Robin writes:
I am due with our first baby (a girl) in early August and my husband and I have been having a hard time finding a name. We’re looking for something that is relatively uncommon but not weird or something that she will always have to spell for people. Our last name sounds like “while.” We’ve come up with a long list of names but some of them seem too common, some names one or the other of us is not thrilled about, and a couple of others are closer to what we are looking for but are not quite right:
Too common: Grace, Sophie, Madeline
Only one of us likes: Sylvia, Olivia, Rachel, Annabelle, Cleo, Ella, Eloise, Josie, Lila, Mila, Sonia, Romy
Closer but not quite right: Macy (thanks, Baby Name Wizard book!), Sabrina, Miranda
We also like Natalie and Serena but they have been claimed by our siblings already.
So as you can see, we are all over the place! Please help!
The names Grace and Macy make me think of these possibilities:
Clara
Darsie
Elsa
Emerson
Gracen
Kacey
Laney
Lucy
Mercy
Molly
Nora
Ruby
Sadie
Sally
The name Natalie makes me think of these possibilities
Aubrey
Camilla
Hailey
Holly
Mallory
The name Miranda makes me think of these possibilities:
Claudia
Emerin
Geneva
Jillian
Jocelyn
Malin
Marin
Name update! Robin writes:
Apologies about the very late baby name update for Baby Girl While (from August 2009) – have not been back to this site for a long time and then saw the post re One parent loves the name, the other is fine with it. That was pretty much our situation – I loved the name Sonia – it really clicked for me – but my husband was very meh about it. Going into the hospital we were thinking Sydney, because it was the only name we were both OK with, but neither of us loved it. But then I had a long, very difficult labor and delivery, and after the baby was born my husband turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, “you can pick the name!” I took a day or so to decide and ultimately did go with Sonia after assurances from him that he didn’t hate it. As compromise, we used his grandmother’s name, which I don’t love, as her middle name.
Maybe it was a postpartum thing, but in the weeks afterwards, she just didn’t seem like a “Sonia” and I had difficulty calling her that, and even thought about trying to change her name to Sydney. I think a big part of it was that I felt badly that my husband had not been excited about the name. Even now she just doesn’t quite seem to fit her name, and I was surprised that a lot of people mispronounce it (“Sawn-ya”), and although we didn’t want a super common name I feel badly that many people, especially little kids, seem very unfamiliar with it.
So, in summary – I wouldn’t completely discount one of the parents not being thrilled about the name. It depends on the situation (my husband did care, a lot, about the name, although he is fine with it now), but presumably you married the person you did because you value their opinions, so it’s probably a good idea to listen to them!
How about:
Marley
Chloe
Keira
I’m pretty sure 95% of the posts on here request something like Robin did…”We’re looking for something that is relatively uncommon but not weird or something that she will always have to spell for people”
Its what we all want isn’t it?!?! I’m pretty sure it is the main reason why so many of us struggle to find the perfect name!
I think you have some great possibilities listed here. Clara, Sadie and Sally are my favorites!
I totally agree with Schwant Family – that seems to be what we all want.
Looking at your last name “While” how about:
Elise While
Iris While
Lillian While
Violet While
Eileen While
Ivy While
I think Macy is turning into one of the next trendy names. I like Sabrina and Miranda a lot.
Try:
Paige While
Meredith While
Amy While
Peyton While
Nina While
Lydia While
Juliette While
Greta While
Charlotte While
best wishes!
Some names with the same flow of Natalie are:
Annalie
Everly
As for Serena, what about Malia or even Samantha?
Here’s my suggestions…some already mentioned, some not:
Ainsley
Ashby
Aubrey
Chloe
Delaney
Emerson
Felicity
Lorelei
Mallory
Ruby
Sadie
Susannah – According to Laura Wattenberg in a blog post on her Baby Name Wizard blog – “No spellings of this name cracks the top 1000,” “if you’re looking for that elusive Sasquatch of names, everybody knows, everybody likes and nobody uses, you found it.”
GOOD LUCK!
Here are more ideas…
Hope (inspired by Grace)
Celina (inspired by Serena)
Olivia, Sylvia, and Miranda are all Shakespearean names, so I looked up some more Shakespearean names in the Baby Name Wizard:
Adriana
Beatrice
Bianca
Celia
Cordelia
Helena
Iris
Julia
Juliet
Juno
Mariana
Phoebe
Portia
Viola
It may seem as though I have listed every single Shakespearean name in the book, but I didn’t. There were some I omitted because there were either past fashion peak (Jessica) or seemed to over-the-top for your tastes (Ophelia or Ursula)
I like the above suggestion of Celia, or Cecelia… sort of like your Sylvia/Selena/Sonia/Sabrina group… but with a C, lol.
I like the idea of the name Cecelia with the nickname “Lia” (pronounced like Leah), rather than CeCe (uh, not sure how to spell that nn…but like the letter C twice). I liken that to the nickname Bella for Isabella, using the last sound rather than the first.
Anyway, so I like Cecelia.
Cecelia While; sounds lovely with the L sound in the last name.
Deborah While
Elizabeth While
Hailey While
Ivy While
Laurel While
Piper While
Great ideas Swistle and everyone else….I like almost all the options listed.
Favourites: Mallory, Jillian, Sonia/Sonya.
OP: Don’t forget to come back and tell us what you decided once she’s born.
Lillian While sounds great to me and seems similar to your taste. Can’t think of any others because it seems too perfect – but many great choices already suggested by swistle & others.
I like Lelah (pronounced lee-la). It’s reminiscent of popular names like Lily and Lila, but a bit unique. Isla, or Leila (pronounced Lay-la) would be beautiful as well.
What about Clea?
Lots of soft consonants in those names. They go nicely with “While.” lots ending in a. lots with an EE sound. Frazzled Mom’s list looks pretty good! Macy, Miranda, Sabrina, and Serena are in the 100s and 200s of the SSA most common list. Here are some others near there:
Sierra
Selena/Selina/Celina
Marissa
Adrianna
Ariana
Veronica
Cassandra
And a couple others just ‘cuz:
Felicia
Francesca
Tabitha
Vanessa
Thank you for sharing your daughter’s name with us and also your struggle to find a name that you and your husband both loved. (I think that may help others who are having a similar struggle to name their baby.) I’m sorry that the name Sonia still doesn’t seem right after almost a year and a half.
I have two suggestions for you:
1. Do a thorough research of the name Sonia, compiling all the positive associations of the name. (I did that when a daughter was strongly considering Delilah for her daughter — a name I didn’t like at all, but I did end up thinking the name would be fine.)
2. Give her a nickname that appeals to you more. For example, I know a Sonia who goes by Sunny.
Best wishes to you and your family.
From some of my favorite baby name books:
Sonia — Russian form of Sophia. Sonia has been used regularly in the US since the 1930s. It peaked in the 1970s.
[Sonia has been suggested several times on this website as an alternate to Sophia, which some parents love but find too popular.]
Sonia, Sonja — …well known in the 1940s via Norwegian skating movie star Sonja Henie [who was absolutely lovely]…
“The Baby Name Wizard” – Sonia is “luxurious, simple and classic – a power combination.”
From babynamewizard.com namipedia:
Nicknames for Sonia: Soni, Sonie, Sunny
Famous real-life people named Sonia:
Sônia Braga, Brazilian actress
Sonia Evans, English pop singer
Sonia de Ignacio, Spanish field hockey player
Sonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National Congress
Sonia Manzano, actress best known for playing Maria on Sesame Street
Sonia O’Sullivan, Irish athlete
SONiA (Sonia Rutstein), American singer-songwriter
Sonia Rykiel, French designer
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States
Number of baby girls named Sonia in 2009: 420, ranking 685 in the SSA Top 1000 names for baby girls
Also:
Sonya – 217 girls with that spelling
Sonja – 120
Soniya – 11
Soniyah – 7
________________________________
Some other thoughts:
MANY names aren’t pronounced correctly all the time, and when a name is even a little bit unusual, that’s more likely to happen. Many parents prefer a name that’s not among the current very top names, but they need to realize they’re more likely to get mispronunciations and comments — pro and con — with less-used names.
Hang on to your statement, “I loved the name Sonia – it really clicked for me” and why you loved the name.
I personally prefer Sonia to Sydney. Sonia has a far greater history as a female name, while Sydney is a surname which became a male name and is presently a very trendy name for girls – ranking 48 in 2009. Your Sonia has a name that will set her apart from all the Sydneys she’ll meet. But if you want a nn similar to Sydney, there is the option of Sunny (also Sonie — which reminds me of Sophie). I’d suggest you call her one of those — Sunny or Sonie, with the more formal Sonia option for her teen years (she may prefer the sophisticated name Sonia then) and for her formal name as an adult. If she doesn’t “seem like a Sonia” yet, then Sonie — or Sunny — would be cute, sweet and lively for your little girl.
You’ve chosen a fine name for your daughter.
Hello, I found the above suggestions very interesting. Just thought I would drop a note and let you know, my name is Sonia. I was born in the 60’s. I do love my name even though I have to correct people on the Spelling. They usually want to spell it with a Y, but thats ok it makes me feel more unique. :) Also all of my family calls me Sunny. Funny story to share about my name, I called my Great Grandmother years ago and she was up in age, I said Grandma, it’s Sonia your great grandaughter, she said I don’t have a great grandaughter named Sonia. To which I replied Sunny, she said oh Sunny how are you honey. So if you like Sunny perhaps it should be a consideration. Either way I like both, and like the fact that I can use either depending on the situation. Good Luck, Sonia
OP here. Back again a few years later now looking for a name for our soon-to-be son. I didn’t even remember writing this followup, and it’s funny, because now (she is almost 5) we all love the name – even Sonia herself. She recently said, “thanks for naming me Sonia, because everyone I tell my name to either says it’s a pretty name, or it’s a beautiful name.” In addition, we’ve lived in several countries since she was born, and it’s a pretty universal name across many cultures, which has been nice. The only annoying aspect is that at least once a month, someone thinks her name is Sophie – we’ve had charts mislabeled at the pediatrician’s office, and the wrong artwork send home from school. But overall, a terrific name in the end. Thanks for all of the support!