J. writes:
I am getting so frustrated with this whole naming thing! If we have a boy we’re in trouble! My husband loves Lincoln, and I don’t mind it, just don’t love it. A few problems I have with it are that it starts with an “L” as does our oldest son Landon and I’d like all our kids to start with different letters. (Other kids are Rachel and Seth.) Also, our last name is a spelling variation of Car. Don’t know if Lincoln goes with that, partly for the ‘k’ sound, partly because of the line of vehicles of the same name!
We both really like Madden, but I worry it’s too close to Landon. Hubby thinks it’s fine, but I’m just not sure. Some days I totally want to name my baby Madden, some days I think I’m crazy for even considering it! (And don’t bother suggesting Maddox as an alternative, I don’t like it.)
I desperately want to use Emmitt, but Hubby has nixed it. I’m terribly disappointed. He thinks it’d be cute for a baby/little boy, but not good for an adult. Citing Emmitt Smith doesn’t help! He keeps thinking of the old crazy guy from Back to the Future. Does anyone have stories of how they got their husband to come around? That would be ideal!
For a girl we’ve chosen Danae. For a middle name I’m thinking Lauren, though the middle names of Rachel and Seth start with “L”s too. Is it weird if 3 of my 4 kids have a middle name with “L”? It wasn’t planned, I just happen to like “L” names. Hubby likes Danae Morgan. To me, an ideal middle name for Danae would be two syllables with the emphasis on the second syllable, like Rachelle, Marie, Leanne, though I don’t like those in particular. Any other suggestions? We’re really short on time!
Boy names similar to Emmitt/Emmett but without the crazy-old-scientist association:
Barrett Car
Beckett Car
Bennett Car
Elliot Car
Everett Car
Garrett Car
Merrit Car
Boy names with miscellaneous tie-ins:
Adrian Car
Daniel Car
Elias Car
Ethan Car
Evan Car
Gavin Car
Griffin Car
Henry Car
Jasper Car
Jeremy Car
Joshua Car
Malcolm Car
Marshall Car
Miller Car
Milo Car
Nathaniel Car
Nicholas Car
Nolan Car
Phillip Car
Quentin Car
Theo Car
Timothy Car
Wilson Car
Xavier Car
If you decide not to use Madden as a first name, perhaps it would make a nice middle name. Emmitt, too, would be a good middle name option. Ooo, or Lincoln! Some of my favorite combinations:
Daniel Emmitt Car
Elias Lincoln Car
Elias Madden Car
Elliot Madden Car
Everett Lincoln Car
Henry Lincoln Car
Nathaniel Madden Car
Nolan Emmitt Car
Phillip Madden Car
About the middle name for Danae: I think it’s fine if three of the four kids have matching middle initials. If it were first-name initials it would catch my attention, but I find I don’t have the same reaction with middle names.
Danae Brigitte Car
Danae Geneva Car
Danae Elizabeth Car
Danae Estelle Car
Danae Joelle Car
Danae Jolie Car
Danae Larissa Car
Danae Lissandra Car
Danae Lisette Car
Danae Louisa Car
Danae Louise Car
Danae Lucille Car
Danae Lucinda Car
Danae Melinda Car
Danae Miranda Car
Danae Nicole Car
Danae Noelle Car
Danae Rebecca Car
Danae Sophia Car
Some of my favorites are Elizabeth, Larissa, Lissandra, Louise, Melinda, Rebecca.
Update 06-23-2009! J. writes:
Our sweet baby boy arrived on June 20. The day after I sent in my email to Swistle, before it was even published, my husband just gave in and said we could go with Emmitt. I made sure he was sure, and told him he could then choose the middle names for our girl and boy first names. So if it had been a girl we would have gone with Danae Morgan, and for a boy, Emmitt Lincoln. Since we were very sure it was a girl we didn’t discuss Emmitt much more. When he came out, we were overjoyed, and I again asked my husband if he was okay with Emmitt. He assured me he was. We then had to quickly discuss the spelling because I hadn’t thought we’d need to finalize that. We did choose Emmitt because, even though Emmett is the more common spelling, we like that Emmitt is exactly how you pronounce it. And my husband said a few hours later that it totally suits him. Thanks for all your input!
I would stay away from Lincoln because the connection with the vehicle line is very obvious, in my opinion. Even in the middle name spot. Others might disagree, but that’s my take on it. Good luck!
I agree with Diane re: Lincoln. I wouldn’t use it if my last name was car-related (and it almost was Carr!).
I think Emmett is a wonderful name, but it’s one of my favorite cousin’s so I might be biased! My husband didn’t love Henry’s name when I chose it, but I kept on about it and he grew to love it. He likes that it’s classic and masculine, and he can’t imagine our boy called anything else.
I love pretty much all of Swistle’s alternates to Emmett, if you don’t think you’ll be able to sway him!
Danae is a pretty name, and I absolutely agree that the middle name should have a second-syllable emphasis. It seems like the ones I’m thinking of are all French-sounding, kind of like your mentions of Marie and Rachelle: Louise, Cecile, Suzanne, Adele, Lucille, Helene, Nanette, Gisele…
Sorry I couldn’t be more help! Good luck!
I like most of these suggestions. My favorites for you are: Elliot, Everett, Jasper, and Malcolm. For the girl’s middle names, I don’t dislike any of them. Danae Geneva sort of stands out to me.
I should have been clear, when I say Danae Geneva stands out – that’s in a good way.
i know of siblings named Landon and Madden (girl)
I think the opposite of the second syllable with Danae – since you already have one tada sound, you could go with a longer middle name since the last name is so short. And I think two second syllable emphasis names sounds weird:
tada tada da. Elizabeth and Louisa I like.
I love Everett for a boy. Landon, Rachel, Seth and Everett, very nice. I agree with the above posters about Lincoln – the association is strong, and you already have a two syllable L name ending in “on.” There are many better ones to choose from.
I agree about the Lincoln thing, I don’t think it works.
My husband was against my top name choice as well…and it was my only name I loved. We respectfully talked about tons of different names, and finally agreed to name him when he arrived. During contractions, my husband leaned over and said I could name him anything I wanted! So in the end, I got to use my name!
what about Mason for a boy? its similar to Madden, but not as close to Landon. Mason Emmitt Car could work!!! good luck.
I like your choice of Emmitt. I prefer it spelled Emmett, but no matter, I think if you stick to your guns your hubby will come around! Everett is a good alternative though! As far as Danae, I actually prefer it with a 3+ syllable mn like Elizabeth, Emerson, Avery, Larissa. Good Luck!
I’d skip Lincoln, for the same reason you cite. I think Elliot is a great alternative to Emmit.
Danae Annabelle Car
Danae Catherine Car
Danae Elizabeth Car
Danae Nora Car
I’m glad you got your way! :) Congratulations!