Erika writes:

My husband and I are having a difficult time thinking of a unique baby boy name. Our boy is due August 2nd and he will be our first child. We fell in love with Aiden out of the Baby Name Wizard, that is, until I started doing searches on it and found it to be the most popular name on a lot of the sites. I don’t want my son to have to compete with 10 other Aidens in his classroom so we were looking for something more unique. I started perusing your site and came across Aidrick, which we absolutely fell in love with as soon as I said it. No other name has done that for us besides Aiden. The hard part now is that we are trying to find a middle name for him. We were thinking Aidrick James Smith, but to me it sounds like a unique name paired with two common names and I didn’t like that. My husband wants a J middle name so he could call him AJ. Do you have any suggestions on a not-so-common J name that would flow nicely? And by the way, thank you so much for suggesting Aidric on your site, I will definitely be sleeping better tonight! :)

Aidrick Jace Smith
Aidrick Jagger Smith
Aidrick Jameson Smith
Aidrick Janson Smith
Aidrick Jared Smith
Aidrick Jaron Smith
Aidrick Jasper Smith
Aidrick Jefferson Smith
Aidrick Jerome Smith
Aidrick Joel Smith
Aidrick Jude Smith
Aidrick Judson Smith
Aidrick Julian Smith

I especially like to choose a middle name that’s a name I love but for whatever reason wouldn’t use as a first name. So I like Aidrick Jasper Smith, because Jasper is a Twilight name but was also on my list pre-Twilight; I don’t want to use it as a first name anymore, but love it as a middle name. Or Jude: it doesn’t sound like My Baby as a first name, but it’s great as a middle name. For you, maybe you wouldn’t want to use Jefferson as a first name, since it’s so surnamey and so is Smith, but it would be a great middle name. Or Jace blends too much with the S in Smith to be a first name (sounds like Jay Smith), but works fine as a middle name.

Name update 07-20-2010! Ericka writes:

Thank you for getting back to me! We actually decided on Aidrick Jett Smith. I put a couple comments on that entry. Thank you so much for helping us find Aidrick!

Steph writes:

My husband and I are pregnant with our first child together, due July 27th, and we do not know the gender.

This is the second marriage for both of us, and we have three other children. My son and daughter, Christopher Zachary (10), and Emily Rose (8), and my stepdaughter Amanda Morgan (11).

I looked it up, and all of our children’s names are in the Top 20 for their respective birth years. They have all gone through elementary school being Chris C., Emily C., and Amanda L., something I didn’t think through when I was pregnant my first two times around, and something I really want to avoid now. My name preferences have changed so much since then, as have my husband’s.

Some names on our list now include (in order of how much we like them)

Kalia
Lyra
Britta
Honor
Hazel
Bree
Honor
Valentina
Lyla
Piper
Willow
Hollis
Sage
Lola
Myla
Charissa (Cuh-riss-uh)
Lana
Vera

Lian
Cedric
Blaise
Everett
Sawyer
Trace
Griffith
Keane
Asher
Tad
Hudson
Wyatt
Cory

These are just some names we have thought of, not our final list of names to choose from. We like all these names, but none stand out as the right name for our baby. That’s where we’re hoping you can help.

Problem one: all the names we like are very different styles, so we can’t really narrow down on one and find more names like that to eventually find the perfect name.

Problem two: they’re all very different from our children’s names, and as there is such a big age gap, the kids will be the baby’s half siblings, and the baby already has a different last name than Chris and Emily (the last name he/she will have is Lucas, by the way), we feel like with such a different style of name there will be too much separation? Do you think so?

So we’re hoping you can help us find a name that’s not very popular and has the same style as the names we’ve mentioned, but still works with Chris, Emily, and Amanda.

Thanks!

Blended families raise so many interesting issues, as do age gaps. Two things you have going for you: the children from the first two families have such very compatible names, and you and your husband have such similar tastes now. One thing you have going against you: again, that the children from the first two families have such very compatible names. If you had, say, Margaret Elizabeth and Edmund John, and he had, say, Starshine Tulip, we would just throw in the towel at this point and tell you to pick ANY name because NO name is going to join these names in a seamless way. Instead, we have three children whose names go BEAUTIFULLY together, which makes it trickier to change styles at this point.

But not at all impossible: for one thing, because of the change in family situation, NOBODY is going to be thinking, “Huh, THAT’S weird, wonder why they just changed styles on a dime like that?”

A name that comes to mind for a girl is Briony. It can be pronounced like the name Brian with an ee-sound on the end or it can be prounounced like BREE-uh-nee, and I prefer BREE-uh-nee. I think Amanda, Christopher, Emily, and Briony goes just fine, and Briony is similar to Bree on your list.

For a boy, I wonder if you’d like Milo? Amanda, Christopher, Emily, and Milo.

Or Keegan: Amanda, Christopher, Emily, and Keegan.

You know, I just had another idea. It’s probably a TERRIBLE idea. But…I wonder if you could enlist the help of the first three children in choosing a name for the fourth? If nothing else, this would let you explain the different style in a SUPER SWEET way. The problem, of course, being that the children might only like names you don’t like, and vice versa. And I’m remembering how my two older children icked and ucked every! single! name! mentioned while we were trying to name the younger three. Maybe forget I said anything.

All right, I’m going to turn this over to the collective mind now—this is such a hard one!

Alicia writes:

I have a question about middle name etiquette.
We had our first son November 2007, and named him Br0wen M0ntieth Bink1e. The reason his middle name is “M0nteith” is because it was my husbands Grandmothers maiden name, which was then passed onto my husbands father as a middle name, which was then passed on to my husband as his middle name. So, we only found it fit to keep the honour and tradition going and use it as our son’s middle name. We are soon due with our 2nd son (July 23/10) and we weren’t sure if we should give him the same middle name (M0nteith) since he is also a “Bink1e” boy, or if we should go another route and make his middle name after my father – which would be Michael?
I would LOVE to hear what you think of this particular situation.

Is there family protocol you can follow? That is, does your husband’s father have any brothers and/or does your husband have any brothers, and if so, did those brothers get the same middle name?

If there’s no precedent to follow, I suggest thinking about the precedent you’ll be setting. Of course none of your descendants will HAVE to do it the same way, but with three generations doing it so far, there will be some not-insignificant pressure to continue it. It seems to me that it’s best to make the tradition LIGHT, so that no one gets overwhelmed and says “Let’s just forget the whole thing!” In which case I recommend making the tradition that the firstborn son gets the middle name M0nteith, and that’s all.

I like your idea of using another family name as the middle name: that doesn’t put any pressure to continue it, especially since it isn’t parallel to the other tradition (that is, you’re not now going to use the mother’s grandmother’s maiden name), but it gives each child a significant family-meaning name.

What does everyone else think?

Ling writes:

Our second daughter is due on July 20th and we can’t agree on a first name. Our last name sounds like Choy. First daughter is Audrey. We want to avoid names in the top 30. We also want a name with a great meaning since Audrey means Noble Strength. We both make a list and pretty much cross out each other choices. The middle name will be Ray.

Name on husband’s list:
Samantha (I don’t like this name with our last name (Sam Choy) plus it is a top 20 name)
Allison (I like the name but find it too popular)
Jasmine (I don’t like the name plus I want to avoid naming my daughter after one of the princess.)
Charlene (The name was on my list too but not too fond of it anymore)
Marisa (I am ok with this name but not sure it is the name)
Natalie (I don’t like this name)
Aurora (I don’t like this name plus I know our parents will butcher the pronunciation of this name…too many r)
Amanda (I don’t like the nickname Mandy plus I had a dog name Mandy.)
Rebecca (I don’t like the nickname Becky)

Name on my list:
Noelle (husband doesn’t like)
Cameron (husband doesn’t like)
Alexandria (husband is ok with the name)
Elsa (husband doesn’t like)
Charlotte (husband doesn’t like)
Erin (husband doesn’t like)
Valerie (husband is ok with the name but I don’t think this is the name now that I have time to think about it some more)
Josephine (I like the nickname Jo Jo or Joise however find the name itself too old fashion)
Fiona (Princess in Shrek)
Evelyn (don’t like the meaning of this name plus it is too popular…I think?)
Bethany (I don’t like the nickname Beth)

I also like Elizabeth because it is a classic name with cute nicknames but it is too popular. If it is not too much to ask, a name that goes with Audrey will be a bonus.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Possibilities:

Adelaide (“noble and serene”)
Beatrix (“blessed; happy; bringer of joy”)
Bridget (“strong,” “strength, power”)
Clara (“clear, bright,” “bright, famous”)
Eliza (“pledged to God,” “consecrated to God”)
Eloise (“famous warrior”)
Felicity (“luck, good fortune,” “fortunate, happy”
Heidi (“noble and serene”)
Lindsey (“camp near the sea,” “island of linden trees”)
Meredith (“protector of the sea,” “great ruler,” “lord”)
Minerva (“wisdom,” “wise”)
Susanna (“lily,” “rose”)

(All name definitions taken from 100,000+ Baby Names, The Oxford Dictionary of First Names, and The Baby Name Bible.)

I put Eliza on the list because you like Elizabeth, but I think the Audrey Hepburn / Eliza Doolittle connection could be an issue. Not a BIG issue, but the kind of thing I like to have thought of beforehand.

I wasn’t sure if you’d be keen on God-related meanings or not. Or, like, WARRIORS. Why are so many meanings about (1) God, (2) war, and (3) trees?

Julie writes:

My husband and I are pregnant with a baby girl due July 23rd. We were told we were pregnant with a boy, and were all set with our name – Neal Conor (last name Wagenson). But about a month and a half ago our doctor informed us that there had been a mistake and we were actually having a girl!

Since then, we have been going crazy with lists, but no name has really stood out to us. I’m worried that we will never find a name and our little girl will either have a name we don’t really like or end up being Neal! Please help!

We have two other children

Nora June (given name Eleanor, but I don’t think we’ve ever called her that)
Tess Charlotte

Here is a selection of our extensive list…. all the names are pretty much the same style, so these are the ones we like most from it.

Olivia/Livvy
Faith
Ella
Margot
Katia
Kira
Eva
Ava
Cora
Madeleine
Hannah
Caroline
Abigail
Kate
Annie
Elissa
Violet
Sophie
Lydia
Grace
Georgia
Molly

The names are all fine, but none stick out to us as THE name. I feel like they’ve all got a similar feel that would fit with Nora and Tess, but they are all so much more popular, and while we don’t want that, we can’t seem to come up with names that aren’t that we like.

We will most likely have another child, and if he is a boy, he will be Neal Conor.

Please help us! We are obviously looking in the wrong place, so hopefully you can set us on track so we can find the right name!

Thanks so much!

Natalie writes:

I was hoping you could help us out with a sibling name for our 2-year-old, Isabella Marie.

We are having a baby girl in mid July and this will be our second child. My favorite names are Vivienne and Jocelyn, however my husband dislikes Vivienne. The middle name is going to be Diane after her paternal Grandmother. Isabella’s middle name, Marie, came from my mother’s middle name. I am looking for a classic, beautiful, strong female name. My first name is Natalie and my husband is Jason. Our last name is Gottwals, which is German. I am Irish and German and my husband is German not that we are looking exclusively for a name that fits our heritage, I just wanted to share that info with you! Baby Gottwals due date is July 29 but I will have a C-section, so she will be here July 22. Please help!

I think the name Olivia is strong, classic, and beautiful, and I think it’s a great sister name for Isabella: similar in style, but not at all matchy. I feel the same about the name Sophia: strong/classic/beautiful/similar/non-matchy. Olivia Diane Gottwals; Sophia Diane Gottwals.

Oh, and Angelica! I always think of Anjelica Huston. Isabella and Angelica is so nice. Angelica Diane Gottwals.

A step fully in the direction of Germany would be Wilhelmina. This is one of the names on my own list (though I’d spell it Willemina, which is the version used in my Dutch family tree), and I think it’s soooooo pretty. Cute nicknames, too: Willa or Mina, or I can picture her going by Will or Wills in high school. Wilhelmina Diane Gottwals. But maybe too unusual to pair with a name as popular as Isabella.

Still German but much more familiar: Anneliese. That’s how I’d spell it, too: two Ns, followed by an E not an A. I like to avoid certain situations. Anneliese Diane Gottwals.

More possibilities:

Abigail Diane Gottwals
Amelia Diane Gottwals
Charlotte Diane Gottwals
Genevieve Diane Gottwals
Madeleine Diane Gottwals
Violet Diane Gottwals

Heidi writes:

I’ve had a heck of a time trying to come up with a name for our second daughter (due July 16). My first daughter also is an Addison (Addison Makayla Peters) and we call her Addy. I saw the post about Baby Hopes and the name Emerson really stuck out to me, except maybe spelling it Emersyn. So far, that’s the closest we could come to agreeing on a name. The reason I like it so much is the nickname, Emmy. Our choices for a middle name are narrowed down to McKenna (after her grandfather, Ken) or Nicole (my middle name). Is Emersyn to matchy-match with Addison? I’m not sure if we’re done with just 2, so if we had another baby I’m thinking that changing the ending to “yn” would open up more of the “n” ending names, IF our third is a girl. We’re also leaning more towards Emersyn Nicole so that it’s not too matchy and we would be stuck to come up with a “Mc” sounding name IF we had another girl. I’m open to other suggestions for names, specifically those that might get me to Emmy, because I think I’ve fallen in love with that! Other names we’ve considered are Riley (but no good NN), Sidney, Kinley, and Hayden.

 
Names to get the nickname Emmy:

Ember
Emelia
Emerin
Emlyn
Emma
Emmeline
Emerson/Emersyn
Emily

I see what you mean about avoiding the problem of feeling obligated to continue the son/Mc name structure. Emerin might be the perfect name for that: very similar to Emerson, but without the -son ending—and it gives you the Emmy nickname you’re looking for. You could spell it Emeryn if you preferred. Emeryn McKenna is a little heavy on repeating sounds (lots of E, M, and N), but not so much that it’s out of the running, and Emeryn Nicole is nice too. Or perhaps Emerin McKenzie for more sound variety.

Emily writes:

My husband and I are having our second baby in the middle of July. We don’t know what we are having. Our first child is Evangeline Mae. It took us many months and many discarded names to decide on this one. I love elegant, older names for a girl and I would strongly prefer a name with good nicknames. Male or female, we do not want a name that is too popular or too “out there.” We have pretty much decided on Porter West for a boy. I always wanted to name my kids after jazz musicians. Once Cole became so popular, it fell off my list. That’s where I came up with Porter (Cole Porter). The only real suggestion my husband has made for a girl is Nora. It’s his name spelled backwards and he has been fighting for it since I was pregnant with Evie. I don’t hate the name, I’m just not sure I want to use it. I love the name Isabel. Though it is a less common spelling, it is a VERY common name. I would LOVE to use it, but I don’t want “her” to be just another Linda or Stacey. I also love Vivienne and Charlotte. Both are either too popular or soon to be. I love Isla, but I worry it is the next Lila or Lola. Our last name is Carroll. We don’t want any names that start or end with a hard K sound. Please help!

Your husband likes the name Nora, and you like elegant older names with good nicknames, so I suggest Eleanora or Eleanor, with the nickname Nora.

You love Isabel but it’s too common for you to want to use it, so I suggest Isadora. It’s beautiful, VERY unusual, and it has good nicknames (Izzy, Dorrie, maybe Zora or Sadie). Evangeline and Isadora is a GREAT sister set. I’d thought Isadora might increase in popularity as parents looked for alternatives to Isabel, but so far I haven’t heard it ANYWHERE. I wish I could see if the popularity had shifted at all, but it’s not in the Top 1000 baby names (source: Social Security Administration), so if it’s moved from, say, #3000 to #2000, we wouldn’t know. But again, I haven’t heard it at ALL, not even on people’s possibilities lists.

If you’re considering jazz musicians, here’s a few possibilities from Wikipedia’s handy list:

Adderley (Addy, Lee)
Alice
Amina (Amy, Mina, Minnie)
Calloway (Callie)—but starts with hard-C sound
Ellington (Ellie)
Florin (Florrie)
Ginger (Ginnie, Gigi)
Harriott (Hattie, Ettie)
Sage
Vivien (Viv, Vivi)—the popularity might be balanced by the jazz connection

None of those seem right with Evangeline, though Ginger and Alice would both be good with Porter. My vote is with Isadora.

Claire writes:

Hello!

I am due with a baby girl on June 30th. We’ve already decided her name will be Elizabeth. We simply LOVE the name. That’s not the problem.
The problem is giving her a nickname. At home, she will be Elizabeth. However, she’s due in only 3 weeks and my father-in-law is already calling her “Lizzie” or “Liz!” This is the one nickname I do NOT want for my child. I just don’t like the sound and it’s too common. I also don’t like “Beth” for the same reason.
I think our only option here is to choose a nickname WE like and use it so that THAT is the nickname people will use. If the nickname we use right from the beginning sticks, then hopefully she will not be a Liz or Lizzie.

So my question: What nickname to choose?

I’m drawn to Ellie, Elle, or Ella. However, I see the name Ella is already a top 20 name. I already gave my daughter a top 10 name, so I want her nickname to be different at least! Most little Elizabeth’s I know these days are going by Ellie or Elle. Plus, there are going to be SO many little “Bellas” since Isabella is such a popular name. Elle, Ella, and Ellie are too close. Plus, I already know a baby Elizabeth who is being called Ellie who will eventually be in my daughter’s class.

I thought “Bess” was cute. But will she get the “Bessie the Cow” teasing? Same thing with “Betsy.” Will she get “Betsy Wetsy” teasing?

What do you think? My sister thinks Buffy is cute, but I’m not sure about that.

I want a nickname that isn’t too common, yet won’t incite any teasing. I want it to sound fresh and not overused like Lisa. Not old fashioned like Betty.

I thought you’d be a great person to ask! Plus, I see you have a daughter Elizabeth so you probably have great incite into the “nicknames for Elizabeths” issue!

Thank you!

My Elizabeth is a pseudonym, but do you know WHY it is a pseudonym and not her actual name? BECAUSE OF THE NICKNAME PROBLEM! So I feel you, sister.

Like you, my favorite nickname for Elizabeth is NO nickname. And on one hand, it’s easier to do that now than when we were children and every Elizabeth was a Beth or a Liz—but on the other hand, I didn’t want my daughter growing up and choosing FOR HERSELF one of the nicknames I disliked, and there were many I disliked, so finally we gave up on that name.

I’m afraid you’re right that the nicknames Ellie and Ella are getting overdone for Elizabeth: Ellie and Ella are in style right now so people are trying to find ways to get the trendy names while still using a traditional name.

I think Bess is adorable, and my guess is that Bessie the Cow has slipped from elementary school consciousness, now that so few of us own cattle. Bess would be my first choice.

My second choice would be Libby. For awhile I was worried it would get overused, but it hasn’t seemed to, and now everyone’s attention is turning to Ellie so I think Libby is safe.

I wouldn’t have known it was a nickname for Elizabeth, but The Baby Name Wizard mentions Elsie. Adorable. Here are all the TBNW nicknames for Elizabeth:

Beth
Bess
Betsy
Betty
Bette
Buffy
Eliza
Elle
Elsie
Elsa
Izzy
Liz
Lisa
Liza
Lizbeth
Lise
Liddy
Libby

Oh, Liddy, that’s super-cute! Maybe I would choose that instead of Libby. I also think Bette has potential, though I wouldn’t use it myself because I know I’d almost immediately turn it to Betty without even meaning to.

I wonder if Liss or Lissie would feel fresher than Liz/Lizzie? And the nickname Bee isn’t an intuitive choice but might work anyway.

What nicknames does everyone else like best for Elizabeth?

Brenda writes:

Hi! My second son is due June 8- or any minute now! I know this a little late in the game to be seeking advice, but we are a little stuck!

We have a 2-year-old named Arthur Juno. Juno is a Korean name and it is what we call him when we go to Korea to visit family. Here we call him Arthur. I am not big on nicknames and will use the full name until my son tells me otherwise!

Anyway, for our second son we would like another classic name- something that fits the genre of Arthur. Some names we have thrown around are:

August – We like it, but are not too sure about having 2 “A” names.
Louis – (Lewis, not Looey) Not sure if this one fits with Arthur. Also may become very popular now that Sandra Bullock has a Louis.
Stuart – I like the idea of Stuart, but it sounds a little too harsh or percussive. I like how gentle and flowing Arthur is. Is it too harsh?
Walter – My husband’s current favorite. I like it, too, but while Arthur seems kind of cool, Walter still seems kind of “fuddy duddy” to me. Is it?
Oliver – My only concern is its popularity. My name isn’t very popular with my age group (I always was the only one not only in my class, but in my school) and I loved it.
Henry – Again a popularity concern. My husband doesn’t think it is a problem, but I don’t want my son to have to be referred to as “Henry L.”, as opposed to the “Henry S.”, “Henry P.” and “Henry M.” also in his class.
Robin – I don’t love it, but my husband seems to.
Edward – I’ve never read the Twilight books, but apparently there is an Edward character. Will this be a popularity concern? Also, after Arthur, is it too common?
Other names we sort-of like: Jasper, Calvin, Julian.

Names I liked, but were vetoed by my husband: Theodore, Thaddeus, Homer, George, Martin.

Our new son’s middle name will be Korean. It will be a two-syllable name. We are still working on it, but some of our middle name ideas start with the letters M, J, P, Y, or H. My favorites start with M.

My son(s) and I have a hyphenated last name with my maiden name being a three syllable Polish surname and my husband’s being a one syllable Korean surname. Both surnames begin with the letter L, and since we sometimes drop the Polish part to make it easier for others to record, I will just give you my husband’s surname: Lee. I suppose all this means is that we will have to be careful with names starting with L and with one syllable names.

I am open to any and all ideas. We need some fresh minds with fresh ideas helping us out! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My favorites from your list are Louis, Walter, and Calvin.

I agree with you about Henry and Oliver: those are both currently in style, and have a very different sound than Arthur.

Like you, I’m curious if/how Edward the Twilight vampire hottie will affect the name’s popularity. Perhaps it will be a bigger problem ten years from now, when all the girls who are currently teenagers will be having their children? Jasper, too, is a Twilight character. The name Edmund would be a possibility, similar to Edward but with a lower vampire element (searching “Edmund vampire”: one of the many search terms I wasn’t expecting to use for a baby name blog).

I suggest Warren. I think it has the same gentle/strong sound as Arthur. Arthur and Warren.

I love the book Life With Father, and it always makes me wish the name Clarence would come back into style. Arthur and Clarence. (The author of the book I like is Clarence Day, and am I remembering right that Dae is a Korean name? If you like the book too, it would be a pleasing reference. Though if Dae is pronounced “day,” I suppose it gives you “daily” with your surname Lee—not that that’s a deal-breaker, especially with a hyphenated surname to break things up.)

After watching a few seasons of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (WHAT?), I had the name Harvey on my list. It still sounds like a great name to me, though I wonder if Harvey Lee would bring Lee Harvey Oswald to mind? Probably not, especially since the surname is hyphenated, but it’s the kind of thing I like to take into account during the naming process, as opposed to realizing it afterward. Arthur and Harvey.

I’ve several times pitched the name Karl/Carl without success, but I will try again! Arthur and Karl, or Arthur and Carl.

I knew such a great guy named Franklin back in school. Arthur and Franklin. (Oh—but as I’m proof-reading, I remember that there is both a children’s TV show called Arthur AND a children’s TV show called Franklin.)

Beverly Cleary’s book Fifteen cemented the name Stanley in my mind as the ideal gentle/strong boy name. *swoon*

Arthur makes me think of the Knights of the Round Table. I’d been remembering that there was a knight named Roland, but apparently I’m thinking of something else. Still, Roland would be an excellent option. Arthur and Roland.

The nicest boy in my elementary school was Terrence, or perhaps it was spelled Terrance (it was the nickname-favoring 1970s, so he mostly went by Terry). I always wanted to be his square-dancing partner in gym class, because he was the only one who never tried to step on his partner’s toes. (You know who the worst toe-steppers were? Gary and Troy.)