Michelle writes:
hello! a friend of mine sent me a link to your blog knowing that we’re still trying to figure out a name for baby #3. we’d love your help! we found out that we’re having a girl and can’t seem to settle on something we both like. i’m due in three weeks!
our other children’s names are michael and allison. we call them mikey and allie. the “t” is silent in our last name, and is pronounced “sigh”. so here’s where we’re at:
* my husband’s top pick is lauren kara tsai. i like it too, EXCEPT that lauren doesn’t really shorten into a nickname (besides laurie, which i don’t think we’d use since saying it and spelling it wouldn’t be any shorter than lauren itself), and i would like to have a cute nickname for this baby since both her siblings go by nicknames. the other reason i’m not thrilled about lauren is because her siblings (ages 4 and 2) will be calling her “warren” since their “l’s” sound like “w’s”.
* we’d like to have the middle name start with a “k” since both her siblings have “k” middle names. just something to link them all together. i do like cara, but kara looks a little weird to me. so we’re also stuck on middle names as well.
* prefer not to have the name begin with a P, M, or A since those already in our family and we’d like each child to have their own letter.
* we’d like a clearly girl’s name that is easy to pronounce and is spelled traditionally. this is because my husband has a name he really hated growing up and wants to spare his children the angst, and also because our last name is a little tricky– no need to make it even more complicated for the poor kid.
* cannot begin with an “s” since something like “sophie tsai” sounds too cutesy and/or silly.
* husband doesn’t like names that sound too “harsh”.
* i tend to like “j” names, but haven’t found one that isn’t too common– like jennifer or jessica.some names we’ve tossed around:
* emily
* olivia (husband doesn’t like)
* cara
* julienames we can’t use due to close friends or family already using them:
* joanna
* jenna
* naomi
* megan
* kaitlyn
* kaylalooking forward to hearing your suggestions! thanks!
My friend Mairzy and I both like these kinds of names, so I immediately called her in on it. Mairzy writes:
As fun as the exotic names are, sometimes it’s nice to slip back into comfortable basic names. I enjoyed hanging out with Allison and Lauren this time around.
My top choice would be your husband’s: Lauren is a good name. I have a sister named Lauren, and we (the family) call her La. It’s not a nickname that would carry a girl through her life, but it is short and cute. I don’t know if “Wa” is any improvement over “Warren,” but at least they grow out of it.
I, too, love J names. Here are a few others to consider:
* Jillian (or Gillian)
* Julianna
* Jessie
* Janae
* JaneFor middle names, K is a versatile letter. Kate is pretty much the denim middle name: it goes with everything. Kayla is another easily-matched one. Other K possibilities:
* Kathleen
* Kay (nice and short, although still rather middle-aged in style)
* Kelly
* Kimberly? If you used a short first name like Jane?My favorite choice would be Lauren Kate. Best wishes on #3!
Thanks, Mairzy! And I agree: Lauren is a great choice. It’s true that Laurie isn’t shorter than Lauren, but a lot of nicknames are like that: Jimmy for James, Annie for Ann, etc. And it’s great with the sibling names. And the “Warren” thing will be short-lived.
I love the name Emily even more. Love love love. It’s been high on my girl list with every pregnancy. Michael, Allison, and Emily. Mikey, Allie, and Emmie. Emily Kay Tsai. Love.
For J names, how about Jacqueline? Jacqueline Kay Tsai. Michael, Allison, and Jacqueline. Mikey, Allie, Jackie.
And I like Jillian. Jillian Kay Tsai. Michael, Allison, and Jillian. Mikey, Allie, Jill.
Or Josephine. Josephine Kay Tsai. Michael, Allison, and Josephine. Mikey, Allie, and Josie.
My top two choices (tied) are Emily and Jillian.
Let’s take a vote! Poll over to the right! [poll closed; see below] (I like Cara and Julie, but am leaving them off because they don’t have nicknames; I’m leaving Olivia off because one parent doesn’t like it.)
[Poll results:
Lauren/Laurie: 23 votes, roughly 14%
Emily/Emmie: 72 votes, roughly 43%
Jacqueline/Jackie: 7 votes, roughly 4%
Jillian/Jill: 39 votes, roughly 23%
Josephine/Josie: 27 votes, roughly 16%]
[Update! (08-29-2008) Michelle writes:
hello again!
so sorry for the belated update– but baby lauren kara tsai is now here! caught us by surprise by coming 16 days early, but we’ve been enjoying every minute of her. yes, even the 4 am minutes. :)
we did end up going with our original name, though i DID make a valiant effort to sway him toward “emily” on the ride to the hospital since i’ve fallen in love with the nickname “emi”. but no dice. but now that she’s here, she just *looks* like a lauren to us. still no nickname for her, but maybe she’ll come up with one herself if she decides she wants one!
thanks again for all the suggestions! emily will definitely be high on the list should #4 be coming along someday…
michelle]
What about Janel? I have a good friend named Janel and her family called her Nellie growing up and while I probably originally wouldn’t have thought that was a cute nickname, it was very endearing.
But I love the name Janae. It was on my list at one time. And Jillian is beautiful. For K middle names I love both Kay and Katherine/Kathryn.
I think Jillian Kay is my fave.
And Jilly could be an adorable nickname for a little one…
I like Lauren, too. Also, Mikey isn’t any shorter than Michael, syllable-wise. Nicknames aren’t always about shortening the name for convenience.
I love Jillian (Jill or Jillie) and Emily (Emmie). Great choices on all the names though. It’d be hard to go wrong.
My daughter is Kara (Kara Leigh), so obviously I’m a fan. But originally I thought I wanted Cara. It was my husband for fought for the K spelling, and now I’m glad he did.
I really like Emily and Josephine, along with their nicknames. Good luck!
i like emily/emmie. emily kate sounds nice to me.
I really like Emily and Josephine… but I voted for Josephine to keep it out there as a serious contender. I love that name. :o) and Josie sounds cute.
I like Jillian, but I dont’ like Jill as a nickname because its not the same sounding as Allie or Mickey.
I’m totally in love with Jillian Kate after reading this post…although I would use the nickname Jillie/Jilly because I think it’s super cute with Mikey and Allie!
Kristi P
I’m biased because I have a Jillian. We call her either Jillian or Jilly, though Jilly is becoming used more and more, so I’m going to have to vote for that one. I also love Josie (Josephine).
My last comment reads weird. When I say used more and more, I mean BY US calling OUR OWN CHILD THAT. NOT becoming a commonly heard name. Does this even clarify? I don’t know, my brain is muddled from lack of sleep.
I love Jillian or Josephine. Jillie or Josey are both so cute with your children’s names. I vote for Kay or Kate as a middle name. Such cute names!!
What about Jocelyn? I have always loved that name. The nickname would be Joss…doesn’t really go with Mikey and Allie, but it’s such a pretty name.
I like Jocelyn a lot too. I once knew twins Jameson and Jocelyn that went by Jamie and Jocie/Jossie. I thought it was cute.
I’ll say that I don’t love Lauren with the Laurie nickname.
But this gives me the opportunity to suggest a name that doesn’t quite fit your criteria, but I have been loving lately.
Malia (Lia) Katherine. I know that starts with an M, like your Michael, but still a pretty name that flows and since the nickname starts with an L….maybe it would work.
Micheal, Allison, and Malia
Mikey, Allie, and Lia
I think it’s cute.
I love, love, love the name Jillian, but have to be in the minority here and say that Allie and Jilly sound too similar to me for sisters. Allie and Jill are better to my ears. But, that said, I voted for Josephine because it is an AWESOME name. And Josie is an AWESOME nickname. Also, that way, each kid gets their own sounds: Mikey, Allie and Josie. Also also, when she’s a moody teenager, she can go by Jo if she wants to, which is of course a “cool” nickname. And when she grows up, she can go by Josephine and sound very sophisticated. So, I love this name: Josephine Kate.
(Oh, I just realized Josie Tsai might turn you off, but my ears hope it’s not a deal-breaker.)
I have a Gillian, so I’m biased in favor of that one. We call her Gilly most of the time, never Jill. To me that’s a completely different name. I also love Emily though and would have been happy to name her that, but my husband didn’t like it as well.
I voted for Jillian but would go with Jilly so it matches the “e” of Mikey and Allie.
I voted for the name Emily/Emmie. I think it sounds great with Brother and Sister’s names.
Other suggestions:
Caroline/Carrie
Gabrielle/Gabby
Elizabeth/Lizzy
Out of those, I think Caroline/Carrie is my favorite.
Michael, Alison, Caroline.
Mikey, Allie, Carrie.
Good luck and Congrats!
I voted Emily/Emmie (or Emmy).
Just putting it out there, but the “Jackie” nickname for Jacqueline can also be spelled “Jacquie” (which matches that spelling of Jacqueline a little better, and I think is softer looking than the very 80s looking J-a-c-k-i-e… just one humble opinion).
I also like the Jillian suggestion. Very pretty name.
So I vote:
Emily Kate or Emily Kay (love both)
Jillian Kate or Jillian Kathryn (I think even though “Jillian” and “Kathryn” end with the same sound, it’s a pleasing combination to the ear when said aloud).
All of the choices on the voting list are great, and seem to fit the criteria well.
I voted for Jacqueline / Jackie but it was very difficult to decide between that and Josephine / Josie. The tie breaker was how the nick names complemented the siblings’ nick names. Mickey, Allie, and Jackie – great sib set.
While I don’t think you need more options, lately I have been thinking Deborah should be revived (but only spelled Deborah – not Debra). And I feel this situation is a perfect use for Deborah: Mickey, Allie, and Debbie.
I like Emily and Jillian off of the voting list.
I actually voted for Emily, because although I feel it is a popular name, I think it fits best with the sibling names. Michael, Allison and Emily. Mikey, Allie, Emmie. I think it fits perfectly.
As for middle names, I’m pretty partial to Kate (obviously) and plan to use it for a girl eventually. I also like Katherine.
Emily Kate or Emily Katherine are my votes!
What about shortening Lauren to L.–or Elle?
I voted for Emily, but don’t particularly like Emmie as a nickname. I also like the nickname Josie but don’t really like the name Josephine. (I am picky). I was also thinking about Amelia, and maybe calling her Mia, Lia, or Mel? That way you don’t re-use an M name, but have cute nicknames. As far as a nickname for Lauren if that is what you choose, my name is Laura and my family and friends have called me Lo for years. It would also work for Lauren, and you could lengthen it to Lolo, Lola, or Lulu. Just an idea :) Good luck!
I have a good friend Julie, who’s nickname is Jules.
Update: Michelle is off to the hospital so it looks like we’ll find out the name of Baby Tsai soon!
Jan- Oooo, how exciting! I can’t wait to find out!
I voted for Jillian and would use Jilly as a nickname, but I also love Julianne or Julianna and wous have used it if we didn’t already have a Julia in our close family. I had a friend named Lauren whose family called her Renny, not common but it suited her.
Okay, I’m totally commenting late on this, but maybe the mom will come back and read it: I stopped reading the post after Mairzy suggested Jillian, because: JILLY.
My sis is Jill, and we’ve always called her Jilly, and she is now “Aunt Jilly,” and we LOVE IT. And that fits with Mikey and Allie. So it’s PERFECT. :)
My sister’s name is Lauren and we all call her Lau (pronounced Lo). I think it’s adorable and I love the name.
Rennie is my favorite nickname for Lauren. I also like Ren and Laur.