K. writes:
Hello. My name starts with a K and so does my husbands, our last name is Ogawa. Our baby girl is due on November 1st.
We are having one heck of a time picking a name. Obviously we have settled on the most popular names ever (isn’t that how it always works). My favorite is Emma; His is Isabelle; We have Olivia and Lilian on the list as well. Middle names aren’t as much of a disaster we have a couple that go with each first name.
The difficulty factors in here….I am American/Irish (100%), My husband is half Japanese (hence the last name) and half Spanish. So we wanted a first name that both families will be able to pronounce.
We have pretty much settled on the above 4 and need help choosing, but if you have another suggestion I am all ears.Thank you so much for your help
I like Emily even better than Emma: I think Emily Ogawa has a nice sound and rhythm. I like all four of your choices; my favorite on its own is Olivia, and my favorite with your surname is Lilian.
Let’s have a poll over to the right [poll closed; see results below] with your four choices plus my choice of Emily, and people can leave more suggestions in the comment section.
Poll results (195 votes total):
Emma: 22 votes, roughly 11%
Isabelle: 17 votes, roughly 9%
Olivia: 22 votes, roughly 11%
Lilian/Lillian: 65 votes, roughly 33%
Emily: 69 votes, roughly 35%
Name update 11-08-2009! K. writes:
Olivia Emerson Ogawa was born on Nov 4. Thank you so much for all comments and suggestions on the names!
You received an award at http://siblingproject.wordpress.com/
Olivia would be my choice from your picks. Love that name and I am also a fan of alliteration! I also like Swistle’s idea of using Emily. Very cute!
I don’t like the double -a ending of Emma Ogawa as a full name, but would you consider using Swistle’s suggestion of Emily, but then use Emma as a nickname? Then the full name would be Emily Ogawa, which in my opinion has a much better flow, but you still get the name you love!
Olivia Ogawa is a mouthful! I’d skip that one ;)
I also prefer Emily over Emma with your last name. Isabelle and Lillian are both nice as well.
I like Olivia the best because its got a spanish flair (though Im not sure about Japanese) and Lillian is nice too, but Lily as a nn would be better I think (works for all three cultures). I do like a three or more syllable name with your last name I think. Isabelle works too though. I wouldn’t worry too much about having popular first names since your last name is pretty uncommon. Good luck!
I agree that Emily Ogawa flows a bit better, but you could definitely nickname her Emma if you’d like! We call my cousin Emily “Emma”, “Emmy” or “Em” and when she was really little we’d say “Emma-lee-lee”, haha — all the variations work!
Isabelle and Olivia are current favourite names of mine (my boyfriend is particularly fond of Olivia). They’re both beautiful and you can’t go wrong.
Nearly everyone says “I’m afraid the name is too popular” but, really? If it’s a name you LOVE and want your daughter to have, then just go for it! Their whole life they may not meet THAT many “Emma’s”… also, isn’t it great if your daugther’s name will always be one that people recognize/know how to pronounce/know how to spell?
I’m a 1985 Stephanie… I know about popular names. I wouldn’t even think twice though about purposely giving my kids an “unusual name”. There’s a reason names are popular — because they’re GREAT! Plus there will always be lots of people out there with completely different tastes, so not every child WILL have the exact same name, regardless of perceived popularity.
Your name choices are lovely. I’d definitely consider “Emily”, and right now I’d just take this short list of beautiful names with you too the hospital and then take a look at your baby girl’s face and see “Who” you think she looks like! She might not end up striking you as an Emma, but might just fit Olivia perfectly when you see her! :-)
I like Olivia Ogawa the best but I have a question. Are there actual Japanese speakers in your husband’s family? Isn’t the letter L a little tricky for them to pronounce?
There are no active speakers of Japanese in the household. Actually the first language of my inlaws is spanish….but good point to bring up! I wouldn’t have thought of that!
I love the name Olivia but it seems to be a bit of a mouthful with your last name.
I think Emily, Isabelle, and Lilian all sound great with your last name and are pretty names.
I agree with Stephanie – if you love a name, it shouldn’t matter if it is popular. Your names are beautiful and classic – pick the one that suits your baby the best :)
I voted for Emma. But I’m clearly in a minority on that one. I like how it sounds with Ogawa. Everything else just flows TOO much and it all becomes a blur to my ear.
It doesn’t seem quite your style but Naomi is coincidentally both an English and Japanese name, with only subtle pronunciation differences if you go with the more common English version, nye-O-mee. The Spanish version is Noemi (no-e-MEE). I love Naomi so much that it’s my daughter’s name.
So I’m biased, clearly, but I think Naomi Ogawa sounds great.
Maybe Kira? Sounds like the Gaelic Keira but spelled in the Japanese way and is Spanish-tone relatable.
I agree with Steph. Get your top-five or whatever list, but don’t lock anything down. My parents picked out two names for me – the first name was a combination of their respective mothers’ names, and the middle name was one that my mother had always liked, and flowed well.
When I was born, the nurse said, “If you haven’t already picked out a name, she looks like an Elaine* to me.” The middle name that my parents had picked WAS, in fact, Elayne, so they proceeded to name me FirstName Elayne LastName, and call me Elayne instead of FirstName. This resulted in several hundred dollars of legal fees not too long ago, when I had my name legally changed to Elayne FirstInitial NewLastName. (And when I’d mention that I’d changed my first name, lots of people telling me that “You can’t DO that! It’s not allowed!”)
So anyway, go with the flow and see what suits her best once she’s here and checking the world out. Congrats and best of luck for a smooth delivery!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Oh, I forgot my footnote!
*I assume that the nurse was thinking of the traditional spelling of “Elaine” and not the one my mother had already picked out of “Elayne.” In any event, still a pretty weird coincidence, IMO.
(Deleted and reworded my post above because it might have caused an ugly misunderstanding.)
I agree with Tweepopacap on this one!
I found this thread searching on Google to see the results that come up with my own name, Emily Ogawa. I think it’s interesting how many people suggested & voted for my name! I thought my name sounded too old-fashioned growing up (although that’s what my parents liked about “Emily”) but I like it now, except that’s it’s become popular. However throughout my life, most people have commented more on my last name & think it’s notable enough to call me by it, so little Olivia Emerson will probably be more known for being an Ogawa than an Olivia. :)
Do you get a lot of people that mispronounce your last name as AH-guh-wah instead of Oh-GAH-wuh?