If I had to name the baby today, this would probably be my choice…but I don’t love it.
• Finnigan (Finn): This is my husband’s newest fixation. My feelings about it are similar to my feelings about Penelope, his girl name obsession – part of my really likes it, and the other part thinks that perhaps it’s just a bit too much for the world to handle.
• Isaac: We had settled on this for a 2nd boy before this baby was ever conceived…and then this acquaintance/friend of my husbands who lives across the country used it – now it seems too common to him.
• Richard: This is my father’s name and also my husband’s grandfather’s name. I’ve never liked it, but recently it just keeps popping up in my mind – his grandpa is a great man who is dying and loves our first son and would be REALLY honored to have a namesake. If we used this, we’d probably use Alan, Grandpa’s middle name, as well. My concerns: I’m not sure the world of names is ready for the return of Richard and not sure if it’s too closely tied to the nn “Dick” in peoples minds. If we don’t use it as a first name, I’d like to throw it in as a middle name, though I wouldn’t eliminate an otherwise great first name that doesn’t work with it.

Here are some of the girls names we were considering before we found out that we’re having a boy. Maybe they’ll spark some other suggestions? Here’s the list:

Miriam
Fiona
Penelope
Sonja/Sonia
Susannah
Marina

That’s all we’ve got. Help!

Indeed, let’s not tell your husband that the name Liam broke into the Top 100 in 2006. It’s a great name, and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him—especially since, as you say and I heartily agree, boy names are SO HARD. Liam is good with Soren, and good with your last name: Liam Edison.

I think if you used the name Richard you could steer people away from the unfortunate nickname: people would WANT to avoid it. Perhaps you could switch your husband’s grandpa’s first and middle names, and go with Alan Richard? Alan is out of the Top 100 and seems to be in a holding pattern there. But neither Richard nor Alan seems like a good style match with Soren.

Here are a few more suggestions (ranking source: Social Security Administration):

Archer (not in Top 1000); Soren and Archer Edison
Callum (not in Top 1000); Soren and Callum Edison
Griffin (#242 in 2007); Soren and Griffin Edison
Jasper (#471 in 2007); Soren and Jasper Edison
Malcolm (#565 in 2007); Soren and Malcolm Edison
Oscar (#121 in 2007); Soren and Oscar Edison
Ruben (#245 in 2007; Reuben is #939); Soren and Ruben Edison
Tobin (not in Top 1000); Soren and Tobin Edison

From that list, my favorites are Jasper, Ruben, and Tobin. Jasper Richard Edison (JRE) sounds great to me, and so does Tobin Richard Edison (TRE). With Ruben, I might use Isaac: Ruben Isaac Edison (RIE).

Vote in the poll at right: [poll closed; see below] what would you name Soren Edison’s little brother? That’s a long list of options, so why don’t you choose two or three if you want to.

[Poll results (266 votes total):
Liam: 36 votes, roughly 14%
Finnegan: 29 votes, roughly 11%
Richard Alan: 12 votes, roughly 5%
Alan Richard: 4 votes, roughly 2%
Archer: 28 votes, roughly 11%
Callum: 31 votes, roughly 12%
Griffin: 16 votes, roughly 6%
Jasper: 46 votes, roughly 17%
Malcolm: 18 votes, roughly 7%
Oscar: 14 votes, roughly 5%
Ruben: 9 votes, roughly 3%
Tobin: 23 votes, roughly 9%]

Name update! Christy writes:

Here is a long overdue update on my baby’s (who is now nearly one and fast approaching non-babyhood!) name: Richard Alan. My husband’s grandpa did die about two months before Richard was born, and it just seemed appropriate. He goes by Richard publicly, but we’ve taken to calling him Richie among our little family. The name has really grown on me.

Thanks for all your help!

Karla writes:

I emailed this to a friend of mine, and she told me to send it your way! :)

I have three four-year old surviving quads:

Boys: Ezekiel (Zeke) Silas, Basil Joseph
Girl: September Kay (and her identical twin, whom we lost, is named Adeline Nicole)

Our last name sounds like Voisey.

I am due in August. We don’t know the gender, and we won’t find out. Here are some of the names that I like so far:

Girls:

• Stella, although it sounds alot like Ella, and Ella is so popular now. What about Estelle?
• Sabine Adele: Does that sound like Sabina Delle?
• Iris Adele (We lost a daughter, Adeline, and thought Adele to be an appropriate middle name in remembrance of Adeline. We are not set on that though.) But I don’t like the sound of IriS VoiSey. What do you think?
• Ivy, but I don’t like IvY VoiseY
• And for the last one; the one that I would love to name a girl, but think it may be pushing a little close to weird and not-nice-to-name-an-actual-kid; Scout. (My absolute favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird The main character’s name is Scout).

Boys:

• Maybe Cyrus—but does the “s” pose a problem with Voisey?
• Soren

I do have a few rules. For instance,

1. The name cannot end with the sound, “v” or “f”, because then it sounds like our last name is Oisey.
2. I don’t know if I would have chosen Basil again, because I don’t like the two “z” sounds in his name: BaZil VoiZey. On that note, no z sounds in the first name.
3. I hate how many names are too similar to other people’s kid’s names. I love Lila. But my cousin’s baby is Layla. I love Greta, but a friend of ours just named their baby that. I don’t love Mabel, but I was wondering if I could grow to like it, because my hero-great-aunt is named Mabel. My husband’s cousin just named her kid that. Ergh. I might be pretty picky about that. We wanted to name Zeke Silas, but I have a friend whose kid’s name is Simon. Too close. And I love Alita, but our pastor’s kid is that. I don’t want anyone to have the name….at least not anyone I know.

So let’s see. We have Ezekiel, Basil, and September. Because the boy names are a different style than the girl name (it is the same way in my family), let’s address the two possibilities separately.

If the new baby is a girl. I love the name Estelle, but September and Estelle sound too different to me. I don’t think it’s crucial to have the style match, but it’s my own preference to get close. September is unusual, a noun name. Estelle is also unusual, but in a different direction: old-fashioned and classic.

But what goes with September? Well, the name Sabine is pretty great with it, I think in part because the matching initials tie them together, and also in part because Sabine is more exotic than some of the other candidates. “Sabine Adele” does sound like “Sabina Delle,” but I think you don’t need to consider this unless you find you regularly call your kids by first-and-middle.

Iris is also good: it’s classic/old-fashioned, but it’s a noun name like September. (Ivy would be the same, but I agree with you about the repeating Y sound.) My favorite from your list, though, is Scout. You’re right that it’s unusual, but I think Demi Moore and Bruce Willis paved the way for the rest of us using it, and To Kill a Mockingbird is such a strongly positive association. Also, September and Scout are similar in style. Scout Adele Voisey. I think that’s the best one. You could also consider Harper, after the author of the book.

I am not sure, though, that I would give her a middle name in memory of her sister. It’s a sad explanation for the name. I’m trying to imagine if my middle name were after a sister who had died, and it seems like it would be a sad thing. On the other hand, Adele is a beautiful name, and I can’t really imagine how I’d feel about it if it were me, let alone how she’d feel about it. If you went with it, you wouldn’t hear boo from me OR my goose.

If the new baby is a boy. Let’s try out the two candidates:

Ezekiel, Basil, and Cyrus
Ezekiel, Basil, and Soren

I prefer the name Cyrus with the other two names. Ezekiel and Basil are both in the old-fashioned style category, and so is Cyrus; Soren has more of a contemporary sound to me, with the -en ending. I think Cyrus Voisey sounds fine: it’s a little on the S-filled side, but still works. Soren Voisey sounds good, too, if you go that route.

Let’s do a poll [poll closed; see below], and since we don’t know if the baby is a boy or a girl, you can choose one girl name AND one boy name. The comment section is awaiting further name possibilities for the family to choose from.

[Poll results:

Girl names (145 votes total)
Estelle: 5 votes, roughly 3%
Sabine: 24 votes, roughly 17%
Iris: 33 votes, roughly 23%
Ivy: 2 votes, roughly 1%
Scout: 49 votes, roughly 34%
Harper: 32 votes, roughly 22%

Boy names (104 votes total)
Cyrus: 56 votes, roughly 54%
Soren: 48 votes, roughly 46%]

Name update! Karla writes: “We ended up having a boy, and we named him soren micah.”

Suzanne writes:

I just discovered your blog. Can you help us come up with a name for baby #2 (if it’s a girl)? We have a daughter named Allison. And if we have a boy he will be named Peter. But if we have another girl she may go nameless because we just can’t come up with something. Here is our list of “rules”.

1. Must be two syllables or more. A one syllable first name would just sound silly with our one syllable last name.
2. Cannot be a color (e.g. Amber, Violet, Ivory)
3. Should not begin with B. I am open to this but hubby is not.
4. Prefer not begin with A since we already have an Allison. This is still somewhat flexible. We just don’t want to end up with a housefull of “A” names.
5. Prefer something that has a built in nickname option (For example Allison –> Allie or Lillian –> Lilly or Katherine –> Kate, Katie, etc)
6. Needs to “mesh” with Allison. In general the style should be the same (i.e. nothing off-the-wall like Rainbow or Sunshine).
7. Cannot ever be confused for a boy’s name (e.g. Taylor, Samantha (Sam), Patricia (Pat), Carson). I understand this is a growing trend, we just don’t like it.
8. Should be relatively esy to spell and pronounce. It’s okay if there are some alternate speliings (Allison, Alison, Allyson) but we want a name that 95% of the time, reasonable adults would be able to spell with no trouble.

Some names we have considered are:

Heidi
Amanda
Megan
Whitney
Carolyn
Caroline

Names that are out (due to family or ex association are):

Jennifer
Katherine/Catherine
Donna
Karen
Kristin
Laura
Lauren
Julie
Angela

I’d love to get your readers help. Thanks so much!!

I like your idea about avoiding using the same first initial. This is especially wise early on: the Duggars did not at first intend to use J names for every child, but they thought, “Well, our first three are all J and won’t the fourth feel left out?” And then when they were expecting a fifth, they couldn’t let THAT one be the only one without a J. And look where that has got them.

It looks to me like you’ve already got a good list. My favorites are Heidi, Megan, and Caroline. I’ll add a few more choices:

Jenna
Holly
Lindsay
Laurel
Melanie

I think all five of those go well with Allison—although most of them fail the “clear nickname” guideline. And Lindsay might also fail the “easy spelling” guideline, since it can also be spelled Lindsey. Well, still! I’m adding them! Let’s take it to a vote! Poll is thataway —-> [poll closed; see results below]

That’s a lot of choices, now that I look at it. So why don’t you choose two or three favorites instead of just one, if you want to.

[Poll results:
Heidi: 22 votes, roughly 9%
Amanda: 2 votes, roughly 1%
Megan: 30 votes, roughly 13%
Whitney: 18 votes, roughly 8%
Carolyn: 7 votes, roughly 3%
Caroline: 53 votes, roughly 23%
Jenna: 27 votes, roughly 12%
Holly: 15 votes, roughly 6%
Lindsay: 10 votes, roughly 4%
Laurel: 23 votes, roughly 10%
Melanie: 25 votes, roughly 11%]

Name update 01-19-2010! Suzanne writes:

I’m late to respond but Baby #2 ended up being a BOY. So all of these great suggestions never got any use. Peter David was born July 1.

However, we are now expecing baby #3 and we are having the same issues all over again! I’m not sure my brain can take it!

Jen writes:

My husband and I are expecting our first baby in late June. We decided that we’d let our first child remain a surprise but I am having an incredible time planning for a name without knowing the sex. I’m a big planner, so it makes me nervous that my little one could arrive any day and I won’t have names picked out.

We have a few on our list. My husband and I have very common first names beginning with J and our last name is Woodward, so we want something a little unique but not crazy. I don’t have first OR middle names picked out but here are our favorites:

Boys: Asa, Everett, Ian
Girls: Peri (after my father, Perry), Norah, Iris, Imogen

I’m not 100% on any. I know this is a lot to ask, but HELP ME! Also, we have pets named Cash, Stella and Finn

Thanks a ton!

 
Well, you are starting out right by having the foresight to have an excellent surname. We discussed another Woodward baby back in February (that post has been updated with the chosen name, BTW!), and one thing we noticed was that practically EVERY first name sounded awesome with it. Let’s check your current candidates:

Asa Woodward
Everett Woodward
Ian Woodward

Peri Woodward
Norah Woodward
Iris Woodward
Imogen Woodward

My first picks from your lists are Ian and Imogen. I love both names, and they’re great with your surname. (If anyone is unfamiliar with the name Imogen, here’s the pronunciation: IH-moe-juhn.)

Really, I don’t even feel like finding more name choices: I like what you have. I would pick middle names from your lists, too: Ian Everett Woodward (IEW) and Imogen Norah Woodward (INW). I would like, actually, to choose Ian Perry Woodward or Imogen Perry Woodward (I would spell it your dad’s way), but that gives you I. P. for initials. Perhaps Everett Perry Woodward and Norah Perry Woodward. GOSH, Woodward is a great surname!

Let’s see what Mairzy thinks!

Ah, you planners. The world runs smoothly because of you, but it is hard to enjoy the adrenaline rush of a deadline, isn’t it? Good thing you have Swistle with her spreadsheets and analysis, and Mairzy with her deadline-induced inspiration, to help you!

To begin with, you should use the name Asa if it’s a boy. Why? Because August won’t let me use it, and I want somebody to. Of course, there is the danger than Asa will be mispronounced as Assa, making it difficult to live through the teen years.

Everett and Ian are both attractive names. Ian is the most common of the three, judging from the SS list and little boys I’ve met with that name. (I thought I’d discovered the name “Ian” all for myself when I was about thirteen, but that turns out not to have been the case.)

Other suggestions, taken from Cool Names for Babies by Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz:

August
Eamon
Elias
Ezra
Isaac
Isaiah/Isaias
Bennett
Declan
Giles (although the soft G would blend with y’all’s names)
Hugh
Seth
Titus

As for girls, on principle I’d say no to Peri, because Swistle and I both spend weekends at protest rallies waving signs that say “Hey Girls — Hands Off Boy Names!” and “RIP Avery (m).” That said, as far as taste goes, I think Peri is a cute little name for a girl. Maybe because it reminds me of Periwinkle, which is feminine. Not that I’m endorsing it, mind you.

My primary association with Imogen is Imogene Herdman from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, not an image that calls up sophistication. However, according to Cool Names, it’s in the Top 100 in England. What could be more sophisticated than European? Also, for what it’s worth, Imogen and Iris show up all through the book. Here are some other suggestions:

Bryony
Ilsa
Ida
Ivy
Adair
Eden
Eliza
Frances
Beatrice
Adeline
Silvia

For our children, we chose middle names that honored family or friends, or names important to our faith. Not knowing that much about your family and beliefs, my suggestion is that you can use one of the standard Middle Names in use these days: Grace, Joy, Rose; James, Michael, Scott, Blake. Or you could use one of the names you’ve already discussed, and pair it with one from the lists above: Iris Adair, Imogen Frances, Nora Adeline; Ian August, Everett Giles, Asa Bennett.

Maybe this will help your planner’s spirit get things all in order. Or it could be your first lesson in parenthood: forget flexible, be fluid! Best wishes!

 
Thanks, Mairzy! Let’s take it to a vote in the poll at right [poll closed; see below]. We have a lot of names in this post, so I had to be arbitrary to keep the poll reasonable: I used the parents’ list plus my favorites from Mairzy’s list. And because there ARE so many choices, you may need to do a write-in down there in the comment section—especially if you want to play around with middle names.

SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT RULES: Because we don’t know if the baby is a boy or a girl, please choose your favorite boy name AND your favorite girl name.

[Poll results:

Boy names
Asa: 25 votes, roughly 12%
Everett: 54 votes, roughly 26%
Ian: 49 votes, roughly 24%
Isaac: 32 votes, roughly 16%
Bennett: 29 votes, roughly 14%
Elias: 16 votes, roughly 8%

Girl names
Peri: 21 votes, roughly 10%
Norah: 64 votes, roughly 32%
Iris: 28 votes, roughly 14%
Imogen: 39 votes, roughly 19%
Bryony: 14 votes, roughly 7%
Eliza: 35 votes, roughly 17%]

 
Follow-up! Jen writes:

Hi Swistle!

Well, the baby arrived a full 18 days earlier than expected! We’re now the proud parents of a beautiful little girl – Nora Perry Woodward. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and help – we have a great list for the next one!

Jen

Melissa writes:

I have a baby boy due in mid-July. For the entirety of my pregnancy we have referred to him as Baby 2.0.

I have a three-year-old son named Cooper. What my husband and I love about Cooper’s name is that it’s (a) has a family connection, (b) is a last-name as a first-name, and (c) doesn’t have a default nickname (like Matt for Matthew or Tom for Thomas).

There are many last-name as first-names that my husband and I like, such as Jackson or Benson. Our last name is Gibson, though … so most anything ending in -son sounds a bit cartoonish. We also find names ending in -on, such as Ashton, or even -n, such as Gavin, a bit harsh when combined with our last name. This obviously eliminates so many great names.

We’ve researched both sides of our family for another acceptable family name and have come up with nothing. We feel Cooper’s names have pretty well covered any “family obligation,” so we don’t have to consider that in naming Baby 2.0.

We’re currently considering Sawyer. It goes well with Cooper, is the last-name as a first-name, has literary connections, and shares its first letter with my mother-in-law’s name (while Cooper shares its first letter with my mother’s name). However, we just don’t seem to be feeling it.

We also like Maxwell. It’s one of my husband’s best friend’s middle names. Joaquin Phoenix, one of my favorite actors, also played a character named Maxwell California (from 8 mm, a very dark film, but the character wasn’t dark). I don’t mind the default nickname, Max. My only real hesitation with Max is that Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera recently named their sons Max. And I think Max Gibson sounds a bit odd … can’t put my finger on it, though.

The middle name will likely be Pate – it’s my husband’s middle name and his mother’s middle name. Again, it’s not something we have to use. Other possibilities for middle names: Benson (a friend’s last name) or Yaboa (a friend’s middle name, it’s of African decent and pronounced just as it looks YA-BO-A). The more “common” the first name, the more creative we’ll be with the middle name. California is also a contender (my husband is from SoCal), and I love the combination of Maxwell California.

I’m looking for more name suggestions and perhaps some reassurance on the name Maxwell. I’m really hoping he arrives and looks “just like a _____.” But I want to be prepared if that doesn’t happen!

So, there it is. I really love your opinions and the comments from your readers. As a mom with a nameless baby, reading your blog has been a wonderful, educational distraction during my pregnancy.

Okay! *brisk clap* So it sounds like we want to concentrate on surname names here. I think Sawyer is a great choice: the first time I heard it on a baby, I immediately thought “OMG GREAT NAME.” It is terrible with my own surname, but it’s great with yours. (Should we use the word “great” again? GREAT!)

I agree with you that there is something I can’t put a finger on about the name Max Gibson. Is it maybe just too much like Mel Gibson? It doesn’t sound the same, but it’s three letters starting with M and maybe that’s what does it. Or maybe it blends too well and turns into something like Mack Skibson. Still, it belongs in the poll.

I’m curious as always to know what The Baby Name Wizard suggests as sibling names. For Cooper, the book suggests Carter, Brody, Addison, Walker, Davis. Well. Addison is still in the Top 1000 for boys, but it’s #11 for girls so I wouldn’t touch it with an 11-foot pole for boys anymore. Carter is a great name, but it repeats not only the C but also the -er, and I think you’re completely right about avoiding that. Walker, too, repeats the -er. Brody works, and so does Davis. Brody Gibson. Davis Gibson. Nice!

Let’s find some more options.

You can’t get much more surnamey than the name Smith, and I think it’s adorable. Picture a little toddler with sticky-up hair. Smith! It’s like Seth, but with more impact. And I like the repeating short-i sound: Smith Gibson.

Would Everett be to your tastes? It’s one of my favorite surname names. It doesn’t have any tempting nicknames, and I like it with Cooper. Everett Gibson.

Wesley is another good one: a long-standing surname name without the trendy feeling of some of the more recent surname names. I love the nickname Wes. Wesley Gibson.

So here’s our list of possibilities:

Sawyer Gibson; Cooper and Sawyer
Maxwell Gibson; Cooper and Maxwell
Brody Gibson; Cooper and Brody
Davis Gibson; Cooper and Davis
Smith Gibson; Cooper and Smith
Everett Gibson; Cooper and Everett
Wesley Gibson; Cooper and Wesley

Vote in the poll over to the right [poll closed; see below], and/or put other suggestions in the comment section.

[Poll results:
Sawyer: 47 votes, roughly 26%
Maxwell: 4 votes, roughly 2%
Brody: 19 votes, roughly 10%
Davis: 23 votes, roughly 13%
Smith: 35 votes, roughly 19%
Everett: 25 votes, roughly 14%
Wesley: 28 votes, roughly 15%]

[Name Update! Melissa writes:

My little guy was due on July 18 – we were consider Sawyer or Maxwell at the time. Well, he was born on July 4! Happy and healthy at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and head full of light brown hair.

After reading the comments and seeing the poll, we still just weren’t feeling it. So, I told my husband: Listen, I picked Cooper’s first name and that worked out, so I’m just going to pick something and you’re going to agree. At that moment, a Toyota Camry commercial came on and I said, “Camden.” We both liked it instantly.

Camden and Cooper are quite a bit matchier than we wanted, but we’re not sure we’ll have a third. We figured we’d use it and should a third come along, well, we’ll deal with that then. We also figured, we both loved Cooper, why wouldn’t we love a similar name? Camden is on the softer side, is a last name, isn’t popular (in the 200s on the SSA site), and is similar enough to Caden and Cameron that it’s not too weird. Also, Camden means “winding river” which I thought was so peaceful.

For his middle name, we went with Jack. I know there’s been quite a bit of discussion on the blog about Jack as a middle name, but I couldn’t resist. Camden Jack … reminds me of a nature show host or a pirate. I love Animal Planet and my three year old loves pirates, so we’re all happy!

Thank you!
Melissa

Congratulations!

Stacey writes:

Hi Swistle! My name is Stacey and we just recently found out we are having a baby boy! Since the start of this pregnancy we have only talked about 3 boy names: Lucas, William and Michael.

Recently our neighbors found out they are also having a boy and naming him William because in their family it’s tradition and he will be a third. Understandable.

And even more recently some friends of ours had a baby boy and named him William.

This gets my husband thinking we are not allowed to use the name “William”. (FYI, we would call him Will)

We are not super close with either of these couples. I personally feel if it was an uncommon name then yes, it would seem odd but William is such a classic name that I don’t see it as we are copying, per se. Also, yes we do have couples that we are VERY close too, and in that case I would probably avoid it because our children would be around each other often, but I don’t see that happening with these other couples I mentioned.

What is your opinion on this?

We both like the name Michael, which would be after my brother but we have also thought we would save that name if we have a second boy someday UNLESS this baby pops out and resembles him, then we might change our minds.

I am not feeling the name Lucas. I don’t hate it but it’s just not IT for me.

Any thoughts?

I’m totally with you on the William issue: if the name were Oswald, and your neighbors used it and then some friends of yours used it, I’d say maybe you should reconsider—not because they have exclusive rights to the name, but just because it would be getting pretty silly to have a third Oswald right in a row.

But in the case of a name such as William, I don’t think some mild duplication among acquaintances is going to be a problem. It’s a terrific name: classic, long roots, and I like the nickname Will. I seriously think it’s one of the best boy names. (You might be thinking, “Um, duh, it’s your son’s name”—but it’s only his pseudonym.)

Michael is another truly terrific candidate. It’s been in the top ten forever, and yet there are no Michaels in any of my kids’ classes. And again: classic, long roots, and great nickname. I really don’t think you can go wrong with either William or Michael.

With Lucas, the only thing wrong with it is that you’re not feeling it. I had that same experience with some of the names Paul and I considered for our kids: the name was great in every way—except that it didn’t feel like “My Baby.” It felt like a great name for somebody ELSE’S baby.

Tell your husband not to be silly: use William. And next time, use Michael. What great sibling names!

[Update! Stacey writes: “He arrived August 1st, 7lbs 10 oz and we went with the name Lucas Robert. Initially I wasn’t feeling it but the closer it got the more I liked the name and now I can’t imagine him any thing other than a Luke. Thanks for your help!”]

Queen writes:

Here’s a naming fiend question: What do you think of matching twin names? Evil? OK, if not carried too far? (We will NOT be going for the anagram names Roland and Arnold, for instance. Or rhyming. Gag.)

Baby B is going to be Lincoln (Lincoln Theodore if he is in fact the only boy) and that’s that. For Baby A, assuming her to be a her and not a sneaky boy, we are wavering between Lillian Ruth and Suzanna Ruth. Both of them mean approximately the same thing and would be chosen in honor of the same family members.

I like Lillian/Lilly a little better (my grandmother’s first name is Lillie) even though it is so very popular right now. (The same thing happened to Abigail. I can’t help it if other people have good taste!) Also, Link and Lilly sounds rather cute together.

On the other hand, I think my husband prefers Suzanna slightly. There is no doubt that it would be handy to have a separate first initial to differentiate things. We would use the nickname Zuzu until she got old enough to object, and after that I rather fancy Zanna and hope she does, too. I abhor Suzy or anything that sounds like it, which makes me a tad nervous about using this name.

If Baby A is a boy after all, he will probably be Emmett (Another last name! Gasp! But a traditional usage as a first name. Also it means “truth” in Hebrew.)

Thoughts?

Ooooo, TWIN names! I found it both highly fun and highly stressful to name my twins. Matching twin names (Timmy and Tommy, Sharon and Karen, Paul and Paula) have been out of style since Timmy and Sharon and Paula were on the list of hot baby names. You do still hear of people doing it, of course, but the current prevailing attitude is Twin Names Should Not Match.

Still, I was hoping for some slight matchiness: same first initial, maybe, or at least same syllables or same number of letters! SOMEthing! The pseudonyms I use for them (Elizabeth and Edward) are misleading, because we ended up with zero matchiness of any kind: the girl name we liked best and the boy name we liked best didn’t have anything in common, and we weren’t willing to give up either name, so we gave up on the matchiness instead. Or perhaps “coordination” would be a more appropriate word: we weren’t trying to MATCH so much as coordinate.

Even though I still think wistfully of alliteration, I do think it’s a good twin-naming exercise to think of the twins arriving as singletons instead of together: which name would you choose for the first baby, born on his or her own, and then what name for the second baby, born a couple of years after that? If you had a son named Lincoln already, what would you name his sister?

As you point out, it is very handy indeed to have different initials: for the baby born after the twins, I leaned heavily toward any name candidate with a yet-unused initial.

If you do go with Lincoln and Lillian, I notice that “Linc and Lilly” sounds like “Lincoln Lilly.” I’d switch the order to “Lilly and Linc”—but that sounds like “Lillian Linc”!

Let’s ask Mairzy!

Although I’ve always actively hoped against having twins, I have to say, I envy you (and Swistle) the fun of twin-naming! This is my chance to have a bit of the fun without actually having two babies at once. (Note: the Queen and I are friends, but I don’t live close enough to babysit… which means I can offer with great abandon because she can’t take me up on it.)

My opinion of twin names — a completely unauthorized opinion but when did that ever matter? — is that they should go together but not match. Tenleigh and George, for instance, do not go together. Suzanna and Lincoln go together very well, but aren’t a package deal. Lincoln and Lillian edge over the package-deal line.

Lincoln is a cool name, and Link a cool nickname. Also, Link and Lilly (I like the double-L spelling) is very cute. But, coolness and cuteness aside, I think you’ll drive yourself crazy with those names. There is every possibility that you’ll refer to your children as “Lill and Linky.” And then there’s the Repeating Initial trap. In my family, none of us has matching or rhyming names. But some of us (my son and I, my husband and daughter) have the same first initial. Labeling things has become a certified headache. If there are going to be more than four people in the household, Avoid Repeating First Letters! Then again, I love my children’s names so much that I don’t know which one I’d change. Hm. Maybe I’d change mine and my husband’s.

Suzanna is a lovely name. I do prefer the Susannah spelling — it’s softer — but Suzanna is legitimate. Plus, you can hope to use Zanna with that spelling. (What sixteen-year-old girl wouldn’t want a cool name beginning with Z?) Nowadays, people don’t automatically jump to nicknames like previous generations did; I don’t think you have to worry about “Suzy.”

If Suzanna turns out to be a sneaky boy… I love last-names-as-first-names. My own son’s name is a surname, although it’s been used as a first name long enough that you don’t immediately realize it. But that’s the type of name I always find myself picking out: one of the top contenders on our boy list is Reid. And it’s an age-old tradition, not necessarily trendy and preppy. As for Emmett… we not only considered Emmett for a boy, but we went a step beyond and were going to use the actual Hebrew word for truth, Emeth. (I’m glad now that Baby turned out to be a girl, because I think we’d have regretted stepping out quite that far.). Emmett is a great name, one of the few gentlemanly boy names left not co-opted by girls (see: Avery, Reese, Vaughn). A word of caution: Emmett is up-and-coming popular. But that shouldn’t discredit such a good name (she says without any trace of bias, having just admitted that she was going to use a form of the name for one of her own children).

To sum up, I like Lincoln and Suzanna best; and if the situation warrants it, Emmett and Lincoln would make a good pair.

And call me any time you need a babysitter!

Thanks, Mairzy!

Let’s make a poll [poll closed; see below] that assumes Lincoln is the only boy, and let’s have a vote on the name for the girl twin: Lillian (Lillian and Lincoln, Lilly and Linc, matching initials), or Suzanna (Suzanna and Lincoln, Zuzu and Linc, non-matching initials).

But even more interesting, I think, would be your thoughts on twin names. What would you do, if you had twins to name? Would you match a lot? a little? not at all? If you used my method of pretending you were naming the babies individually, would you hope for matchiness, or hope for none?

[Poll results:
Lincoln and Suzanna: 64 votes, roughly 63%
Lincoln and Lillian: 37 votes, roughly 37%]

[

Update!

Mairzy writes:
Queen asked me to send an update for her, seeing as she’s now home with four children ages 4 and under. As she put it, “…Brain fog is getting pretty serious around here. Actually they’re both very good babies and either one would be a piece of cake solo. But not being able to part with either, I shall just have to figure out both at once.”

So here are the new arrivals, born July 9:

Suzanna Ruth
7lbs, 12oz; 20.5 in

Lincoln Theodore
6lbs, 15oz; 20 in]

Anne writes:

I am having a terrible time coming up with a name for girl #2, due to arrive in June. My first baby’s name is Esme, and I love, love, love this name to pieces. It seems impossible to come up with another girl’s name that seems as special to me and resonates as much.

My criteria are: It has to be uncommon, but not “made up.” It must go with a last name, two syllables, Erdos, pronounced “AIR-dose” (with emphasis on the first syllable–so first names with the emphasis on the last syllable are out, as they make the two names together sound awkward). I don’t want cutesy, but I do want feminine.

Anyway–my top choice right now is Astrid. What do you think? Middle name will be McManaway (family name on my side, and non-negotiable). I’m not too concerned about the flow of the first name with the middle name, since it won’t be spoken aloud very often. The problem is, I like Astrid, but I don’t LOVE it the way I love Esme. Other thoughts I have had were Greer (but doesn’t go with the last name), Henrietta (which I think is adorable, but I fear would not be enjoyed by the baby, who might think it’s ugly and grandma), Luella (which my husband hates), Arden (but waaaay too trendy sounding), Odile (but emphasis on the wrong syllable), Delphine (same), Elodie (love, but hard to say in way that doesn’t sound either too French and snotty or too American and like “melody”), Clementine (but I think people would think this was a joke).

Anyway, any guidance would be much appreciated–I am spending far too much of my time obsessing over this, and really need to get back to work!

I, too, am a fan of the name Henrietta. I’m not quite ready to use it on a baby of my own, but I’d be thrilled if someone else did. I think its time is coming—perhaps when everyone is done with Emma and Violet. The nicknames are darling: Henrie, Hennie, Hen, Ettie. People generally love long girly names with short boyish nicknames (Samantha/Sam, Alexandra/Alex), so why not Henrietta/Henry? Well, you and me and the little bird agree. Maybe we’ll have granddaughters with that name.

Hey, since we agree on Henrietta, I wonder if you’d like another of my favorites that gets dissed as too old-ladyish: Millicent. I think it’s beautiful. I think it’s great with Esme, too: Esme and Millicent. Also, don’t you think people have SOME CHEEK calling names “too old-ladyish” while they continue to say they like “old-fashioned” names like Emma and Violet? ME TOO!

I turned to the name Esme in The Baby Name Wizard to find sister names, and look! Sister names: Elodie, Clio, Ivy, Noa, Fleur. Elodie is the first one! I love the name Elodie and I don’t think it sounds snotty—but then, I pronounce it like Melody without the M. Cute monogram, too: EME.

(I notice, saying these possibilities aloud, that your surname is wily: it combines with first names. Elo-dee-air-dos sounds like one long word—perhaps a vacation destination. So does Astri-dare-dos.)

I’m going to keep looking at sister names in The Baby Name Wizard:

Astrid: Sigrid, Dagmar, Signe, Greta, Margit
Henrietta: Winifred, Cordelia, Beatrice, Matilda, Wilhelmina
Elodie: Esme, Amelie, Sabine, Cecily, Ariane
Clementine: Millicent, Violette, Henrietta, Marguerite, Eloise

Any of those strike your fancy? Look, there’s Millicent! It’s like a SIGN!

Or what about:

Arwen (AME)
Linden (LME)
Ariadne (AME)
Larkin (LME)
Carsten (CME)
Linnea (LME)
Amabel (AME)
Lorelei (LME)
Hazel (HME)

What does everyone else think about a sister for Esme? Vote in the poll at right [poll closed; see below], and/or leave more suggestions in the comments.

[Poll results:
Henrietta: 16 votes; roughly 11%
Millicent: 16 votes, roughly 11%
Elodie: 49 votes, roughly 33%
Astrid: 9 votes, roughly 6%
Arwen: 6 votes, roughly 4%
Linden: 4 votes, roughly 3%
Ariadne: 5 votes, roughly 3%
Larkin: 4 votes, roughly 3%
Linnea: 14 votes, roughly 9%
Lorelei: 17 votes, roughly 11%
Hazel: 9 votes, roughly 6%]

[Updated! Anne writes:

As promised, here’s the verdict: We named our baby, born June 4, Astrid. I was thisclose to choosing Elodie, having consulted with a French friend and everything, who assured me it was pronounced more “Eh-lo-dee” as opposed to “Ay-lo-dee”, which almost got me there, but in the end it was just too similar to Melody, a name I very much do not like. Anyway, now that she is an Astrid it seems to suit her very well and I can’t imagine anything else, though I keep reading sites like these because I find the whole process of naming one’s children to be endlessly fascinating!

Congratulations!]