Beth writes:
Even though I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your Baby Names blog, I never thought I’d actually be writing to you! Our first daughter, Cate Meredith, was named within 24 hours of finding out we were expecting her. Our second daughter, whom we lost to a late miscarriage, took a little longer to name, but once we’d found her name we were quite happy with it (Lena Emilie). We’ve had a boy name picked out all along (Isaac Joshua), so if this baby, due August 2, is a boy, we’re all set.
The girl name (Naomi Caroline) we had picked out for this baby took a little longer to settle on, and apparently now my husband is having second thoughts. As am I…I think? It’s a perfectly lovely name, but Naomi is a bit unusual for our family, and it doesn’t resonate with us like the other names have.
Other relevant info…our last name starts with a “D”, ends with an “er”, and is three syllables. It’s Dutch, but doesn’t sound overly so. I like the fact that my name, my husband’s name and our daughter’s first names all have one syllable (Beth, Neil, Cate), but we are certainly not stuck on that. Other names we’ve considered and eliminated include Audrey, Leah, Adele (I love it, but it reminds my IT consultant husband of “Dell” computers), Sylvie, Ella (friends have used it), Darcy/Dorsey (family names that I like, husband doesn’t), and Charlotte.
Currently Eliza is under consideration, but when combined with Caroline, my husband is not too enthused. Perhaps another middle name? My goal in naming is something a little different, yet not so strange that people have a hard time saying/pronouncing it (hence the Cate with a “C”, which I will be forever explaining, but I love it anyway). My husband is quite conservative in his tastes, so I almost feel like I have to be sneaky in choosing a name that walks the line between different and classic.
I hope that’s enough info…any help you can give is so appreciated!
Ooo, I LOVE the name Eliza. I also love the name Isaac, and in fact the two names share similar sounds. If you want to reserve the name Isaac for future use, this might rule out the name Eliza—or maybe not. They’re similar, but maybe not TOO similar.
Your first daughter has a one-syllable first name and a three-syllable middle name; it might be pleasing to reverse the pattern for your third daughter, since two of your contenders, Naomi and Eliza, have three syllables. Jane is one of my top favorite one-syllable middle names, because I love its mix of tradition and punk. Eliza Jane and Naomi Jane are both great.
If you instead want to continue using one-syllable names, I wonder if you’d like the name June. It has vintage charm; it’s very uncommon but completely familiar; it sounds great with Cate.
I really like June. Let’s see about a middle name.
June Avery
June Camilla
June Charlotte
June Louise
June Hillary
June Marie
June Miranda
June Silvia
June Winifred
Two more one-syllable options I like are Eve and Nell.
Eve Caroline
Eve Charlotte
Eve Claudia
Eve Marissa
Eve Minerva
Eve Naomi
Eve Nicole
Nell Bianca
Nell Caroline
Nell Charlotte
Nell Darcy
My favorites are Eve Charlotte and June Hillary.
Name update 11-23-2009!
Beth writes:
Just wanted to update you about the name we chose for our little girl. Naomi Caroline was born on July 28, so unfortunately your suggestions were a couple of days too late! We are very happy with our name choice, and while we’ve had people ask “how do you pronounce that?”, in general we’ve gotten lots of compliments on her name.
However, we will certainly keep your suggestions and the comments for future reference, since our track record of 3 girls makes another girl in the future seem quite likely. J
Thanks again!
Just FYI- there’s a folk song called “Li’l Liza Jane” with the chorus…”Oh! Eliza, little Liza Jane.” It was the first thing that popped into my head when I read that suggestion. Just something to think about if you consider that name.
I think “Eliza Jane” is a lovely name, although I do have a note about that name combination. It’s the name of Almanzo Wilder’s sister in the Little House books. That character is fairly unpleasant and there is a song that is made up about her in the books, which includes the line (if I’m recalling this correctly!), “Lazy, lousy, ‘Liza Jane!”
The blugrass Liza Jane song popped into my head too, but that’s not to say it’s a bad thing. It’s a great song, so maybe she’d get a kick out of it when she’s older. We nearly named my first boy James, and there’s a bluegrass song called Sweet Baby James, and every time I hear it, I am reminded of my first pregnancy. (Boy is not named James, but not b/c of the song. He just didn’t look like one). But from your list, I love Sylvie the most.
The question made me think of Eve – and Swistle, too, apparently. I also like Nell a lot. They fit with the old-fashioned but cheerful tone of the names you’ve listed.
How about?
Jill. Cate and Jill
Maeve. Cate and Maeve
Scout. Cate and Scout
Nora. Cate and Nora
Laura. Cate and Laura
Nora’s my favourite. Nora Caroline is pretty.
I just wanted to say that we know a little Naomi June and it’s such a great name, so I love the June recommendation – either as a first or as a middle. I love Eliza June.
Malia Caroline
I do like Eliza, but if you wanted to stick to the one-syllable vibe, how about:
Jill
Bree
Brooke
Laine
Sage
Tess
Shae
Grace
Reese
Oh I love June. It would be my daughter’s name if my husband hadn’t vetoed it. June Elisabeth is my favorite combo.
That said, I also love Nell, Eliza, and Naomi. And Maeve. Sorry, that’s not much help. You have great taste and such lovely names up for consideration.
Good luck!
i started singing “Oh Eliza, little Liza Jane” too…it is on a children’s cd my son listens to daily. Somehow it makes me really like the name. The song is uncommon enough that most people wouldn’t think about it but it would be really fun to sing for her!
How about Claire or Elise? Cate feels like a refined name to me (like Cate Blanchett). Elise Caroline is beautiful. Maybe Claire Elizabeth or Amelia?
How funny to see June in the suggestions. It’s my 3 y/o daughter’s name. (And her middle is Dell, but not after the computers. It’s my middle name, too and runs in my family).
So of course, I love June, but I also like Ruth a lot– it has that old-fashioned, but not frilly feel I think you’re going for. Ruth Caroline would be lovely.
I LOVE Eliza and it is one of my favorite all time names. I also really like Naomi, but think Eliza would fit more with the Cate, Lena and Isaac attitude. (with Jane, June or something else, all nice)
But, if you wanted one syllable names, Eve is definitely my favorite, and so lovely. Swistles suggestion of Eve Charlotte is dynamite. June I like, but I prefer Juniper with a nn of June or Junie. Other one syllable names I like that haven’t been suggested yet:
Dawn, Cate and Dawn
Rose, Cate and Rose
Paige, Cate and Paige
Reese, Cate and Reese
Grace, Cate and Grace
Brooke, Cate and Brooke
Belle, Cate and Belle
Anne, Cate and Anne
(these go together like ketchup and mustard).
I also really like Tess from anonymous’ list. Cate and Tess are great.
I just stumbled across an interesting post from a mother who posted here about a year ago looking for a name for her second daughter.
They ultimately went ahead with a name (Jolie) and have since decided to change their their daughter’s name to a name they feel fits her better.
It’s an interesting post and a gusty decision. http://kickyboots.com/?p=1801#comments , I thought some of you would enjoy the read.