Rachel writes:<\/p>\n
I stumbled upon your blog over a year ago, and was hooked immediately.\u00a0 I’ve always been fascinated with naming trends and decision making factors.\u00a0 Your advice is by far the best out there, and my husband and I would be thrilled to have your help in naming our second and final child.<\/p>\n
My name is Rachel and my husband is Chris – both common names in our generation (late 70s), but ones that have aged well over time.\u00a0 Our last name rhymes with Chrysler (the car) but starts with an H.\u00a0 Important to note is that due to its German roots, the spelling is a bit crazy (three vowels in a row!), but it’s pronounced High-sler.\u00a0 Our son’s name is Shane Matthew, which we adore and fits him to a T.\u00a0 He’s a sporty and energetic boy.\u00a0 We’re excited to be expecting a daughter in January, but are stuck on selecting her name.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Here are our “would likes” in descending order of importance:
1. Our children will always have to spell and pronounce their last name, so we need the first name be one that’s easily read, written and recognized.
2. Prefer that it doesn’t start with an H or end with -er.\u00a0 I also don’t want an S sound in the middle or end because of how it sounds with last name.
3. We are trying to avoid a trendy name that will soon sound dated.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it seems our ear is drawn toward popular names (as you’ll see below), but we probably wouldn’t choose one in the end.<\/p>\nSo, here’s a list of names that have at one point been in the mix to give you a sense of our taste.\u00a0 I’ve also included the reason why I can convince myself that each name isn’t the one. Perhaps you can suggest others we might like or convince us why one on the list is just right.<\/p>\n
Caroline (Maybe too formal and fancy for us.\u00a0 No standard nickname, though we’ve talked about Carly or C.J. depending on middle name)
Colby (Too often a boy’s name, and the cheese association)
Avery (This would have been Shane’s name if he was a girl.\u00a0 We’ve always liked it, but now it’s so popular)
Aubrey (Love the nickname Bree, but know that Aubrey is climbing the charts.\u00a0 It also irks me that it can be spelled Aubree.)
Bree (Cheese association)
Finley (Love the sound, and Finn is a cute nickname, but it’s the trendiest on our list and likely to become dated.)
Natalie, Courtney, Mallory, Valerie (Like that they all end in -ee sound, and are no longer very common, but I dislike Nat, Court, and Mal, and Val)
Samantha (like nn Sam, but too popular)
Brooke (maybe too short\/choppy)
Julia (pretty, just not sure it’s us)
Megan (husband’s ex-girlfriend)
Sabrina (We love this one, with nn Bree, but are afraid of the Teenage Witch association, especially because they’re making it a movie now)
Cameron (Somewhat ruined by the Kamryn\/Camryn\/Camden trend)
Darcy (don’t like the middle ‘s’ sound with our last name)<\/p>\nWe asked my parents to select Shane’s middle name, and my mother-in-law to select our daughter’s middle name.\u00a0 She will give us a few options so that we can pick one that flows with the first name we choose.\u00a0 So for now, we’re just looking for a first name.<\/p>\n
Are we neglecting to think of names that are in the same genre as Shane and work with High-sler?\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Thank you ever so much!\u00a0 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I am so intrigued by the idea of having a family member, especially a grandparent, choose the middle name. (I admit it: I am mostly thinking of how thrilled I’d be to get to choose for someone else!)<\/p>\n
Right away I was drawn to Caroline. I say it with your surname and it seems like magic: Caroline Highsler! <\/p>\n
But then I saw Brooke. Shane and Caroline is good; Shane and Brooke is wonderful. I don’t think it’s too short\/choppy at all.<\/p>\n
I want to push you to use Sabrina, because I love it and I think the name has enough other associations to get beyond the Teenage Witch one. But I find that when I say “Shane and Sabrina,” I start swapping sounds and getting Sane and Shabrina.<\/p>\n
Because you like Darcy but not the S sound, and you also like Aubrey\/Bree\/Colby, I suggest Darby. Darby Highsler; Shane and Darby.<\/p>\n
That -by ending makes me think of Ruby. Ruby Highsler; Shane and Ruby.<\/p>\n