Lindsay writes:
We are stumped with a name for our little one. Since we don’t know what we are having we need to narrow down our name selection for a boy and girl. Here are the names we have so far:
GIRLS:
Leah Grace
Abigail Elizabeth
Abigail Jo
Kate Elizabeth
Corrine Elizabeth
Cora Elizabeth
Ruby Elizabeth
Ruth (Ruthie) ElizabethBOYS:
Jesse Michael
Liam Michael (although I don’t know if the double m sounds good?)
Cael Michael
Grant Michael
Garrett MichaelA little bit of information for the above names: 1) I never really cared for my own middle name of Jo. My mom and I have Jo for our middle names. I am hesistant to carry on Jo as a middle name since I didn’t start liking my middle name until several years ago. 2) Elizabeth is the middle name for two very important people in our family. 3) Michael is my husband’s first name. I have always wanted to carry his name down to our first child but it’s not a must have. 4) My husband’s father passed away some time ago and would love to honor him through one of his names (George Henderson) but I am just not feeling it. 5) Our last name is Stewart.
Thoughts on what sounds the best for a boy and girl name?
My favorite of your girl names is Cora: Cora Elizabeth Stewart. I also love Ruth(ie), but like less the repeating “oo” sound with your surname. (This is one of those totally subjective things where the very next person would say they loved the way the repeating sound tied the names together.)
My favorite of your boy names is harder to choose. I like the names that end in T, but not as much with a surname ending in T (Grant Stewart, Garrett Stewart) (again, the very next person would say they liked it for that very reason). I like Cael, but it’s almost the same as the second syllable of Michael.
I love the idea of using your father-in-law’s name. My mom knows a family where the boy is George, called Geordie (Jordy), and it’s made us both about ten times more fond of the name George. George Henderson Stewart, called Geordie, is one of the best names I’ve ever heard of.
Here are a few more boy name suggestions:
Callum Michael Stewart
Calvin Michael Stewart
Gavin Michael Stewart
Griffin Michael Stewart
Ian Michael Stewart
Leo Michael Stewart
Owen Michael Stewart
Reid Michael Stewart
Let’s have two polls over to the right, one for girl names and one for boy names. [Polls closed; see results below.]
Poll results, girl names (191 votes total):
Leah Grace: 28 votes, roughly 15%
Abigail Elizabeth: 18 votes, roughly 9%
Abigail Jo: 10 votes, roughly 5%
Kate Elizabeth: 18 votes, roughly 9%
Corrine Elizabeth: 24 votes, roughly 13%
Cora Elizabeth: 59 votes, roughly 31%
Ruby Elizabeth: 26 votes, roughly 14%
Ruth Elizabeth: 8 votes, roughly 4%
Poll results, boy names (175 votes total):
Jesse: 9 votes, roughly 5%
Liam: 18 votes, roughly 10%
Cael: 8 votes, roughly 5%
Grant: 17 votes, roughly 10%
Garrett: 5 votes, roughly 3%
Callum: 20 votes, roughly 11%
Calvin: 13 votes, roughly 7%
Gavin: 16 votes, roughly 9%
Griffin: 16 votes, roughly 9%
Ian: 8 votes, roughly 5%
Leo: 11 votes, roughly 6%
Owen: 17 votes, roughly 10%
Reid: 17 votes, roughly 10%
I have the mn Jo too and do not like it, even now, only because almost everyone upon hearing my middle name loves to call me FirstName Jo. For a lot of people it wouldn’t matter; for me it has been a source of embarrasment my whole life.
For your boy names, I really like Cael Henderson Stewart.
For your girls, what about Georgia? Georgia Grace (GG) Stewart has a lovely ring.
Best of luck!
For girls, I adore Ruby Elizabeth Stewart. The repeating “oo” sound doesn’t bother me – in fact, I think it sounds great! So to each her own…
I second the suggestion of Georgia. You could also use Georgina or Georgiana.
For boys, I think George Henderson Stewart sounds very nice. (Personally, I think George is a very handsome name.) Geordie is a cute nickname. You could also use Georgie, at least while he’s little. I also like Swistle’s suggestions – Callum and Leo are my favorites.
Good luck!
I love Kate Elizabeth or Cora Elizabeth (Cora is one of my favourite names right now).
I also like Liam Michael – the repeating M is fine, because Michael is such a known name that people aren’t going to be “unsure” what the middle name is if they hear it blend with the first name. I also like Grant, or from Swistle’s suggestions Callum, Owen or Reid.
For some other names:
GIRLS
Natalie Elizabeth
Nora Elizabeth
Alyson Elizabeth
Rebecca Elizabeth
Claire Elizabeth
Isabelle Grace
BOYS
Connor Michael
Colin Michael
Sean Michael
Lucas Michael
You have to name the boy George Michael, and always call him “George Michael.” I mean, is there any better name?
Ok if you don’t watch AD, that might have been lost, but you should really check it out then, its an amazing show. In all seriousness, I like Cael Michael from your list and Griffin Michael, Levi Michael, and Owen Michael from Swistles. I am totally with swistle on really liking the names Grant and Garrett with Michael, but its too many “Ts” with Stewart I think.
For girls, the repeated vowel sounds don’t bother me as much as sharp consonants, but Ruth has just never been my favorite. I do like Ruby, Corrine, and Leah very much. While not ever an Abigail fan (I have a thing with too many short and long A sounds, its definitely my own weird thing) My best friend just named her baby Annabelle Jo which I think is adorable, I really like Jo with a longer first. Its spunky. Elizabeth of course is great too. Good luck!
As a Katherine Elizabeth that goes by Kate, I have to say, Kate Elizabeth sounds a bit choppy, but Katherine Elizabeth Stewart sounds very regal to me. (I’m probably biased, though!) Cora is probably my favorite straight off the list. So pretty! I like how Cora Stewart has the R sound in the second syllables to tie them together without sounding too similar, but I don’t like the rhythm there. I honestly think both Katherine Stewart and Kate Stewart have a more interesting rhythm. Have you thought about Josephine as a first name to carry on Jo in a more classic and sophisticated way? Josephine Elizabeth Stewart is so pretty! Instead of going by Jo, she could be Josie.
For the boys, I’m going to have to vote for Griffin. I love the sound! For a name with meaning, George, nn Geordie, is so sweet. You could also name him Michael George or Michael Henderson and call him Cael. It’s much fresher than Mike, but I’m not sure how you feel about your guys having the same first name. If you use Cael as a full first name, I would suggest George as a middle. Cael George. If you want to pass on Jo, you could also use Joseph for your boy. Joseph Michael Stewart. It’s nice, but is it too plain? I’m not sure. Just tossing some ideas.
Good luck!
I would hesitate to use Liam Michael because, to my ears, it almost sounds like Leah Michael, which could be grounds for teasing as a child. Since it’s with the middle name, though, and not the last name, it might just not come up and thus not be a big deal.
I’m personally not a fan of Geordie as a nickname because it reminds me exclusively of Geordie LaForge from Star Trek. (He was a nice character, just not someone I would name my child after.) While people might eventually stop associating the name with the sci fi character after getting used to it on your little boy, for anyone whose seen much Star Trek, the name will be an instant association that you may or may not care for.
Other than that, I love your name choices and really don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. Good luck!
Maybe you could use a longer form of Jo for the middle name, like Josephine, or Johanna, or Joleen. Or whatever else is out there.
Of your girl names I love Corinne, Kate, and Leah. I would go with a longer from of Jo or I love Elizabeth.
Of your boy names, my favorite is Grant Michael. (I wouldn’t use George Henderson if you aren’t feeling it.)
I’m a wee bit biased since I have a Cora Elizabeth (and still am so in love with her name that I’m dreading having to name a 2nd child someday for fear I can’t compete with our first success).
Anyways. Also love Georgia and Leah. Sounds like you should definitely go with Elizabeth and not Jo as a middle name.
good luck!
I’ve always loved the Scots nickname Geordie for George. Good suggestion, Swistle. I turned to your poll to vote for George — but it’s not there.
I think George Michael Stewart – “Geordie” Stewart — would be a bonny name for your little boy. In fact it seems absolutely perfect to me: named for grandfather and father; unique nickname (in the USA); Geordie is perfect with the Scottish royal name Stewart.
You could add a ‘y’ to your ‘Jo’ and use Joy as the middle name. I know a little girl named Abigail Joy and think that’s a lovely name. I like most of your names with Elizabeth too, especially Kate. And as someone suggested, Georgina would be a nice way to honor Grandpa George too.
OH NO! How did I leave George out of the poll??
I vote 0ff-Poll for George nn Geordie. I can’t imagine a better name with Stewart, and using the full name of the honored person “George Henderson Stewart” brings tears to my eyes. Not only that, but the name has a great sound even without the meaning.
Isn’t “Jordy LaForge” spelled “Jordy?” I would never have connected the two names. I admit I’d think twice about using “Jean-Luc” or “Luxanna,” but my guess is not many people would connect “Geordie” with Star Trek.
I like all these quite a bit:
Leah Grace
Abigail Elizabeth
Cora Elizabeth
Ruby Elizabeth
Ruth (Ruthie) Elizabeth
It’s hard to choose, but Ruth just edges out Leah for me. I’d echo the suggestions of Josephine or Joanna for Jo alternatives (or Joseph for a boy).
For boys: Jesse Michael & Grant Michael are my favorites from your list.
My Mom’s middle name was almost Jo and she is so glad that didn’t happen. If her middle name was Jo I’m not so sure she would have passed her middle name on to me and I most certainly wouldn’t have passed it on to my daughter. Her middle name ending up being Dawn because she was born early and it is my middle name and my daughter’s middle name. I’m all for naming traditions, and feel it is so sad when the name that’s part of the tradition is ugly.
Of your girl’s list, I like Corrine, Cora, and Kate.
Of your boy’s list, I like Jesse, Grant and Garrett.
Jesse is on our boy list. It was never one of my first choices, but my hubs kept nixing all of my names (boys and girls) and I had to dig deep going for names I like but never thought I would use. For a boy, I was trying to find traditional names that aren’t used too much, and that’s what I like about Jesse.
I’m not sure if this is too late or not! But I have a friend name Georgianna… but goes exclusively by Gianna or even G… i Love the name Gianna…. as it is quite different but you can still honour your father in law…
Georgia/Georgie is cute too:)
I went to school with a delightful girl names Georgeanne – she was the last of a group of girls, and was named after her father since the parents never had a boy.
I always loved her name.
It is common enough that you don’t question it, it is easy to spell, but I have never met another one.