My husband Evan and I are due to have our second baby on May 6 (although the doctor has already suggested kicking out the baby as many as 3 weeks early, which would give us a mid-April baby). We have a son, Qui11@n Edw@rd Foster. This time, we are having a little girl. She will be definitely be our last child as I don’t think I can survive another first (two) trimesters of morning sickness.<\/p>\n
We really struggled when naming our son, as we wanted something that was reasonably unique, without seeming weird or made up. A few weeks before he was born, we finally settled on Qui11@n (nn Qui11). His middle name, Edw@rd, is my husband’s father’s middle name.<\/p>\n
With this baby girl, I’ve pretty much decided that her middle name will be Jane (it is my grandmother’s, my mother’s, my sister’s and my niece’s middle name) to honor my family this time. We are really stuck on a first name. My husband wants something that has about the same popularity as Qui11@n (about 20 in the U.S. a year), without seeming weird or made up. He actually downloaded all of the name data from the social security administration into a graphical plotting program (not just the top names, all the names) and graphs every name that I suggest and throws out anything “too popular”. What I am looking for in a name is something that goes nicely with Qui11@n, works with Jane as a middle name, and has some good nickname possibilities. I love nicknames and will likely come up with something regardless, but something that was more intuitive with the name would be nice. We both kind of like old fashioned and old lady names (me more than him), but I want to be sure that she is cute enough to carry one of these names off.<\/p>\n
Names that are on our short list right now:
\nLinnea (husband’s favorite, but I’m ambivalent about, partly because it is a family name on his side and I feel like we already honored them with my son’s middle name, also because it seems like my husband always gets his way)
\nEllery (or perhaps the welsh version Eleri)
\nThora (no obvious nn, except Thor?)
\nMarlowe (maybe not feminine enough)
\nRosalind (maybe too romantic for our tastes and I feel like I can’t pronounce this properly, but good nn)
\nDahlia (I might call her dolly all the time, which husband doesn’t like)
\nMabel (husband doesn’t particularly like, but I love nn possibilities)
\nCordelia (probably too romantic for our tastes, but we both like possibility of delia as nn)<\/p>\n
Names I like, but have been dismissed by husband (or me) for various reasons:
\nAgatha (husband says ugh)
\nUrsula (bad disney villain, but I loved the character in the recent Kate Atkinson book)
\nHannah (too popular)
\nNorah (too popular)
\nAnna (too popular)
\nSabine (loved, until my husband told me that it is pronounced Sa-bean-ah, not Sa-bean)<\/p>\n
Another name that I like, but likely won’t use because it is my grandmother’s name, plus it is a bit too alliterative with Foster as a surname:
\nFlora<\/p>\n
Names we talked about using when we thought we might have another boy:
\nGraeme, Arlo, Cormac<\/p>\n
Thanks for your help.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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I too would have expected Sabine to be prounced Sa-bean, so I looked it up: your husband is right than in German it is pronounced with an -ah on the end (as well as with more of a Z-sound than an S-sound); however, in English and French it is pronounced Sa-bean. References: The Baby Name Wizard<\/a>, Inogolo<\/a>, Forvo<\/a>. If your family lives in the United States and speaks English, the primary pronunciation for your country\/language is Sa-bean; if you were writing to say that you wanted it pronounced Za-bean-ah, I’d be saying that I think that would be a very hard sell here: Anne is not pronounced Anna, for example, and Sabrina is not spelled Sabrine.<\/p>\n I think it’s a mistake to veto names solely on the basis of their popularity. A usage of 20 babies per year goes beyond unusual and lands us in a realm heavily populated by names that are unheard of, or are respellings of more popular spellings. It also sounds to me, reading your letter, like your husband is using popularity to knock out names you like, but not names he likes: Linnea, his favorite, was given to 146 new baby girls in 2012; Lynnea to another 32; Lanaya to another 44.<\/p>\n I do love the name Linnea, and it seems like a great choice. I can’t tell from the letter how much you like it. If it weren’t for it being a family name on your husband’s side and for other husband-annoyance-related issues, how would you feel about the name? Even though I much prefer names to be more balanced family-name-wise (especially if the surname is ALSO coming from his side of the family), I might bend on that for a name you both love and agree on (but then FOR SURE use Jane as the middle, and maybe use your family name as a second middle name, just to drive it home a bit).<\/p>\n Ellery may feel too common to meet your preferences. The name itself is not so common (201 new baby girls named Ellery in 2012), but the El-\/Ella- names are so in fashion right now, it makes all of them feel more common than they are.<\/p>\n Thora seems like a great choice: very unusual (21 new baby girls in 2012) and yet familiar and spelled traditionally. One possible nickname is T.J.<\/p>\n Thea would be nice, too.<\/p>\n Because you have Marlowe on your short list for a girl and Arlo on your boy list, I’d be inclined to look at other names with that sound. If Marlowe seems insufficiently feminine, perhaps the spelling Marlo would work better. Or these names come to mind:<\/p>\n Arden If you like Dahlia, I wonder if you’d like Zinnia or Azalea? Both have a Z, which I think is nice with Qui11@n’s Q.<\/p>\n If Cordelia feels too romantic, Delia is also a stand-alone name. Delia Jane Foster; Qui11@n and Delia.<\/p>\n I came to like the name Ursula because of that same book! The Disney villain still ruins it for me, too. Maybe if I knew a little girl named Ursula—but those movies are so enduringly watched and re-watched, decade after decade.<\/p>\n If Norah is too popular, I wonder if you’d like:<\/p>\n Finola I think Flora is a wonderful choice. It’s quite alliterative with your surname, but that helps to increase its distinctive\/unusual sound with Qui11@n. My main hesitation is that the first syllable of Foster sounds very similar to the first syllable of fauna; “flora and fauna” is a natural pairing and, although benign, it’s not an association I’d want springing automatically to people’s minds. Would Florence work better?<\/p>\n Do you have any family surnames that would work well as a girl’s first name? That’s a way to get a very distinctive name with an easy explanation.<\/p>\n
\nArwen
\nCleo
\nDarla (similar to Dahlia, but no Dolly)
\nGarnet
\nMargo
\nMarlena
\nMeadow<\/p>\n
\nHonora
\nIsadora
\nLenora
\nNola
\nTheodora
\nZipporah
\nZola
\nZora<\/p>\n
![\"Eleri\"](\"http:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Eleri.jpg\")
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