K. writes:

My husband and I would really, really appreciate your input on breaking a naming rule. The rule we’ve seen out there a lot is that you are not supposed to pick a first name that ends in the same letter as the last name.

We want to break this rule! We love the name Christopher. Our last name is Riolo (pronounced Ree-oh-low). Can we break the rule? No one talks trash about Christopher Robin’s name, and his similarly breaks the rule with Rs.

We are expecting our third baby boy. Our first two boys are Michael and Timothy. We only like classic, timeless, biblical/saint names for our children. There are other boy names we love, like Gabriel and Samuel, but they just don’t go with our last name.

Please, please advise. Thanks so much.

Here is the thing about naming rules: they’re rarely rules. Sometimes I see naming guidelines or naming suggestions, which may or may not CALL themselves rules. But of course at most they’re general guidelines or suggestions: they don’t necessarily apply to a particular situation.

The reason for the guideline you mention is that a shared sound CAN make two names sound like they run together, and/or can make them tricky to pronounce, and/or can make the shared sound seem to disappear from one of the two names. (This can also happen without a shared sound, as in the famed example “Ben Dover”—so it’s something that should be checked regardless.) For example, my own first and middle names are Kristen Nicole; in theory, this could sound like Krista Nicole. Since they’re my first/middle names instead of my first/last names, it’s no big deal. If they were my first/last names, it might be something my parents could have considered—but if they’d decided it was okay, it would still have been no big deal: I doubt the inconvenience of occasionally being mistaken for a Krista would have been any more of a problem than the inconvenience of occasionally being mistaken for a Kristine, which happens despite no issues with the surname. It’s a bigger problem when the run-together makes the name difficult to say, or causes a boy name to sound like a girl name or vice versa, or results in something like Ben Dover.

Do you think Christopher Riolo runs together or is in any other way difficult to say, to the extent that it rules out the name? Do you think it makes it sound like the name is either Christopha Riolo or Christopher Iolo, to the extent that it rules out the name? Do you think the shared letter makes the name embarrassing or difficult for the child? If not, then you don’t even have to break a rule—you just have to decide it isn’t a guideline that applies to this particular situation.

Erin writes:

My husband and I are expecting a baby girl arrival on March 2, 2013. This is our first child and we plan to have 3-4 children. My name is Erin and my husband’s name is Daniel. Our last name is Bruce. Yes, two first names :) (actually, three if you count the middle name). We have been following your blog since the beginning of my pregnancy and have spent a lot of time tossing around name ideas for the baby – thanks for making this so much fun!

Ok, here’s the current dilemma. My husband and I have had a feeling we were having a girl since we discovered I was pregnant. We fell in love the name Olive. We like it for various reasons … the sound of it, the strong feeling it gives, the non-traditional feel while still being pretty, the biblical connotation of Olive coming from the olive tree meaning peace, etc. We began calling the baby “olive seed” once we found out about the pregnancy. This was great until we started saying the full potential name out loud “Olive Bruce” …

[Note from Swistle: While reading this letter for the first time, I paused here and said the name out loud to see if I would discover the same issue: I wanted to see if it would occur to me if I didn’t have it planted. I’m putting a big space here in the letter so you can do the same.]

… and discovered that it might sound too much like olive juice when stated! Ah! I have said the name over and over in my mind so much that I have lost all unbiased and objective view on it. I especially love the full name Olive Amelia Bruce and kind of have my heart set on it. BUT, I want to consider all options for our baby girl and don’t want to put undue hardship on her by giving her a name that reeks havoc on her Bruce last name. What do you think? Would you eliminate Olive as an option with Bruce as a last name?

The runner-up option right now is Esme. Esme Bruce (not sure on middle name). We love this name, too. I picture a completely different little girl, but I still love it. We have ruled out all first and middle names starting with a B. We also have interest in the following names:

Nell (possibly Penelope with nickname Nell or as a middle name)
Emerson (Emmy)
Sinclair (Claire)
Dree
Lowen
Harlow
Elodie

Basically, we are all over the map. Names we would use if the baby was a boy: Julian (Jules), Elliot, Pierce, William. Any help is MUCH appreciated.

THANK YOU!

In my opinion, Olive Bruce does not sound too much like olive juice. When I was first reading your letter, I got to “This was great until we started saying the full potential name out loud…,” and I deliberately looked away from the letter and said the name out loud—and couldn’t figure out what the issue was without reading on.

The main thing for me, I think, is that “olive juice” is not a thing I would say. I’d say “olive brine”—and olive brine doesn’t come up in conversation very often. If the name in question was Apple Bruce, or if the name sounded like orange juice or lemon juice, or if I had more opportunities to refer to olive brine and also frequently called it olive juice instead of olive brine, I might feel differently.

Also, if I were saying “olive juice,” I’d emphasize it differently than if I were saying the name Olive Bruce: I’d put more emphasis on the first syllable of the word olive and under-emphasize the word juice: I’d be saying it adjective-noun instead of name-name.

Also-also, even if other people thought it sounded like olive juice, olive juice is not a negative thing. It would be different if the name sounded like something really awful or embarrassing, but saying “Ha ha, your name sounds like olive juice!” or “Olive Bruce, olive juice!” seems like low-impact teasing.

But if you decide against Olive, Esme is also a wonderful name.

Let’s have a poll over to the right to see what everyone else thinks. [Poll closed; see results below.]

Poll results for “Olive Bruce (read post first)” (533 votes total):

I thought of the issue; it’s a deal-breaker – 45 votes (8%)
I thought of the issue; it’s not a deal-breaker – 42 votes (8%)
I thought of the issue; I can’t decide – 27 votes (5%)
I didn’t think of the issue; it’s a deal-breaker – 12 votes (2%)
I didn’t think of the issue; it’s not a deal-breaker – 375 votes (70%)
I didn’t think of the issue; I can’t decide – 32 votes (6%)

G. writes:

I definitely could use some name advice.

We already have one son, born January 2010, named Noah Christopher. Our last name starts with a hard G like in “goal.” Christopher is my husband’s middle name and he just liked Noah.

I am due with boy #2 on Feb 25, 2013. We have agreed (for now) on Nathaniel for the first name but are stumped for a middle. Husband’s first name is Johnathan (and it was originally supposed to be John Nathan Christopher until his mother objected), so we’re taking the Nathan from that. 

I suggested Joshua, my husband’s brother’s name, as a middle. Husband doesn’t like the sound of the J following the ending L. 

We would both consider giving the baby a middle name after my dad, but his names are both fairly awful – Eugene Francis. He does go by Gene (and my name is derived from his), but I don’t think the husband would go for that since Gene has the same starting sound as Joshua. I might try to convince him. My dad doesn’t like his name, so I don’t really feel like pushing past my dislike would be worth it, even though I would love to find a way to incorporate his name.

There are no other good male family names on either side to choose from, and we’re kind of stumped. Despite what our choices in names indicates, we’re not particularly religious, so no requirements there. 

Middle names husband has rejected so far: Joshua, Lee, Anthony

Since both boys have names honoring your husband’s side of the family (and do they also have your husband’s surname?), I feel very motivated to find a middle name that honors your side this time. Perhaps even if your husband doesn’t find the L/G combination ideal, he can tolerate it for the sake of honor and balance? Nathaniel Gene is great, and I suspect your father would find new appreciation for his name seeing it on his grandson; it’s particularly encouraging that he liked his name well enough to give a version of it to you. And since the two names from your husband’s side are directly from your husband’s own names, it gives a pleasing balance to find a name that reflects your own name as well as your dad’s.

But if you’re not keen on Gene either, are there any surnames from your side that would make good middle names?

Or perhaps you could find something that represents your family’s ancestry? Or the name of an important town/street in your family’s history?

Or, I suppose we could go back for another name from your husband: if the Nathan- of Nathaniel is from Johnathan, the middle name could be John. Noah Christopher and Nathaniel John. While I’d prefer a better balance of family names, in some families the names just don’t work out that way. And it does appeal to think of both boys having names from their father. And it does make a good naming story: from John Nathan to Johnathan to Nathaniel John. My first choice, though, is still Nathaniel Gene.

Without the surname, it’s difficult to find more middle names that would sound good with the whole name, but here are some that I like with Nathaniel:

Nathaniel Charles
Nathaniel David
Nathaniel Davis
Nathaniel Dean
Nathaniel Emmett
Nathaniel Everett
Nathaniel Flynn
Nathaniel Frederick
Nathaniel Henry
Nathaniel Louis
Nathaniel Owen
Nathaniel Peter
Nathaniel Ryan
Nathaniel Sawyer
Nathaniel Scott
Nathaniel Shepard
Nathaniel Tyler
Nathaniel Wesley
Nathaniel Wilson

I have noticed something, and I want to do a poll to see if this is something LOTS of people do, or if it’s something where you will be looking for a delicate way to ask me if I’m off my meds.

Here it is: I notice that the nursery song “London Bridge is Falling Down” is so hardwired into my brain that if I try to use the first name London with any surname that has even the same RHYTHM as “bridges” (I now know it’s “bridge is,” but I didn’t know that for many many years—and besides, it has the same rhythm either way), my mind leaps immediately to “falling down.”

So, for example, if I tried the name London with the surname Johnson, I’d say “London Johnson” and then I’d immediately think “…falling down, falling down, falling down.” Same with London Williams, London Walker, and London Carter: my mind adds “falling down,” because of the rhythm. (These are just random examples; feel free to substitute your own 2-syllable surnames for testing.)

This doesn’t happen if it’s a different rhythm. If it’s London St. Clair, I don’t think “falling down.” If it’s London Jones, I don’t think “falling down.” If it’s London Anderson, I don’t think “falling down.” It’s only if it’s a two-syllable surname with the same rhythm as “bridges”/”bridge is.”

I suspect most of this is because I don’t know anyone named London: to me it still registers first as a place that has a bridge. If I knew a London, my guess is that this effect would fade considerably if not completely.

And now what I want to ask you is: Is it the same for you? Let’s have a poll over to the right. [Poll closed; see results below.]

Jessica writes:

So we have a baby naming dilemma – so much so that my dear husband keeps saying, “well, we have 10 days after the baby is born…”
Yikes!

Our last name is pronounced Shafer. We have one daughter, Lily Grayce. We used Grayce with a ‘y’ in honor of good friends, and the mum happens to be British, so the “y” version is the popular spelling. We’re not too concerned about popularity, and prefer that over odd spellings and unheard-of names. Where we live “Lily” is not all that popular, despite it sitting high on the charts, we know one other Lily who is about 5 years older than ours.
My husband’s name is Eric and my name is Jess(ica) but as I usually go by the shorter, we all end up with four letter names with distinct letters – this makes it easy and neat, and we like it, but we’re not stuck on 4 letters. We do prefer to have different initials at least between siblings and preferably the whole family. We’d love to have 4 kids at least if life allows, so we’re trying not to get into too much of a pattern – hence we’re not wanting to go with another “L” name for fear of having either all “L” names (tricky) or changing after kid 1&2 which feels odd. We also don’t want to get into a pattern of “y” or “ie” endings. It seems like “er” ending names clash with our last name, so we’re not having luck there either – between the “y”/”ie” and the “er” that knocks out a lot of names!
We’re not finding out what we’re having this time, but we already have our options fairly settled for boy names, it’s girls we need help with!

We do tend to favor shorter names, and if we were to chose a longer name we would likely use a 1-2 syllable nickname on a daily basis. We even cut Lily down to “Lils..” a lot, so we’re pretty lazy..!
We love Ruby, but it keeps us in the “y” ending… also considering Claire/Clara, Pearl, Olive (but not Olivia), and Sage.
I like Stella, Astrid, and Hazel, but my husband was not convinced. He has no ideas of his own. Our 2.5 year old would like to call the baby “Baby Poptart.”

We like Jade, but don’t like the meaning. We have also avoided short R girl names due to a close in age girl cousin named a variation of Ryan and a close friend named Roma, tho we are willing to bend on that for the perfect name! We’ve discarded flower names as well due to not wanting an obvious garden… but we’re ok with plant and nature names.

If it helps, our top boy names are Milo, Jude, and Rowan, which would likely be paired with the middle name of Ellis, tho we’re not decided by any means…

Can you save our 2nd kiddo from being “Baby Poptart” forever? 

and

4-8 weeks to go (depending on who you ask and how long this one likes to bake) but still no settling on a name! We have some updates and changes tho, so perhaps you’ll be up for helping – pretty pretty please? :D
We’re down to boy’s names Milo or West, which obviously have very different feels to them. We did favor the middle name “Maxin” (spelled with an ‘o’ not an ‘i’) which is my husband’s grandmother’s maiden name, however we’re not sure about it with our last name (pronounced Shafer). My good friend and name lover greatly dislikes West (not a breaking point) and recommends Weston, but it reminds me of both the TV show Burn Notice and the Weston Price Foundation… maybe neither are an issue – thoughts? We have considered playing of my maiden name somehow to make a middle name for West or Weston – my maiden name is said Ree-mal-ee (spelled simply) so we considered using something like “Remington” but are afraid this might sound a bit NRA :) That’s where we sit with the boys.
For girl names, we’ve added a new favorite to the top spot: Gwen. We keep debating different “Gwen-” names but keep coming back to Gwen because we’re certain to shorten it to that for daily use anyway. Finding a middle name here again poses a bit of an issue. My husband suggested Pearl, but then we have GPS.. again, maybe not an issue. I’m not certain it’s a great match tho, seems like we need a longer middle to make things flow better and we just can’t seem to find one that fits.
Backups to Gwen we’re still considering are Ella, Elle, Claire, and Ruby (tho we’re still not fond of adding to the “-y / -ie” collection.
Will you give us a much needed hand?

The name Gwen seems great to me: four letters, but new initial, new ending, new sound. I agree with you: I’d want a middle name with more than one syllable. I’d go through the list of names that you liked but didn’t want to use in the first name slot because they started with L or R or had an -ie/-y ending. Gwen Ruby Shafer is very nice.

If you like Claire/Clara but would prefer four letters, I suggest Cora. Cora Shafer; Lily and Cora.

Or Cleo. Cleo Shafer; Lily and Cleo. This wouldn’t allow for Milo later, though.

If you like Ruby, you might like Ruth. Ruth Shafer; Lily and Ruth.

Or June. June Shafer; Lily and June.

Elle and Ella make me think of Anna. Anna Shafer; Lily and Anna.

I think Gwen is the best one, though.

If the baby is a boy, I favor Milo—not only because that was one of our finalist names for Henry, and I still have a soft spot for it, but also because it seems to have fewer issues than the name West. I prefer the name West to the name Weston, but the name West has the unfortunate issue of making names sound like towns: West Shafer. I also find the transition between -st and Sh- a little difficult to say: I end up with something like Wes Chafer.

I like Westley best as a longer form: that would still give you the four-letter nickname West, while also impressing fans of The Princess Bride AND removing associations with foundations and towns. It does give you another -ly name, but I think two in a row is a surmountable pattern, especially since one is a boy and one is a girl. (It’s three in a row where I think it’s nearly impossible to resist the pressure.)

But Milo avoids all these issues, so that’s what I’d go with. Milo Shafer is wonderful; Lily and Milo is wonderful. I like Maxin fine with your surname, or I like the idea of using your maiden name as-is: Milo Maxin Shafer or Milo Reemalee Shafer. I prefer Maxin, because I’d prefer to avoid the initials MRS. If the actual spelling of your maiden name looks feminine, it would be nice for a girl: Gwen Reemalee Shafer.

M. writes:

If we were to go with Lucille we are thinking about possibly going with “Lucie” instead of “Lucy”.  It is funny that I think this because I always lean towards the traditional spelling of names.  However, there is something about the spelling with the “ie” that just seems softer and more feminine.  The “y” ending just seems a little bit harsher to me.  However, I don’t want people to think that I came up with some funky spelling to be unique or different.  I also don’t want to give her a name that she has to spell for people her whole life.

Until recently, I would have said that Lucy seemed like the basic spelling to me, and that Lucie seemed like it would cause more spelling hassles than I would want to deal with. But then recently we did a post on Tilly vs. Tillie, and  there was quite a bit of interesting discussion in the comments section that made me wonder if we might be on a pendulum swing from -y endings to -ie endings.

Also, I think it’s different with a nickname than with a given name: I’m not surprised to encounter girls with the nicknames Maddy and Maddie and Madi. Since you’d have spelled the full version the traditional way, it’s less likely to seem like you were trying to get unique-y with the nickname. And as she gets older, more and more often people will assume SHE was the one who chose the spelling of the nickname. (And indeed, she may change to a different spelling.) With nicknames, I think of the spelling as being less official, more open to change and choice.

The poll of the Tilly/Tillie post might not be of any use to this situation, since the question there was a different one. So let’s start a new poll over to the right—and because it was hard to represent the entire topic in a poll, we can discuss in more detail in the comments section. [Poll closed; see results below.]

[Edit: Here’s a screenshot of what the first six votes did:

I thought that was funny/neat!]

Poll results:

Emily writes:

I guess I will start off with some background info:
– My name is Emily, my husband’s name is Ian
– We are expecting our final baby, a girl, in November (I won’t give an exact date, because our last baby came 3 weeks early!)
– I have a daughter from a previous relationship, Aylin Rose (pronounced EYE-lin)
– We have two daughters together, Ruby Elizabeth & Hazel Genevieve
– Our last name has not given us any problems when it comes to ‘flow’, but it is two syllables and ends in ‘ding’
– Her middle name will most likely be Lillian, which is a family name (likewise with A, R & H’s middle names)
– Some boys names we like are Leo, Ethan, Evander & Callum
– We would prefer that her name has a different initial to the girls’ names
– I would also kinda like her name to have a different ending to the girls’ names, but that’s just me being difficult ;)

I am wondering whether or not we should go with another color name. It was a coincidence that we chose two color names, but a few people have pointed it out. We like Scarlett, and would be happy to use it, but then does the theme become tacky?

Our other fave name is probably Cora, and we also like Clover and Pilar (which are a bit more adventurous).

Further suggestions would be very helpful, especially if Scarlett is tacky for us to use.

To me, the issue with the name Scarlett isn’t one of tackiness: it’s that if you give the three daughters you had together a theme, it seems to exclude your first daughter from the group. Already her name is a different style than her half-sisters’ names; it would be so satisfying to find a name that ties them better together, rather than a name that increases the divide.

It isn’t always possible, though, to blend styles from different sets of parents. Your husband’s naming style overlaps with the part of yours that led the two of you to choose the names Ruby and Hazel, but it may be that it doesn’t overlap with the part of your style that led you to choose the name Aylin; it may be that any name that goes with the name Aylin is outside of his naming style entirely. If that is the case, I would recommend choosing a name that coordinates with the style of the names Ruby and Hazel—but not a color name that would draw attention to the difference.

The names Cora and Clover go beautifully with the names Ruby and Hazel, while leaving the name Aylin separate. A name like Pilar gives a “happy assortment” feeling to the sibling group, with the names Ruby and Hazel still matching in style but the other two girls’ names not.

As I start to look for more names to suggest to bridge the gap between the two styles of names, I see the issue: there are not many like that. With Aylin, I might suggest Brinley, Mira, Jada; with Ruby and Hazel, I might suggest Clara, Molly, Georgia. I’m not seeing overlap in the lists I’m creating.

I too prefer not to repeat initials or endings, but I might in this case deliberately match either the initial or ending of Aylin’s name to her littlest sister’s name. The name Linden, for example, is a nature name like Ruby and Hazel, but it sounds more like Aylin because of the -in/-en. Aylin, Ruby, Hazel, and Linden.

The name Aylin reminds me of Celtic names, so I might look there as well. Carys looks and sounds like a sister for Aylin, and gives you a new initial and a new ending. Aylin, Ruby, Hazel, and Carys. Three names have a Y; a different three names have five letters; all four names have two syllables.

I wonder if Nora would work as a bridge name. It’s Celtic and also a recent-rediscovery name like Ruby and Hazel, and it’s similar to Cora. Aylin, Ruby, Hazel, and Nora. It doesn’t really feel like it ties together with Aylin, though.

Aisling? Aylin, Ruby, Hazel, and Aisling? That seems to make two groups of two, and I think Aisling might be too visually similar to Aylin.

To move away from Celtic names, Ivy gives you a new initial but repeats the starting sound of Aylin, while still coordinating with Ruby and Hazel. Aylin, Ruby, Hazel, and Ivy. There are little matchings everywhere: the starting sounds of Aylin and Ivy; ending sounds of Ruby and Ivy; the Y in Aylin, Ruby, and Ivy; Ruby and Hazel both colors; Hazel and Ivy both plants. With all the mixing and matching going on, everyone seems connected.

Does anyone have more suggestions for names that help tie the group together?

Chelse writes:

My name is Chelse.  My husband’s name is Chris.  We are beyond the moon to be having a little girl, due on Valentine’s Day 2013!  We have two little boys, Finley Everette (age 2) and Henry David (age 1).  Yes, we are busy, to say the least!  Chris and I have been going back and forth about baby girl’s name and we are stuck – we are adamant that we want to steer clear of any “–y” names, for fear of being too sing-songy with a Finley and Henry, both ending with the “y/ee” sound.  Likewise, we are not wanting the baby to have a popular name (the Eva, Olivia, Ella, Clara bunch of names that are so hot right now).  We initially loved the name Georgia, but then I fell in love with the name Beatrice.  Chris is on the fence with Beatrice and says that with the perfect middle name, he would be sold on it.  So, the quest for a middle name has begun.

We would like to incorporate some element of Chris’ family into the middle name – some of the girl names on his side are Marlene, Nina (pronounced nine-a), Monahan (his deceased mother’s maiden name). 

Our last name is Dall which is fun (we have baby Dalls, live in the Dall house, etc) but also means that we don’t want a name like Barbie Dall… wink wink.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?  We so appreciate it!  This little girl is a huge blessing and we want her name to reflect the specialness that she’ll bring to our family!

To reflect specialness, I might use Beatrice Joy or Beatrice Felicity. Since the name Beatrice already means “blessed,” it’s a nice double-shot of it.

But if you want to use a name from your husband’s side, and since he thinks the right middle name would sell him the first name you love, I suggest letting him go through his family tree to choose the right one—or let him make a list of finalists, and then decide together. It makes a great naming story, too, to say her dad chose her middle name.

Linsey writes:

Our baby girl (third and last child) is due in just a few months and we need your help! My first question is: Does it have to be an “M” name?? Our four year old son is named Micah James and our two year old daughter is named Madelyn Kate (husband and I are James and Linsey, FYI). Family and friends are insisting that we have to stick with the “M” theme we have going or this baby will be “left out”. I understand what they mean as most of the names that I like that don’t start with an “M” just don’t seem to go with Micah and Madelyn. I really don’t have a problem using an “M” name except that the girl’s names we like at all are extremely popular. With the last name Wilson we don’t want anything too very popular. Micah and Madelyn are actually pushing it. Can you suggest some “M” girl’s names that compliment Micah and Madelyn without being too common? 

One name that my husband and I both love is Evelyn. It’s my grandmother’s middle name and sounds similar to Madelyn. Does that make it seem like a name that fits in with our family or is it too similar to Madelyn? We’ve talked about using my mother’s middle name so that would make Micah James, Madelyn Kate, and Evelyn Kit. Are the girl’s names just too similar? Or does Evelyn stick out like a sore thumb? And is Evelyn gaining popularity too quickly to go with a common name like Wilson? 

Another thought is that both my mother and my husband’s mother passed away before we got married. We of course would love to honor them in our naming, but didn’t end up doing so with our first daughter because we just don’t necessarily care for either the name Mary or the name Lezlie. One name that I’ve recently run across is Marilee. This kind of sounds like a combination of Mary and Lezlie and of course starts with an “M” like our other two children. What do you think of it? What middle name to you think would work well with it?

Any other name suggestions you have would be much appreciated!

Thanks So Much!

It doesn’t have to be an M name, but I see the pressure for it to be one. I think if you don’t use an M name, there may be a little whining about it at first from friends and family, but that it isn’t likely to be a big deal in the long run: hardly anyone cares very deeply what other people name their children, even if they enjoy making a bit of a fuss about it in the anticipation stage. If the third child doesn’t have any reason to believe that he or she was deliberately not given an M name in order to exclude him or her, and if you answer any questions with, “For each child, we just chose the name we liked best,” then two M names in a row doesn’t seem like enough names to establish an unbreakable theme. If, however, you LIKE another M name, then I think it is a fun theme to have.

Normally I might avoid matching endings for two names, but Evelyn seems like a great way to tie the names together without using another M name, and the front halves of the names have such different sounds. However, I don’t think I’d then use such similar middle names on top of that. If you wanted to please the people clamoring for a matched set, you could do Evelyn Jane: she’d tie in to her sister’s first name and both siblings’ middle names.

Evelyn is quite popular (#24 in 2011, according to the Social Security Administration, and continuing to rise), but the name Madelyn/Madeline/Madilyn/Madeleine is so popular (combining spellings puts it into the Top Ten), the similar popularity of Evelyn is a selling point for me.

Katelyn would also work, but is perhaps too strong a sister-name tie since it connects to both the first name and the middle name.

Jocelyn would work well.

Marilee seems like it honors neither grandmother (it’s particularly hard to imagine the family of a Lezlie feeling any honor from it), while also leading to spelling issues and Merrily puns. On the other hand, I do think people would be touched by the effort to combine the grandmothers’ names, and Merrily is a very cheerful sort of pun. If you use it, I think Marilee Jane would be pretty, or Marilee June, or Marilee Rose, or Marilee Celeste.

I’d like to segue into recommending Meredith, but I think the repeating M and D sounds probably make it too similar to Madelyn.

Mallory might be better. It’s uncommon but familiar. It does repeat the L and Y of Madelyn, but in a very different way. Micah, Madelyn, and Mallory.

More M possibilities:

Maeve
Maia/Maya
Margaret
Maribel
Mariel
Marissa
Matilda
Mina
Mira
Molly

Molly is the traditional nickname for Mary, if that would be a slight and pleasing connection to one of the grandmothers. Perhaps the other grandmother’s middle name could be used. Or I see that the name Lezlie/Leslie/Lesley is derived from the surname Lesslyn, which might make a good middle name with a parallel slight connection. Micah James, Madelyn Kate, and Molly Lesslyn. If that’s too rhymey with Wilson, maybe Lynn would be better—though by now we’re so far removed from the honor name, I think I’d just choose something you like: Molly Jane, maybe, or Molly Kit, or Molly Joy.

L. writes:

We are ready for baby number 5, our second daughter, in a few weeks. Her older sibling names are all traditional: Daniel, Amelia (Mia), Samuel (Sam), William. Our last name is Mikle (rhymes with nickle). We really like easy traditional names, but with all of the darling girl options, plus the added pressure of naming our LAST child we are feeling rather stuck. We have a middle name which will be Rae after my Grandmother, but our “perfect” first name still eludes us. Our top names are: Madeleine (pronounced “Line” not “Lyn”), Isla, Tabitha, Harper, and Emeline. Madeleine (Ellie as a nickname), would be our top pick, but I am concerned the spelling with the extra “e” and the pronunciation issue will be tedious for her. I also adore Tabitha, but only seem to get a lukewarm response from mu hubby on this name. We have also loved, but ruled out Louisa, Beatrice, Adele, and Annabelle for various family conflict reasons. Advice????

I notice that all four of the baby’s siblings have a strong L sound in their name, tying in with the L sound in your surname. I think that since this is your final child, I would make it a goal (not a trumps-all goal, but a preference) to find a strong L sound for her as well.

Three of the four names also contain an M sound to tie into the surname, and Daniel has an N sound which is very close to that. This makes Madeleine seem like a great choice: both an L sound and an M sound. I do think you’d find it challenging to get Ellie used as a nickname; Maddy is used so commonly. And we discovered when we briefly had a cat named Madeline that the spelling/pronunciation issues are surprisingly constant: everyone seems to know there are two options, so it was “Madda lin, line?” anytime anyone saw her name. If that’s the name you love best, however, the good news is that everyone seems to know already that it’s an issue—so it’ll probably be similar to all of us who have to specify a K instead of a C, an -en instead of an -in, two L’s instead of one, etc.

Emeline is another good option for the L and the M, but I think it’s much too close to Amelia. And Isla, Tabitha, and Harper don’t have the easy traditional feeling you’d prefer. Let’s see if we can find some more options.

If Louisa is out, perhaps Eloise is also out. If not, I like that it introduces a new consonant sound to the group, while still including an L sound. And if you like the nickname Ellie, I think you could get it here. Eloise Mikle.

Eliza is another possibility, and one of my own favorites. Again, the L sound to tie the name in with the others, but a new consonant sound to lessen confusion. And I think it’s particularly nice with the sibling group: Daniel, Amelia, Samuel, William, and Eliza. It sounds like a family right out of a Laura Ingalls Wilder book!

Or Eleanor, which would be another way to get Ellie. (Or you could go with Nora.)

Or Elizabeth, which would give her even more nickname options.

I also suggest Lucy. It fits well in style with the sibling names, and putting the L sound first may help keep the names from sounding too similar. I also considered suggesting Lillian, but I think that might go overboard on the L.

Or Laura, speaking of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Annabelle makes me think of Abigail. Mia and Abby are cute sister nicknames.

Or Hannah. No L sound—but that’s just ME who’s looking for an L sound! Hannah Mikle. Daniel, Amelia, Samuel, William, and Hannah. Very nice.

Isla makes me think of Lila. Again, maybe a little overboard on the L—but maybe not. Lila Mikle sounds nice to me; I think it might be the L’s AND short-I of Lillian that made it seem like too much.

I think Clara would go beautifully with the sibling set. Clara Mikle.

Or Charlotte. Daniel, Amelia, Samuel, William, and Charlotte.