Liz writes:
Ok, so we’re having a girl, our first…and we’ve realized we like very few girl names.
Our last name is Giesbrecht, and her middle name will for sure be Faye, named after my best friend who passed away a few years ago.
We have a couple names we like, and just a few weeks ago, I had a brainstorm and am thinking of using my Grandmother’s maiden name for our daughter’s name.
The names we both like are :
Georgia (sweet Georgia Faye)
Madelyn (too common now, in my opinion)
Lily (husband’s favorite)and the maiden name….Ellington. Is that too weird? It sounds like the girl off of So You Think You Can Dance, Karington. I love the name and it sounds cute shortened to Ellie. . Ellie Faye…But could we ever call her the formal Ellington? It sounds masculine on it’s own without the middle name…
Advice? Input? Any other names suggestions?
Ellington is a terrific surname name, and the great nickname Ellie makes it easy to use. If I were considering using it, my main worry would be coordinating it with the names of future siblings.
With the exception of Ellington, all the names you’re looking at fall into a category The Baby Name Wizard calls “Antique Charm.” The trouble is, this is a category many people like—so any name I might suggest (Adeline, Ava, Charlotte, Clara, Lucy, Lydia, Sadie, Violet, etc.) is either already as common as Madelyn or in danger of becoming as common as Madelyn.
Still. I’m adding Eliza Faye Geisbrecht and Clara Faye Giesbrecht, because I love them both. Let’s take a vote! The poll is to the right. [poll closed; see below]
[Poll results (273 votes total):
Georgia Faye: 79 votes, roughly 29%
Madelyn Faye: 9 votes, roughly 3%
Lily Faye: 19 votes, roughly 7%
Ellington Faye: 113 votes, roughly 41%
Eliza Faye: 26 votes, roughly 10%
Clara Faye: 27 votes, roughly 10%]
Name update 03-18-2009! Liz writes:
So sorry for being so behind on the update! Ellington Faye was born Oct 28, and we couldn’t be happier with her name. Thanks so much for the suggestions and it was really neat to see how people voted (Ellington had a strong 41% lead, which did help us decide!) and how they weighed in with the name suggestions. We’ll be back when it’s time to name Ellie’s future brother or sister!
I love Georgia but I voted for Clara.
I just don’t see how you can use Ellington as a full name, keeping in mind, as Swistle so wisely noted, future siblings.
Eliza is a great alternative and it’s not as popular as Elizabeth or Eleanor.
Best of luck!
I think Ellington is an adorable name but with a longer last name I think that it becomes a lot.. maybe too much for a little girl. I personally love georgia
I voted for Eliza, but I do love all of these..and I love the middle name Faye–it was almost my daughter’s middle name (we ended up going with June…)! The “antique charm” seems to be my style as well. Have you thought about Cora? Of course, I’m partial, that being my daughter’s name, but for us it was perfect–not too popular but not unknown and perfectly sweet.
Best of luck!
Renee
I say go for Ellington! You could always shorten it to Ellie, which is a great nickname. I like this one the way it is though..and with such a great family connection, she sure would have a meaningful name.
I have a relative named Arrington and they call her by her full name (She’s 12). I love it!
I think it is a bold but great choice!
What about Lila? Lila Faye. I voted for Ellington because that is the coolest sounding name and I love Ellie.
I notice that the Mom’s name is Liz. So maybe Elizabeth? And Eliza might be too close for that…
Nora? Lydia? Just a couple more ideas to kick around. :)
I voted for Ellington but I think Ellie is a great name by itself with none of the issues of future siblings to go with it.
I’m with Jennifer. Why not name her Ellie? Its cute by itself. Or maybe Elle? Both inspired by your family name.
Seems a lot of people are voting for Ellington because they like the nickname. Personally, I think Ellington is great in theory, but in practice it might feel unwieldy and out of sync with the last name.
Although some of the names in the Antique Charm category may have a broad appeal, I don’t think there are many that will become as “common” as Madelyn/Madeline. I think if you like a name and if you feel like you can live with it every day, pick a name you like and don’t worry about how popular it is.
My big Name Test is this: if you’re bringing your baby in to the ER at 3 in the morning and you need to tell the nurse your baby’s name, will she say “Is that with one or two L’s?” or will she say “Huh?” I know when I brought our son into the ER at 3am, I was glad to have named him Thomas.
Great input so far! Yes my name is Elizabeth, so Eliza I hadn’t considered because of my nicknames Liz/Lizzy…might be a bit confusing? Like on the Christmas card we would write (just a weird little thing I do to test out names!)
Love,
Kirk, Elizabeth and Eliza ??
Keep the suggestions coming and thanks so much for the help!!
I voted for Ellington because I always love family connections. But if you’re feeling nervous about it, how about Elinor (as mentioned above)? It could still be a tribute to your grandmother.
Or I do also love Georgia!
While Ellington is unique, many people are using surnames as first names, maybe as frequently as antique charm names. So Ellington follows a trend pattern even though your child will probably never meet another Ellington. I think picking a name with long-term usability is more important than being unique. The antique charm names are appealing because many of them stand the test of time.
With that in mind, I’m going to suggest Ellen with the nickname Ellie. Despite the popularity of Ella and Eleanor / Elinor / etc. Ellen seems to get little attention. I think because people write it off as boring, like Anne and Susan. But names like Anne, Mary, Susan, and Ellen, while they may not initially seem exciting, with time have a way of surprising. Swistle explained this phenomenon every eloquently in another post selling the name John. Can’t remember the link. Anyway, I like Ellen Faye, called Ellie. And Ellen will compliment more possible future sibling names.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ellington. I love the connection, I love that no one else will ever have that name, and I love that you can call her Ellie. If you find that the “ington” is too much, get rid of it and just write Ellie on her school registration papers every year. Problem solved.
As a side note, my brother and I used to play this game when we were little. We pretended to be rich, British socialites and we put “ington” at the end of our names and all our friends names so we could sound more posh. My name is Rachael and his name is Jordan. Our pretend conversations went something like this:
“Oh hell-ooo Jordington. Sooo glad you could come to the pah-ty.”
“Why yes, thank you Rachington, my wife Emilington and I were delighted to be invited.”
It was fun (and I hope this little memory of mine doesn’t change your mind)! Now that I think about it, when it comes to naming other siblings, stick with the British: Barnaby, Oliver, Victoria, Beatrice. You can’t go wrong!
I think Ellington is a beautiful name.
I can’t help think of Duke when I hear Ellington, but it’s a positive association. If you weren’t set on Faye I would lobby for using Ellington as a middle name. Of note, many of the female authors who have “masculine” names e.g. Flannery O’Connor. have their mother’s maiden names as middle names and go by them (I think that’s right according to a Baby Name Wizard blog post).
How about Ella? Ellie as a given name sounds too nn for my taste and she may outgrow it.
Out of the other suggestions I really like Georgia.
And a new one–Ivy Faye Giebrecht.
I have a niece named Ella Fae, and I’m loving Ellington as a nice honorable name. Ellie, Ellen, Ella…all nice nicknames.
While I’m usually not wild about last names as first names, I think Ellington is cute. First and most importantly, it has meaning. It is lovely of you to honor your grandmother. Second, it can be shortened to not make the name overwhelming. Plus, you can find one that fits her personality – cute, sweet Ellie; sassy and creative Ella; smart, sophisticated Elle. That was important to me when naming my daughter Catherine. Third, while it’s not a common name, I don’t think it’s one where people will say, “Huh? how do you spell/pronounce that?”
I think Ellington is a bit of a mouthful with the last name, and honestly, a little pretentious. But Ellie is great. I like the suggestions of Ella and Ellen.
For the poll, I voted for Georgia. That’s very cute!
I find Ellington too masculine and also not in sync with the other names you’re considering. I’m in agreement with Ellen as being very close to Ellington and yet an old-fashioned name like the others you’ve considered. Have you asked your grandmother how she feels about possibly using her maiden name, as is, as your little girl’s given name? I wonder if she too would prefer Ellen “for my Grandmother’s maiden name Ellington”. (You could spell it Ellin, but I personally prefer standard spellings.)
How about Elena? It’s similar to Ellington (a la Ellie, Elle, Eliza, and Ellen), and it’s a beautiful name in its own right. Elena Faye – I love it!
I think Ellington is a rockin’ name! I love the idea of using significant last names as first names. I think your daughter will grow up to love it as well.