Mother W. writes:
We are having our third child, second daughter via cesarean on July 28th and are having such a hard time choosing a name.
Here’s our dilemna: Our last name is Wylykanowitz.
I decided long ago that with such a consonant heavy name that first names should be no more than two syllables and should contain long vowels. We also really like using family names. Our son is Jacob and our daughter is Mena (for grandmother Philomena).
We had already decided to name this daughter after my grandmother even before she died in March. Her name is Miriam Ruth Ellis. I like Miriam, but my husband doesn’t. There are several granddaughters and great-grandaughters by the name of Ruth (that’s what she went by) and so my father has asked to think strongly before using it also. And we all like Ellis but the soft vowel doesn’t seem to fit with our other children.
Names that we’ve come up with so far:
Grace Ellis
Ellis Marie (both family names)
Josephine Ruth (both family names)I feel that the naming of a child is very important since it’s their first communication of who they are in the world. But I’m just stumped. I like many names but it’s fitting them with our last name that always ends up getting in our way.
The name that comes to mind is Mira (MEER-ah). It’s good with your last name, it fits with your naming preferences, and it’s similar to Miriam. I’d use Mira Ruth, I think, to evoke your grandmother even more strongly. The main problem: Mira is probably too similar to Mena.
In that case, I think you should go with Ellis. You all like it, it’s an excellent tribute name, and I think it’s good with the names of your other children: Jacob, Mena, and Ellis. The S ending doesn’t sound ideal to me with the ending of your surname, but to me it’s worth it to get the good first name. I like Ellis Ruth.
Let’s put your first-name finalists in a poll over to the right. [Poll closed; see results below.]
Poll results (212 votes total):
Grace: 55 votes, roughly 26%
Ellis: 125 votes, roughly 59%
Josephine: 32 votes, roughly 15%
I think of Ellis as a boy’s name, so I would probably use it for a middle name. I like Grace Ellis.
For some reason, the name Ruby also came to my mind. Ruby Ellis.
Could you add an “e” to the end of Ellis, and call her Ellise (Elise)? Or Ella/Ellie would be lovely tributes.
Good luck!
I vote for Josephine – Jo is a short nn to go with your long ln.
Another idea – how about Mary or Marie as a fn instead of mn. Mary Ellis.
“The English name Mary is the transliteration of the Greek name Maria or Mariam, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Miriam.”
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Miriam.html
I am one who would like to keep Ellis in the boys name camp though I know at least one girl with the name.
I think Ellis sounds like a boys name. I’d like a more feminine version of it — Ellie, Ella
How about Miri? (Mih ree)
Jacob, Mena and Miri
Of your choices, I like Grace Ellis the best.
I like Ellis Ruth – you can call her Ellie, or Elle.
Adorable!
Good luck!
I like Ellis Ruth too. Doesn’t sound like a boys name to me.
my maiden name is ellis and i intend to use it for a girl’s name. i loved when people called me by my last name. there are enough ellas and ellies out there!
I too think of Ellis as being a bit more masculine, but I don’t think thats a reason not to use it if you like it.
I do like the suggestion above of Elise though, and you get the long vowel sound then too – and I like Elise Marie together. Jacob, Mena, and Elise!
What about Myra as a substitute for Swistle’s suggestion of Mira.
Myra Ellis
Very cute.
I would definitely recommend against Ellis. Its very masculine. Alice, on the other hand, would be lovely. But, I think Mira goes the best with your surname and other children’s names. Good luck!
What about Lyra?
I agree with the suggestion of Mary to honor Miriam. Mary & Mena are a little singsongy but not too bad.
Ellis just seems “off” with Mena because the former is so androgynous and the latter is feminine.
LOVE Elise. I definitely think of Ellis as a masculine name. If Ruth has been used a lot by other members of the family, I would avoid it. I like Miriam much better than Mary as well–Mary is kind of boring when the other daughter has such a beautiful name.
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I’m one of those people who likes to use the exact name, if possible, or at least a very close relative to the name (i.e. Angelina for Angela) in honoring. I think that really only leaves the 3 names you mentioned. Too bad your husband doesn’t like Miriam; that’s my favorite of your options too.
Maybe use Miriam as a middle name? That way you get to use a first name of your choosing that you and your husband both love. If I was to use Ellis, it would be as a middle name only because I’m not keen on surname first names, but that’s me.
Of the names you’ve come up with, I feel Grace Ellis is the best or maybe Grace Miriam? Good luck.
I really like both Ruth and Miriam. Maybe you if you used Ruth and always called her by her first and middle name (e.g. Ruth Anne) it would eliminate the confusion with other Ruths in the family problem.
Or since Miriam is a version of Mary, maybe a Mary name– Mariah, Maura, Rosemary, etc. There are about a gazillion to chose from.
Good luck!
some friends of ours just had a baby girl and the father’s middle name is Ellis, so the baby’s middle name is Ellisa (pronounced Alyssa) so that could be another option – but I thikn Ellis is cute, and you could always go with Ellie/Ella for a nickname if you wanted… good luck!
Another suggestion for a name similar to Miriam: Miranda. You could call her Mira or just use the full name.
I also like Marya, which is a variant of Mary and is used in Eastern and Northern Europe. It’s pronounced MAR-ya (rhymes with Daria). I think it can also be spelled Marja.
how about Mira with a long I sound. you could even name her miriam and just call her mira. or maybe spelling it Myra would look better with your last name.
What about Alice instead of Ellis? I like the Elise suggestion too.
OMG! I know someone who is having their third c-section on the 28th…oh wait it’s you!
J/K – I really do know this poster.
I really like Ellis. And while it does not sound just so, I do think it fits.
My dads name is Ellis and I was named Sorrelle Ellis. I love my name. I will probably name my first child Ellis to keep with tradition.