Amanda writes:
My name is Amanda (Leigh) and me and my husband (Jacob Vawter) are expecting boy/girl twins in January. My husband is the fourth generation of male “J” first names and Vawter middle name. So, I have already agreed we would stick with that. I have also agreed to “try” to stick with a “J” girl name if we could find something we like. If not, all bets are off, but I told him we would try. The problem is, he doesn’t like ANYTHING (typical male, right?) Everything I have suggested he has turned down. He has agreed to put Josselyn and Jayden on the short list. Those are fine by me, but I am now cringing as Jayden is so popular now. We also liked Jack but for the same reason have nixed it. We are already thinking we could call him “Jay” but are looking for a more formal first name. Any other ideas???
Some boy J names:
James
Jameson
Jared
Jaron
Jasper
Jefferson
Jenkin
Jeremy
Joel
John
Jon
Jonah
Jonathan
Joseph
Joshua
Jude
Judson
Julian
Julius
Wait, wait. I sense that your eyes went skimming right past some of those names. Some of them are so familiar, they don’t even register anymore. John, for example. I’ve talked before about my love for the name John/Jon: it seems almost like a non-name (Paul once called it “generic”), and yet in actual usage it is a tremendously satisfying name that demonstrates again and again why it has been such an enduringly popular choice. And while it SEEMS like it must be one of the most common names ever, it’s significantly less common than Jacob and Jaden in the classroom, and in fact has become a surprising choice on a child. I will pause a moment to make sure you give it due consideration. John Vawter, Jon Vawter.
James is another name the eyes skate right past, but I think it’s particularly excellent here because it works as a long form for the nickname Jay. James (Jay) Vawter. Jameson works in the same way: Jameson (Jay) Vawter.
Jasper is a favorite of mine, though I understand it’s used in the Twilight series and so may be poised for a huge rush of popularity. Right now it’s way down in the 400s (source: Social Security Administration).
I think Jay works as a nickname for any name beginning with J., because the initial J. is pronounced the same way.
Some girl J names:
Jade
Jane
Jansen
Jemma
Jenna
Jennica
Jennison
Jillian
Jocasta
Jocelyn
Josephine
Joy
Julia
Julianna
Juliette
June
Juniper
Jade came to mind because you like Jayden for a boy. The name Jade has a similar sound but is much less common.
Now, for the fun of making some pairs!
James and Jocasta
James and Josephine (Jay and Jo too cute? Jay and Josie)
James and Julia
Jared and Jemma
Jared and Jenna
Jaron and Jade
Jaron and Jennica
Jasper and Jane
Jasper and Juliette
Jasper and June
Jefferson and Josephine
Jefferson and June
Jeremy and Jillian
Joel and Joy
John and Jillian
John and Jocelyn
John and Josephine
John and Joy
John and Julia
Jonathan and Jane
Jonathan and Jennica
Jonathan and Julia
Everyone else: J names, J twin pairs?
I love James. It’s a family name for me, and I just think it suits multiple generations. There can be a baby named James, a teen named James and it definitely works well for an adult and an older man. It’s just a classic, and I like it a lot.
What about Jason, with the nickanme Jay? Jason I find especially lends itself to that nickname (mind you, I agree with Swistle that you could call any boy with a J. initial “Jay”).
For girls, I love that you’re considering Josselyn, that’s pretty. The alternate spelling of Jocelyn is preferable to me, but looking at Josselyn again, I like that too. Joss is a really cute nickname for a girl.
Jason and Josselyn are great together too.
My other favourites from Swistle’s options are Jon, Jude, Joshua and Joel for boys; Jillian, Julia, Jane and Julianna for girls.
Some other J names to consider:
Girls:
Jessica
Jacqueline/Jacquelyn/Jacklyn
Jasmine
Janelle
Joanna
Josie
Boys:
Jackson
Josiah
Jordan
Justin
…. and now, after writing this comment, J doesn’t even look like a letter to me anymore, LOL! You know how that happens? lol.
I’m back. I had another thought. Maybe you do a J boy name for the tradition, but what about then choosing an A girl name? Then you have the J of dad and the A of mom in the sibset. So here are some A girl names to consider:
Abigail (Jay and Abby as a set is really cute to me)
Addison (Jay and Addie, also cute)
Adelaide (same)
Adrienne/Adriana
Ainsley
Aislyn
Alana/Alannah
Alessandra
Alexandra
Alexis
Alice (just don’t do Jasper and Alice, lest you venture right into the world of Twilight)
Alisha
Alison/Allison/Alyson
Andrea (I love Andie as a girl’s name; Jay and Andie! cute!)
…and there are a billion others. There are some really great A names for girls. So just an idea.
Anything wrong with using the name Jay?? I knew a boy named Jay when I was growing up.
For a girl, I love the name Josie either by itself or as a nickname.
I like Steph’s suggestion of an A name for a girl to go with Mom’s name.
A note about James – I was surprised to note it was in the top 10 the year I was born because I didn’t remember many James’ in school and then I realized why: All James almost inevitably became Jim. Suddenly I remembered a lot of Jim’s!
The good news now is for the younger generation a James is more likely to stay James or maybe become Jamie. I sort of like James with the nickname Jamie.
I also like the idea of using a J name for the boy and an A name for the girl
Friends of mine did J names for their two kids. Javin is their son and Jaisa (Jay-suh) is their daughter. I’ve grown to really like the names.
Steph the WW- That’s a great idea to do an “A” name for the girl. Maybe she could have the middle name Leigh like her mom, or perhaps a surname name from the mom’s side of the family.
Im not a huge fan of same first letter twin names to be perfectly honest, and J is especially, I don’t know, noticable, because the sounds are the same and are pretty blunt/loud/hard/can’t find a good descriptive word here! I wouldn’t notice an Aaron and Amelia as much is all I am saying. What about a J sound with G for a girl (like Gemma, or Genevieve)? Or Javier for a boy? From the list I like Jonah and Jonathan and Josephine, Julia and Jocelyn (either spelling) the best – but I think these don’t go together very well because of all the Os (except for Julia)! I do like going with a different starting letter for your daughter, and the world is your oyester then.
Boy girl twins are so fun!
What about Jocena for a girl? I’ve only heard it once, I had a great friend named Jocena. I always loved her name. It’s beautiful and unique.
Swistle’s suggestions of Jenkin and Judson made me think of Jensen. I think Jensen is so cute and handsome for a boy! A lot of people also like it for a girl (it gives the nickname Jen), so that may be an option as well.
i love jude and jemma, adorable.
or jaron and julia.
congrats!
I agree with the commenter who preferred the Jocelyn spelling. Since you both like it you might not need to go any further for the girl name. But if you do…
I like a lot of J names. My daughter is June and we get a lot of compliments on her name. I was just thinking earlier today that Judith is pretty and underused. I like Joan, too, and Joannie’s cute nn. Jessamyn is another possibility.
For boys, Joshua and Jonah were on my list when I was pregnant with my daughter as well. Jude’s a choice I don’t hear much. From what I understand it’s unisex these days but I like it better on boys.
Leaving the Js behind, I really liked the suggestion of an A name for the girl. Andrea’s one you don’t hear much in this generation, but Anna’s probably my favorite girl A name. Annabelle and Ava are cute as well, if popular.
Good luck!
I really like the combination of James and Josie (either just Josie or short for Josephine).
Please, please, please do not use the spelling Josselyn. I love my name but have to refrain from screaming when people try to spell it Joslyn, Josslyn, Josselyn, etc. I don’t know why, but it just kills me! Jocelyn is such a classic French girl’s name (actually, the true French spelling is Jocelyne, but that’s practically never seen in the US)–please use a more traditional spelling!
There. Climbing off soapbox. Sorry.
I know you’re looking for a more formal name but I think Jay on its own is just fine. In fact, I really like it. If not just Jay, how about
Jake?
Josselyn is nice, too but maybe you don’t LOVE it? My favourite girl suggestion from Swistle is Jade but only if the boy isn’t doesn’t go by Jay. I also like the suggestion of Janelle. Some other ideas:
Jada
Janine
I know a family with two J’s:
Jerrett and Jenine
Those might suit you. If I _had_ to do two J names for B/G twins,
I’d go with:
John or Jonah and Juliet or
James and Josie
but those are far from Jayden and Josselyn.
Agreed that there are a zillion great girl names that start with A and I tend to prefer non-matchy twin names, but that’s just me. It also works better than Jay and J—–, which sounds like J and J—–. But even with an A name I’d probably switch the order:
Addison and Jay
Amelia and Jay
Amber and Jay
i like j names myself, and you must already be aware that having twins with j names will stand out a bit.
some suggestions:
julian
james
joel
jacob
johanna
juliet
joyce
justine
amelia
anne
antonia
some pairings:
julian and johanna
joel and juliet
jacob and amelia
Like the previous poster, I love the name Jensen for a boy – unusual, but not bizarre! I also like the idea of using a J and an A name.
James and Josephine are absolutely adorable together. That combo has my vote. :)
Go with Julia, go with Julia!
Or, I also really like Jasmine for a girl. Jefferson and Julia. Jefferson and Jasmine. I like Jefferson for some reason. Not sure why, but I do.
I did names but no pairings yesterday so here are few:
Jonah and Ava
Jonathan and Annabelle
Joshua and Amelia
I simply LOVE this sibling set:
Jay Vawter and Jenna Leigh
They’d both have your all’s middle names…both first names start with a J and gosh what is sweeter than Jay and Jenna!!!
Might be a little bias since I nave a nephew and niece sib set named Jay Parker and Jenna Marie. So Jay and Jenna is a common combo in our house.
Good luck – have g/b twins here, almost 5 months old…boy the fun you’re in for!
I really like the idea of going with an ‘A’ name for baby girl, but I also love the names Jana or Julia for a girl. Jane is a good name too :)
I like the suggestion of James. It’s a solid, nice name. It seems common, but it’s not really. I don’t personally know a single little boy named James.
Boy: James, Judah, Jude, Jamis, Jackson, Jacob
Girl: Jessa, Jayliah, Johannah, Jenna
I do think following the J for a boy, it might be appropriate to find an A for the girl: Amelia, Amelie, Abigail, Adeline, Aurora
I’m excited to hear the finally results!
I think you have a great list of boy names, my favorites are Julian and James. For J girl’s names, my best friend’s mother is Janina, which I always thought was pretty. (They’re Polish, I’m not sure if it is a common Polish name, but there you go.)
I really like the idea of having an A name for the girl and it really opens you up to a lot more options, and that way they won’t sound too cutesy, nor will you feel like you need to continue with the J trend if you have more. (A la the Duggars.)
@Melio, Aurora is an awesome suggestion. I hope it goes with the family name.
Love James (Jamie reminds me of Colin Firth in Love Actually – how adorable was he when he tried to speak to Aurelia in Portugese?) and Jocelyn (prefer that spelling). Also like Josephine. And Jordan for either a girl or boy, though perhaps too trendy?
All the talk of J names made me think of the Duggars with their now 19 J names. Here they are:
Joshua “Josh” James
Jana Marie
John-David
Jill Michelle
Jessa Lauren
Jinger Nicole
Josiah Matthew
Joy-Anna
Jedidiah Robert
Jeremiah Robert
Jason Michael
James Andrew
Justin Samuel
Jackson Levi
Johannah Faith
Jennifer Danielle
Jordyn-Grace Makiya
Josie Brooklyn
Out of all of these my favorites are Jeremiah, Jackson, Jessa, and Josie
James, Joseph, Jeremiah, Jeremy, Julian, Julius, Jordan, Jeffery, Jacob, Jonathon, Josiah
Jolin, Jolene, Jordyn, Jordana, Jordae, Janiyah, Jerilyn (sounds like marilyn)
My brother and I (not twins, actually quite a few years apart) are Joshua and Julia… and I’ve always loved the way our names sound together.
Me and my brother are not twins but our names are cute together Jessica and Joshua these are hebrew names from the Bible.