V. writes:
Our baby girl, Miss “Lulu”, arrived April 16, and we are still debating the name! My son called her Lulu while in my belly and it stuck. It has become her nickname. We have several names we like, but just cannot decide. Also, we continue to come up with new names rather than crossing them off the list. My husband is just a little picky… I guess I am, too. He is from Belgium and so a name has to sound good pronounced in French and not have some strange meaning for his culture. I guess we like less common names, but not far out names. We tend to steer clear of names in the top 10 lists, because we do not want her to have a name that three other kids might have in her class.
Our son, 2 1/2, is named Orlando Jayden Rainey. We had a hard time choosing a name for a boy and finally agreed on his name about 10 days after he was born. :-) It drove our family crazy.
We are not in a panic; we enjoy getting to know our daughter’s personality and her looks to help us find a fitting name. We have narrowed it down to the following names: Alicia (pronounced in French Ah-lee-siuh) but I also like the English pronunciation, Lauren (Lulu would be a fitting nickname), Celine, Julianna, Ashley, Jasmine, Chloe and Madeline.
The names I considered and rejected are: Grace, Leah, Lucinda, Sophia (too common, Unfortunately), Jordan ( she looks too feminine for this name), Severine (might not sound so great in English), Allegra, Marisol (in English it sounds terrible), Aleah. My husband’s rejected picks are: Alix, Caroline, Chloé, Hazel, Helen, Ivy, Katja, Lola, Morgane, Sophia, Sylvie, Vivian, Violette, Zoé.
We are thinking of having two middle names for our daughter as well: Zénobie Anne (a family name and Anne after our mothers, Diane and Annie).
Any input appreciated.
Names like Louise, Louisa, Luella, Luanna, Lucie, Lucia, Lucienne, Lucianna, Lucille, and Lucilla spring to mind because of the nickname Lulu, but I assume you’ve already considered and rejected all of those in the last couple of weeks. I’ll put a poll over to the right with your finalists.
Poll results (265 votes total):
Alicia: 32 votes, roughly 12%
Lauren: 93 votes, roughly 35%
Celine: 25 votes, roughly 9%
Julianna: 71 votes, roughly 27%
Ashley: 4 votes, roughly 2%
Jasmine: 4 votes, roughly 2%
Chloe: 18 votes, roughly 7%
Madeline: 18 votes, roughly 7%
Name update 05-27-2009! V. writes:
Well, it took about three weeks but we finally settled on Lauren Zénobie Anne and it suits her! (though I have to admit I hesitated when I hit the confirm button when ordering her birth announcements) :-D
Thank you to you and your bloggers for your great suggestions. It’s been fun!
I HAVE to vote for Celine. I mean I HAVE to. Celine is a variation of the name of my husband’s French great grandmother who was actually named Celina. But my mother-in-law mentioned that she loves Celine after he grandmother. She always wished one of her granddaughters was named Celine.
If I have another girl, I don’t like Celine enough as a first name but would consider it as a middle name.
I’m not sure how you would get Lulu out of Celine. With Lulu as a nickname, Louisa immediately springs to mind, but as Swistle said, you probably already rejected it. I also like Lauren but actually prefer Laura.
Lulu seems like it could be a nn for Julianna – a stretch, perhaps, but I can see it. I like that or Lauren.
Maybe you don’t need another name. I really like Zenobie Anne and Anne Zenobie is nice, too.
I think Julianna and Jasmine go best with Orlando but I’m not loving the flow with the middle names.
Julianna Zenobia Anne? too much Anne, too much a.
Jasmine Zenobia Anne? too much Z
Jasmine Anne Zenobia? too much n.
I find most of the names are too much “a” or too much “n” for me. Maybe they like the alliteration. If you chose Chloe, maybe Chloe Anne Zenobie to break up the o’s and e’s?
I voted for Julianna, because i love it but I wouldn’t use Anne as her middle name if you name her that. If you want Anne in there maybe you could name her Julianne? I have a friend named julianne and her nickname is juju, pretty close to lulu! good luck!
Chloe is not listed in the top 10, but in the preschool I work, it is more prevalent than Emily, Isabella, or Sophia. I know 3 Chloes who are each one year apart from each other.
I like Julianna and Lauren because I think Lulu would work as a nn for them both.
Gisele? It has an “L” sound so could maybe be stretched to the nickname Lulu? Anyone? Anyone?
-crickets-
I think it works great in French and English. ;)
Lulu is a cute name for older brother to call his unborn baby sister, BUT do you want her to be called Lulu as an adult? If you like Lulu for when she’s younger, then I think Louisa or the French form Louise would be perfect.
However, if you intend to move on to another name (and brother will most likely soon follow your example), I think their are several good options on your list: Alicia, Celine, Julianna, Chloe and Madeline (Madeleine?).
I don’t think either Ashley or Jasmine fit with the others or with Orlando. Lauren, maybe, but I agree that Laura would be a better fit.
I didn’t vote for any of the names because I like Louisa Zénobie Anne, called Lulu for now, but with Louisa (or Louise) as a ‘coordinating’ name for when she’s older.
I want to put a ‘plug’ in for Sophia/Sophie. It sounds like you both like the name very much — and yet think it’s too popular. Yet as “anonymous” stated above, other less statistically popular names, like Chloe, may prove to be more frequent among the children your daughter knows. There was an Orlando among the 14 boys in my grandsons’ preschool class, so had your son been in that group his name would have been the most common. I would encourage you to rethink Sophia or Sophie, the latter being one of my favorite French names. I have a beautiful 13-year-old granddaughter named Sophia and called both Sophie and Sophia. I think it’s a lovely name.
(The similar-sounding name Sylvia/Sylvie might be another option for you.)
I was going to say Sylvia/Sylvie, too. I love this name but hubby doesn’t.
There is a LuLu on General Hospital and her real name is Lesley Lou. I’m sick, I know.
Louise or Louisa! Both sound nice with your double middle name and last name, especially Louisa! It’s European and feminine and I think fits in nicely with Orlando! Lulu is a great nn, but she needs a great first name too.
Alicia is such a pretty, infrequently-used name, that I think you’ve got a winner right there. Especially since you like both pronunciations and are well aware that she’ll be called by the American prounciation frequently.
I’d go with Louisa.
How about Alice? Alice and Orlando, nice!
I think “Giselle” would be fabulous with Orlando, though I think Lulu is a stretch as an official nickname for it. Though of course one doesn’t need to justify a nickname!
I also second Patricia’s suggestion of Sylvia/Sylvie, though would prefer the spelling “Silvia/Silvie.” Excellent with Orlando, and my guess is it would sound great in Belgium.
Louise is beautiful, too — is nice to say — honors big brother’s nickname — and also sounds great with Orlando.
What about Lucienne? That’s my personal favorite of all “Lucy” variations. I love to say it — I think it’s an absolutely beautiful name — I would think it would stand up very well in Belgium — it sounds great with Orlando — and it has a wealth of nicknames, including the current family favorite.
I voted for Alicia. I think it’s a lovely name that’s been underused in recent years (good for your desire for a not-too-common name).
Other names to consider: Adrienne, Aubry, Albertine, Beatrice, Iris, Vera, Roxanne (and using only Zenobie as a mn). I think they go well with both Orlando and Rainey (notice I was going for a common r sound?).
I like the french name Lilou- is this a possibility?
Rebecca
I love Lulu and think you should keep calling her that. If you want to give her a more formal name I think it should revolve around Lulu. I like Swistle’s suggestion of Luella. My nephew was called Wolfie in the womb and it stuck. My sister gave him another first name with Wolfgang as his 2nd middle name, but at 13 years old, NO ONE has EVER called him by his first name. He loves the name Wolfie and doesn’t want to be called anything else. So I say stick with Lulu!
Luna?
Or what about Eloise?
My cousin Leslie went as Lulu growing up. Classic-ish, but definitely not common.
I voted for Julianna, though I like the comment that suggested incorporating the Anne in the first name by going with Julianne.