Lola writes:
I’m in need of your and your crowd’s help! I found out today I’m scheduled for a c-section at the beginning of this coming week. My baby girl will arrive in days and we are still unsure about her name.
Our last name is very difficult to pronounce, most people cannot say it correctly. It starts with “O” and has to “Ks”.
Names we both like a lot but we can’t use are Danielle, Michelle, Brooke, Hailey, Nicole, Gabrielle. We also like the name Kayla but I question if adding yet another K to the combo it’s a good idea. I like the names Allison, Jacqueline and Amy too but my husband doesn’t at all.
We’d like a name that’s easy to spell and with a unmistakable pronunciation. I’d like an “american” kind of name. Her name cannot start with B or with H because of the initials. We’d like a name outside the top 20, unique yet recognizable.
The name we like the most is Arielle, which is far from matching our criteria! It has two pronunciation, and we only like the less common one (it can be pronounced air-ee-uh or ar-ee-el. We only like ar-ee-el.) To make matters worse, the most common spelling is Ariel, but we are choosing the less used and less “american” one. Soundwise, we feel it works very well with our last name, we like that is uncommon and sweet and without harsh sounds. But, I’m afraid I will be submitting my daughter to a life of correcting her name’s pronunciation and spelling.
What do you think? And if this was to be her name, which middle name would you suggest?
We also like the name Megan. Does Arielle Megan flow well? Does Megan Arielle flow better? Or which middle name would go well with Megan?
And if not Arielle nor Megan. Which other names would you suggest?
We need help!!! Thank you, thank you.
Not enough time to answer this, so let’s just put it up for discussion!
I LOVE Arielle – I think the pronounciation is clear from the spelling, and it’s a beautiful name.
Since you’re not confident about Arielle, I’d suggest going with Megan. It fits your criteria of being American sounding, and if your last name is difficult, at least she’ll have a first name people can’t mess up. Also, I love the name.
Do you have a family name that would go well with Megan for a middle name? Or what about a classic “middle name”? Megan Elizabeth sounds nice.
Good luck!
What about Adrienne? I’ve always loved that name and its pretty similar to Arielle.
I think Megan sounds better as a first name. Megan Arielle. Megan Adrienne. It also seems more “American” to me too. Have you guys discussed Megan as a first name?
Oh my!
I think you’ll be fine either way you go! Arielle is beautiful, and it’s not so uncommon that people have never seen that spelling or heard that pronounciation EVER before.
That being said, if you both like the name Megan, it’s certainly a great choice too — and it does fit more of your original criteria. Megan Arielle is pretty; or if you have a family name to use like Joceline suggested that might be nice too.
Sorry I’m not much help…but I really think you should go with your gut, and you’ve got two options that are perfectly great. Maybe go into the hospital with both ideas in mind, and when you see your beautiful baby girl, perhaps you’ll “Just Know” which name is hers? :-)
I read Arielle the way you want it pronounced, if that helps. Megan does fit your criteria nicely. I think Megan Arielle flows better but both work.
I notice that most of the names you mention and all the ones you share with your husband have have an L sound but start with another letter. Here are some I think might match your style there are many more:
Abigail
Alexis
Alexandra
Chloe
Isabelle/Isabella
Natalie
Rylie
Jocelyn
Noelle
Alicia
Angela
Rachael/Rachel
My favourite is Chloe but maybe you don’t want a K-sound. And Abigail is getting pretty popular but it’s not “trendy.”
Or maybe try starting with the L:
Laura
Lauren
Laurel or Laurelle
Lillian/Lily
Leah
Good Luck!
I love Arielle and your preferred pronunciation is the one that came to me first when I looked at it. Congrats!
Megan Arielle would be my pick.
I love how sweet, simple, common but not overdone, Megan is. Everybody knows the name, but there really aren’t that many Megans running around…
I suggest Arielle Morgan. :)
What everybody else said.
I was going to offer some more suggestions, but really I can’t improve on what’s already been said. Arielle and Megan are both lovely names and easy with a difficult last name.
Hope everything goes well!
I think you are wise to consider the pronunciation and spelling issues when it comes to names. I agree that you will have these issues with your pronunciation of Arielle. Of course nowadays so many names have alternate spellings and pronunciations, that you might be limiting yourself quite a bit.
I agree with the others that Megan Arielle is a great choice. And I also like the suggestion of Laura and Laurel.
For other options I’m thinking of Amelia for it’s similarity to Amy and I’ll go out on a limb and suggest Zoe because it’s short like Amy. Zoe is popular but not obnoxiously so. And there’s a French flair to your names which inspires Julie and Sophie. Sophie’s moderately popular, but not to the point of obnoxiousness, but Julie is not really common for babies today, and personally, I’d love to see more little Julie’s.
I also considered Isabelle / Isabel / Isobel, which has the elle ending like other names you like, but again there’s the spelling issue, and it might be more common than you want. But I’m going to suggest it as a middle name.
How about (I prefer Laura and Laurel over Lauren, but in some combinations, Lauren seems to sound better):
Lauren Arielle
Zoe Arielle
Julie Arielle
Sophie Arielle
Amelia Lauren
Laura Isobel / Isabel / Isabelle
Zoe Amelia
Laura Megan
Megan Isobel, et. al.
Sophie Lauren
Zoe Isobel, et. al
I think Arielle Megan sounds beautiful. I wouldn’t worry about the pronounciation issue. Just tell people how to pronounce it, and they will pronounce it that way! It’s actually quite common to pronounce names two different ways – for example, I’ve heard Colin pronounced call-in and also cole-in.
However, if you’re not 100% sold on Arielle, here are some other ideas:
Marissa
Charlotte
Victoria
Ella
Rachel
Samantha
Nina
I think those are pretty much the same style as Arielle, so hopefully those help!
I like both Arielle and Megan. I don’t think Arielle is too out there in terms of pronunciation/spelling.
I don’t think Arielle Megan flows that well though. Megan and Arielle are just such different naming styles I wouldn’t put them together in general.
Arielle Nadine (something French?)
Arielle Suzette
I like Megan Elizabeth as suggested above.
Megan Margaret
Megan Brooke
Searching for “elle” endings which you seem to like:
ANNABELLE f English
BELLE f English
CHANTELLE f English
CHRISTELLE f Frenc
GISELLE f French, English(Modern)
MIRABELLE f French (Rare),
ROCHELLE f English
Other ideas:
Violet, Bridget, Natalie, Sharon, Meredith
Good luck and congrats!
A friend of mine has a little Ariel, and while she’s not fussed about the pronunciation, she *does* hear at least the two you’ve mentioned, plus others. If you dislike one of the more common sounds, I think you’ll be frustrated by the name.
From your list, I think Brooke is the most classic and straightforward choice, but that gives you the initials BO.
I like the idea of Lauren Arielle, as others have suggested. That way you still have your pretty choice in the middle spot, but pronouncing and spelling it will rarely come up, while your daughter has a classic first name that pairs well with a more complicated surname.
Best wishes!
If you’re worried about the pronunciation of Arielle, how about Ariella instead?
That would clear up your concerns about having to correct pronunciation, since Ariella would be obviously (Ar-ee-el-la). You could always use Arielle as a pet name in addition to it.
Ariella Megan sounds lovely too.
I think Arielle is lovely! Megan is a beautiful name, too, but since Arielle is your favorite, I would go with your instincts. While there might be occasional questions about spelling and pronunciation, that’s true about practically every name (Gennifer or Jennifer? A-na or Ah-na- one n or 2? etc), and for what it’s worth, when I assumed your pronunciation of Arielle from the spelling.
Sorry about the typo- that last sentence should be:
…for what it’s worth, I assumed your pronunciation of Arielle from the spelling.
:)
What about Arielle Rose? I think Arielle is a beautiful name (and I think that its uncommon common-ness will allow people to get the pronuciation correct) and Rose is kind of classic, short, american and to me flows with an O last name. Good Luck!
You are expecting the vast majority of people to pronounce Arielle in French/Hebrew. However, if most people in your “world” have english as a first language, then she will be get the english pronunciation, “air-ee-el” Personally, I think Ariel is prettier and easier to pronounce in english. I don’t mind “R-E-L” but it sounds a little affected to me.