Jenna writes:
Not for lack of effort, but my baby girl (our first) is due on Christmas Day and we are still completely undecided on a name. Growing up as one of MANY Jennifers, I have always vowed to name my children very unique, individualized names, but nothing too out there where people have to ask you to repeat it or spell it when you introduce yourself. I’m very fond of unisex names such as: Hayden, Harper, Blair, Payton, and Quinn. I also like the cutsie girly names such as: Lily, Molly, Macie, Madeleine, and Ella. And my husband and I even really like Piper which is very unusual and Tegan also relatively unusual. I actually recently fell in love with the name Tegan, but my cousin (not a cousin that I speak to or see but about once a year) just named her baby girl Tegan.
So, I’m in part writing to ask, is it appropriate to still use that name, or is that rude? And I’m also looking for other suggestions that would be in line with the types of names that we like so far. The problem is, besides Tegan, I’m not really head-over-heels in love with any of these names. We do have a family name that we like for a middle name (Maggie), but are open to whatever for that as well. Our main criteria though would be originality, and not simply in variations of spelling. Any feedback on these or other names would be so greatly appreciated! She could arrive any minute!
Jenna writes again:
So our minds have changed somewhat since I last wrote. We are now strongly considering Lily as a first name, but I’m worried about it’s growing popularity. It was #27 last year and the trend seems to be upward. Any thoughts? I’m still considering the same alternatives as before and am still open to new ideas. I’m also having a hard time with middle names for Lily…Lily Bella (like the sound), Lily Marguerite (family name), and Lily Noelle (Christmas baby…).
I’ve had this one in my inbox for AGES, and can’t seem to tackle it. The only suggestion that comes to mind is Iris, Iris Marguerite. Anyone else want to give it a try?
Name update 01-10-2009! Jenna writes:
Thank you so much to all who commented on our posting to find the perfect name for our little girl. Teagan Lily was born January 2nd and fit her name
perfectly!
Some nymbler.com suggestions: Tamsin, Rowan, Rhian, Aislin (pronounced Ashlyn I believe), Brynn, and Taryn. I think those are all pretty names that have the same level of rareness. I like Tamsin (not in the top thousand) and Brynn (#349) the best.
Lily has been popular for a few years already and personally I don’t see it climbing too much more. But #27 is pretty common IMO. If you go with Lily I like Lily Noelle.
In terms of the other names on your list I like Quinn, Molly, and Piper. What sounds good with your last name is important, too, of course. How about Piper Lily?
Lastly, I think it’s okay to go with Tegan. On the pro side it’s not a close relative; on the con side it sticks out more since the name is unusual.
I like Madeleine personally. And would definitely stay away from using the same name as a cousin (remember growing up as Jennifer? I do).
The problem with Lily becoming popular is that there aren’t very many nicknames that go with that so you need to have a middle name that can easily be used.
I would stay away from using your cousin’s name. If you like Lily but are shying away from the popularity, what about Millie (nickname for Amelia, perhaps?) or Tilly (nickname for Matilda), Lilac, Liliana, Leila… any of these appeal to you? You could also go the floral route – Rose, Sage, Hazel, Rosemary, Tamsin, Daisy, etc.
I second Swistle’s suggestion of Iris Marguerite (gorgeous!) and also am adding Amelia Marguerite. Of course, another option would be to use Lily Marguerite and call her Maggie, which is also very pretty.
what about Lila?
My brother has a daughter named Rachel. She’s just a bit younger than our cousin’s (whom we see once a year, max) daughter, Rachal.
So, I don’t have a problem with Tegan. Perhaps Teagan? Teagan Noelle.
I also really like Lily Noelle, but I think Lily is quite common – at least around here. I know (personally) four Lily’s under the age of 4.
Whatever the first name, I love Noelle as a middle – the Christmas reference is beautiful! :)
For a twist on Lily as a flower name, how about Ivy? Nice for a winter baby and goes with either Bella or Marguerite as a middle.
(Ha, I just checked Baby Name Wizard and Ivy is listed as a sibling for Lily.)
Another idea: Lydia.
My friend just had a baby girl and named her Lilyanah Paige. I like it, and it can be shortened to Lily. Maybe something like that will work for you.
If I had a baby girl with a Christmas due date, I’d have to go with a name like Holly. I’m just saying. A Christmas baby!!
I love Iris Marguerite, and I think Noelle is a beautiful middle name. Lily is very popular in my area.
As a person born on Christmas, I only have this to say: Please, please, please don’t give her any names in reference to the day! I love that I was born on the 25th, but am so glad I wasn’t named Noelle. Inevitably, the first time someone finds out when my birthday is, they say “oh…that must have been hard growing up”; if my name had been Noelle, I’m sure that would have been comment #2.
I think Lily is beautiful name; perhaps spell it Lilly just to make it a little different without overly mispelling it?
What about Lily Blair or Lily Quinn, to get that unisex name that you like in there?
What about Bailey, which is definitely unisex, but has the same “ly” sound as Lily.
Or Lillian, with the possible nicknames Lil or Lilly?
I think it would be okay to use Tegan if you love it. If you think about it, back when my parents’ generation was naming their kids, it wasn’t unusual for cousins to end up with the same names. My mom has two cousins named Patricia from the same side of her family, and it wasn’t strange at all for them.
My husband has a first cousin with the same name he has, and it is also not strange. Now, that was a family name, but I am sure that his aunt didn’t even think about it before naming her newborn son the name that her eldest nephew already had.
As far as Lily, I am a NICU nurse, and I tend to judge names based on how often we have them in the NICU. Lily remains relatively rare in our NICU, so I wouldn’t think it was too common/popular to use. I also like Lily Noelle.
As a former teacher whose mom is a teacher, I would recommend against coming up with an out there spelling to make a name more unique. You don’t want your child to go through life with a name that no one can pronounce or spell because you tweaked it a bit…that’s not fun for them at all.
Harper! Hard to say without the last name, but it’s become a favorite of mine lately. Unusual, but familiar enough, and lovely for a girl. I suspect that lots of the others on your list are becoming more popular (and some, I admit, I’m not crazy about). I don’t have a problem with Lily but I suspect it will be getting more popular.
I named my daughter Lillian, Lily for short, and I hadn’t heard of that name much (she is now 2). But then the instant the ink dried on her birth certificate, I started hearing it everywhere. It is definitely more popular where I live now then where she was born. I don’t think it will ever be as popular as Jennifer…I think the Ava’s and Ella’s in this generation have more to worry about.
HOWEVER, one thing I totally didn’t take into account is how many names are similar to Lily…like Ellie and Ella and Lila and Allie…all also popular around here. I can see that getting pretty annoying for future teachers…
I have loved the name Lily for probably 15 years. For those 15 years, I have been convinced that my first daughter would be named Lily. I went back and forth on whether I would go with just Lily, with a middle name of Nicole, or a more formal first name like Lillian or Lilliana.
But recently, I have fallen in love with the name Malia. To me it kind of has the same feel as Lily. But is a little bit unusual and has a cute nickname of Lia. Malia is obviously the name of Barack Obama’s daughter, so I am not sure if the popularity will increase, but right now it is not popular at all. Middle names with Malia are tough though……Maggie probably wouldn’t work.
Oooh, I like Piper Lily as someone else suggested. I have a neice named Piper and love the name.
I also know several little girls named Lilly or Lily or another variation. I agree that it’s probably going to max out in the 20s, but it’s been going for so long that there are a lot of them out there! Unless there’s a family connection to it, I say skip it!
I would probably skip Tegan for this one – if you still love it the second time around then use it, then there would be more age distance between the two cousins.
On your list, I really like Harper, Quinn, and Piper. Macie is cute too (though, I think of it as Macy). Marguerite is a beautiful middle name.
And I’m all for skipping the Christmas-connection.
A name I’ve always liked that is similar to Tegan is Taren/Taryn. Best of luck to you, my son was due Christmas day last year!
What about Magnolia? Another flower name with the built in nickname of Maggie which they already like.
I think if you changed your mind about “Tegan” because you were worried about your cousin, you should give her a call. My guess is that most people would be more than happy to have a little second-cousin-once-removed (or whatever it would be) sharing a name with their child.
“Tegan” seems like just the name you want — it’s not at all common but it’s easy to pronounce and spell. It’s kind of unisex, but to my ear at least sounds girl enough that grandparents wouldn’t be put off by it.
I love both middle-name possibilities (“Marguerite” and “Noelle”) with either Tegan or Lily. It seems quite special to have a baby with a Christmas due date and sweet without being trite to use a Christmas-related name such as Noelle, so that’s my middle-name vote.
If you want to avoid a name that is popular, I would avoid Lily. Lily is actually more popular than the name stats suggest because in addition to the many babies named Lily, there are also babies named Lillian, Lillianna, and even Elizabeth who go by “Lily” resulting in a name that is overexposed IMO. And I’ve been hearing Piper more and more. I suspect Piper won’t be unusual for long.
While I see nothing wrong with using Tegan or Teagan, you may also like Tatum. This is a unisex name that is similar to Tegan / Teagan. You may also like Poppy or Polly, which are similar in style to Lily and begin with P like Piper. I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Iris Marguerite. Here are some middle name suggestions for my names:
Tatum Allison – just love this.
Tatum Piper
Poppy Marguerite
Polly Madeleine
I think that if you love Tegan, you should talk to your cousin. If you rarely see/talk to her, it probably won’t be an issue, but maybe she would be really upset. Best to know, I think!
I like Lily, and I don’t hear it very often. It’s so hard to say what will be popular in the future, but I agree with someone else who said the Avas and Ellas out there will have more of a problem with popularity than Lily will.
What about Reagan? It’s kind of like Tegan…and I think it would sound great with your last name. I also love Harper and Piper.
Can’t wait to hear that you’ve had the baby and to find out her name!
Iris has been favorite name for YEARS. Needless to say, I think that Iris Marguerite is perfect.
Lily – I know a million. It is very common here in Texas. I am also starting to hear Lila more and more.
You might like:
Briar Noelle (flower name, but a little edgy)
Violet Noelle
Ivy Ann (I just adore this combo)
Ivy Marguerite
Clara Noelle (same feel of Lily, but less common)
good luck!
If you’re worried about your daughter being one of many named Lily, I would not chose it if it’s #27 on the popularity list. Maybe Laurel?
I like all of your unisex choices.
You could always use my daughter’s name; Macy Blaire.
I wouldn’t use Tegan if it was already used by my family, that’s just not something I personally prefer… but like was said before, if you REALLY want to use it, you could just broach the subject with your cousin and see what she thinks. But I think there are just so many lovely names out there, no need to use the same one in one family.
I absolutely love the name Lily. Other similar names maybe are Lucy, or Lila? All three sound nice with Marguerite as a middle name.
Probably too late, but just wanted to say I LOVE Lily Noelle. I think that’s beautiful and pretty cool because she was due on Christmas day.
Good luck!
After naming my second son, I found out that my cousin and her husband (newly married) wanted to use that name if she ever had a boy. The middle name I used was almost identical to her last name. We see each other several times a year, but I encouraged her to use the name anyway–she had a boy about a year later and did use the name. I was glad that she did. The boys are old enough now that when they see each other, they think it’s neat that they share a name.
Love Noelle, but either way, if you are going to name her Tegan, please let it be Teagan! It looks so much better and has great roots and a great meaning!