{"id":7364,"date":"2013-04-03T14:44:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T18:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/?p=7364"},"modified":"2013-07-06T12:56:53","modified_gmt":"2013-07-06T16:56:53","slug":"baby-boy-or-girl-automuhnelly-sibling-to-timothy-and-ellen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/2013\/04\/03\/baby-boy-or-girl-automuhnelly-sibling-to-timothy-and-ellen\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby Boy or Girl Automuhnelly, Sibling to Timothy and Ellen"},"content":{"rendered":"

L. writes:<\/p>\n

I love your blog and have spent countless hours reading the archives and
\ncomments through each pregnancy.\u00a0 I always say that if all that were
\ninvolved with having a baby were picking the name, I would have 100 because
\nI love finding the perfect name so much.\u00a0 Now, I am driving myself crazy
\ntrying to narrow down the choices for a girl name and desperately want your
\nexpert opinion.<\/p>\n

My name is Lisa and my husband is Peter.\u00a0 I am pregnant with my third, due
\nthis spring.\u00a0 We have a boy and a girl, so we decided to not find out the
\ngender for this baby since we feel like he or she will be icing on the cake
\neither way.\u00a0 My husband and I have very different tastes in names and both
\ntimes before, we have waited to meet the baby to decide on the name.\u00a0 We
\nnamed my son Timothy Michael and he goes by Timothy, Tim and Timmy.\u00a0 Michael
\nis my husband\u2019s father\u2019s name.\u00a0 He was born on Christmas morning at a
\nwhopping 9 lbs, 9 oz so we decided he was our little Tiny Tim.\u00a0 My daughter
\nis Ellen Lucille.\u00a0 Ellen was my grandmother\u2019s name, as well as my middle
\nname, my mom\u2019s middle name and my aunt on the other side\u2019s middle name.\u00a0 We
\ncall her Ellie sometimes (even though it completely rhymes with our last
\nname).\u00a0 My husband picked Lucille just because he liked it, and we found
\nout later that it was the name of a close friend of my Grandmother who got
\nmarried in the same church on the same day as my grandparents!\u00a0 I
\nabsolutely love both of their names.\u00a0 I have never met another kid with
\ntheir names but have also never had any trouble with people mispronouncing
\nor misspelling them.<\/p>\n

We have a very difficult last name, it\u2019s pronounced Auto-muh-nelly (5
\nsyllables and 11 letters!) but it starts with an O.\u00a0 We constantly have to
\nspell it and\/or pronounce it for people, so it\u2019s pretty important for me to
\npick names for my kids that are easy to say and spell.\u00a0 I also prefer
\nshorter names (or at least shorter nicknames) since the last name is so
\nlong.\u00a0 Other \u201crules\u201d are that it be (1) a classic name (in existence since
\nat least the 1950s, preferably earlier), (2) not too popular (preferably
\nnot the top 100, but we\u2019re flexible if it\u2019s popular because it\u2019s been
\naround forever, like John or Mary), (3) lend itself to a good nickname, (4)
\nbe good for a child AND an adult and (5) not be identified primarily with a
\nparticular religion or ethnicity.\u00a0 Of course now I also want to make sure
\nthat the name fits with the other two we have.<\/p>\n

For a boy, we really like the name Thomas, but can\u2019t have a Tommy and a
\nTimmy.\u00a0 We also like the name James, but not the nickname Jamie (or Jimmy).
\nOur two frontrunners for boy names are Theodore (Teddy) and Henry. For a
\nmiddle name, I like the idea of using Robert after my father, but also am
\ntempted to use Thomas or James.<\/p>\n

For girls, we are kind of stuck.\u00a0 At first, we thought we were agreed on
\neither Madeline or Olivia, but I have since started doubting both.\u00a0 I don\u2019t
\nthink I like the nickname Maddie and I can\u2019t really picture a grown-up
\nMadeline.\u00a0 Olivia is A LOT of syllables to stick in front of our last name
\nand it is one of the most popular names out there.\u00a0 Plus there isn\u2019t really
\na great nickname. We do think it\u2019s a pretty name though.<\/p>\n

Other names we like but aren\u2019t convinced are the one:<\/p>\n

Caroline (i think this is a beautiful name, but don\u2019t really like any
\nnicknames and worry about people mispronouncing it)
\nCharlotte (maybe too popular and no great nicknames)
\nLeah (I like this and think it\u2019s short and sweet, but husband isn\u2019t
\nconvinced and it\u2019s pretty popular)
\nGrace (too popular and don\u2019t like \u201cGracie\u201d)
\nMargaret, nn Maggie or Margot (I think I am trying to convince myself to
\nlike it, but it still sounds kind of old-ladyish to me)
\nKatherine, nn Kate (I really like this, he\u2019s not sure)
\nJulia (Don\u2019t think he\u2019d go for this, but I think it\u2019s pretty)<\/p>\n

Names my husband has shot down \/ names we don\u2019t like \/ names we can\u2019t use:<\/p>\n

Clara \/ Claire
\nKatelyn
\nJocelyn
\nCeleste
\nPenelope
\nEvangeline nn Eva
\nAmelia
\nNaomi
\nGabrielle
\nAlexandra
\nAndrea
\nSamantha
\nJosephine
\nBeatrice
\nChloe
\nAnne \/ Annabelle
\nEvelyn<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t really any good family names that I\u2019m aware of.\u00a0 Is there a
\nname that we\u2019re just not thinking about and would be a perfect fit in our
\nfamily?\u00a0 Or do I just need to pick one of our maybes and let it grow on me?
\nI am hoping to go to the hospital with 2 or 3 names that I love so we can
\npick the right one when we meet him or her.
\nThank you!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

and<\/p>\n

I thought we had narrowed down our choices to one boy name and one girl
\nname, but about every other day, I find myself doubting the girl name.\u00a0 We
\nhave about 7 more weeks to pick out a name, and feeling unsettled is
\nstressing me out!\u00a0 We could really use some expert advice.<\/p>\n

For a boy, we are 99% sure we’ll go with Theodore.\u00a0 The other name we’re
\nholding on to is Henry.<\/p>\n

For a girl, we had tentatively picked out Angeline Grace, with the nickname
\nAngie.\u00a0 While I think this is a pretty name, I just am not sure how well it
\ngoes with my other two kids.<\/p>\n

The other name my husband liked that I dismissed as too popular was Amelia,
\nbut I keep coming back to it.\u00a0 I think I like Emilia better because of the
\nnickname options, but does it seem like a made-up name?\u00a0 And is it too
\nsimilar to Ellie?<\/p>\n

I think I just want a fresh perspective because I’ve been mulling these
\nover for so many months that it seems impossible to get any clarity and
\nsettle on one or two names.<\/p>\n

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

To me, the name Angeline sounds much fancier than the names Timothy and Ellen. With sibling names, I especially compare siblings of the same sex: in this case, sisters named Ellen and Angeline seem set up to do a plot line with one sensible sister and one glamorous one.<\/p>\n

Emilia doesn’t seem made up to me, but a 4-syllable first name with a 5-syllable last name (both heavy on L and M sounds) seems like it’s pushing the limit. I also think Ellie and Emmie are too close, and that Timmy and Emmie are too close.<\/p>\n

Olivia and Madeline are both much more popular than you’d prefer: you’re hoping to avoid the Top 100, but Olivia is in the Top 10 and Madeline is there too when the spellings are added up. Madeline is also out if you’re looking for easy to spell and say: there are two common pronunciations and half a dozen common spellings. Olivia does have the cute nicknames Liv and Livvy, though, if you want them. And I think Madeline works great on a grown woman: I’m thinking of Madeleine Albright, Madeleine L’Engle, and Madeline Kahn, just for starters.<\/p>\n

With Ellen and Timothy, though, I think I’d be looking for something different. The name Timothy is never really out but was especially stylish in the 1950s and 1960s; the name Ellen hit its high point in the 1940s and 1950s. I looked for the top names in 1955 and found these to consider:<\/p>\n

Alice
\nAngela
\nDiana
\nFrances
\nHolly
\nJane
\nJill
\nJoan
\nJoanne
\nJoy
\nJune
\nLaura
\nLouise
\nMary
\nRobin
\nRose
\nRuth
\nSarah
\nSusan
\nSuzanne<\/p>\n

Some of these may be too similar in sound to Ellen, but it’s a little hard to tell: are Ellen and Alice too close? Ellen and Susan? And some might not work with the surname, but again it’s hard to tell: Diana Automuhnelly? Holly Automuhnelly?<\/p>\n

My favorites from the list are:<\/p>\n

Frances Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Frances; Timmy, Ellie, and Frannie
\nJane Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Jane; Timmy, Ellie, and Janie
\nLaura Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Laura; Timmy, Ellie, and Laurie
\nRuth Automuhnelly; Timothy, Ellen, and Ruth; Timmy, Ellie, and Ruthie<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name update!<\/strong> L. writes:<\/p>\n

Thank you for posting my question! We had a boy-thankfully-because I was just not excited about any of our potential girl names. I think that heading in to the hospital, we had narrowed our choices to Theodore or Henry for a boy. For a girl, we had Catherine and Grace and my husband insisted that Angeline was still a contender. When my husband said “it’s a boy!” I jumped at the chance to have a Teddy, and my husband passed down his middle name as our son’s middle. Theodore Joseph joined our family on May 10th and we all love our little Teddy Bear!<\/p>\n

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L. writes: I love your blog and have spent countless hours reading the archives and comments through each pregnancy.\u00a0 I always say that if all that were involved with having a baby were picking the name, I would have 100 because I love finding the perfect name so much.\u00a0 Now, I am driving myself crazy […]<\/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-7364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-name-update"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3iyiG-1UM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7364","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=7364"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7855,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7364\/revisions\/7855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}