Tiffany writes:
So we’re about to have numero dos (due date June 20), and we’re “waiters,” so we don’t know the gender yet. We love waiting, but man, picking two names is HARD. I think we’ve finally narrowed it down, and I’m hoping for some feedback and a vote.
Our first child is two, and his name is Matthew Cole, which we love. We’d picked Matthew while dating in college (although it was kind of a joke back then, because we’d planned on Matthew Zerubbabel – oh, and did I mention it was a Bible college?), and it stuck with us through the years. Cole is my husband’s middle name, and bang, we were all set. If Matthew had been a girl, we would have named him Annalise May; Annalise because – well, it’s a beautiful name that we actually agreed on, and May because it’s my grandmother’s middle name (and mine, too, which is a bonus). My husband still loves this name if we have a girl, but I’m kind of leaning toward Amelia, which he thinks is too much of an up-and-comer and will soon be trendy. What do you think? Can we have a poll about which name the readers like best – Annalise May or Amelia May?
For the record, other girl names we’d discussed were:
Hannah (not thrilled with it)
Faith (…eh)
Jane (a bit dull with our last name, unfortunately)
Lily (too popular; doesn’t feel like “our baby,” and I’d expect her to have green eyes…)
Sara(h) (also boring with our last name, and I know someone with the same exact name)
Emmeline, Cecily, Sadie, or Charlotte (hubby hates ’em all)
Mary (I hate it)
Margaret (both like it, but don’t want our first two kids to have the same first initial – saving it)
May (same initial; I want to use it as a middle name, at least, before my grandmother dies)
Elizabeth (my sister-in-law’s name, so it’s out – and I’m kind of mad about that, because man, what a great name!)As for boy names, we were stumped for a looong time. We tossed around Benjamin and Noah, but they’ve both been taken recently by people we know. We’d also discussed Nathan, which I like but don’t love, plus it’s one of our friend’s names (as was Matthew, actually, so it’d be a little weird to do that twice). And Nathan is a bit sing-songy with our last name, which begins with an R, has three syllables and a “-son” ending (which, in our part of the world, is usually pronounced “-sin”). The same problems apply for Jonathan. I also love Henry, but my husband thinks it’s too trendy, and we talked about Adam (not crazy about it) or Theodore (Teddy would be adorable as a baby, not so much as an adult… and Theo will forever be a Cosby).
The name we’re currently pretty set on is Abraham. Is that too out there? Is it sing-songy? Does anyone know any babies named Abraham? We plan on calling him Abe, and it seems adorable – Matthew and Abe, Matt and Abe, Abe R–son. The middle name will be Michael after my father and brother: Abraham Michael R–son. So, Swistle and readers, what do you think about Abraham? Too long-beardy or top-hatty? Or can we totally work it?
I think we’re set on these three names, but we’d be interested in hearing alternate suggestions. I don’t know if any will work, since I’ve scoured my “Baby Name Wizard” and “The Baby Name Bible” a million times and nothing else feels right, but hey, you never know. As you can see, we lean towards Biblical or timeless or classic or “antique charm” sorts of names, and I don’t like anything too newfangled or with weird spellings.
Thanks so much for your help!
Amelia and Annalise are both great. Amelia is currently more common than Annalise: in the top 100 currently, as opposed to Annalise’s #702 (source: Social Security Administration). Let’s have a poll over to the right to see which name is more popular with our group.
Now, on to boy names. I think of biblical names as falling into three basic groups:
1. Names that appear in the Bible but don’t have an immediate association with it (e.g., John, David, Matthew, Aaron).
2. Names that used to have biblical associations, but now are commonly used with no intended association (e.g., Noah, Isaac).
3. Names that still have primarily biblical associations (e.g., Jedidiah, Solomon, Nicodemus).
Not only are these groupings totally subjective, but they SHIFT all the time. Back when I was in school, naming a child Noah would have been a startlingly religious thing to do. Now, it’s a name that can be used with no religious associations intended.
Abraham is a name I think is shifting. I think right now it’s making a move from the Solomon lunch table to the Isaac lunch table, and may already be sitting there: it’s in the Top 200 and continuing to rise.
Abraham has another strong association in the U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. A second strong association keeps a name from being too one-note.
If you want something more similar in popularity to the name Matthew, you could go with Isaac. Matthew and Isaac (Matt and Zac, or Matt and Ike) make great sibling names, and I think Isaac Michael R____son sounds terrific.
If you want the nickname Abe but want to get there via a shorter route, you could go with Abram: Matthew and Abram, Abram Michael R_____son. Or Abel, though maybe that’s too much L with Michael.
For a nickname similar to Abe, you could name the baby Gabriel and call him Gabe: Matthew and Gabriel, Matt and Gabe, Gabriel Michael R_____son. Again, maybe too much L with Michael.
Drifting further and further from the original plan, Caleb seems like a good choice: Matthew and Caleb, Caleb Michael R____son.
I myself am partial to the name Daniel: Matthew and Daniel, Matt and Dan, Daniel Michael R____son.
Also—and I’m taking this from your “top hat” reference—I like the name Lincoln: Matthew and Lincoln, Matt and Linc, Lincoln Michael R____son.
Okay, so we’re having TWO polls: one is a vote between the names Amelia and Annalise, and the other is a question about whether the name Abraham is “too long-beardy or top-hatty.” [Polls closed; see results below.]
Poll results for “Which name do you prefer, Amelia or Annalise?” (261 votes total):
Amelia: 120 votes, roughly 46%
Annalise: 141 votes, roughly 54%
Poll results for “Is Abraham too long-beardy or top-hatty?” (245 votes total):
Yes: 114 votes, roughly 47%
No: 131 votes, roughly 53%
Name update 01-14-2009! Tiffany writes:
Hi Everyone!
My husband and I LOVED reading your thoughts on Abraham and the Amelia/Annalise debate. I checked obsessively for more comments, and I’m definitely writing in for our next kiddo! To finally give you the update, we had a GIRL! Annalise May was born on June 23 and was a healthy 7 lb., 10 oz. I was still torn between Annalise and Amelia when we went to the hospital, but my husband was staunchly pro-Annalise, so I went along with him. Even though it took a little while, it feels like “her” (and she never felt like an Amelia). For being as popular as it is, almost no one we talk to has ever heard of it! We’re usually complimented on it, and I’m so glad we chose it. Thanks for your votes and comments!
I love the name Abraham… both for a baby/cute little boy as well as an awesome grown up name!
I like Abraham. Love older classic names, that haven’t made their way back to the top (yet!)
I vote for Gabriel. Gabe and Matt sounds great together.
I love Matthew, but don’t see Abraham as a good match for his little brother’s name. For me, Abraham is definitely a long-beard name, while Matthew is up-to-date. Have you considered pairing Matthew with another New Testament apostle’s name? None of them feels “long-beardy” to me. Matthew and Andrew or Thomas, James, John, etc. I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Daniel, an OT classic name, as is David. I noticed in “Baby Name Wizard” that all these names are classified as “Biblical, Timeless”.
From your list, I like Henry (which isn’t as high up on the SSA list as Matthew) and love Teddy for a boy, who could be Ted as an adult, so no problem there if you went with Theodore.
I prefer Amelia May- I think it flows better.
And I like Abraham but actually prefer the shorter version, Abram.
Congratulations on your new arrival!
Amelia was my secret favorite baby name for years until…it became hugely popular and I didn’t have to keep my love for the name a secret–everyone loved it.
My thought is that since it came out of nowhere, it will be a bit of a time-stamped name (as Linda or Deborah are associated with baby boomers, etc.)
Annalise is classic, and she would have quite a few nickname options with that name.
I love Annalise. Amelia is pretty, but I just prefer the light elegance of Annalise. Annalise May is gorgeous; I think you should stick with your original instinct.
I’m also a huge fan of Abraham, and I think it is absolutely usable. Abraham Matthew is very handsome! Another suggestion for you: if Nathan is taken, what about Nathaniel?
Best of luck, and it sounds like you have lots of good name options!
I vote for Annalise– it’s not too popular and I love the nickname options of Anna/Alise.
Abraham is a bit unusual, but Abe definitely feels more mainstream. My first association was actually Abraham Piper, John Piper’s son and a well-known blogger. Abe is snappy and cute; a good alternative to Gabe.
I would steer away from “Gabriel Michael” though, because all I can think of are the two archangels… To me “Gabriel Michael” is sitting at lunch with Solomon and Jedediah for sure. Abraham gets my vote!
You could also use the nn Bram for Abraham. Matt and Bram make an appealing sibset.
The trick with Annalise is that there are multiple spellings – Anneliese, Annelise, Annalise, etc. – so it is hard to say how popular she is. (Though with Amelia, there’s Emilia, too.) Still, Annalise is less common than Amelia – not that either are as common as, say, Hannah.
I know one young Abraham (4) and one baby Lincoln, and I think they are both great names. I think with the name Abraham people are going to assume you are religious, but I don’t think they can assume what religion. Baby Abe is cute and grows up well. Maybe has a touch of little house on the prairie to it too.
The captcha is Tedisen, perhaps a new bell tone name :)
I LOVE Annalise; it’s just beautiful. Amelia is wonderful, too, but between the two, I like that the former is less trendy.
As far as Abraham, I love it aside from the potential teasing-from-kids factor. Would they tease him? I think, overwhelmingly, people will associate it w/ the president (but to me, an excellent man to be associated with) rather than the biblical character.
If you can go for it, I would. I’m a little more reserved and would likely go for Swistle’s suggestion of Abram.
GL!
I like Abraham as well. We considered it for our boy (who we named Ezekiel). Our older boy is Lucas, so, like you, we have one boy with a more “contemporary” biblical name and one with a more “religious” biblical name. It works for us. If you like the name, go for it!
Trendy means different things to different people, but I think of it as meaning names that come into fashion and then go out of fashion quickly, or a name that comes from nowhere with no history, like Madison or Cadence. A name like Amelia has been around for a long, long time, like Matthew, and both names drift in and out of fashion.
I am going to go against the overall sentiment and say that Annalise is trendier than Amelia. You see to me, trendy and popular are not the same. Amelia may be popular, but it had been popular before, saw a decline and now is getting rediscovered the way names like Sophia and Abigail got rediscovered. Annalise, in the US at least, has sort of come out of no where. Plus it has all of those variant spellings like another name I consider trendy, Caitlin / Katelyn / etc. Just my two cents.
As for Abraham, I feel it is totally usable, and if I loved it like you do, I would use it without hesitation. The only thing that would give me pause is the possibly rhyming with your last name. Gabriel seems like a good brother for Matthew.
We named our first son Abraham, so I’m obviously prejudiced, but I can also say that we have LOVED it, and so have other people, I think. We called him “Abey” at first (or baby Abe) or even “Hammie,” and now that he’s 6 he mostly goes by Abe, but that nice distinguished-sounding full name is there whenever it’s needed. It’s a familiar name to people, but not overused or trendy. Just what I look for in a boys name.
I agree with your husband that Amelia is very much an up-and-comer… Depending on the circles you hang out in, I’d expect to see quite a few little Amelias running around. I love the name, but if you want to avoid the trend, I’d go with Annalise May (which is lovely.)
I adore Abraham… I suggested it to friends about a year ago, and they wound up going with Abram, also a great choice. Abe is very cute, and I also love Bram as a nickname for it.
WOW!
Great comments – I agree with what a lot of people said:
1. Annalise is very pretty, but I too find it oddly trendy as described above, and I dislike all the different spellings amd the “Annal” thing…so that makes me lean more towards Amelia. All that said, both names are nice. Matthew is so popular as a boys name, I am a bit surprised Abigail didn’t make it on your list!
2. Because Matthew is so popular, I don’t think Abraham works with it, even though it is a nice name in and of itself. Swistle’s suggestions were great, (Isaac especially, Matt and Zac – Gabriel I love too but the above poster pointed out that Gabriel Michael is overkill in angel meaning and in “el” sounds – same reason Daniel is out for me).
I would suggest also
1. Jonah (recent post about it) as an alternative for Noah that is in the Isaac camp, and also
2. David. David Michael or Jonah Michael would be great, and no repetition. Another name I LOVE (and has a gerat biblical meaning) that could work as its gaining in popularity is Josiah.
3. Josiah Michael R…son, Matt and Joe.
Good luck, great names to discuss!
I was so happy to see Amy & Frazzled Mom’s comments from above!! I do not think Amelia is trendy at all, nor will it become trendy. On the other hand, the name Annalise (and all it’s many, many spellings!) I see popping up all over the place including this blog, all the time. IMO, Amelia May is way more timeless and classic.
Abraham is a great name and if you like it, go for it. No negative connotations here! But if you’re looking for a back up plan (though I don’t think you are) all of Swistle’s suggestions are great! Good luck!
My two cents:
Amelia May sounds fantastic (the repeating M sounds) and it also sounds cool with Matthew (Matt and Amelia) – same reason.
I like the Abram suggestion. I would never have thought of using that name but now that I hear it it sounds fresh and ready to be picked.
I like the name Abe, Abraham is a bit much for me. From the names you’ve tossed around I really like Henry. Matthew and Henry. It’s true that it’s had a resurgence but can a name like Henry really be trendy? Check it out on Name Voyager it line of popularity is really not spiky at all.
On the girl side, how about another timeless A name like – Alice, Anna, Alexandra, Abigail, or Antonia (sneaking in an underused one I like)?
The Isaac “Zac” suggestion made me think of Zachary / Zacharias / Zachariah. I love that name, and Matthew and Zachary, Matt and Zac, is adorable!
The Zachary / … names have that biblical touch, remind me of the middle name you had picked for your first son but isn’t to out there like Abraham. (Sorry, I voted for white beardish…)
Matthew Cole and Zachary Michael R…son.
I also like Theodore.
I’ve got to say I am with those who prefer Abram to Abraham, & I also really prefer Amelie to Amelia, I like the sound of it a lot better…. so I would go with:
Abram Michael R___son
or
Amelie May R___son.
Just thought I’d add to the growing pile of opinions….
I don’t really think the teasing will be much of an issue with an Abraham if he mostly goes by Abe. I was in school with a boy named Abe, and it never even occurred to me that it was a nickname until I asked him one day if it was short for Abraham (it was). I like it, and I like Abram.
And I agree with all the other commenters who think Amelia is NOT trendy, but Annalise is.
What about Asa, Ezra, or Cyrus?
I voted for Annalise, but only because Amelia has never been a name I liked… but not for any real reason, just Because. LOL. So… that’s just a personal preference thing.
I am not a fan of the name Abraham, sorry. I’m Canadian, and I still can only picture Abraham Lincoln… and it just feels too Old Man for me. :-S
I think with a name like Matthew Cole, you need a more complimentary name like the suggestions of Isaac, Thomas, Gabriel… something like that. I just think Abraham doesn’t go well with Matthew.
But that being said, most people seem to really like it… so really, my opinion is just one small one, but those are my thoughts. :-)
I agree with the others that say Amelia is classic and Annalise is trendy. I’d never heard of the name Annalise before a few years ago and it’s on this blog all the time.
Abraham is an okay name, but I don’t think it’s in the same “name family” as Matthew. Abraham is Matthew’s grandfather.
My husband’s namd is Abraham, but he goes by AJ. His family still calls him Abe, though. Strangely, his little brother is Matt. That said, I don’t think they’re in the same name family. AJ’s name is a sore thumb in his family (Matt, Laura, James, . . Abraham?)
I am a huge fan of Isaiah, but that may have similar name-family issue. If it’s even an issue for you.
Elijah is a bit more popular, but still super. And hey, if you have a Matthew, popular probably isn’t an issue at all.
And as far as girl names go, I LOVE Annalise.
I think of Annalise as the one in danger of being trendy (even though it’s less common) and Amelia as not really being in any danger of trendiness (even though it’s more common). Same with Henry: it’s more common than Cooper and Carson and Jaden and Ayden, but those less-common names are more trendy, while Henry isn’t in any danger of it even as its popularity increases.
Oh, I forgot to comment on the name Abraham. I think the name Abraham is great and ready-to-use, but not with a brother Matthew. It’s like having Michael and Ishmael, or Kadence and Victoria. But I also think you’re right that using the nickname Abe reduces this, so I’m not sure. It’s such a great name, I hate to say not to use it!
I just have to throw this out there, because I have the cutest, sweetest niece. Her name is Daisy May. And I love it.