Stephanie writes:
hi there! i’m due with baby #3. my due date is september 6/09. i already have 2 daughters and my ultrasound tech ‘thought’ it was another girl. not like we’re surprised, but anyhow, we are having many, many issues trying to find a good name this time. my two other daughters have the names Kaia Faith and Kaybrie Joy. we weren’t planning on the ‘k’ theme with the first two, just happened to like those names that started with ‘k’. i think we’d like to avoid the ‘k’ names this time around b/c i don’t think i want to have my daughter’s being the KKK (kwim?). i have always LOVED the name Brynn. it’s one of my absolute favorite names and i would love to use it, however, it doesn’t fit with our middle name of Grace. we want to use Grace as our middle name this time b/c it ‘goes with’ Faith and Joy that we used before for the girls. ack! so… here’s the conditions…
1. feel like i need at least a 2 syllable name to go with the middle name Grace.
2. avoiding names that start with ‘k’.
3. want something unique and different (not common but not totally crazy and out there — see my daughter’s names)
4. avoiding names that also start with ‘t’ and also avoiding names that end in ‘son’ b/c i don’t like the way they sound with our last name.i have a huge list of names that i already like but just can’t seem to pick that ‘perfect’ name, if you know what i mean. here’s a few of my favs for you to deliberate over:
-Ayla
-Hadley (my husband really likes this one but i worry it’s too masculine compared to my daughters’ girly names)
-Payton (again, too masculine? maybe b/c the other spelling of it we’d use as a 2nd name for a boy)
-Juliet
-Ainsley
-Brynley or Brynnley or Brynly (i like the sound of this name especially b/c i can shorten it to Brynn when she’s older, which i love, but i just don’t like any of the spellings for it. help!)
-Paige (not 2 syllables but love the name)i guess that’s it for now. i hope to get a few good suggestions and comments. i’m just starting to freak out b/c baby is due SO soon and both other times i was a week early.
thanks in advance,
stephanie(incidentally if this baby turns out to surprise us and be a boy, we already have a name picked out and it was SO easy to choose — Drew Peyton. what’s up with that? not fair!!)
I wonder—are you flexible about the middle name? Because if you’d consider other virtue names that go with Faith and Joy, we might be able to find a multi-syllable one that goes with your first name favorite of Brynn. This sort of thing:
Brynn Charity
Brynn Honor
Brynn Mercy
Brynn Patience
Brynn Prudence
Brynn Verity
None of those sound as good to me as your Brynley Grace option, though. My favorite spelling is Brinley: Brinley Grace.
You could also use Brynna: Brynna Grace.
You mention liking the name Paige and wishing it were more than one syllable; I wonder if you would like the name Paisley? Paisley Grace.
I like Hadley and think of it as cutely tomboyish but still primarily feminine—probably because of the name Haley. Same with the name Payton/Peyton—probably because I’m watching One Tree Hill (with main female character Peyton Sawyer).
Let’s have a poll over to the right. [Poll closed; see results below.]
Poll results (211 votes total):
Ayla: 7 votes, roughly 3%
Hadley: 16 votes, roughly 8%
Payton: 2 votes, roughly 1%
Juliet: 21 votes, roughly 10%
Ainsley: 24 votes, roughly 11%
Brinley: 61 votes, roughly 29%
Brynna: 63 votes, roughly 30%
Paisley: 17 votes, roughly 8%
Name update 04-08-2010! Stephanie writes:
i was due sept 6th with a girl and i really wanted to use brynn as a name or a variation on it. you gave me so many options and for that, i thank you. in the end, i allowed my husband the honor of naming our baby and with much consideration… and 2 hours AFTER her birth, she was finally named Hadley Grace. she was 6 lbs 14 oz and was born september 8/09. two days after her due date. she is the perfect fit to our family, a sweet little sister for Kaia and Kaybrie. thanks again for all your help.
I think Bryn Grace sounds fine, but maybe that’s because my daughter has 1 syllable first and middle names (with a 5 syllable last name). Anyway, I like the suggestion of Bryanna. Spell it Brianna and I’d be completely on board.
I also like Ainsley.
I think if you really love the name Brynn, you should use it. Brynn Grace sounds fine to me, but maybe because I have one-syllable first and middle names.
On another note: Swistle, I LOVE the name Paisley! I might just steal that!
I am so jealous of her getting to use the name Brynn (or Brynna). I LOVED that name but my husband (Bryan) wouldn’t go for it because it was too close to his name. So, I definitely vote for Brynna or perhaps Brynnlyn (which now that I look at it looks very ‘n’ and ‘y’ intense).
What about Brynlea or Brinlea?
Okay, I know she said no more K names, BUT I know an aquaintence whose daughter’s name is Kimberlyn.
To me it has the similar sound of Brynn…and it is unique!
Kimberlyn Grace
:o)
I love Brynn Verity. It sounds so modern and pretty! Have you considered Brenna? Brenna Grace is pretty, and I know a Brenna that’s nicknamed Brynn, although the names aren’t related.
I like Brynn Verity the best as well. I’m wondering if Briony wouldn’t be a good option to use with Grace. Briony Grace. It avoids the abrupt sound of Brynn Grace but is similar in sounds to Brynn.
Like Swistle, Brinley immediately popped into my head. Brinley Grace is a great name that goes with your other daughters names. I also thought of Briony Grace as an alternative as well. I also like Swistles suggestion of Paisley. And I like Ainsley from your list, it is a favorite of mine, but lately I have seen it on a lot of peoples “lists.” Whether people will start using it or not, I’m not sure, but worry it may have a little surge in popularity. Some other suggestions:
Sierra Grace
Everly Grace
Harlow Grace(alt. to Hadley?)
Lola Grace
Priya Grace (kinda like Ayla)
Samara Grace
Zoya Grace (also sim. to Ayla)
Good Luck!
I have a friend whose daughter is named Brynna, but goes exclusively by Brynn. I think that might be a good choice, since most of the times when her first and middle name are said together, her full first name would be used (at least, I would think so?). Then you could still have Brynn AND Grace – Brynna Grace.
Another name that is similar to Brynn is Breelynn.
Brynna is my favorite, and sounds beautiful with Grace.
I like Brynn or Brynley. You’re right that the spelling on the second looks funny. Brynlee? Brynlea? Another commenter offered “Brynna”, which I think is great too :) I also like Swistle’s suggestions of looking at other ‘virtue’ names for middle names; you could even consider going for an ethnic/foreign one, ie Vérité instead of Verity, to give a different flow to the syllables but maintain the tradition.
Good luck! I hope you update us when your newest little one arrives.
Brinley and Paisley are both great suggestions!
Would Brooklyn work? I like that the endings of all your girl names would not repeat, but the K would tie it in. It also fits a little more with the Peyton theme while definitely being in the girl silo.
What about Bria? Ends like Kaia, but the “br” sound ties it in with Kaybrie.
Good luck!
As I was reading this, I had a thought that was similar to Swistle’s: if you’re going to compromise to get the right flow, I would compromise on the middle name, not the name in the coveted first name spot. I like Brynn Verity, but if you want to stick with Grace, my favorite is Briony Grace.
lots of great suggestions already, ladies! thanks so much! keep ’em coming!! :)
my husband just told me a couple days ago that now he favors bailey. i do love this name too but feel we cannot use it as it’s already his brother in law’s (married to his sister) nephew’s name (who is 12). too close in association? whaddya think? would it be super weird for them to have a niece and a nephew with the same name (even though they are different sides of the family)?
also, i definitely want to keep Grace as the middle name b/c it flows with my other daughter’s names AND b/c it’s also my mother in law’s middle name and there is a good chance this baby will be born on or near her bday (sept 3). so, Grace has got to stay. so… really, i’m open to other name suggestions too. you guys all have great ideas… so, once again, keep ’em coming!!! :)
Brynna Grace or Paisley Grace get my vote.
I would not use Bailey since it is already in the family for the OPPOSITE gender.
Kaia, Kaybrie and Brynna
Kaia, Kaybrie and Paisley
I was thinking Brenna the whole time I read this post and then Swistle suggested Brynna. Love it! If my second had been a girl we would have named her Brenna.
Brynnleigh?
Brynleigh?
Brynn Leigh Grace?
My initial gut instinct was Brynna Grace too, and was happy when I scrolled down and it was suggested.
I like the Brynnlee or Brynnleigh spelling or Swistle’s idea of Brynn Charity.
Have you considered Bronwyn? Bronwyn Grace would be lovely, and you could still have your little “Brynn.”
I love paisley. Man! Almost makes me want another one just so I could use it. Sigh. It’s a good thing that name would be a horrible match with my other children’s names or I would be tempted.
My husband’s cousin has a daughter named Brinley, so my vote is for Brinley Grace. This is a straight-forward spelling, and the name isn’t too common. You can also never go wrong with Grace, and is more of the same vein of your other daughter’s middle names.
How about Bria?
My daughter’s name is Paisley Grayce. It was from her great-grandfather’s middle name. His last name was Gray, so we went with Paisley Grayce. She gets a lot of good feedback for the name. We’ve only heard of two other people with the name (one in a book & the other is the singer). I’d vote for Paisley Grace!