Emily writes:
We are due with baby #2 on July 3rd. We opted to have the sex be a big suprise at birth so now we are struggling to pick a boy’s name and a girl’s name. Our son’s name is Nikolas (after my brother) James (after my father and grandfater) but we call him Kole. We don’t want the kids names to sound too similar or be ‘matchy matchy’ but to be similar styles.
Boy names we like
Kyle (very very matchy matchy and similar to Kole but hubby likes it)
Ryan
Tyler
ChaseAllen is hubby and FIL’s middle name so we would really like to use that with #2.
Girl names we like
Abigayle
Avery
AnsleyHubbies mother’s name is Gayle Ann, my mother’s name is Anne Elizabeth. Both passed away a few years ago so we would love to honor them by using parts of their names.
We are open to more suggestions. My sister will be having identical twins in Sept and since I will be caring for all the kids daily I don’t want #2s name to be too similar to any of her picks. She would like to name her twins a combination of Haley, Hannah, Brooke, and Katelyn if they are girls. The boys would be Logan and Hunter.
Our last name starts with a D and sounds like Donkey.
Here are some other possibilities to consider if Nikolas has a little brother:
Alexander
Frederick
Grant
Luke
Reid
And if he has a little sister:
Annabeth Gayle
Annalise Gayle
Anya Beth
Bethany Gayle
Elizabeth Gayle
I like Chase Allen. I think Kole and Chase are good sibling names, and I like that Chase is a little more unique, like your spelling of Nikolas.
For girls, I like all three of your suggestions. Abigayle is a favourite name of mine, so I am leaning towards that one. And since you did honour your brother and father/grandfather with Nikolas James, maybe it’d be nice to honour your husbands side of the family with baby #2.
So…
Chase Allen
or
Abigayle Anne
are my picks.
Out of Swistle’s suggestions I like Luke or Anya.
I think Abigail is a great name, and I’d suggest the traditional spelling — I think it would still honor your mother-in-law but help the kid avoid having to continually spell out her name. I am a teacher, and if I saw “Abigayle” I’d think — “this family is trying to be trendy and cute” and not “this name is honoring a relative.”
Anon. – that’s true, it’s a good point. However, I have seen it spelled Abigayle before… I don’t think it’s such a strech or too trendy, just based on my experience with it.
I used to be a purist when it comes to alternative spellings. It had to be either the more common spelling to make life a little easier for the kid or the original spelling so at least if you were veering off the beaten path you were doing so out of authenticity – yea I’m a name snob…
— However the reason for using Abigayle is quite compelling, plus it is an established alternative spelling, so I think it is ok. Now the name my cousin chose for their kid, Abbygayle – is quite a different story.
Nevertheless, I still prefer Elizabeth Gayle myself. And Elizabeth is the name with the most nicknames. I personally prefer the older nicknames that I feel are old enough to be cutting edge: Betty, Betsy, and Bess. I “heart” Betsy but feel Bess goes better with Kole.
For the boy, my favorites are Frederick and Grant.
Oh, and remember this family already used an established alternative spelling with Nikolas anyway…
Chase Allen is a very cool name.
The spelling of Abigayle looks a little odd to me, but I love the name.
I like Ryan best of the boy choices and Tyler next on their own merits, though I think Tyler Allen sounds a little better than Ryan Allen.
I get the reasons behind the Abigayle spelling, but I do prefer Abigail. Avery is nice, too, and also Ainsley.
My suggestions would be Anna or Annabelle since both grandmothers had Ann(e) in their names.
What about
Eliza Gayle or
Isabelle Ann or
Annabelle (middle)(anything really, belle was a nickname for Elizabeth so you’ve got them both covered)
I would use your A girl names with Elizabeth as a middle, instead of Ann/e too.
I like Chase Allen, but I like Tyler with Nikolas. Kole and Ty is great. Good luck!