Nikki writes:<\/p>\n
I love reading your blog and hope that you could be of assistance in naming our new little girl due in early April 2012.<\/p>\n
We have a beautiful 22 month old boy named Joseph Edward – called Jed. I am Nikki (actually named Nicole) and Hubby is Joey (Joseph III… our son is a fourth!) Last name starts with an M and sounds like Marley. We are planning to have more children after this girl as well.<\/p>\n
We had a horrible time choosing our sons name as I am a bit more out of the box on naming boys and my husband is more traditional. Our son was born at 35 weeks and we knew that he would be the 4th but did not decide on Jed until he was almost 3 days old! I really loved the idea of calling him Ford to play on the fourth or even Ward as a nickname from Edward… in the end Jed fits him perfectly and I am so glad that we chose it! I love that his nn is unique yet he has a classic name too if he ever wants to go by that when he gets older.<\/p>\n
We are very excited about having a girl and I really want to get her name settled on early so we aren’t at the hospital unsure of what to call her! We both love the name Sloane but 2 friends have just used that name for their little girl. We both gravitate towards the more masculine sounding names for girls. We also really loved Hayes but I worry that it is too masculine and also not sure how I feel about it for when she gets older. That had me thinking of names that we might use to get Hayes as a nn and thought of Hazel. It doesn’t seem to jump out at me as the one though. This led me to Quinn which I love but can’t seem to get a middle name that works with it as I feel it needs a longer middle name. What do you think about the names we have on our list (really just Quinn and Hazel) and also any suggestions for names that are similar to them or Sloane that we might have missed?<\/p>\n
Thanks so much for your help!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
and<\/p>\n
Well here we are at 33 and a half weeks and still nameless! I am starting to get really nervous as my son came at 35 weeks! Please help and I promise for an update from the hospital bed!<\/p>\n
We do now have a top 5 list that we review nightly and are trying to slowly get down to our little girls name. So here it is in the order of our preferences… We are both happy using the middle name of Quinn with most of these names but open on that too!<\/p>\n
1. Seraphina (nickname Phina) – like that it feels classic but still unique. Is it becoming trendy? Do people think of the Afflecks every time they hear this?<\/p>\n
2. Fiona (nn Fia) – love the meaning and have never met anyone with this name! Will we be setting our daughter up for the Shrek teasing?<\/p>\n
3. Karalina (nn Lina) – we like the Kara leena pronunciation? Would you pronounce this way?<\/p>\n
4. Lilyana (n Lana) – love the name since I am due at Easter time. Not a fan of the Lily nn with our last name. Think that could be avoided?<\/p>\n
5. Sophia (nn Phia) -love the name hate the popularity. Think that this will be a deal breaker.<\/p>\n
We really want a unique name that is also not going to feel dated or weird with a fun nickname like our son has. Are we missing a name that fits this?<\/p>\n
Thanks so much!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n1. Seraphina. I immediately think of the Afflecks, but I think that will change with time as the name becomes more widely-used and the associations therefore become more diluted. I think of it more as the Afflecks making the name usable. But the celebrity connection can definitely give a name a “trendy” feel, even if the name isn’t very common.<\/p>\n2. Fiona. I’ve seen Shrek, and I’ve heard the connection mentioned periodically when the name is mentioned in a post, but it’s not one that comes to my own mind. I don’t know if children would tease about it or not. I’m hoping someone here has an elementary-school-aged Fiona and can report.<\/p>\n
3. Karalina. I’m glad I pronounced it in my mind before reading the rest of the section, so that I can report that I first pronounced it with a LEE sound. If I encountered it out in the world, I would probably ask if it were LEE or LIE. Two similar possibilities: Karenna, Linnea.<\/p>\n
4. Lilyana. I’m not sure if Lily could be avoided. Certainly this is a good generation for avoiding a nickname, and maybe if you set up the Lana thing early on? But Lana is not a natural nickname for Lilyana, and Lily is, so you may meet with resistance. Spelling it Lilliana could help a little: Lilyana visually suggests the nickname Lily. But if popularity bothers you, I suggest crossing this one off the list: the spellings and variations (Lilliana, Lilianna, Lilyanna, Liliana, plus all the Lillians and Lilys) add up to a very popular name. Would you consider going straight for Lana? That’s a name in its own right, and significantly less common.<\/p>\n
5. Sophia. I think you can cross this off the list if popularity bothers you. It also seems like Joseph and Sophia might have too many sounds in common. (Even closer: I’d nearly suggested Josephina because of its similarity to Seraphina and Sophia, before remembering that your Jed is actually Joseph, as is your husband. Oops.)<\/p>\n
A name that kept coming to my mind as I read the possibilities was Philomena. It has sounds in common with every name on your list, it’s not in any current danger of trendiness, and it’s unusual without being weird.<\/p>\n
Another possibility is Willemina\/Wilhelmina. I prefer the first spelling: it’s the one from my own Dutch family tree, but I also think it fits better with current styles and is easier to spell. This gives you the nickname Willa as well as Mina.<\/p>\n
Both Philomena and Willemina also bring us around to the more boyish sound you were looking for in your first letter: Phil and Will\/Wills are other possible nicknames.<\/p>\n
A name similar to Sloane is Lane. Lane Marley; Jed and Lane. She’d also have the nickname Laney if she wanted something more feminine.<\/p>\n
Or another idea would be to give your daughter a traditional name and unusual nickname, to coordinate with your son’s name and also to help avoid datedness and trendiness. Elizabeth, for example, with the nickname Beck. Joseph and Elizabeth; Jed and Beck.<\/p>\n
Or I wish I could suggest Margaret with the nickname Daisy, but that probably won’t work with your surname.<\/p>\n