{"id":11927,"date":"2016-03-03T11:14:40","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T15:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/?p=11927"},"modified":"2016-03-26T12:26:37","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T16:26:37","slug":"baby-boy-or-girl-sibling-to-esme-and-oliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/2016\/03\/03\/baby-boy-or-girl-sibling-to-esme-and-oliver\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby Girl or Boy, Sibling to Esm\u00e9 and Oliver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Swistle,<\/p>\n

I feel like a crazy person. It’s 6 am and I have been awake for 2 hours (as has happened so many times this pregnancy) trying to find a name for our third baby due, like, yesterday. Thankfully, my first two babies were each over a week late. Since we’ve been discussing baby names nonstop and still don’t have one, I’m hoping this little one follows suit to grant us more time.<\/p>\n

Any chance you could help us out? At this point, I would just name the baby whatever name you chose. I defer to you…and promise to send an update promptly.<\/p>\n

Our trouble is this: I want to find a name that is compatible with our other kids’ names (first names: Esm\u00e9 & Oliver, middle names: Monroe & Louie). I also would like a name that has even just a bit of a story since we found both Esm\u00e9 & Oliver’s names organically from books while I was pregnant with them. The story behind the name doesn’t have to be great or terribly significant, but I’ve found our children really like knowing where we got their names and seeing the books from which they came. Is this a reasonable desire? Admittedly, it’s really complicating our name search. (Hey! Maybe this baby’s story can be that a sweet name-savvy stranger on the internet helped pick his\/her name? How about it?! ; ).<\/p>\n

In a perfect world, this baby’s name would start with a vowel but would have unique initials. I’m not holding on tight to this criterion, though.<\/p>\n

The middle names will be after family members – Alba for a girl, Gordon for a boy. Our other children don’t have honour names for middles, so perhaps this baby could lack a story for their first name, but could be unique in being named after a family member?<\/p>\n

My husband is stuck on a few names:
\nLouisa, Odette, or Mathilde for a girl\/Anders for a boy. I like the names enough, but none seems quite right.
\nFirst of all, I don’t have “stories” for any of the names.
\nI’m not sure I’m keen on the sound of Louisa Alba. Also, is it feminine enough to pair with Esm\u00e9?
\nI don’t mind Mathilde, but is it too leaden a name next to the airier-sounding Esm\u00e9? Also, the nickname Matty seems inevitable and we know so many who go by Maddy.
\nI think Esm\u00e9 & Odette sound compatible, but I’m not sure about Odette with the sibling group. Also, I read on several sites that Odette is the new hipster “it name” for girls…and it means this baby and our son sharing a first initial. What’s your take on Odette?
\nI love the name Anders and like it with our other kids’ names. I get hung up on two points: 1) I don’t like the nickname Andy AT ALL because of a negative association, but I can’t come up with another nickname. 2) I worry about introducing our kids and saying, “These are our children…Esm\u00e9, Oliver, and Anders.” It sounds almost like a joke.
\nMy name picks are:<\/p>\n

Adelaide from Johanna Spyri’s book Heidi (I would use the German Adelheid as it appears in the book, but I think it sounds too clunky with our older daughter’s name). We’ve read the novel, storybook, seen the movie, and the cartoon series many, many times. Our children have been obsessed with Heidi for months and nearly all their pretend games revolve around the characters and plot-lines from this book. It seems like a sweet story to tell this new little one (and our kids would be elated). My qualms with Adelaide are as follows:<\/p>\n

I’ve read it’s about to become really popular as parents are drawn to the ‘Addie’ nicknames, but are looking for less common names.
\nWe know so many Addie\/Maddies and would rather avoid the Addie nickname (though Adelaide does provide a lot of alternatives – Ada, Adel, Dela, etc).
\nI’m not sure it fits with our other kid’s names. Is it too long\/frilly a pairing with Esm\u00e9?
\nMy husband is willing to consider it, but it’s not his absolute favourite.<\/p>\n

Lucienne
\nNo vowel, no story. But I think it sounds good with Esm\u00e9 & Oliver and with the middle name, Alba. It’s feminine, but not frilly, which is usually the kind of girl’s name we’re drawn to. I like the nickname Lucie a whole lot (especially since we sometimes call our older children Esy and Ollie).
\nThere are other girls names I have liked (though none have a story), but that my husband has vetoed: Ivy, Avis, Adele, In\u00e8s, Imogen.<\/p>\n

Abel, for a boy. This name is “it” for me, but my husband thinks it sounds weak (I think it’s because he’s solely thinking of the fratricide from the Bible). We recently read Abel’s Island with our kids (because I remembered that my mother had read it to me when I was little). Abel starts with a vowel, has a story, sounds good with Gordon, I love the nickname Abe. I just can’t get my husband on board.<\/p>\n

Can you please help us, Swistle? Are there any uncommon (preferably vowel-names) out there that we’ve overlooked that would sound good with our other kids’ names? Do any of the names on our lists jump out at you as being great in the sibling set? Should I let go of wanting this child to have a reason for his or her name, other than that his parents liked it? And how on earth do we find a solution to each having what we think is the perfect boy’s name?<\/p>\n

We would so appreciate your help!<\/p>\n

Kind regards,<\/p>\n

Michelle<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While I admit I thrill at the idea of being given full naming power, I will not hold you to that.<\/p>\n

I do think “getting help on a baby name site” gives a good story. Let’s put a checkmark by that box. Perhaps we will end up with even more of a story than that, but it’s an excellent start.<\/p>\n

I also like your idea of checking that box by having a story about the MIDDLE name. And I do think that “because his or her parents liked it” is a good enough story—especially if the older siblings participated. So no matter what, I feel we’re covered here.<\/p>\n

I suggest abandoning the vowel quest. It is interesting to me how VERY MANY letters we get where a family has two children with vowel names and wants a third, non-duplicate-initial vowel name. Vowel names don’t catch my eye as a naming pattern, and there are so MANY A- and E- names, and so relatively few I-, O-, and U- names, that it seems to me an unnecessarily difficult task. Furthermore, it never feels to me like a task I can assist with, if the parents have already looked in the name book under A-, I-, and U-.<\/p>\n

If I were you, I think I would feel even more strongly about having another name from a book than about having a vowel name. Time is short, but I wonder if it would help to go to the children’s section of a library or book store and start speed-reading? Or even better, think back to characters from your own childhood books, or from the books your children love now. If I do this myself just for a minute or two, I get:<\/p>\n

Alice
\nAlmanzo
\nAnne
\nAnthea
\nBenjamin
\nCharles Wallace
\nCharlie
\nChristopher
\nEdmund
\nEliza
\nElizabeth
\nFern
\nGenevieve
\nGeorge
\nHenrietta
\nJane
\nJasper
\nJosephine
\nLaura
\nLucy
\nMargaret
\nMarilla
\nOmri
\nPhoebe
\nPolly<\/p>\n

(I read fewer books about boys, it appears.)<\/p>\n

Author names would be good, too.<\/p>\n

I do very much like the name Louisa, and for me it has an immediate literary tie-in to Louisa May Alcott. If you too loved Little Women as a girl, I think we are home free. I think Louisa Alba works just fine, and that Louisa is feminine enough with Esm\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Mathilde doesn’t seem too heavy to me with Esm\u00e9, though I see what you mean. I suggest a nickname such as Tilly, Tildy, or Hildy to avoid Matty\/Maddy, and also to lighten the name overall. The literary tie-in could be Matilda<\/a> by Roald Dahl, if you’ve read it and liked it.<\/p>\n

Odette comes down to which preference is more important to you: the preference for a vowel name, or the preference for unique initials.<\/p>\n

Adelaide doesn’t seem too heavy to me either (I wonder if it’s the D-sound that feels heavy to you?), or too frilly. The overwhelming usage of Addy names does make me less drawn to it. Would you consider using Heidi? Esm\u00e9, Oliver, and Heidi. It’s not what I’d call a perfect style match, but it doesn’t feel like a clash, either, and I am considerably charmed by the story tie-in.<\/p>\n

Anders is the miracle name: it has the happy combination of unique initial AND vowel, and you and your husband both love it, and you like it with your other kids’ names. I don’t think it NEEDS a nickname, if you want to remove that strike: I wouldn’t be at all tempted to call an Anders “Andy.” I see what you mean about “and Anders,” but that seems like a minor concern: either you would change the order of the names (“These are our children: Anders, Oliver, and Esm\u00e9”), or you would change the phrasing (“These are our children: this is Esm\u00e9, this is Oliver, and this is Anders”).<\/p>\n

So Anders is my boy-name choice for you. For girls, I vote for Heidi, Louisa, or Matilda. I do also like Adelaide (Della\/Lady) and Lucienne—and in fact, Adelaide would probably be my first choice (literary tie-in AND vowel AND unique initial) except that your husband isn’t enthusiastic. But perhaps he’ll come around and it will be the perfect solution: Anders (his choice) for a boy, Adelaide (your choice) for a girl. Adelaide Alba feels slightly less than ideal, but I think it’s fine: middle names tend to be special-occasion items.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name update!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Sweet Swistle and Helpful Commenters,<\/p>\n

We had our baby last Wednesday – a boy! He weighed 8 lbs, 10 oz. Although he made us wait for his arrival, we’ve forgiven him because of his blessedly short labour.<\/p>\n

We were still back and forth about names after he was born. My husband felt – even though it was his only choice for a boy’s name – that our little guy just didn’t look like an Anders (but what an Anders should look like, we don’t know!). He also confessed that he felt this baby also needed a nickname and that he would likely have resorted to calling him Andy much of the time (not cool!).<\/p>\n

We considered many of the suggested boy names, but it seemed there was a reason we couldn’t use them (husband vetoed August, relative named Arthur, we know a Charlie, name sounded funny with last name, etc…). With his first choice no longer seeming right, my husband came around to Abel. Our daughter had been pushing for Abel for the last few days before we named him, so she is elated. My husband is glad he has a nickname in “Abe.” Since naming Abel, his older siblings have taken to calling him “Abe-y Baby,” which sounds adorable said in their sweet little voices and instantly made the name feel like the right choice. And, as it turns out, Abel is a family surname on my husband’s side. So while I came up with the name, it ended up pointing to his side twice.<\/p>\n

Had we had a girl, we think we would have either named her Adelaide or Lucienne, nn Lucie (though perhaps not had she not “looked like” either name!). I really loved the idea of Alba for a first name, but neither my husband nor the honouree liked it in the first name spot at all. I’ll mourn that possibility a bit.<\/p>\n

Although we ended up with a name that fulfilled our silly wish list, it was so freeing to have your expert opinion, Swistle, that vowel-names aren’t a “naming style” and that this baby didn’t need a literary story behind his name. Should we have a fourth, I think we’ll have a much easier time picking a name (and if we don’t, you can really pick any name you’d like, Swistle!).<\/p>\n

Thanks so much for all your helpful comments and insight. I’ve become a bit of a baby name enthusiast since reading the archives…I can’t wait to hear what happens with the 2 remaining sisters who both want Sylvie!<\/p>\n

Thanks again,
\nMichelle<\/p>\n

\"Siblings\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Swistle, I feel like a crazy person. It’s 6 am and I have been awake for 2 hours (as has happened so many times this pregnancy) trying to find a name for our third baby due, like, yesterday. Thankfully, my first two babies were each over a week late. Since we’ve been discussing baby […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-name-update"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3iyiG-36n","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11927"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12000,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11927\/revisions\/12000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}