Katie writes:<\/p>\n
My name is Katie<\/span> and my husband Paul and I are expecting our first baby. We are having a girl and she is due on the 28th of August. Our surname is Jenkins<\/span>, and the middle name will be a family name which we will most likely decide after we choose the first name. If it helps we like names such as Max, Callum and Finn for boys.<\/p>\n
The name we like the most is Lyric. Is that too weird though? Can you imagine a lawyer named Lyric? Also if we name the baby Lyric does that mean we have cornered ourselves into a certain naming style for future siblings? We would like to have at least two more babies, although that could change once our daughter arrives ;-)<\/p>\n
Other names we like are:
Selah (probably our second favorite, we like it pronounced as SAY-luh, but is that how it is normally pronounced?)
Amelia ‘Mila’
Luna
Brynn
Astoria ‘Story’
Eleanor<\/p>\nWe also really like Glory, but feel as though it should be a nickname for Gloria which neither of us really like.<\/p>\n
So I guess you could say we like names of all different styles. We are pretty much open to any suggestions, we would love to find a less common name but overall we aren’t too fussed.<\/p>\n
Thanks a heap!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I was mentally composing my reply while getting breakfast for the kids, and what I was planning to say is that Lyric is not too weird, that there were nearly a thousand new baby girls named Lyric born in 2011, and that although I do think it would rule out names such as Amelia and Eleanor for future girls, it looks like you have plenty of good sister names in Selah, Luna, and Astoria.<\/p>\n
But then I got to my computer and re-read the part about a lawyer named Lyric, and it’s true it’s hard to imagine. Part of this, though, is just my generation: I’m having trouble picturing lawyers named Caden and Madison, too, but that’s because I think of those as “kid names.” Just as Jennifer and Jessica don’t seem like old lady names but soon will, the current kid names will soon seem natural as grown-up names—including lawyers.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Lyric does have a certain nounish style that may always sound a little funny with certain professions. Crystal and Brandy were popular names that have had a chance to fully grow up now, and yet they still don’t have as serious a sound as peers like Amanda and Kimberly. It’s very hard to know which names will grow up to have which connotations, though: Heather and April and Brooke are also noun names, but grew up to easily fit lawyers.<\/p>\n
Luckily, there is a common naming solution to this: different styles for first and middle names, to hedge your bets. This solution is particularly applicable in your case, since your list is split right down the middle between riskier and more conservative choices. If you choose your favorite style for the first name, you can use the other style as a middle name. A woman named Lyric Eleanor or Eleanor Lyric can go by whichever name seems more appropriate for her personality and job choice.<\/p>\n
Another possible solution is to find names that have similar sounds to the ones you like, but are of a different style. Instead of Lyric: Lyra, Mira, or Lyla. If you like Story and Glory and Eleanor, maybe you would like Aurora, Cora, Corinne, Dorothy (Dory), Ellery, Emory, Flora, Florence (Florrie), Jory, Georgia, Lorelei, Maura, Morgan, Mallory, Nora, Orianna, Rory, Victoria. If you like Callum for a boy, maybe you’d like Calla for a girl.<\/p>\n
Yet another possible solution is to choose a name with flexible nicknames. An Eleanor can be an Ellie, a Nora, a Linny, or of course an Eleanor. An Astoria can go by Story or Ree or Ria, and also has the full Astoria to fall back on. Luna and Lyric have fewer options.<\/p>\n